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 July 8, 2022

Reed v. Goertz

Rodney Reed has been on death row in Texas since 1998 for a crime he claims he did not commit. Maintaining his innocence, Reed has repeatedly sought relief in Texas state courts over the last two decades. In 2014, Reed moved in state court for DNA testing of crime-scene evidence under a Texas law called Article 64, but the trial court denied his request. Reed appealed, and in 2017, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a final order affirming the trial court’s denial of DNA testing and denying rehearing. Reed then filed suit in federal court under 42 U.S.C...

Case Timeline

Current
  • CAC files amicus curiae brief
  • Supreme Court grants certiorari 
  • CAC files amicus curiae brief