Briggs v. Montgomery. In 2018, we filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Treatment Assessment Screening Center, Inc. for operating a diversion program that charges hundreds of dollars in fees to people accused of possessing small amounts of marijuana. In 2024, the Court approved a landmark $2.6 million settlement.
Litigation
Post Type Description
Challenging Debtors’ Prison Practices in Oklahoma
Graff v. Aberdeen Enterprizes II, Inc. On November 2, 2017, Civil Rights Corps, the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, and private counsel filed this putative class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma on behalf of individuals facing arrest because of their inability to pay their court fines.
Holding Prosecutors Accountable for Illegal Practices in Orleans Parish
Singleton v. Cannizzaro. Our lawsuit sought to end the unconstitutional deception and jailing of crime victims and witnesses by the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office. The lawsuit accused District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office of fabricating subpoenas to coerce crime victims and witnesses of crimes into submitting to private out-of-court interrogations; illegal attempts to coerce untruthful testimony; and office-wide practice of presenting fraudulent information in court to persuade judges to issue arrest warrants. In 2017, Civil Rights Corps, with our partners at the ACLU and the ACLU of Louisiana, filed a lawsuit in federal court against District Attorney Cannizzaro and ten assistant district attorneys.
Challenging the Money Bail System in Hamblen County
Torres v. Collins. We filed a major constitutional civil rights case alleging that the Hamblen County money bail system traps poor people in jail because they cannot afford to purchase their release. In early 2025, we won an important victory in federal court reforming many of the practices that we alleged to be unconstitutional.
Challenging the money bail system in Harris County
ODonnell v. Harris County. In 2016, a single mom of two girls who was arrested for driving on a suspended license sued Harris County, Texas on behalf of a class of thousands of people detained in the Harris County Jail who could not afford small sums of money for their release.
Dismantling Debtors’ Prisons in New Orleans
Cain v. City of New Orleans. In Louisiana, the judges who order and collect fines and fees from impoverished criminal defendants also depend on that money to fund their own budgets. In 2015, we filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of New Orleans and its local judges for jailing thousands of human beings each year just for being too poor to pay those fines and fees. The Court declared that the City’s judges violate the Constitution when they jail people for nonpayment without considering those people’s ability to pay.
Holding DC Police Accountable for Alleged Unconstitutional Search Warrant Practices
Between 2014 and 2015 we filed multiple lawsuits against the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, DC that alleged that MPD routinely obtains search warrants unsupported by probable cause and uses excessive force when executing these warrants, physically assaulting people, damaging their property, and endangering their lives.
Challenging pretrial detention in Houston & Harris County
Hernandez v. City of Houston & Lomas v. Harris County. In 2016, Civil Rights Corps filed two class-action lawsuits against the City of Houston and Harris County, Texas, for illegally detaining tens of thousands of people every year for extended time periods after arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
COVID-19: Fighting for Release & Better Conditions for People Detained in Prince George’s County Jail
Seth v. McDonough. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., many of us protected ourselves by isolating in our homes. For the millions of people trapped in jails and prisons across the country, this was not an option. Under normal conditions, jails are dangerous and unhealthy places. Overcrowding, unclean spaces, and inadequate access to healthcare make infectious disease spread like wildfire. In response to this public health emergency, Civil Rights Corps, in partnership with a host of other organizations across the country, filed emergency lawsuits nationwide.
Challenging Money Bail Practices in Nevada
Valdez-Jimenez v. Eighth Judicial District Court. Working closely with the Clark County Public Defender’s Office, Civil Rights Corps challenged Nevada’s use of money bail without consideration of a person’s ability to pay.