Equal Justice Under Law

In 2022, Equal Justice Under Law made significant accomplishments on behalf of people living in poverty. We won summary judgment in our challenge to sacramento county's use of money bail. The court held that the use of the bail schedule was unconstitutional because it resulted in people remaining in jail for no other reason than their inability to afford bail. We also filed a lawsuit challenging the extortion of individuals through pretrial and probation fees. Vanderburgh county, Indiana, and the for-profit corporation abk charge exorbitant fees for drug and alcohol testing and electronic monitoring, creating a modern-day debtors' prison by jailing those who cannot afford to pay. The county pays nothing to abk for its services; abk profits by charging fees to every person it supervises. Abk then sends a portion of its profits back to the county to pay for probation staff and court expenses. The resulting debtors' prison criminalizes poverty and damages public safety, all for the financial gain of the county and a private corporation. Also, a new Law in Missouri makes it a crime to sleep or camp on public land. We are challenging this Law, which puts hundreds of people experiencing homelessness at risk of unjust criminal prosecution. Instead of providing much-needed housing to those who are struggling, the state of Missouri is punishing people for their poverty. Criminalization is not compassion; it is cruelty. Not only is it cruel - it's unconstitutional.