Constitutional Accountability Center Constitutional Accountability Center

Access to Justice

Ensuring that the courthouse doors remain open to all Americans
i
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 January 17, 2023

Santos-Zacaria v. Garland

Leon Santos-Zacaria seeks refuge in the United States because she fears persecution and torture on account of her sexual orientation in her country of origin, Guatemala. Even though the Board of Immigration Appeals concluded that she had experienced persecution in the past as a result of her sexual orientation, it denied her protection from removal because, in its view, she had not demonstrated that she would be persecuted in the future. And even though Santos-Zacaria had asked the Board to remand her case to the Immigration Judge for further examination of that exact question, the Board instead addressed the question...

Case Timeline

Current
  • Supreme Court will hear oral arguments
  • CAC files amici brief in the Supreme Court along with the National Immigration Litigation Alliance