Constitutional Remedies

CCLA works to ensure that when rights are violated, there are meaningful remedies for those impacted.

Within the criminal justice system, questions frequently arise about what should happen during a trial when a piece of evidence was obtained illegally, or the investigative or pretrial process violated an individual’s rights. When should illegally-obtained evidence be excluded from trial? If a person was illegally detained by police, unlawfully strip searched, or denied access to a lawyer, should the justice system still be able to move forward with the charges?

Guarantees of rights are illusory if individuals cannot access meaningful remedies. In the case of repeated, systemic rights violations, remedies should contemplate not only the harm done to individuals and communities in the past, but also how to assist in stopping ongoing harms, and preventing future rights violations. Ensuring there are meaningful remedies for serious rights violations is an essential part of making constitutional rights real for both accused persons as well as the many others who interact with the criminal justice system but are never charged with a crime.