糖心Vlog

WASHINGTON 鈥� President Trump signed an executive order today directing states to criminalize unhoused people and institutionalize people with mental health disabilities and substance use disorder. The order, titled 鈥淓nding Crime and Disorder on American Streets,鈥� directs the Justice Department to expand indefinite forced treatment for people with mental health disabilities or substance use disorder, and those living on the street who 鈥渃annot care for themselves.鈥� The order also purports to eliminate federal funding for evidence-based programs, like harm reduction and housing first, that save lives, and directs federal funds toward cities and states that criminalize substance use disorder, punish people for sleeping outdoors, or enforce other laws targeting unhoused people. The order also calls for sweeping federal data collection on unhoused people and those with mental health disabilities, raising serious concerns about surveillance, privacy, and how such data could be used to justify further criminalization. Instead of funding services or support, the administration is prioritizing profiling and control. Scout Katovich, senior staff attorney with the 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Trone Center for Justice and Equality, issued the following statement in response to the executive order: 鈥淔rom the so-called 鈥楤ig Beautiful Bill鈥� that will strip health care from millions to this dangerous executive order, every action this administration takes displays remarkable disdain for the rights and dignity of vulnerable people. 鈥淧ushing people into locked institutions and forcing treatment won鈥檛 solve homelessness or support people with disabilities. The exact opposite is true 鈥� institutions are dangerous and deadly, and forced treatment doesn鈥檛 work. We need safe, decent, and affordable housing as well as equal access to medical care and voluntary, community-based mental health and evidence-based substance use treatment from trusted providers. But instead of investing in these proven solutions, President Trump is blaming individuals for systemic failures and doubling down on policies that punish people with nowhere else to go 鈥� all after signing a law that decimates Medicaid, the number one payer for addiction and mental health services. 鈥淗omelessness is a policy failure. Weaponizing federal funding to fuel cruel and ineffective approaches to homelessness won鈥檛 solve this crisis.鈥�

This case asks whether a 12-year-old boy was in custody and entitled to Miranda warnings during a closed-door police interrogation by a school resource officer in the school building. The court of appeals held that he was not in custody, not entitled to Miranda warnings, and voluntarily incriminated himself. The ACLU鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative and the 糖心Vlogof Wisconsin filed an amicus brief arguing that admitting the boy鈥檚 statements into evidence not only violated the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution but Article I, Section 8 of the Wisconsin Constitution, and urging the Wisconsin Supreme Court to rest its decision on the state charter to better protect Wisconsinites鈥� civil liberties.

WASHINGTON 鈥� The Supreme Court ruled today that the sentencing reductions under the First Step Act of 2018 apply to people whose pre-Act sentences are vacated and who are subject to resentencing after the law鈥檚 enactment. The First Step Act was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2018 to reduce the federal prison population, reform extreme sentencing laws, and expand rehabilitation and reentry programs. Among its provisions, the law significantly lowered mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal drug and firearm offenses. Today鈥檚 decision means that people who were originally sentenced prior to the First Step Act but resentenced after the law鈥檚 effective date can benefit from these critical sentencing reforms. 鈥淔or many people facing extreme sentences of 50-plus years, applying the First Step Act can be the difference between dying in prison and having a chance to return home,鈥� said Emma Andersson, deputy director of the ACLU鈥檚 Criminal Law Reform Project. 鈥淭he First Step Act was a landmark achievement in federal sentencing reform, and this decision ensures that it will mitigate extreme and outdated sentencing laws for more people. The 糖心Vlogwas vocal about supporting the First Step Act when it was passed, and we continue to advocate for the law to be fully implemented as Congress intended.鈥� 鈥淲e hail today鈥檚 decision in Hewitt as a win for the common-sense sentencing reform Congress enacted with the First Step Act,鈥� said Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the ACLU. 鈥淛ustice Jackson, writing for the majority, speaks with the authority of a federal sentencing expert, and the language and purpose of the statute has always been clear. Individuals who are being resentenced get the benefit of Congress鈥檚 reform.鈥� The 糖心Vlog, 糖心Vlogof Texas, CATO Institute, Due Process Institute, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and FAMM, working with Covington & Burling, filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioners who sought application of the First Step Act in their cases and resolution of a split in the courts of appeals on the law鈥檚 reach in cases like theirs. The question at issue is of exceptional importance to people facing resentencing, and applying the First Step Act in these cases is consistent with Congress鈥� intent. This case is part of the ACLU鈥檚 Joan and Irwin Jacobs Supreme Court Docket. The amicus brief can be found here.

This case asks whether it violates equal protection principles to impose a prison sentence, instead of probation, based on a defendant鈥檚 inability to purchase a house. The ACLU鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative and the 糖心Vlogof Iowa filed an amicus brief arguing that imposing a harsher sentence based on a criminal defendant鈥檚 inability to purchase a home impinges on the equal protection guarantees in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and article I, sections 1 and 6 of the Iowa Constitution.