The records of the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) span the years 1945-2015, with the bulk of the materials dating from the 1970s to 2015. The materials document litigation activities of the CJA against international instances of human rights violations.
There are four main series. The Case Files series — the largest in the collection — is divided into subseries for individual cases litigated by the CJA. These files typically contain court records, drafts of documents, exhibits, discovery materials, clippings, and court, trial, and deposition transcripts. Files also include research related to individual cases, including country-specific research and evidentiary materials. Case files concern human rights crimes that occurred in the following countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, China, El Salvador, Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Liberia, Somalia, and Timor-Leste. Attorneys who frequently appear in case files include: Matthew Eisenbrandt, Shawn Roberts, and Joshua Sondheimer.
The Amicus Briefs series contains amicus curiae briefs written or signed by the CJA to support other human rights cases. Journal and newspaper clippings covering the CJA's practice are contained within the Press Clippings series. The Research series primarily comprises regional background information supporting CJA's legal arguments against human rights crimes across the globe. Finally, a small administrative files series contains a few items of correspondence, annual reports, newsletters, and promotional materials.
Most series include associated audiovisual recordings and electronic files; formats include 45 videocassettes, 24 CDs, and a handful of DVDs, audiocassette tapes, and 3.5" floppy disks. The audiovisual materials primarily include court and deposition recordings and transcripts, news coverage, and short documentaries. Electronic files typically include transcripts, memo drafts, and other documents.
Materials are chiefly in English, but some materials are in Spanish or French; there are many documents in the Somali language in the Yousuf v. Samantar case and in the Somalia Investigation Archive (Research series).
Materials in this collection may include firsthand accounts, descriptions, and images of torture and other violent acts.
