Constitutional Accountability Center Constitutional Accountability Center

Fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history

CAC is working in the courts, with elected leaders, and with legal scholars to preserve the rights and freedoms of all in America, and to protect the integrity of our judiciary.
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United States Constitution | National Archives and Records Administration

What's New at CAC

See highlights from CAC’s recent work, including media appearances, ongoing litigation, newly published scholarship, and upcoming events.

Immigration and Citizenship
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

United States v. Smith

In United States v. Smith, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is considering whether the Fourth Amendment permits law enforcement officers—without a warrant or probable cause—to search and copy the contents...
Corporate Accountability
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Burgess v. Whang

In Burgess v. Whang, the Fifth Circuit is considering a challenge to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s authority to issue penalties and other supervisory orders. 
Criminal Law
U.S. Supreme Court

Barnes v. Felix

In Barnes v. Felix, the Supreme Court is considering whether a police officer’s use of deadly force should be judged in light of all the circumstances of the incident, or whether courts should ignore unreasonable...

Our Latest Work

Criminal Law
U.S. Supreme Court

Barnes v. Felix

In Barnes v. Felix, the Supreme Court is considering whether a police officer’s use of deadly force should be judged in light of all the circumstances of the incident, or whether courts should ignore unreasonable...
Civil and Human Rights
U.S. Supreme Court

Stanley v. City of Sanford

In Stanley v. City of Sanford, the Supreme Court is considering whether the Americans with Disabilities Act protects against disability discrimination with respect to retirement benefits distributed after employment. 
Voting Rights and Democracy
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Nairne v. Landry

In Nairne v. Landry, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is considering whether the Voting Rights Act’s prohibition on vote dilution is a constitutional exercise of Congress’s Fifteenth Amendment enforcement power.
Health Care
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Idaho v. United States

In Idaho v. United States, the Ninth Circuit is considering whether EMTALA, a federal law requiring hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment to patients experiencing medical emergencies, preempts Idaho’s near-total abortion ban in situations where abortion...
Environmental Protection
U.S. Supreme Court

Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County

In Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, the Supreme Court is considering whether the National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to study all the reasonably foreseeable environmental effects of proposed projects before approving...
Rule of Law
December 5, 2024

Alarm raised over Trump plot to install nominees without Senate approval

AlterNet
Dozens of civil rights and pro-democracy organizations teamed up Wednesday to express opposition to President-elect...

Issues We Work On

CAC's work addresses many of the most important topics in modern constitutional and federal law.
Access to Justice
Civil and Human Rights
Corporate Accountability
Criminal Law
Environmental Protection
Federal Courts and Nominations
Health Care
Immigration and Citizenship
Rule of Law
Voting Rights and Democracy

Our Latest Cases

Great Hall of the Supreme Court of the United States | Phil Roeder, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

CAC pursues a litigation strategy unique among progressive legal organizations by relying on the Constitution’s text and history. Our powerful amicus briefs provide invaluable arguments to Supreme Court Justices, legal scholars, and fellow advocates. Our clients include current and former bipartisan Members of Congress, state and local officials, law professors, and various nonprofit organizations. CAC’s efforts help to secure important legal victories in the Supreme Court, lower federal courts, and state supreme courts.

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From Our Think Tank

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The result of the Fifteenth Amendment | Library of Congress (Public Domain)

CAC produces scholarship showing that the Constitution’s text and history command progressive results. We publish comprehensive accounts of some of the most important and contentious topics in modern constitutional and federal law through issue briefs, white papers, insights, and our think tank series. Our legal experts also inform public discussion around these topics by giving written and oral testimony in congressional committee hearings.

The Arc of Constitutional Progress

The Constitution is, in its most vital respects, a progressive document, written by revolutionaries and amended by We the People who prevailed in the most tumultuous social upheavals of our Nation’s history. Explore the rich history of our Constitution, from the Founding to Reconstruction and beyond.
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Celebrating our Nation's Second Founding

Learn more about the transformational Amendments — the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth — passed during Reconstruction, that helped give our nation what President Lincoln promised at Gettysburg, "a new birth of freedom."
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