Areas of Focus
Bail
Every night, there are 450,000 human beings awaiting trial in U.S. jail cells solely because they cannot make a payment. We challenge wealth-based detention and promote anti-carceral alternatives to human caging that are less restrictive, more effective, and grounded in holistic community engagement and empowerment. Our work has freed tens of thousands of people from jail cells, helped to elevate the issue of money bail into the popular consciousness, and is setting precedent that will forever change the bail-setting process in the United States.
Arizona State-wide: Bail
Every night in this country, hundreds of thousands of people languish in jail for that very reason, because they cannot pay money bail. Along with partners around the country, we have challenged this unconstitutional system through federal lawsuits
Challenging Money Bail Practices in Calhoun
Walker v. City of Calhoun. In 2015, Civil Rights Corps and the Southern Center for Human Rights filed a crucial lawsuit that alleged that the money bail system in Calhoun, Georgia was unconstitutional.
Challenging Money Bail Practices in Dallas
In January 2018, Civil Rights Corps sued Dallas County, challenging their policy of detaining impoverished individuals charged with misdemeanors and felonies for days and weeks without ever seeing a judge.
PRETRIAL Detention
Every night, there are 450,000 human beings awaiting trial in U.S. jail cells solely because they cannot make a payment. We challenge wealth-based detention and promote anti-carceral alternatives to human caging that are less restrictive, more effective, and grounded in holistic community engagement and empowerment. Our work has freed tens of thousands of people from jail cells, helped to elevate the issue of money bail into the popular consciousness, and is setting precedent that will forever change the bail-setting process in the United States.
Striking Down Unaffordable Money Bail & Pretrial Detention for Lower-Level Crimes in California
In re Kowalczyk. In May 2026, the California Supreme Court issued one of the most liberatory decisions in U.S. history, unanimously holding that jailing a person pretrial simply because they can’t pay money bail is unconstitutional. The California Supreme Court also held that the vast majority of people accused of crimes must be released prior to trial under the California Constitution and reaffirmed rigorous procedural protections that the government must follow if it seeks to detain a presumed innocent person.
California Writ Project
Since the landmark Humphrey ruling, our California habeas project has expanded: providing training and partnering, so far, with 17 county public defender and appointed defender offices spanning all 6 of California’s intermediate appellate districts and the California Supreme Court.
Challenging the Riverside County Bail Process
Sandoval v. Riverside. In May 2025, individuals detained in Riverside County jails filed a class action lawsuit challenging Riverside County’s cash-based jailing of individuals between their arrest and first court hearing, as well as Riverside County’s unnecessary delay of that hearing. Rabbi David Lazar and Reverend Jane Quandt chose to join this lawsuit because they view cash-based jailing as unconscionable. The lawsuit was filed against Riverside County Superior Court, Riverside County, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Bail
Every night, there are 450,000 human beings awaiting trial in U.S. jail cells solely because they cannot make a payment. We challenge wealth-based detention and promote anti-carceral alternatives to human caging that are less restrictive, more effective, and grounded in holistic community engagement and empowerment. Our work has freed tens of thousands of people from jail cells, helped to elevate the issue of money bail into the popular consciousness, and is setting precedent that will forever change the bail-setting process in the United States.
Arizona State-wide: Bail
Every night in this country, hundreds of thousands of people languish in jail for that very reason, because they cannot pay money bail. Along with partners around the country, we have challenged this unconstitutional system through federal lawsuits
Challenging Money Bail Practices in Calhoun
Walker v. City of Calhoun. In 2015, Civil Rights Corps and the Southern Center for Human Rights filed a crucial lawsuit that alleged that the money bail system in Calhoun, Georgia was unconstitutional.
Challenging Money Bail Practices in Dallas
In January 2018, Civil Rights Corps sued Dallas County, challenging their policy of detaining impoverished individuals charged with misdemeanors and felonies for days and weeks without ever seeing a judge.
PRETRIAL Detention
Every night, there are 450,000 human beings awaiting trial in U.S. jail cells solely because they cannot make a payment. We challenge wealth-based detention and promote anti-carceral alternatives to human caging that are less restrictive, more effective, and grounded in holistic community engagement and empowerment. Our work has freed tens of thousands of people from jail cells, helped to elevate the issue of money bail into the popular consciousness, and is setting precedent that will forever change the bail-setting process in the United States.
Striking Down Unaffordable Money Bail & Pretrial Detention for Lower-Level Crimes in California
In re Kowalczyk. In May 2026, the California Supreme Court issued one of the most liberatory decisions in U.S. history, unanimously holding that jailing a person pretrial simply because they can’t pay money bail is unconstitutional. The California Supreme Court also held that the vast majority of people accused of crimes must be released prior to trial under the California Constitution and reaffirmed rigorous procedural protections that the government must follow if it seeks to detain a presumed innocent person.
California Writ Project
Since the landmark Humphrey ruling, our California habeas project has expanded: providing training and partnering, so far, with 17 county public defender and appointed defender offices spanning all 6 of California’s intermediate appellate districts and the California Supreme Court.
Challenging the Riverside County Bail Process
Sandoval v. Riverside. In May 2025, individuals detained in Riverside County jails filed a class action lawsuit challenging Riverside County’s cash-based jailing of individuals between their arrest and first court hearing, as well as Riverside County’s unnecessary delay of that hearing. Rabbi David Lazar and Reverend Jane Quandt chose to join this lawsuit because they view cash-based jailing as unconscionable. The lawsuit was filed against Riverside County Superior Court, Riverside County, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Projects and Coalitions
We collaborate with aligned organizations and grassroots movements to develop strategies unique to issue areas and communities. These microsites demonstrate the breadth of our efforts to create sustainable change.
A coalition of CRC experts, law school professors, and other community members seeking to hold prosecutors accountable for misconduct in New York.