Constitutional Accountability Center Constitutional Accountability Center

Access to Justice

Ensuring that the courthouse doors remain open to all Americans
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Jury | Valerie Keinsley / Indiana Humanities, Flickr

Summary

The Constitution guarantees citizens the ability to vindicate their rights in court. CAC fights to protect that right and ensure that all Americans get their day in an impartial court of law.

Access to Justice in Brief

U.S. Supreme Court | Ken Lund, Flickr

When the Constitution was framed, the promise of access to the federal courts was at the heart of a new system of government accountable to the people. The federal judiciary, with the Supreme Court at its head, would be the “keystone of the arch.” CAC works to defend the right of the people to have their day in court.

Featured Case

Access to Justice August 8, 2025

Villarreal v. Alaniz

Laredo-based citizen-journalist Priscilla Villarreal was disliked by local law enforcement officials for her reporting on perceived police and prosecutorial misconduct. She alleges that these officials, with the goal of intimidating her into silence, dug up an obscure Texas statute that bars “solicit[ing] or receiv[ing] from a public servant information that: (1) the public servant has access to by means of his office or employment; and (2) has not been made public” with “intent to obtain a benefit,” and arrested her thereunder. Her crime: simply asking a police officer to confirm the identities of two individuals mentioned in news stories posted...

Case Timeline

Current
  • CAC files amicus brief in the Supreme Court in support of granting cert
  • The Supreme Court grants the petition, vacates the Fifth Circuit’s decision, and remands
  • CAC files amicus brief in the Supreme Court in support of granting cert