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Whether punishing unhoused people who for sleeping in public when they have no access to shelter violates the Eighth Amendment鈥檚 prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

In this case, the Virginia Supreme Court is considering whether the U.S. Constitution and/or the Virginia Constitution require the exclusionary rule鈥攚hich protects people from unconstitutional searches and seizures鈥攖o apply in civil zoning enforcement actions. The Institute for Justice, along with The 吃瓜直播 of Virginia and the Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project and the State Supreme Court Initiative at the 吃瓜直播, submitted an amicus brief arguing that the exclusionary rule should apply in civil actions to protect Virginians鈥� search and seizure rights.

In this case, the Iowa Supreme Court considered when rap lyrics are admissible evidence in criminal trials. The State sought further review of a court of appeals decision which reversed the defendant's criminal convictions and remanded for a trial based on errors in the admission of evidence. Together with the Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project and the 吃瓜直播 of Iowa, the State Supreme Court Initiative filed an amicus brief arguing that such evidence should usually be excluded because it is rarely probative and yet creates a high risk of prejudice to the defendant. The Iowa Supreme Court ultimately reversed the Court of Appeals decision, but for narrow and fact-specific reasons. And the Iowa Supreme Court acknowledged that, in cases not involving the peculiar facts of Canady's case, other courts had expressed concerns about the risk that a jury will unfairly use rap lyrics and music as evidence of a defendant's guilt.