MacArthur Justice Center

On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. This pivotal legislation states that no federal, state, or local government could in any way impede people from voting because of their race or ethnicity. 59 years later, we are still fighting to protect the freedom to vote —especially for people of color. From restoring voting rights to the disenfranchised to protecting access to the ballot booth to safeguarding vote-by-mail, the MacArthur Justice Center has fought against deliberate barriers to voting. We are committed to upholding the Voting Rights Act's vision and ensuring everyone can cast ballots freely, safely, and equally.

JOIN US: Register now to reserve a ticket for Realizing Release: Parole Advocacy and the Fight for Decarceration, a two-day convening hosted by the National Parole Transformation Project at the MacArthur Justice Center. This event will take place September 14-15. Register now at bit.ly/realizingrelease

The MacArthur Justice Center is looking for a Communications Intern who is eager to learn and support our Communications Team. The intern will learn how MJC leverages strategic communications to reach its litigation, advocacy, and change goals.   This is a 10-12-week paid internship opportunity for candidates living in Washington, DC, Chicago, IL, or St. Louis, MO. Learn more and apply at https://lnkd.in/evTwcSgk

BREAKING: The Cook County Board is considering a $7.25 million settlement for Charles Johnson, a member of the "Marquette Park Four", who was wrongly imprisoned for nearly three decades. Alexa Van Brunt, an MJC attorney for Charles Johnson, welcomes the settlement and acknowledges there is still more work to be done to prevent future injustices like this one. Learn more about the settlement in the Chicago Tribune https://lnkd.in/gjXgHG6t

The MacArthur Justice Center seeks a dedicated Accounting & HR Assistant to support our Finance and Human resources team. The ideal candidate will work with great attention to detail and a high standard of discretion and confidentiality. Learn more and apply at https://lnkd.in/evTwcSgk

The Chicago Police Department is under a Court Consent Decree that requires them to give everyone in police custody prompt access to a phone and an attorney. But our expert recently found that 99% of people in custody never consult with a lawyer, and 41% never make a phone call. The MacArthur Justice Center is teaming up with the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project at the University of Chicago Law School and First Defense Legal Aid to monitor violations of the Consent Decree. No one should be denied a phone call or access to a lawyer while in Chicago Police custody. If you were denied an attorney or phone call in custody, please let us know here: bit.ly/access-attorney Share this information and know your rights.

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) has a long history of depriving people in custody access to an attorney and to a phone to contact their counsel or loved ones. Representing a coalition of organizations, we filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago challenging this practice of incommunicado detention. As a result, CPD is now under a Court Consent Decree that requires them to give everyone in police custody prompt access to a phone and to an attorney. But the decree is not yet living up to its promise. Our expert recently found that 99% of people in custody never consult with a lawyer and 41% never make a phone call. The Consent Decree Monitoring Team—the MacArthur Justice Center, Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project at the University of Chicago Law School, and First Defense Legal Aid—is monitoring the Consent Decree and pushing to ensure the CPD does not violate the rights of people in custody. Learn more about the case that started it all here: https://lnkd.in/e865aKP9

We are excited to introduce the 2024 Summer Law Interns! Meet the brilliant legal minds joining our Washington, D.C. Office supporting the Supreme Court & Appellate Program for the next few months. Learn why they are excited to intern with MJC.    Andrew E. is a J.D. candidate at the University of Michigan Law School. Before coming to law school, Andrew received his B.A. from Vassar College and his MPhil from the University of Cambridge. Andrew has worked with the Immigrant Worker Project as a paralegal and social advocate and the Center for Policing Equity as a public policy specialist. He plans to use his legal education to continue doing civil rights appellate work.    Grace Vedock is a rising 3L at the University of Michigan Law School. She has worked for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the ACLU of Kansas. During her 2L year, Grace started a pro bono project to help minors obtain judicial bypass and access abortion care. She is a Book Review Editor for the Michigan Law Review, and her recently published Note was awarded the Allan Lewis Kauffman Memorial Award for the best student contribution to the Law Review for the 2023–24 school year.     Marian Gardner is a rising 3L at Harvard Law School, where she is a member of Harvard Defenders, the only legal service organization in Massachusetts that represents low-income defendants for free in criminal show-cause hearings. This past year, she was the co-Director of the organization's criminal record sealing program. Prior to law school, Marian was a paralegal in the Civil Justice Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services for three years.    Nick Wagner graduated from the Ohio State University in 2021 before starting law school. He attends NYU Law, where he is an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow and has worked with the Prison Teaching Project, the Reproductive Justice Clinic, and the Jailhouse Lawyers Initiative.     Nicole Happ is a rising 3L at American University's Washington College of Law. Before law school, she worked as a community organizer, social worker, and youth director. Nicole is interested in civil rights, police accountability, prisoners' rights, poverty law, and constitutional law.

We are eager to introduce the 2024 Summer Law Interns! Meet the brilliant legal minds joining our Louisiana Office for the next few months and learn why they are excited to intern with MJC.    Amelia Steinbach is a rising 2L at Harvard from Durham, NC. She graduated from Duke in 2021 with a degree in Political Science and Gender Studies. She then took two gap years before starting at HLS, during which she received a Master's in Gender, Politics, and International Relations from University College Dublin and worked as a Legislative Fellow on Capitol Hill.    Carter Farnsworth earned his undergraduate degree from Boston University, and just finished his first year at the University of Virginia School of Law. Carter is interested in prisoners' rights work, capital defense, public defense, and restorative justice.    Rita W. Wang is a rising 2L and Derrick Bell Scholar at NYU Law who wants to become a civil rights impact litigator in the South. Before law school, they were the inaugural intake associate at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. They graduated with a B.A. with distinction from Yale College as a double major in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies and Philosophy, where they were the first woman of color to serve as Speaker of the Yale Political Union. 

We at MJC are thrilled to introduce the 2024 Summer Law Interns! Meet the brilliant legal minds joining our Illinois Office for the next few months and learn why they are excited to intern with MJC. Meera Santhanam is a rising 2L at Harvard Law School interested in the intersection of criminal justice and civil rights. As an aspiring public defender and civil rights lawyer, she hopes to pursue both direct services and impact litigation to help dismantle the racial and economic inequalities in the U.S. criminal legal system. Prior to law school, Meera worked as a paralegal in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice helping prosecute police misconduct, and has previously interned at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and the Exoneration Project. Vikekae Kim is a proud Chicagoan who grew up on the northwest side and attended Chicago Public Schools. She went to Harvard College and is now a rising 2L at Yale Law School. She's passionate about civil rights issues focused on police violence and surveillance. After graduating law school, she plans to be back in Chicago, lawyering and organizing alongside movements centered on decarceration and building alternative systems for community safety.    Yurou Li is a rising senior at the University of Chicago studying Law, Letters, and Society and Data Science. Her focus areas include parole reformation, prisoner civil rights, and data privacy-related issues. This is her second summer at MJC with the National Parole Transformation Project team!