This Week in Civil Liberties (03/29/2013)

On August 4, voters in Kansas and Missouri voted down ballot measures that would have opened the door for attacks on our democracy. In both states, politicians referred measures to the ballot to deceive voters and attempt to diminish the power of the people. But the people struck those efforts down by wide margins: 61% voted No in Kansas, and a striking 80% voted No in Missouri. The Kansas measure would have dismantled the state’s impartial Supreme Court and made it subject to partisan elections, while a measure in Missouri would have made it next to impossible for voters to use the citizen-initiated ballot process to protect their rights with citizen-led ballot initiatives. As the largest institutional player in the ballot measure space, the ACLU, ACLU Foundation, and our affiliates led coalitions that defeated these efforts, organizing hundreds of volunteers to go door to door to talk to their neighbors and spending millions of dollars to educate voters – proving once again that civil liberties voters are a force to be reckoned with. And the results in Kansas and Missouri are bellwethers for what is to come this November, when voters will decide critical down-ballot races and ballot measures affecting abortion access, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, fair courts, and democracy protections. Protecting Kansas’s Supreme Court – and Reproductive Freedom, LGBTQ+ Rights, and More Civil Liberties for Future Generations Four years ago, Kansans rejected a ballot measure designed to ban abortion. This election, they again rejected an extremist agenda – this time to dismantle what abortion opponents see as their only obstacle to banning abortion in the state: the Kansas Supreme Court. Kansas’s Supreme Court has upheld the state’s constitution and in so doing protected Kansans’ reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, voting rights, and other civil liberties. It is no surprise that politicians set their sights on changing it in order to advance their ideological agenda. In fact, immediately after the anti-abortion measure was defeated in 2022, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said that politicians needed to “slowly and quietly” replace the Kansas Supreme Court so that they could impose their agenda over the will of the people. To do this, they proposed a ballot measure that would replace Kansas’s impartial judicial selection process with partisan elections, which would have turned their justices into politicians for sale. They put it on the ballot in August because they hoped a lower turnout election would help them win. But on Tuesday, Kansas voters resoundingly defeated the measure, protecting civil liberties for future generations. Kansas United for Impartial Courts (KUIC) – a broad coalition of civil liberties, health care, labor, and education groups chaired by the ACLU of Kansas’s executive director, Micah Kubic – played a critical role in educating voters on the stakes. Stopping a Blatant Power Grab and Defending Ballot Referendums in Missouri Missourians passed a citizen-led ballot measure in 2024 which restored and protected abortion rights in the state constitution. In response to this and other citizen-led efforts, the legislature put a measure on the August 2026 primary ballot that attempted to make similar citizen-led efforts virtually impossible to pass. This was a transparent effort to keep Missourians from making direct change in their state – and voters saw right through it, overwhelmingly defeating the measure. The ACLU of Missouri was a key player in the coalition, Protect Majority Rule Missouri, to stop this measure from diluting the power of the people. The fight for our civil liberties is far from over in Missouri. To protect abortion access, voters will need to turn out again in November. These same anti-abortion politicians have placed a second measure on the general election ballot – seeking to subvert the will of the people by overturning the 2024 Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment and enshrining a near total abortion ban in the state’s constitution. The measure would also ban gender affirming care for minors. Already, the ACLU, ACLU Foundation, and the ACLU of Missouri are mobilizing to ensure Missourians are ready to turn out and Stop the Ban. How the ACLU and its Partners Took on These Threats – and Won In both Kansas and Missouri, the ACLU and ACLU Foundation provided critical support that helped these campaigns reach and turn out voters. ACLU affiliates and the coalitions they led trained hundreds of volunteers, showing the power of grassroots organizing to energize the electorate. Throughout its campaign, hundreds of volunteers for Kansas United for Impartial Courts held 120 voter events, knocked 60,000 doors, and made 215,000 calls to speak directly with voters about the stakes. These efforts reached every corner of the state, from Kansas city to rural west Kansas. Thousands of grassroots donors contributed to the campaign and raised its momentum. Together, the ACLU, ACLU Foundation, and ACLU of Kansas were the largest financial supporters of the No campaign, investing a combined $4.575 million to support a robust voter education program. The result is clear: from Kansas City to rural west Kansas, voters turned out and rejected the latest extremist power grab. And in Missouri, the ACLU of Missouri supported Protect Majority Rule with significant contributions and a strong organizing program, reaching thousands of voters in the process. What’s Coming Next The results in Kansas and Missouri signal that when our democracy is under attack, voters will show up to protect it. But the fight is not over. That is why the ACLU and ACLU Voter Education Fund are focusing their largest ever midterm electoral program – $25.5 million – where others are not: helping voters understand the stakes in down-ballot races that could determine whether constitutional rights are protected in practice. Ballot measure priorities for the fall include a citizen-initiated Montana ballot measure that would protect Montana's nonpartisan judicial elections. Like in Kansas, Montana politicians disagree with the state Supreme Court’s recent rulings on abortion rights, LGBTQ+ freedom, and other civil liberties – and they’ve repeatedly attempted to tilt the court in favor of their extreme agenda. Missourians will fight to protect the recent win voters secured when they approved constitutional protections for abortion in 2024. And Virginians will vote on a measure to protect reproductive freedom. At the same time, the ACLU, ACLU Voter Education Fund, and our affiliates will work to ensure voters know candidates’ positions on abortion and voting rights so they can make informed decisions at the ballot box in key state supreme court races in Michigan, Montana, and North Carolina; state legislative races in Georgia, Michigan, Montana, and North Carolina; and secretary of state races in Arizona and Nevada. In a time of unprecedented attacks on our democracy, the ACLU is committed to using every tool we have to make sure that the people are heard, that our will is respected, and that our civil liberties thrive.

A Texas statute requires “the state” to turn over certain information to criminal defendants as part of discovery. In 2024, in a case called State v. Heath, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals interpreted the term “state” broadly to mean the entire state of Texas, including prosectors and law enforcement. Now, just two years after Heath, the State Prosecuting Attorney is asking the Court to revisit its decision and adopt a narrower interpretation of “the state”—one that would limit prosecutors’ statutory disclosure obligations. The outcome of this case, which centers on whether a recorded jail call should have been disclosed, has significant implications for the rights of criminal defendants throughout Texas to discover evidence relevant to their cases.

WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union last night honored Bruce Springsteen and Colin Kaepernick with the Ralph Ellison Award for Defenders of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Arts, Business, Science, and Sports. This new award pays tribute to Ralph Ellison’s profound contributions to American thought and culture and underscores the ACLU’s recognition that the defense of our rights takes many forms, disciplines, platforms, and generations. The awards were bestowed alongside other esteemed leaders in civil rights, academia, and free speech, who were selected for the organization’s prestigious biennial awards recognizing lifetime achievements and contributions to civil rights and civil liberties. The award ceremony, held in Washington, D.C., was hosted by Laverne Cox, an actress, New York Times best-selling author and advocate for transgender rights. “Bruce Springsteen and Colin Kaepernick are the leaders our country so desperately needs in this moment. They are not only great talent, but use their platforms to educate and advocate because they recognize that the work on the stage and on the field is inseparable from the fight for liberty and justice,” said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director. Bruce Springsteen is a singer, songwriter, and musician who has won 20 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and a Special Tony Award. In a rare move, earlier this year Springsteen authorized the ACLU's use of “Born in the U.S.A.” for an ad campaign highlighting what was at stake in the Supreme Court case involving birthright citizenship, Trump v. Barbara. “If I can, I will accept this award tonight for the folks who really deserve it. It's the citizens from all walks of life in Minnesota, Portland, Los Angeles, Newark — and our other under siege cities who this year put their beliefs and their lives on the line in defense of the rights of their neighbors and in service of our American ideals,” said Springsteen, who performed “Streets of Minneapolis” after accepting the award. Colin Kaepernick is a former NFL player who in 2016 ignited a global movement against racial injustice and police brutality, sacrificing his professional career to defend civil rights. Beyond his protest, he founded the Know Your Rights Camp, an initiative that empowers youth through legal education and self-advocacy. “When we look back at this moment, and the next generation is talking about the work that we did, let's make sure they don't say we recognized injustice. Let them say we refused to normalize it. Let them not say that we admired courage, let them say that we actively practiced it. Let them not say that we inherited history, let them say we changed the direction of it,” said Kaepernick. “Tonight we recognize remarkable leaders whose courage and commitment have strengthened this movement. The honorees have inspired us and sustained us — often at great personal risk — and always with great love for their neighbors and their nation,” said Deborah N. Archer, ACLU board president. In addition to Springsteen and Kaepernick, other honorees included: Vanita Gupta, former U.S. associate attorney general and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Gupta was awarded the ACLU Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty. “As someone whose deepest professional values were shaped and informed at the ACLU, I truly cannot tell you how honored I am to receive the Baldwin medal,” said Gupta. “Roger Baldwin recognized the need for constant ongoing vigilance in protecting constitutional rights, saying that no civil liberties battle ever remains won. That idea built this organization, and today that idea — and this organization — are as important as they have ever been.” Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California at Berkeley Law School and preeminent voice in constitutional law. Chemerinsky’s influential scholarship and Supreme Court advocacy continue to shape the national discourse on federal jurisdiction, the First Amendment, and the protection of civil liberties. Chemerinsky was awarded the ACLU Presidential Prize. “Receiving the award at this moment in American history is especially significant. Years from now — decades from now — people will look back at us and judge us, as we look back at times like the McCarthy era or other pivotal moments and judge what people did,” said Chemerinsky. “Will we be condemned for our silence and our capitulation? Or will we be praised for our courage and our resistance?” Elizabeth Foster, who gained national recognition for defending the freedom to read in South Carolina. She mobilizes students to protect interconnected liberties ranging from free speech to LGBTQ rights. Foster was named the ACLU Next Generation Leader in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. “I'm humbled to be recognized by an organization that means so much to me. Looking out at all of you tonight, I see so many powerful advocates, organizers, lawyers, educators, musicians, and athletes — all with immense influence and impact. But the most powerful people I see in this room tonight are the students,” said Foster. “Wherever you are and whoever you have around you, there's a community of potential advocates surrounding you ready to come out of the woodwork as soon as you speak up.” The ACLU recognizes leaders in civil rights and civil liberties biennially. The ACLU Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty is the ACLU’s highest honor acknowledging individuals who have made lifetime contributions to the advancement of civil liberties. First awarded in 1989 and named after the ACLU founder, the medal comes with a cash award of $30,000. The ACLU Presidential Prize is granted to a full-time academic in any discipline to honor outstanding, lifetime contributions to civil rights and liberties in academia. The prize was first awarded in 2013. Photos and videos from the awards ceremony are available here: https://dam.aclu.org/Share/am65kc3bg62oi6xbd63u23xy5b2xhh3r

BOSTON – Today, legal organizations across the ideological spectrum urged the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to uphold a district court’s order blocking the Trump administration’s attempted hostile ideological takeover of Harvard University. The federal government decided to withhold billions of dollars in research funding from Harvard University after the university refused to vet its students, faculty, and course offerings for “ideological diversity” and place certain departments and centers at odds with the government’s preferred viewpoint – such as the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures – under a third party audit. On June 9, 2025, the ACLU and numerous other organizations filed an amicus brief in support of Harvard’s motion for summary judgement. On September 3, 2025, the federal court in the District of Massachusetts blocked the government’s attacks on Harvard. The judge noted that the Trump administration tried to “force Harvard to better manifest the government’s favored worldview,” in direct violation of the university’s right to free speech. Today, the following organizations, together filed an amicus brief asking the appellate court to affirm the lower court’s ruling that the administration's actions are unconstitutional: ACLU ACLU of Massachusetts ACLU of Maine ACLU of New Hampshire ACLU of Puerto Rico ACLU of Rhode Island Cato Institute Electronic Frontier Foundation Knight First Amendment Institute National Coalition Against Censorship Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Rutherford Institute The brief’s key arguments: “The administration’s conduct is unconstitutional any way you slice it: It represents an effort by this administration to impose ‘its own conception of speech nirvana’ on a private institution . . . ; it improperly seeks to leverage federal research funds in a viewpoint-based way, to control speech outside of the scope of the program, and to control the work of a private university—each of which is unconstitutional in its own right.” The government sought to unconstitutionally coerce Harvard to hire faculty, admit students, and make research choices that aligned with the government’s preferred ideological tilt, a viewpoint-based condition for funding that is unconstitutional. “The First Amendment principle of academic freedom prohibits the government from imposing ideological admissions, hiring, and programmatic requirements on colleges and universities.” The First Amendment retaliation and coercion in this case is all the more egregious because it targets an institution of higher education, whose choices about who to teach, what to teach, and who should do the teaching are all protected by the First Amendment. “The government’s abuse of its funding power here is meant as a message to all of us: get in ideological line or the government will go after you,” said Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney with the ACLU. “This ideological bullying is an abuse of the executive’s power, and the appellate court should affirm that it violates the First Amendment, or the floodgates of retaliation and coercion will open to us all.” "The Trump administration's attempt to bully Harvard into submission is a brazen attack on free expression and academic freedom, which are essential pillars of our democracy," said Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts. "Universities are places of free inquiry, where scholars expand their horizons, advance science and knowledge, and enrich our culture. Academic institutions are part of the bedrock of Massachusetts, and residents of the Commonwealth understand that we all lose if such attacks go unchallenged. Now more than ever, it is critical that institutions exercise the courage to fight back. ACLU of Massachusetts is proud to stand alongside co-amici in defense of the First Amendment." “The government is attempting to unlawfully suppress academic freedom, one of our nation’s deepest commitments,” said ACLU of Maine Legal Director Carol Garvan. “It is fundamental to free speech, free thought, and societal advancement that teachers and students remain free to ask questions, debate, study, and present their views. And the government’s interference won’t stop at Harvard. The administration’s unlawful conduct here could open the floodgates to retaliation and ideological bullying of private actors across the country. We hope the First Circuit will uphold the district court’s decision.” “The ACLU of Rhode Island is proud to stand with the organizations from across the public, cultural and political spectrum who are all aligned in their opposition to the federal government’s effort to leverage federal grants to coerce and intimidate private colleges and universities to abandon that most fundamental space for free thought and expression that higher education represents and instead step in line with the administration’s ideological viewpoints,” said Lynette Labinger, Cooperating Attorney for the ACLU of Rhode Island. “As we say in our brief, ‘Allowing the administration’s unlawful conduct here could open the floodgates to retaliation, coercion, and ideological bullying of private actors across sectors.’” “Private educational institutions need to be free to select and pursue their missions, and the First Amendment does not permit the government to force them to replace that chosen mission with someone else's notion of ideological balance,” said Walter Olson, senior fellow at Cato's Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies. “The courts have made clear that the government may not use funding leverage to coerce recipients into surrendering constitutional rights of expression. Beyond that, any federal move to define and dictate what is ideological balance in the faculty makeup of a department or among the students in a classroom would give Washington improper power to decide what viewpoints are or aren't important enough to merit representation as well as discretion to retaliate against faculty, programs and students it dislikes for ideological reasons. That this administration demanded that Harvard target its divinity school for an ideological overhaul — its divinity school! — should make clear the First Amendment dangers here.” “The Trump administration’s attacks on universities are attacks on democracy itself,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute. “Universities are the stewards of society’s search for basic knowledge, and the government should not be dictating what courses may be taught, what ideas may be explored, and which students may be admitted to learn.” “Universities are the epicenter for the free exchange of ideas, the foundation for our First Amendment protections and democracy itself,” said Erika Sanders, counsel at the National Coalition Against Censorship. “This administration’s attempt to force its own views upon Harvard is antithetical to the purpose of education and flies in the face of the principles of free expression.” “These actions represent a dangerous incursion by the government into First Amendment-protected speech,” said Gabe Rottman, vice president of policy at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “If successful, they could lay the groundwork for federal interference in speech beyond just universities, including the targeting of news organizations and journalists for perceived ideological 'bias.'" “By weaponizing the federal government to silence dissent and force conformity, the Trump administration is waging war against the Constitution, the rule of law, and anyone who dares to think independently,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “If the government can dictate what is taught in a private university’s classroom, it won’t stop there—it will seek to dictate what is said in the pulpit, printed in the press, and spoken in the streets. This kind of ideological coercion is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes and precisely the kind of tyranny the First Amendment was intended to prevent.”