Supreme Court Term 2025-2026
We’re breaking down the cases we've asked the court to consider this term.
Latest Case Updates
Closed (Judgment)
Updated June 29, 2026
Ongoing
Updated June 26, 2026
Ongoing
Updated June 25, 2026
Closed (Judgment)
Updated June 18, 2026
Featured
Court Case
Jul 2026
National Security
Human Rights
FOIA Case Seeking the Trump Administration’s Legal Justification for Deadly Boat Strikes
The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (“OLC”) authored a legal opinion that reportedly claims to justify the Trump administration’s illegal lethal strikes on civilians in boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Media reports indicate that, in addition to claiming that the strikes are lawful acts in an alleged “armed conflict” with unspecified drug cartels, the OLC opinion also purports to immunize personnel who authorized or took part in the strikes from future criminal prosecution. Because the public deserves to know how our government is justifying these illegal strikes, and why they think the people who carried them out should not be held accountable, the ACLU is seeking immediate release of the OLC legal opinion and related documents pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.
Massachusetts
Jul 2026
Voting Rights
League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump
On March 31, 2026, President Trump issued a sweeping Executive Order titled "Ensuring Citizen Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," seeking once again to seize control of election administration from Congress and the states. The Order directs federal agencies to compile lists of U.S. citizens and transmit them to states before every election, directs the U.S. Postal Service -- an independent agency established by Congress -- to create a list of "approved" mail voters, and instructs USPS to refuse to deliver ballots from voters not on that federally created list. If implemented, the Order would threaten the ability of millions of eligible citizens to cast their ballots, particularly military members, overseas citizens, the elderly, recently naturalized citizens, and voters with disabilities who rely on mail voting.
Arizona
Jul 2026
Prisoners' Rights
Jensen v. Thornell
UPDATE: On July 17, 2026, U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver issued an order formally appointing a receiver to assume control and management of health care provided to more than 25,000 people incarcerated in Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADCRR) prisons, in a long-running lawsuit against the state prison system brought by the Prison Law Office, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Arizona, and Disability Rights Arizona. More details here.
Florida
Jul 2026
National Security
+2 Issues
CAIR-Foundation, Inc and CAIR Florida, Inc. v. DeSantis et al.
The ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and their partners represent CAIR and CAIR-Florida in two federal lawsuits challenging Governor DeSantis’s unconstitutional and baseless designation of the nonprofits as “terrorist.” The lawsuits allege violations of CAIR and CAIR-Florida’s rights under the First Amendment and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
New Hampshire
Jul 2026
Voting Rights
Coalition for Open Democracy v. Scanlan
This lawsuit challenges HB 1569, a new law that will make New Hampshire the only state to require every person to produce documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote for both state and federal elections. It also challenges HB 1569’s elimination a preexisting protection for voters—namely, an affidavit option that allowed voters who faced surprise challenges to their eligibility at the polls to swear to their qualifications and cast a ballot. Accordingly, HB 1569 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by placing substantial burdens on New Hampshirites at all stages of the voting process, and will arbitrarily disenfranchise hundreds, if not thousands of qualified voters.
U.S. Supreme Court
May 2026
Voting Rights
Racial Justice
Allen v. Milligan
Whether Alabama’s congressional districts violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because they discriminate against Black voters. We succeeded in winning a new map for 2024 elections which, for the first time, has two congressional district that provide Black voters a fair opportunity to elect candidates of their choosing despite multiple attempts by Alabama to stop us at the Supreme Court. Despite this win, Alabama is still defending its discriminatory map, and a trial was held in February 2025 to determine the map for the rest of the decade.
In May 2025, a federal court ruled that Alabama's 2023 congressional map both violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and was enacted by the Alabama Legislature with racially discriminatory intent.
U.S. Supreme Court
Apr 2026
Voting Rights
Louisiana v. Callais (Callais v. Landry)
Whether the congressional map Louisiana adopted to cure a Voting Rights Act violation in Robinson v. Ardoin is itself unlawful as a gerrymander.
Tennessee Supreme Court
Apr 2026
Capital Punishment
Tony Von Carruthers v. State of Tennessee
Tennessee plans to execute Tony Carruthers on May 21 even though they refuse to run a simple fingerprint comparison and DNA testing that could prove what Tony has been arguing for 30 years - that he is innocent of this crime and that Tennessee convicted and sentenced the wrong man to death.
U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2026
Immigrants' Rights
Barbara v. Donald J. Trump
President Trump is attempting to undermine the promise of birthright citizenship to children born on U.S. soil. But the ACLU and partners are fighting to protect the rights of citizens that are plainly stated in the Constitution, federal statute, and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court for more than a century. We’re arguing against the Trump administration in the Supreme Court and are confident we will win.
All Cases
1,726 Court Cases
Georgia
Oct 2024
Voting Rights
Heimel v. Gregg
The ACLU and partners intervened in a lawsuit that sought to illegally disenfranchise hundreds of Oconee County voters on the eve of the November 5 election. The Oconee lawsuit is just one in a wave of similar attempts by election vigilantes across the state to indiscriminately purge voters from the voter rolls in violation of the law.
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Georgia
Oct 2024
Voting Rights
Heimel v. Gregg
The ACLU and partners intervened in a lawsuit that sought to illegally disenfranchise hundreds of Oconee County voters on the eve of the November 5 election. The Oconee lawsuit is just one in a wave of similar attempts by election vigilantes across the state to indiscriminately purge voters from the voter rolls in violation of the law.
Georgia
Oct 2024
Voting Rights
Quinn v. Raffensperger
The ACLU, along with several partner organizations, have sought to intervene in this case to represent the rights of voters and voting-rights organizations in a case that asks a federal court to compel the state to conduct list maintenance and move voters to the inactive list on the eve of a presidential election. The relief that the private plaintiffs seek is presumptively unlawful because this list maintenance activity would happen within 90 days of a federal election, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”).
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Georgia
Oct 2024
Voting Rights
Quinn v. Raffensperger
The ACLU, along with several partner organizations, have sought to intervene in this case to represent the rights of voters and voting-rights organizations in a case that asks a federal court to compel the state to conduct list maintenance and move voters to the inactive list on the eve of a presidential election. The relief that the private plaintiffs seek is presumptively unlawful because this list maintenance activity would happen within 90 days of a federal election, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”).
Court Case
Oct 2024
Immigrants' Rights
Detention and Deportation Infrastructure FOIA Cases
Every year, ICE and other federal agencies spend billions of taxpayer dollars on a system to detain and deport immigrants. The people detained in this system face persistent medical neglect, abuse, and other violations. President Trump has threatened to dramatically expand this system, which will multiply the harms it causes. We’ve sued to obtain information about how this system operates so that we are better prepared to defend immigrants whose rights are under attack.
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Court Case
Oct 2024
Immigrants' Rights
Detention and Deportation Infrastructure FOIA Cases
Every year, ICE and other federal agencies spend billions of taxpayer dollars on a system to detain and deport immigrants. The people detained in this system face persistent medical neglect, abuse, and other violations. President Trump has threatened to dramatically expand this system, which will multiply the harms it causes. We’ve sued to obtain information about how this system operates so that we are better prepared to defend immigrants whose rights are under attack.
Puerto Rico
Oct 2024
Voting Rights
Espíritu v. Comisión Estatal de Elecciones
Whether Puerto Rico’s voter-registration deadline should be extended from 45 days before the November 2024 general election to 30 days, given that well-reported problems like power outages have unfairly prevented thousands from successfully registering to vote.
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Puerto Rico
Oct 2024
Voting Rights
Espíritu v. Comisión Estatal de Elecciones
Whether Puerto Rico’s voter-registration deadline should be extended from 45 days before the November 2024 general election to 30 days, given that well-reported problems like power outages have unfairly prevented thousands from successfully registering to vote.
Court Case
Sep 2024
Immigrants' Rights
Ms. L v. ICE
SETTLEMENT UPDATE: Sept. 26, 2024:
Attorneys Fees Settlement Agreement: https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-settlement-agreement
Attorneys Fees Class Notice (English): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-class-notice-english
Aviso de clase de La Resolución de honorarios (en español): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-class-notice-spanish
Attorneys Fees Unopposed Motion and Supporting Declarations: https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-unopposed-motion-and-supporting-declarations
SETTLEMENT UPDATE: Dec.1, 2023
Here are links to the proposed family separation settlement and Notice of Rights in English and Spanish. The Notice of Rights explains the settlement and next steps to seek final approval of the settlement, including the opportunity to object:
Settlement Document: https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-amended-settlement
Notice (English): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-v-ice-notice-english
Notice (Spanish): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-v-ice-notice-spanish
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Court Case
Sep 2024
Immigrants' Rights
Ms. L v. ICE
SETTLEMENT UPDATE: Sept. 26, 2024:
Attorneys Fees Settlement Agreement: https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-settlement-agreement
Attorneys Fees Class Notice (English): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-class-notice-english
Aviso de clase de La Resolución de honorarios (en español): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-class-notice-spanish
Attorneys Fees Unopposed Motion and Supporting Declarations: https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-unopposed-motion-and-supporting-declarations
SETTLEMENT UPDATE: Dec.1, 2023
Here are links to the proposed family separation settlement and Notice of Rights in English and Spanish. The Notice of Rights explains the settlement and next steps to seek final approval of the settlement, including the opportunity to object:
Settlement Document: https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-amended-settlement
Notice (English): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-v-ice-notice-english
Notice (Spanish): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-v-ice-notice-spanish