The Justice Report
The Justice Report is a journal dedicated to the advancement of civil rights by providing context and understanding for issues most prominently affecting our justice system today. This curated collection is an online database focused on poverty, historical civil rights benchmarks, staff and contributor insights, and the inner workings of our government leaders.
A critical lawsuit filed today aims to relieve thousands of individuals being extorted money through pre-trial fees before ever being found guilty of a crime. In Anderson County, pre-trial arrestees — who have not been found guilty of any crime — are required to pay bond supervision and urinalysis fees without consideration of their ability to pay. If they fall behind on payments, they can end up back in jail.
Read MoreOver the last several years, counties and states have enacted pre-trial supervision policies and programs for individuals that are charged with crimes, in attempts to get individuals out of jail while awaiting trial. Pre-trial supervision is similar to supervision imposed when an individual is convicted of a crime and they are then placed on probation, parole, or placed in treatment programs.
Read MoreLast week, Plaintiffs filed for class certification in Evenson-Childs v. Ravalli County — a federal lawsuit challenging Ravalli County’s “Jail Diversion Program,” which extorts money from hundreds of individuals through pre-trial fees. In Ravalli County, pretrial arrestees — who have not been found guilty of any crime — are required to pay pre-trial fees adding up to hundreds of dollars per month, no matter their income level.
Read MoreOn March 30, 2022, federal Judge William L. Campbell, Jr. of the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee largely denied a motion to dismiss filed on behalf of state officials, who were sued because of the state’s unconstitutional process for restoring the right to vote for persons with felony convictions.
Read MoreOn March 30, 2022, a court ruled that a lawsuit in Tennessee fighting for the voting rights of individuals with felony convictions can move forward. This lawsuit could restore the right to vote for more than 451,000 Tennesseans with felony records, approximately 9% of the state’s total voting age population.
Read MoreOn March 24, 2022, Equal Justice Under Law celebrates its eight-year anniversary of challenging wealth-based discrimination in the criminal justice system! Since our organization’s founding in 2014, we’ve filed 41 lawsuits in 17 states. We’ve brought about positive change to over three million people affected by our case victories or repeals in discriminatory laws as a result of our lawsuits.
Read MoreA historic victory ending cash bail in San Francisco was finalized this month when the Ninth Circuit federal Court of Appeals confirmed our victory in the trial court and ordered fees paid by the state. The state had appealed the ruling below, and after more than two years since we helped convince a federal district court to declare San Francisco’s money bail schedule unconstitutional, the appeals court affirmed our victory in a 29-page opinion this month.
Read MoreArkansas is the only state that criminalizes failure to pay rent. A lawsuit filed today aims to end this draconian law (known as the failure to vacate statute, or Ark. Code §18-16-101), claiming the scales of justice are tipped too far in favor of landlords looking for a cheap workaround from tenant protections, all at the expense of tenants struggling to afford rent.
Read MoreA critical lawsuit was filed on behalf of hundreds of individuals being extorted money through pre-trial fees before ever being found guilty of a crime. In Ravalli County, pre-trial arrestees — who have not been found guilty of any crime — are required to pay pre-trial fees for things like supervision and electronic monitoring, often adding up to hundreds of dollars per month, without consideration of their ability to pay. If they fall behind on payments, they are threatened with jail.
Read MoreIn St. Louis, Missouri, pre-trial inmates at the ironically named “Justice Center” jail have been protesting inhumane conditions. Since the onset of the pandemic, inmates have been locked in their cells for 23 hours/day, Covid-19 protections have been woefully inadequate, and court dates have come to a grinding halt, leaving hundreds of inmates languishing for more than a year without having been found guilty of anything.
Read MoreEqual Justice Under Law is celebrating our seventh anniversary on March 24, 2021! Our longevity and success in the fight against wealth-based inequality in the justice system would not be possible without our generous supporters.
Read MoreProgress is underway for voting rights restoration in Tennessee. We filed a lawsuit in December 2020 challenging Tennessee’s process for restoring the right to vote for citizens previously convicted of a felony. Under Tennessee law, people with prior felony convictions are eligible to restore their right to vote if they meet certain criteria.
Read MoreThe effort to end cash bail nationwide recently got a huge boost: On January 13, 2021, the Illinois general assembly passed the Pretrial Fairness Act, which will phase out the use of wealth-based pre-trial detention over the next two years. The bill now heads to Governor Pritzker, who is expected to sign the bill into law.
Read MoreRemember those $1,200 checks some people received earlier this year under the CARES Act in response to the coronavirus pandemic? Incarcerated individuals were excluded from receiving them, for no other reason than their incarcerated status.
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