Supreme Court Term 2025-2026

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit challenging widespread promotion of religion by officials in the Smith County School System. Brought on behalf of two families, the lawsuit alleges that school officials regularly incorporate prayer into school events and proselytize students in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

In June 2017, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of a family of U.S. citizens — including four young children — who were detained for over 10 hours at the U.S.-Canada border while coming home from a trip to visit relatives. Our clients obtained a settlement reinforcing that rights exist at the border, and also that CBP must be held accountable for violating those rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Montana, and Native American Rights Fund challenged a Montana law that severely restricted Native Americans’ access to the ballot. In September 2020, the court issued its ruled for plaintiffs, finding that they presented “cold, hard data” about the law's impact on Native Americans, and how its costs were “simply too high and too burdensome to remain the law of the State of Montana.”

On April 18, 2019, WRP filed an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, challenging a criminal activity nuisance ordinance in Bedford, Ohio, on behalf of Beverly Somai and the Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research. Bedford’s nuisance ordinance penalizes property owners when two or more perceived violations of any law, excluding traffic violations, occur near the home or involve a resident of the property within a one-year period. The city enforces the ordinance based on calls for police assistance — even if the resident is the victim of the crime or needs aid, such as Ms. Somai and her son. Bedford’s ordinance and its enforcement disproportionately impacts communities of color, low-income households, people with disabilities, and domestic violence survivors—the vast majority of whom are women.