Court Cases

On February 2, 2026, a group of incarcerated Arkansans filed a class action lawsuit against the Arkansas Post-Prison Transfer Board (PPTB) and the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) challenging parole revocation practices that routinely deny people their constitutional right to due process. Parole revocation can result in someone being sent back to prison for months or even years. The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that when the state seeks to revoke parole, individuals are entitled to basic procedural protections — including the right to a fair hearing, the ability to present evidence and witnesses, and, in some circumstances, the right to legal counsel. Despite these longstanding legal requirements, Arkansas’s parole revocation system systematically fails to provide these protections. The lawsuit alleges that people on parole are frequently pressured or coerced into waiving their right to a revocation hearing, denied access to attorneys, and blocked from presenting evidence or witnesses in their defense. For people who do proceed to hearings, the process is often rushed, opaque, and fundamentally unfair. Individuals with disabilities are also regularly denied reasonable accommodations, preventing them from meaningfully participating in proceedings that determine their freedom. As a result of these unconstitutional practices, thousands of Arkansans have been returned to prison through a system that prioritizes speed and punishment over fairness and accountability — fueling mass incarceration while undermining public safety. The plaintiffs seek to stop these unlawful practices and to ensure that parole revocation proceedings in Arkansas comply with the Constitution. The case aims to bring transparency, fairness, and due process to a system that has operated with little oversight for far too long. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Arkansas, the MacArthur Justice Center, and Latham & Watkins.

In 2016 the ACLU of Arkansas, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Morrison and Foerster law firm filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Sherwood, Pulaski County and Judge Milas Hale III, who presides over the Sherwood court where “hot check” cases are heard.

The ACLU, Legal Aid of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen Law School Legal Clinic challenged a state law that makes it a crime to fail to pay rent to a landlord — the only law of its kind in the country.