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State Supreme Court Initiative

State Supreme Court Initiative

The U.S. Supreme Court is increasingly not an option to protect, let alone expand, civil liberties and civil rights. Last year’s Supreme Court term was the most conservative in a century, as President Trump’s three nominees exercised their newfound power to rule against liberty and shrink our constitutional rights.

But state supreme courts offer promise in the face of a hostile federal judiciary. That’s why we’re taking the fight to the states – we want to show up with as many resources and tools as we have available. The ACLU is launching a dedicated effort, called the State Supreme Court Initiative, to fight for the expansion of rights through state supreme courts, both through litigation and advocacy work.

The State Supreme Court Initiative will build on the organization’s existing work in state supreme courts and will expand the organization’s litigating capacity. With lawyers in every state in the country, the ACLU is uniquely situated to do this important work and to develop cross-state expertise on state constitutional litigation.

Read the Report

A photo of the stars on the American flag, used as a cover of the ACLU's New Federalism Report.

In our report, “Our New Federalism,” we featured more than 125 cases in which the ACLU and our state affiliate offices have advanced arguments across 24 states over the last 5 years.

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About the Attorneys

Matthew Segal

Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU State Supreme Court Initiative

Matt is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, after serving for 11 years as Legal Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. At ACLUM, Matt led a team of lawyers and legal professionals in advocacy across a range of issues in both state and federal courts. Matt has argued cases that…
Matt is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, after serving for 11 years as Legal Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. At ACLUM, Matt led a team of lawyers and legal professionals in advocacy across a range of issues in both state and federal courts. Matt has argued cases that…
Matthew Segal

Julie Murray

Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU State Supreme Court Initiative

Julie Murray is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative. Before coming to the ACLU, she was a litigator at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), where she brought challenges around the country to restrictions on sexual and reproductive health and education. During her time at PPFA, Julie led numerous high-profile…
Julie Murray is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative. Before coming to the ACLU, she was a litigator at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), where she brought challenges around the country to restrictions on sexual and reproductive health and education. During her time at PPFA, Julie led numerous high-profile…
Julie Murray

The ACLU and our affiliates have long been litigating for civil liberties and civil rights in state courts and we’ve seen a wide range of state constitutional victories over the past several years, a testament to our commitment to using state courts to protect and expand these rights. Below is a sample.

A custom graphic of hands casting ballot in voting box. Gerrymandering is one issue being fought on the state supreme court level

Gerrymandering 

League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Commission

Ohio

Since the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that partisan gerrymandering is beyond the reach of the federal courts, the ACLU and its Ohio affiliate won state supreme court rulings that Ohio’s redistricting maps violate a state constitutional provision that bans partisan gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering
A custom graphic of a woman and birth control package. Abortion access is one issue that's being fought for on the state supreme court level.

Abortion Access 

Weems v. State

Montana

The ACLU of Montana, together with the Center for Reproductive Rights, blocked a state law that prevented qualified clinicians, including nurse practitioners and nurse midwives, from providing early abortion services.

Abortion Access
A custom graphic of a queer couple holding hands in front of a transgender flag. LGTBQ Rights is an issue that we're fighting for at the state supreme court level.

LGBTQ Rights 

Doe v. Cleveland County Board of Education

North Carolina

The ACLU of North Carolina secured a temporary restraining order and a court-ordered settlement on the grounds that school officials had violated the Equal Protection Clause of the state constitution when they forbade a transgender boy from using the boys’ bathroom.

LGBTQ Rights
A custom graphic of the Lady Justice holding scales with a gavel behind her. Criminal Justice is an issue that we're fighting for at the state supreme court level.

Criminal Justice 

Comm. for Pub. Counsel Servs. v. Attorney Gen.

Massachusetts

The ACLU of Massachusetts, together with public defenders and other advocates, has won a series of victories at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court setting out rules for addressing mass outbreaks of wrongful convictions. These victories have overturned tens of thousands of wrongful convictions arising from drug scandals in Massachusetts, including the single largest court-ordered dismissal of wrongful convictions in U.S. history.

Criminal Justice

Featured Cases

Utah Supreme Court
May 2023
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah v. State of Utah
Reproductive Freedom

Planned Parenthood Association of Utah v. State of Utah

This case involves a challenge to Utah Senate Bill (“S.B.”), a law that criminalizes nearly all abortions in Utah. In June 2022, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (“PPAU”), one of only two abortion providers in the state, challenged S.B. 174 in Utah state court. It is currently litigating in the Utah Supreme Court to ensure the law remains blocked while courts consider the case. PPAU is represented in the appeal by the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, along with the ACLU of Utah, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Utah law firm Zimmerman Booher.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Nebraska Supreme Court
May 2023
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Hilgers
Reproductive Freedom

LGBTQ Rights

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Hilgers

In May 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Nebraska filed a lawsuit on behalf of Nebraska abortion providers and their patients challenging a state law that bans physicians from providing abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy and that, as of October 2023, will restrict health care available to trans youth. The ACLU has asked a state court in Nebraska to enter an emergency order blocking the law’s enforcement.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Utah Supreme Court
Jun 2023
Utah State Legislature v. League of Women Voters
Voting Rights

Utah State Legislature v. League of Women Voters

This case involves a state constitutional challenge to the Utah Legislature’s 2021 redistricting plan, which was drawn to entrench the majority political party’s power and to discriminate against Utahns whose political expression aligns with an opposition political party. The ACLU and the ACLU of Utah filed an amicus brief in support of the challenge in the Utah Supreme Court, explaining why the redistricting map violates Utahns’ free-expression rights and why courts have the authority to block the map as unconstitutional.
Status: Ongoing
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Kentucky Supreme Court
Jun 2023
ARKK Properties v. Cameron
Free Speech

ARKK Properties v. Cameron

In 2023, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a new law that targets only those Kentuckians who “challenge the constitutionality” of a state statute or similar law and seek relief against a state defendant in state court. Under S.B. 126, any party to a covered lawsuit will have a unilateral right to require transfer of the case from the circuit court where it was properly filed to a randomly chosen circuit anywhere else in the state, potentially hundreds of miles away and at great cost to Kentuckians who stand up for their rights. The ACLU of Kentucky, the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, and the Kentucky Resources Council—with representation from attorneys at the ACLU of Kentucky and the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative—filed an amicus brief in the Kentucky Supreme Court, asking the Court to hold that the law violates the Kentucky Constitution.
View case

Featured Cases

Utah Supreme Court
May 2023
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah v. State of Utah
Reproductive Freedom

Planned Parenthood Association of Utah v. State of Utah

This case involves a challenge to Utah Senate Bill (“S.B.”), a law that criminalizes nearly all abortions in Utah. In June 2022, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (“PPAU”), one of only two abortion providers in the state, challenged S.B. 174 in Utah state court. It is currently litigating in the Utah Supreme Court to ensure the law remains blocked while courts consider the case. PPAU is represented in the appeal by the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, along with the ACLU of Utah, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Utah law firm Zimmerman Booher.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Nebraska Supreme Court
May 2023
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Hilgers
Reproductive Freedom

LGBTQ Rights

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Hilgers

In May 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Nebraska filed a lawsuit on behalf of Nebraska abortion providers and their patients challenging a state law that bans physicians from providing abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy and that, as of October 2023, will restrict health care available to trans youth. The ACLU has asked a state court in Nebraska to enter an emergency order blocking the law’s enforcement.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Utah Supreme Court
Jun 2023
Utah State Legislature v. League of Women Voters
Voting Rights

Utah State Legislature v. League of Women Voters

This case involves a state constitutional challenge to the Utah Legislature’s 2021 redistricting plan, which was drawn to entrench the majority political party’s power and to discriminate against Utahns whose political expression aligns with an opposition political party. The ACLU and the ACLU of Utah filed an amicus brief in support of the challenge in the Utah Supreme Court, explaining why the redistricting map violates Utahns’ free-expression rights and why courts have the authority to block the map as unconstitutional.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Kentucky Supreme Court
Jun 2023
ARKK Properties v. Cameron
Free Speech

ARKK Properties v. Cameron

In 2023, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a new law that targets only those Kentuckians who “challenge the constitutionality” of a state statute or similar law and seek relief against a state defendant in state court. Under S.B. 126, any party to a covered lawsuit will have a unilateral right to require transfer of the case from the circuit court where it was properly filed to a randomly chosen circuit anywhere else in the state, potentially hundreds of miles away and at great cost to Kentuckians who stand up for their rights. The ACLU of Kentucky, the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, and the Kentucky Resources Council—with representation from attorneys at the ACLU of Kentucky and the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative—filed an amicus brief in the Kentucky Supreme Court, asking the Court to hold that the law violates the Kentucky Constitution.
View case

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