Oregon
Zyst v. Miller
Following the Oregon Department of Corrections’ unconstitutional treatment of a transgender prisoner, a habeas court ordered her removal from segregated housing, an individualized gender-affirming care assessment, a psychiatric evaluation, and identification of an appropriate cellmate. However, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the psychiatric-evaluation and cellmate orders, finding them “too attenuated” to qualify as habeas relief. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Oregon, joined an amicus brief by the law firm Sugerman Dahab arguing that habeas courts have broad discretion to remedy violations and resulting harms. The brief explains that the Court of Appeals’ “close connection” test unduly constricts habeas relief, and which should be construed to encompass not only the need to halt ongoing constitutional violations, but also the need to mitigate various harms that may arise from those violations.
Status: Ongoing
View Case
Visit ACLU of Oregon
Featured
Oregon
Feb 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Disability Rights
Disability Rights Oregon v. Washington County, Oregon
U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2021
Immigrants' Rights
Innovation Law Lab v. Wolf
The American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s new policy forcing asylum seekers to return to Mexico and remain there while their cases are considered.
All Cases
10 Oregon Cases
Oregon
Jan 2025
Smart Justice
State of Oregon v. Adrian Fernandez
This case asks if ORS 138.105(8)(a)(A)—which removes an appellate court’s authority to review a “sentence that is within the presumptive sentence prescribed by the rules of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission”—precludes appellate review of a state constitutional challenge to a within-guidelines criminal sentence. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Oregon, filed an amicus brief in support of defendant Fernandez, who seeks to challenge his sentence under the Oregon Constitution’s proportionality guarantee. The amicus brief argues that interpreting the statute to preclude review of Fernandez’s challenge would raise grave constitutional concerns under Oregon’s separation of powers and privileges and immunities doctrines.
Explore case
Oregon
Jan 2025
Smart Justice
State of Oregon v. Adrian Fernandez
This case asks if ORS 138.105(8)(a)(A)—which removes an appellate court’s authority to review a “sentence that is within the presumptive sentence prescribed by the rules of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission”—precludes appellate review of a state constitutional challenge to a within-guidelines criminal sentence. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Oregon, filed an amicus brief in support of defendant Fernandez, who seeks to challenge his sentence under the Oregon Constitution’s proportionality guarantee. The amicus brief argues that interpreting the statute to preclude review of Fernandez’s challenge would raise grave constitutional concerns under Oregon’s separation of powers and privileges and immunities doctrines.
Oregon
Apr 2021
National Security
Kashem, et al. v. Barr, et al. - ACLU Challenge to Government No Fly List
Explore case
Oregon
Apr 2021
National Security
Kashem, et al. v. Barr, et al. - ACLU Challenge to Government No Fly List
Oregon
Oct 2020
LGBTQ Rights
Parents for Privacy v. Dallas School District No. 2
On February 20, 2018, the ACLU and the ACLU of Oregon moved to intervene on behalf of Basic Rights Oregon (BRO) in a case about transgender students’ rights. BRO seeks to defend the Dallas School District’s practice of permitting a transgender boy to use the same restrooms and locker rooms as other boys. BRO has spent over 20 years advocating for legal protections for the LGBTQ community in Oregon, and has supported transgender students and families in Dallas and beyond.
Explore case
Oregon
Oct 2020
LGBTQ Rights
Parents for Privacy v. Dallas School District No. 2
On February 20, 2018, the ACLU and the ACLU of Oregon moved to intervene on behalf of Basic Rights Oregon (BRO) in a case about transgender students’ rights. BRO seeks to defend the Dallas School District’s practice of permitting a transgender boy to use the same restrooms and locker rooms as other boys. BRO has spent over 20 years advocating for legal protections for the LGBTQ community in Oregon, and has supported transgender students and families in Dallas and beyond.
Oregon
Jun 2014
LGBTQ Rights
Rummell and West v. Kitzhaber - Freedom to Marry in Oregon
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oregon, and volunteer counsel from the law firms of Johnson, Johnson & Schaller, PC and Perkins Coie, LLP in December 2013 filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Eugene on behalf of two same-sex couples who wished to marry in Oregon – Paul Rummell and Ben West, and Lisa Chickadonz and Christine Tanner – and Basic Rights Education Fund.
Explore case
Oregon
Jun 2014
LGBTQ Rights
Rummell and West v. Kitzhaber - Freedom to Marry in Oregon
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oregon, and volunteer counsel from the law firms of Johnson, Johnson & Schaller, PC and Perkins Coie, LLP in December 2013 filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Eugene on behalf of two same-sex couples who wished to marry in Oregon – Paul Rummell and Ben West, and Lisa Chickadonz and Christine Tanner – and Basic Rights Education Fund.
U.S. Supreme Court
May 2014
Free Speech
Wood v. Moss
Whether plaintiffs are entitled to a trial on their claim of viewpoint discrimination based on detailed allegations that anti-Bush demonstrators were treated less favorably than pro-Bush demonstrators by the Secret Service during a 2004 presidential visit to Oregon.
Explore case
U.S. Supreme Court
May 2014
Free Speech
Wood v. Moss
Whether plaintiffs are entitled to a trial on their claim of viewpoint discrimination based on detailed allegations that anti-Bush demonstrators were treated less favorably than pro-Bush demonstrators by the Secret Service during a 2004 presidential visit to Oregon.