Washington, D.C.
Common Cause v. U.S. Department of Justice
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an unprecedented and unlawful effort to invade the privacy of millions of American voters and threaten their right to vote. It has demanded that every state and the District of Columbia turn over their entire voter database, including Social Security Numbers, political party affiliation, and voter participation history. And at least a dozen states have complied, submitting their voters’ information for federal review. But the Department of Justice has no authority to dictate when a voter registration should be cancelled, and we are suing to stop the federal government’s overreach and ensure that voters’ information remains secure and free from unlawful interference.
Status: Ongoing
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Washington, D.C.
Oct 2025
Voting Rights
League of Women Voters Education Fund v. Trump
On March 25, 2025, in a sweeping and unprecedented Executive Order, President Trump attempted to usurp the power to regulate federal elections from Congress and the States. Among other things, the Executive Order directs the Election Assistance Commission—an agency that Congress specifically established to be bipartisan and independent—to require voters to show a passport or other citizenship documentation in order to register to vote in federal elections. If implemented, the Executive Order would threaten the ability of millions of eligible Americans to register and vote and upend the administration of federal elections.
On behalf of leading voter registration organizations and advocacy organizations, the ACLU and co-counsel filed a lawsuit to block the Executive Order as an unconstitutional power grab.
Washington, D.C.
Jun 2019
Human Rights
Weir v. U.S.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit in June 2019 against the United States and the head of the U.S. Coast Guard on behalf of four Jamaican fishermen, who were forcibly removed from their fishing boat and detained for over a month at sea on four U.S. Coast Guard ships in patently inhumane conditions.
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27 Washington, D.C. Cases
Washington, D.C.
Apr 2025
Immigrants' Rights
National Security
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Noem
Immigrants’ rights advocates sued the Trump administration on Feb. 12, 2025, for access to immigrants transferred from the United States to detention at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba under President Trump’s recent order.
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Washington, D.C.
Apr 2025
Immigrants' Rights
National Security
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Noem
Immigrants’ rights advocates sued the Trump administration on Feb. 12, 2025, for access to immigrants transferred from the United States to detention at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba under President Trump’s recent order.
Washington, D.C.
Apr 2025
Reproductive Freedom
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association v. Kennedy
Title X is the country’s only dedicated federally funded family planning program that provides access to preventive care like birth control, cancer screening, and STI screening and treatment, with priority given to patients with low incomes. In March 2025, the Trump administration illegally withheld 22 Title X grants, leaving approximately 865 family planning service sites unable to provide Title X-funded services to an estimated 842,000 patients across nearly two dozen states.
The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), the lead national advocacy organization for the Title X family planning program, and the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over its unlawful withholding of $65.8 million in Title X federal family planning grants, which the administration eventually restored as the result of this litigation.
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Washington, D.C.
Apr 2025
Reproductive Freedom
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association v. Kennedy
Title X is the country’s only dedicated federally funded family planning program that provides access to preventive care like birth control, cancer screening, and STI screening and treatment, with priority given to patients with low incomes. In March 2025, the Trump administration illegally withheld 22 Title X grants, leaving approximately 865 family planning service sites unable to provide Title X-funded services to an estimated 842,000 patients across nearly two dozen states.
The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), the lead national advocacy organization for the Title X family planning program, and the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over its unlawful withholding of $65.8 million in Title X federal family planning grants, which the administration eventually restored as the result of this litigation.
Washington, D.C.
Apr 2025
Civil Liberties
ACLU v. Social Security Administration (FOIA)
The ACLU seeks expedited processing of FOIA requests it submitted to the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs requesting records regarding access to Americans’ health, financial, and other sensitive personal information by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
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Washington, D.C.
Apr 2025
Civil Liberties
ACLU v. Social Security Administration (FOIA)
The ACLU seeks expedited processing of FOIA requests it submitted to the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs requesting records regarding access to Americans’ health, financial, and other sensitive personal information by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Washington, D.C.
Feb 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services v. Kristi Noem
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Washington, D.C.
Feb 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services v. Kristi Noem
Washington, D.C.
May 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Disability Rights
Mathis v. United States Parole Commission
This federal class-action lawsuit alleges that the federal government’s post-conviction supervision system in Washington, D.C., violates Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by systematically failing to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities on supervision.
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Washington, D.C.
May 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Disability Rights
Mathis v. United States Parole Commission
This federal class-action lawsuit alleges that the federal government’s post-conviction supervision system in Washington, D.C., violates Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by systematically failing to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities on supervision.