Appellate Section - Access to Justice
Briefs and Opinions
- City of Grants Pass v. Johnson (S. Ct.) - Amicus
- Laws prohibiting sleeping on public property violate the Eighth Amendment if they are applied in a manner that prevents an individual without available shelter from residing in the jurisdiction
- Robinson requires a particularized inquiry into the circumstances of the individuals to whom the City’s ordinances are applied
Document Date Supreme Court Decision, available at 2024 WL 3208072 06/28/24 Brief as Amicus 03/04/24
- Daves v. Dallas County (en banc) (5th Cir.) – Amicus
- To remedy a hybrid Fourteenth Amendment violation arising from the automatic imposition of secured money bail, courts must consider and determine that alternative means are inadequate to meet the State’s interests
Document Date Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 22 F.4th 522 01/07/22 Brief as Amicus 04/05/21
- United States v. County of Lauderdale, et al. (5th Cir.) – Appellant
- Appellees conflate the question of whose conduct may comprise a pattern or practice under 34 U.S.C. 12601 with who may be sued for that pattern or practice
- The judges are being sued in their official capacities as the officials responsible for administering the Lauderdale county youth court, not in their adjudicative roles
- Applying Title VII’s co-employment doctrine in Section 12601 litigation could result in unnecessary complexity and nationwide inconsistency
- Section 12601 of Title 34 applies to state-court judges responsible for the administration of juvenile justice
- The youth court judges are not absolutely immune from this action
- This court should reinstate the claims against Lauderdale County
Document Date Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 914 F.3d 960 02/01/19 Supplemental Letter Brief 11/19/18 Reply Brief 05/17/18 Brief as Appellant 02/20/18
- Walker v. City of Calhoun (11th Cir.) – Amicus
- A bail practice violates the Fourteenth Amendment if, without consideration of ability to pay and alternative methods of assuring appearance at trial, it results in the pretrial detention of indigent defendants
Document Date Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 901 F.3d 1245 08/22/18 Brief as Amicus 09/13/17 Court of Appeals Decision, available at 682 F. App'x 721 03/09/17 Brief as Amicus 08/18/16
- Tucker v. Idaho (Idaho) – Amicus
- Indigent criminal defendants may bring civil, pre-conviction claims for prospective, injunctive relief based on constructive denial of counsel, and that such claims provide an important tool for remedying systemic Gideon violations
Document Date State Court Decision, reported at 394 P.3d 54 04/28/17 Brief as Amicus 05/11/16
- Kuren, et al. v. Luzerne County (Pa.) – Amicus
- A civil claim for constructive denial of counsel under the Sixth Amendment is cognizable
Document Date State Court Decision, reported at 146 A.3d 715 09/28/16 Brief as Amicus 09/10/15
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