Making the Justice System Work for All
Our lawyers are committed to taking on criminal justice matters, from defending the innocent and upholding due process, to protecting the civil rights of those who are incarcerated or on parole. In pursuing this work, we partner with public interest organizations at the forefront of addressing excessive sentencing and inhumane conditions, and supporting vulnerable clients navigating the criminal justice system.
In one recent victory, a Latham team, alongside the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, secured the release of an elderly man who was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for a marijuana-related offense in 2007. Our team argued that his sentence was significantly greater than what it would have been under current law. The court agreed, resulting in his release to his family and allowing him to meet his grandchildren in person for the first time.
On behalf of a class of Washington, D.C. residents with disabilities, Latham, alongside the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project, the ACLU of DC, and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, is pursuing a challenge to the District of Columbia’s post-conviction supervision system for failing to provide accommodations as required by federal law. The case is led by a man on parole with post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, and mobility limitations from prior physical injuries that make it difficult for him to comply with the terms of his parole. However, with appropriate accommodations, he would be able to comply. The US District Court for the District of Columbia granted a preliminary injunction requiring the government to provide accommodations to the named plaintiffs and certified the case as a class action. Later, the District Court issued summary judgment on liability to the class.
"Pro bono assistance can bring about family reunification and provide a meaningful difference to the lives of current or previously incarcerated individuals."
Christopher Frey, partner, San Francisco
Together with Families Against Mandatory Minimums, our lawyers also secured the compassionate release of a client who had been incarcerated at FCI Dublin, a minimum-security US federal prison that was shut down following a finding of years-long, systemic staff sexual abuse and retaliation against Dublin’s female inmates and the Bureau of Prisons’ finding of dangerous prison conditions. While incarcerated at Dublin, our client suffered horrific abuse by the prison’s warden and faced retaliation for reporting the warden’s misconduct. Our team’s work to diligently develop and bring her case ultimately resulted in her release and reunion with her family and daughter in Texas.
In the UK, we take on death penalty review work with Amicus, a London-based nonprofit that provides support for capital defense in the US. Lawyers from Latham offices across our global network assist Amicus by identifying mitigating factors and summarizing key issues surrounding the evidence offered in death penalty cases. We have also advised organizations such as APPEAL (the Centre for Criminal Appeals), a UK charity law practice dedicated to combating miscarriages of justice and advocating for reform.
The firm’s work also includes pro bono support for incarcerated mothers. Over the last three years, we’ve partnered with UK charity Not Beyond Redemption to staff a legal clinic at HMP Bronzefield — Europe’s largest women’s prison — to help incarcerated mothers reestablish and preserve contact with their children during their imprisonment and after release. Similarly, working with Latham’s Equal Justice Works Fellow, lawyers from our New York office recently began engaging with Volunteers of Legal Service’s Incarcerated Mothers Law Project where they travel to correctional facilities to conduct client intake and provide legal advice to detained parents about their family law rights and ongoing cases.