Smart Justice
Singleton v. Cannizzaro
The ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û Trone Center for Justice and Equality, ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û of Louisiana, and Civil Rights Corps, filed suit against District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, his office in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, and several Assistant District Attorneys for systematically breaking the laws of Louisiana and of the U.S. Constitution.
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Mississippi
Mar 2017
Smart Justice
Prisoners' Rights
Dockery v. Hall
The ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Law Offices of Elizabeth Alexander, and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, filed a petition for class certification and expert reports for a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF). The lawsuit, which was filed in May 2013, describes the for-profit prison as hyper-violent, grotesquely filthy and dangerous. EMCF is operated "in a perpetual state of crisis" where prisoners are at "grave risk of death and loss of limbs." The facility, located in Meridian, Mississippi, is supposed to provide intensive treatment to the state's prisoners with serious psychiatric disabilities, many of whom are locked down in long-term solitary confinement.
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187 Smart Justice Cases
Massachusetts
Jan 2017
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Bridgeman et. al v. District Attorney for Suffolk County et. al
Update: On January 18, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Court directed district attorneys to dismiss thousands of drug offense cases that were tainted by the misconduct of chemist Annie Dookhan. Prosecutors must produce a list of all drug convictions they plan to dismiss, and also produce a list of cases that they wish to re-prosecute, both within 90 days. They will be permitted to re-prosecute cases only if they certify they can do so on the basis of untainted evidence. The people hurt by Annie Dookhan’s actions deserve justice from the prosecutors who have the power to right thousands of grave wrongs by dismissing these cases.
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Massachusetts
Jan 2017
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Bridgeman et. al v. District Attorney for Suffolk County et. al
Update: On January 18, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Court directed district attorneys to dismiss thousands of drug offense cases that were tainted by the misconduct of chemist Annie Dookhan. Prosecutors must produce a list of all drug convictions they plan to dismiss, and also produce a list of cases that they wish to re-prosecute, both within 90 days. They will be permitted to re-prosecute cases only if they certify they can do so on the basis of untainted evidence. The people hurt by Annie Dookhan’s actions deserve justice from the prosecutors who have the power to right thousands of grave wrongs by dismissing these cases.
Court Case
May 2016
Smart Justice
Prisoners' Rights
Kelly v. Wengler
This case, filed by the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û and ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û of Idaho, seeks to put a stop to the culture of rampant violence that has led to carnage and suffering among prisoners at officials at the Idaho Correctional Center (ICC), the state-owned facility operated by the for-profit company Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).
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Court Case
May 2016
Smart Justice
Prisoners' Rights
Kelly v. Wengler
This case, filed by the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û and ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û of Idaho, seeks to put a stop to the culture of rampant violence that has led to carnage and suffering among prisoners at officials at the Idaho Correctional Center (ICC), the state-owned facility operated by the for-profit company Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).
Court Case
Mar 2016
Smart Justice
+4 Issues
Winston v. Salt Lake City Police Department, et al.
The Salt Lake City Police Department and the Salt Lake City School District will make broad changes in how they treat students of color and engage in school disciplinary issues under settlements announced today by the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û.
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Court Case
Mar 2016
Smart Justice
+4 Issues
Winston v. Salt Lake City Police Department, et al.
The Salt Lake City Police Department and the Salt Lake City School District will make broad changes in how they treat students of color and engage in school disciplinary issues under settlements announced today by the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û.
Arizona
Sep 2015
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Welton v. State of Arizona
In March 2014 the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled in favor of Zander Welton, finding that his parents and physicians could resume treating his seizure disorder with a marijuana extract. Sadly, Zander passed away in September 2015.
During the trial, Judge Katherine Cooper found that the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA), approved by voters in 2010, allows patients to use marijuana extracts without fear of prosecution. In October of 2013, the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û and the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û of Arizona sued the county on behalf of Zander and his parents, Jennifer and Jacob Welton, because Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and other Arizona law enforcement agents had asserted that the AMMA does not sanction the use of marijuana extracts and threatened criminal charges for patients who used extracts.
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Arizona
Sep 2015
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Welton v. State of Arizona
In March 2014 the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled in favor of Zander Welton, finding that his parents and physicians could resume treating his seizure disorder with a marijuana extract. Sadly, Zander passed away in September 2015.
During the trial, Judge Katherine Cooper found that the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA), approved by voters in 2010, allows patients to use marijuana extracts without fear of prosecution. In October of 2013, the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û and the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û of Arizona sued the county on behalf of Zander and his parents, Jennifer and Jacob Welton, because Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and other Arizona law enforcement agents had asserted that the AMMA does not sanction the use of marijuana extracts and threatened criminal charges for patients who used extracts.
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2015
Smart Justice
Capital Punishment
Spradley v. State of Alabama
Montez Spradley, who was sentenced to death in Alabama for a 2004 murder he did not commit, was released from prison in September 2015. He had spent 9.5 years behind bars, 3.5 years of them on death row. He is 32 years old.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2015
Smart Justice
Capital Punishment
Spradley v. State of Alabama
Montez Spradley, who was sentenced to death in Alabama for a 2004 murder he did not commit, was released from prison in September 2015. He had spent 9.5 years behind bars, 3.5 years of them on death row. He is 32 years old.