The Justice Report
The Justice Report is a journal dedicated to the advancement of civil rights by providing context and understanding for issues most prominently affecting our justice system today. This curated collection is an online database focused on poverty, historical civil rights benchmarks, staff and contributor insights, and the inner workings of our government leaders.
On Thursday, April 4, 2019, Equal Justice Under Law sent a letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton and other state officials regarding the Texas Failure to Appear/Failure to Pay Program, otherwise known as the OmniBase Services, promising civil litigation if changes are not made to the program that would make it more equitable.
Read MoreOn March 4, 2019, in the federal court in San Francisco, Equal Justice Under Law won its lawsuit against the bail schedule system.
Read MoreGood hard working people are being forced into a modern-day debtors’ prison through the suspension of their driver’s license and the vicious cycle that revolves between ever-increasing fines and the inability to get to work to pay them off.
Read MoreInjustice becomes the norm, people turn into numbers, and lives morph into statistics as the Prison Industrial Complex morphs into the Private Prison Industrial Complex.
Read More“We are not makers of history; we are made by history." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Read MoreSince 2015, the most vulnerable residents of Newark, Arkansas have fallen prey to a ruthless scheme that is evicting them from their homes. During a time where these families deserve a warm sanctuary in which to gather, many are facing eviction and mounting debt.
Read MoreIn Texas, the Omnibase program is exacerbating wealth-inequality and disproportionately hurting those experiencing poverty.
Read MoreAs of January 2018, over 1.4 million Texans had suspended licenses for failure to pay additional surcharges on a ticket for a driving infraction. Equal Justice Under Law has filed a lawsuit against Governor Greg Abbot and Texas’ Department of Public Safety to end this program once and for all and help affected Texans escape a cycle of poverty.
Read MoreBetween 2011 and 2016, Pennsylvania suspended the licenses of over 149,000 individuals as an additional punishment for non-driving-related drug convictions. Now, nine months after EJUL filed a class action lawsuit against the counterproductive practice, Pennsylvania has abolished it.
Read MorePrivate companies charge incarcerated individuals and their families up to $14 for a single minute on the phone — a devastating assault on the dignity and family ties of prisoners.
Read MoreCriminal hearings are supposed to be free and public, but in Dallas, Texas — where thousands of individuals remain locked up because they cannot afford bail — bail hearings are held in secrecy behind closed doors.
Read MoreOn October 3, 2018, Executive Director Phil Telfeyan appeared before a panel of judges from the Sixth Circuit United States Court of Appeals to argue that the district court properly enjoined Michigan’s Secretary of State from automatically suspending the licenses of Michigan residents who cannot afford to pay their court fines and fees.
Read MoreComplaints from Equal Justice Under Law have prompted investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice into racial discrimination in bail systems across the country. This month, EJUL formally requested that OJP address extreme pretrial racial disparities in Prince George’s County.
Read MoreIn response to complaints filed by Equal Justice Under Law against numerous counties across the nation, the Justice Department is now scrutinizing jurisdictions that disproportionately deny pretrial release to people of color, or more commonly, set bail at substantially higher amounts for people of color than for white defendants accused of the same or similar offenses.
Read MoreThe Marshall Project reporter Joseph Neff obtained data offering a rare glimpse into how private companies profit from the steady march of low-level offenders into Mississippi jails. Over 18 recent months, this industry took in $43 million, with 36% of revenues generated from small bonds in a state where the average income is under $22k. Corbett Bonding, the largest company and a major focus on this story, has a troubling cozy relationship with jails and courts in the state.
Read More
