Constitutional Accountability Center Constitutional Accountability Center

Criminal Justice

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

Summary

CAC works to ensure that all Americans 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 May 29, 2018

City of Hays v. Vogt

Matthew Vogt was formally charged in Kansas state court with two felony counts related to acquiring a weapon while on the job as a police officer. During his probable-cause hearing, the government introduced allegedly coerced and incriminating statements as evidence against him. Vogt filed a civil-rights claim in district court, arguing that the use of these statements violated the Fifth Amendment, which provides that “[n]o person . . . shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” The district court dismissed Vogt’s claims, but the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, reasoning that “the right...

Case Timeline

Current
  • Supreme Court dismisses petition as improvidently granted
  • Supreme Court hears oral argument
  • CAC files amicus brief

Related Issue Areas

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