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 October 4, 2023

Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires hotels to provide accessibility information on their websites so that individuals with disabilities can ascertain whether any given hotel meets their needs. The statute permits such individuals to obtain injunctions requiring noncompliant hotels to follow the law. For the past several years—in the wake of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis that eventually required her to use a wheelchair—Deborah Laufer has become one of those individuals. Frustrated with the difficulties of travel as a person with disabilities,  made worse by the widespread failure of the hotel industry to comply with the ADA, Laufer decided to...

Case Timeline

Current
  • Supreme Court will hear oral arguments
  • CAC files amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court