Constitutional Accountability Center Constitutional Accountability Center

Criminal Justice

Ensuring that our criminal justice system treats all in America with fairness, dignity, and equality
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Alcatraz Prison | miss_millions, Flickr

Summary

CAC works to ensure that all who interact with the criminal justice system enjoy the rights to which they are entitled and are treated with the dignity and equality promised to them by the Constitution.

Criminal Justice in Brief

Courtroom | Clyde Robinson, Flickr

The Supreme Court has made important progress in certain areas of criminal justice, such as it did in Montgomery v. Louisiana. However, America still has a long way to go, and CAC works to ensure that all who encounter the criminal justice system can exercise their full range of rights.

Featured Case

Criminal Justice October 14, 2020

Torres v. Madrid

Two New Mexico police officers wanted to question Roxanne Torres as she sat in her parked car. Thinking the officers were carjackers, Torres began to drive away, at which point the officers shot her twice in the back to stop her. Although the police did not apprehend Torres immediately, they arrested her later at a hospital where she was receiving medical attention for the serious wounds she suffered in the shooting. Torres later brought a civil lawsuit alleging that the officers used excessive force against her in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable “seizures” of persons and property....

Case Timeline

Current
  • The Supreme Court hears oral argument
  • The Supreme Court has postponed argument originally scheduled for March 30 due to CV-19
  • CAC files an amicus brief

Related Issue Areas

Civil and Human Rights See More
Immigration and Citizenship See More