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.
Jun 2020
Immigrants' Rights
J.B.B.C. v. Wolf
The American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and Oxfam filed the nation’s first legal challenge to the Trump administration’s order restricting immigration at the border based on an unprecedented and unlawful invocation of the Public Health Service Act, located in Title 42 of the U.S. Code.
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Washington, D.C.
Jun 2020
Immigrants' Rights
J.B.B.C. v. Wolf
The American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and Oxfam filed the nation’s first legal challenge to the Trump administration’s order restricting immigration at the border based on an unprecedented and unlawful invocation of the Public Health Service Act, located in Title 42 of the U.S. Code.
Washington, D.C.
Aug 2017
Free Speech
ACLU et al. v. WMATA – First Amendment Challenge to D.C. Metro’s Advertising Restrictions
The ACLU and its affiliates in the District of Columbia and Virginia challenged the Washington area transit system’s advertising restrictions as violations of the First Amendment. The free speech lawsuit follows the rejection of ads from four groups that hail from across the political spectrum.
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Washington, D.C.
Aug 2017
Free Speech
ACLU et al. v. WMATA – First Amendment Challenge to D.C. Metro’s Advertising Restrictions
The ACLU and its affiliates in the District of Columbia and Virginia challenged the Washington area transit system’s advertising restrictions as violations of the First Amendment. The free speech lawsuit follows the rejection of ads from four groups that hail from across the political spectrum.