老澳门开奖结果, 老澳门开奖结果 of Arizona File Federal Lawsuit Challenging the Maricopa County Attorney鈥檚 Office Coercive Plea Policy
First-Of-Its-Kind Civil Rights Lawsuit Challenges Coercive Plea Bargaining Used to Punish Thousands of People for Exercising Constitutional Rights
PHOENIX 鈥� Today, the 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Arizona filed a federal class action lawsuit challenging the Maricopa County Attorney鈥檚 Office (MCAO) policy of making plea offers "substantially harsher" if people assert their rights to a preliminary hearing or a trial. This "retaliation policy" coerces thousands of guilty pleas per year and violates the Constitution. Moreover, the retaliation policy applies regardless of the facts of any case, or even if the person might be innocent. Prosecutors also refuse to disclose any information beyond police reports 鈥� even if they have it 鈥� unless people give up their rights. In emails to public defenders, Maricopa County prosecutors openly acknowledge that one purpose of the policy is to avoid the work of reviewing evidence and preparing for trial.
MCAO enforces its retaliatory plea policy in the Early Disposition Courts (EDCs). These EDCs were initially created to quickly move cases involving minor offenses or drug possession through the system, with the stated goal of helping people in need of drug treatment and other services avoid convictions. It is during the EDC process that prosecutors threaten people with retaliation for exercising their rights and present people with a devastating choice 鈥� either waive your right to a probable cause hearing and accept the first guilty plea, all without access to the evidence against you, or MCAO will make any later plea 鈥渟ubstantially harsher.鈥�
鈥淔or too long, too many prosecutors have used pressure tactics and threats to extract quick, low-cost pleas and keep the crooked assembly line of mass incarceration moving,鈥� said Somil Trivedi, senior staff attorney for the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Criminal Law Reform Project. 鈥淭hese tactics 鈥� like MCAO鈥檚 policy of punishing people simply for asserting their rights 鈥� mock the Constitution and hit marginalized communities the hardest.鈥�
Plaintiffs include a 34-year-old man who felt threatened by MCAO鈥檚 retaliation policy and felt he had no choice but to waive his right to a preliminary hearing in order to get more discovery. Another Plaintiff is a 61-year-old man with a substance use disorder who was charged with selling $20 worth of drugs. Despite EDC鈥檚 stated purpose 鈥� to divert drug offenders away from incarceration and toward treatment 鈥� MCAO prosecutors are seeking to send him to prison for almost 10 years. And the offer will get 鈥渟ubstantially harsher鈥� if he affirms his rights. The complaint also details the story of a man who was actually innocent of his charges, but MCAO tried to pressure him into a guilty plea anyway.
鈥淢CAO has sabotaged the intended purpose of the EDCs and has used it to their advantage to secure quick convictions without regard for the constitutional rights of people who are accused of crimes,鈥� said Jared Keenan, senior staff attorney for the 老澳门开奖结果 of Arizona. 鈥淭hese coercive pleas have serious consequences beyond sending people to prison 鈥� a felony conviction bans people from public housing, makes it difficult to secure a job, and can even bar people from voting.鈥�
The lawsuit seeks class certification and injunctive relief to stop MCAO鈥檚 retaliation policy in order to protect people鈥檚 constitutional rights.
Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice is also a plaintiff in the case. President Louis Fidel said: 鈥淚t is clear the Maricopa County Attorney鈥檚 Office is more interested in securing quick convictions than doing justice. Their retaliatory plea policy places an accused person in an unconscionable situation and unfairly pressures them to waive important rights. It鈥檚 retaliatory, coercive, and a violation of the Constitution.鈥�
The complaint filed today is available here: /legal-document/luckey-v-adel-complaint
Learn More 老澳门开奖结果 the Issues in This Press Release
-
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Criminal Law Reform
老澳门开奖结果 Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law Allows老澳门开奖结果 Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law Allows
WASHINGTON 鈥� A federal lawsuit brought today by the 老澳门开奖结果, 老澳门开奖结果 of D.C., and Jenner & Block LLP challenges the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for unlawfully incarcerating people longer than the law allows under the First Step Act. The lawsuit contends that the BOP鈥檚 failure to implement the First Step Act according to its plain language violates the rights of thousands of people who should be returning to their communities and rebuilding their lives but instead remain incarcerated. Signed into law in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump, the bipartisan First Step Act was designed to reduce the population in federal prisons, reform extreme sentencing laws, and provide programming and reentry transition services to people in prison. Central to the First Step Act is a system of earned time credits, which allows people in prison to earn time off their sentences and time out of prison by participating in rehabilitation programs. Through the First Step Act, Congress unambiguously ordered BOP to move people out of prison when they meet certain requirements to use their earned time credits. Instead of faithfully following the mandatory law, BOP adopted a regulation treating the law as optional. As a result, thousands of people, who should already be back in their communities and with their families, remain in prison. 鈥淓very extra unlawful day our clients spend in prison is a serious injustice,鈥� said Emma Andersson, deputy director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淚t is egregious that the Bureau of Prisons is imprisoning people for months longer than the law allows. The government must follow through on its legal obligation to get people out of prison on time and back into their communities, where they belong.鈥� Additional comments below from: Vanessa Crowe, plaintiff: 鈥淭ime is what I owed for my wrongdoing, and I have paid my time. But I should not have to spend more time in prison than the law allows. I often reflect on what I will miss during the months after when I should be out of prison. I will miss work and lose out on wages that would help me get back on my feet. I could be a tax paying citizen instead of a burden on society. But most of all, I will miss more precious time with my family. My family and I are ready to tum the page on this period in our lives 鈥� we are all ready to start a new life, a life with purpose, hope, and healing together. I want to start that life when I am legally entitled to start it-not five months later.鈥� Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel at 老澳门开奖结果 of D.C.: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no excuse for the Bureau of Prisons to pretend not to understand Congress鈥檚 clear command that people who have earned the right to early release must be released. This law has been on the books for six years. The Bureau of Prisons has had plenty of time to understand it. Law enforcers should obey the law.鈥� Betsy Henthorne, partner at Jenner & Block: 鈥淚t has been six years since the First Step Act was signed, but despite Congress鈥檚 clear directives, the Bureau of Prisons continues to hold thousands of people in prison longer than the law allows. We should and do expect better鈥攊t鈥檚 past time for the BOP to ensure that those who have earned their release are able to return home to their families and communities according to the law Congress passed.鈥� -
Maryland Supreme CourtDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Roland Branch v. State of MarylandRoland Branch v. State of Maryland
This petition to the Supreme Court of Maryland asked the court to reconsider its adherence to Whren v. U.S., 517 U.S. 806 (1996), which declared that a traffic stop undertaken for pretextual reasons does not violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution so long as the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation occurred. The 老澳门开奖结果, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Maryland, filed an amicus brief in support of the defendant鈥檚 petition, in which the 老澳门开奖结果 argued that the court should take up the question of whether pretextual stops violate the Maryland Constitution. In September 2024, the Court denied the petition. -
North Carolina Supreme CourtDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
State v. WrightState v. Wright
This case in the North Carolina Supreme Court involves the question of whether the police violated the U.S. Constitution when they searched the defendant, Mr. Wright鈥檚, backpack even after he repeatedly said no to the search requests. The 老澳门开奖结果 alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of North Carolina filed an amicus brief arguing that the search was unconstitutional because Mr. Wright鈥檚 eventual 鈥渃onsent鈥� was the result of police coercion. Our brief urges the court to consider the totality of the circumstances that make one more susceptible to coercion, including race and poverty. -
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Disability Rights
Incarceration Should Not be a Death Sentence for Individuals Who Use OpioidsIncarceration Should Not be a Death Sentence for Individuals Who Use Opioids
New litigation centered on increasing access to substance-use disorder treatment in jails and prisons is helping to reduce mortality rates among incarcerated individuals.