The ACLU of North Carolina joined more than 30 leading civil rights organizations in filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to preserve federal judicial oversight in Jonathan R. v. Morrisey, a critical foster system reform case.
The amicus brief, or “friend of the court,” filed by the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) and represented by the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, highlights the essential role of federal courts in safeguarding the rights of children in state custody. The brief urges the court to overturn a lower court decision that would effectively close the courthouse doors to institutional reform cases for youth in foster systems.
“Youth in foster systems are entitled to the full protection of their constitutional and federal rights, and federal courts have both the duty and the authority to intervene when those rights are violated,” said Jean Strout, Senior Attorney at NCYL. “The lower court’s decision creates a ‘dead zone’ where youth are unable to challenge blatant constitutional and statutory violations simply because they occur within a complex state institution like the foster system.”
If upheld, the decision would set a dangerous precedent for children in foster systems and anyone else seeking to hold public institutions accountable. The coalition’s brief emphasizes that institutional reform litigation has historically secured essential protections for vulnerable populations—ranging from youth in the foster system to individuals affected by the juvenile and criminal legal systems, the education system, and the immigration system.
The filing references landmark Supreme Court cases, including Brown v. Board of Education, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Youngberg v. Romeo, that affirm the federal judiciary’s duty to enforce constitutional guarantees, especially when those rights are threatened by political pressures or institutional complexity.
The ACLU of North Carolina joins this broad coalition in calling on the Fourth Circuit to ensure that no state institution, no matter how complex, is beyond the reach of the Constitution.