Free Speech
Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida v. Raymond Rodrigues
The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine filed a lawsuit on November 16, 2023, challenging the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida’s order to state universities to deactivate the student group. This order threatens the students’ constitutionally-protected right to free speech and association in violation of the First Amendment. The ACLU and its partners are seeking a preliminary injunction that would bar the Chancellor and the University of Florida from deactivating the UF SJP.
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2023
Free Speech
Molina v. Book
Whether police officers violated clearly established First Amendment rights when they tear-gassed plaintiffs for serving as legal observers in a public protest.
U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2023
Free Speech
O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier and Lindke v. Freed
The ACLU, the ACLU of Northern California, and the ACLU of Southern California filed amicus briefs in support of everyday people fighting for government transparency and accountability in two cases set for review by the U.S. Supreme Court this Term: O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier and Lindke v. Freed.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jan 2021
Free Speech
Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.
On September 25, 2017, the ACLU-PA filed suit on behalf of B.L., a high school sophomore who has been cheerleading since she was in fifth grade and was expelled from the team as punishment for out-of-school speech.
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159 Free Speech Cases
Texas
May 2019
Free Speech
Pluecker v. Paxton
On December 18, 2018, The ACLU and ACLU of Texas filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that requires government contractors to certify that they are not engaged in boycotts of Israel or territories controlled by Israel. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of four Texans, argues that the law, HB 89, which went into effect last year, violates the First Amendment’s protection against government intrusion into political speech.
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Texas
May 2019
Free Speech
Pluecker v. Paxton
On December 18, 2018, The ACLU and ACLU of Texas filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that requires government contractors to certify that they are not engaged in boycotts of Israel or territories controlled by Israel. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of four Texans, argues that the law, HB 89, which went into effect last year, violates the First Amendment’s protection against government intrusion into political speech.
U.S. Supreme Court
May 2019
Free Speech
Arkansas Times LP v. Waldrip
This lawsuit asserts that Arkansas’ Act 710, which requires government contractors to certify that they are not participating in boycotts of Israel or “Israeli-controlled territories,” violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
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U.S. Supreme Court
May 2019
Free Speech
Arkansas Times LP v. Waldrip
This lawsuit asserts that Arkansas’ Act 710, which requires government contractors to certify that they are not participating in boycotts of Israel or “Israeli-controlled territories,” violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
South Dakota
Mar 2019
Free Speech
Racial Justice
Dakota Rural Action v. Noem
The ACLU and ACLU of South Dakota have filed a federal lawsuit challenging three South Dakota laws that target full-throated advocacy and protest.
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South Dakota
Mar 2019
Free Speech
Racial Justice
Dakota Rural Action v. Noem
The ACLU and ACLU of South Dakota have filed a federal lawsuit challenging three South Dakota laws that target full-throated advocacy and protest.
U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2019
Free Speech
Criminal Law Reform
Nieves v. Bartlett, 17-1174
Whether a plaintiff who claims that a police officer retaliated against his First Amendment-protected expression by arresting him for a misdemeanor is barred from suing if the police had probable cause for his arrest.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2019
Free Speech
Criminal Law Reform
Nieves v. Bartlett, 17-1174
Whether a plaintiff who claims that a police officer retaliated against his First Amendment-protected expression by arresting him for a misdemeanor is barred from suing if the police had probable cause for his arrest.
U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2019
Free Speech
Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, 17‐1702
Whether the private operator of a public access channel in New York City is a state actor, and therefore bound by the First Amendment, for the purpose of selecting and scheduling its broadcasts, where federal, state, and city laws and policies so strictly circumscribe its content decisions that all independent editorial judgment is displaced.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2019
Free Speech
Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, 17‐1702
Whether the private operator of a public access channel in New York City is a state actor, and therefore bound by the First Amendment, for the purpose of selecting and scheduling its broadcasts, where federal, state, and city laws and policies so strictly circumscribe its content decisions that all independent editorial judgment is displaced.