Supreme Court Term 2025-2026
We’re breaking down the cases we've asked the court to consider this term.
Latest Case Updates
Updated September 10, 2026
Ongoing
Updated September 8, 2026
Closed
Updated August 31, 2026
Ongoing
Updated August 31, 2026
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Florida
Oct 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.
Washington, D.C.
Oct 2026
Voting Rights
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.
Court Case
Oct 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.
Ohio
Sep 2026
Reproductive Freedom
Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region et al., v. Ohio Department of Health, et al.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the law firm WilmerHale, and Fanon Rucker of the Cochran Law Firm, on behalf of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Preterm-Cleveland, Women’s Med Group Professional Corporation, Dr. Sharon Liner, and Julia Quinn, MSN, BSN, amended a complaint in an existing lawsuit against a ban on telehealth medication abortion services to bring new claims under the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment, including additional challenges to other laws in Ohio that restrict access to medication abortion in the state.
Massachusetts
Sep 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.
Oregon Supreme Court
Aug 2026
LGBTQ Rights
Prisoners' Rights
Zyst v. Miller
Following the Oregon Department of Corrections’ unconstitutional treatment of a transgender prisoner, a habeas court ordered her removal from segregated housing, an individualized gender-affirming care assessment, a psychiatric evaluation, and identification of an appropriate cellmate. However, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the psychiatric-evaluation and cellmate orders, finding them “too attenuated” to qualify as habeas relief. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Oregon, joined an amicus brief by the law firm Sugerman Dahab arguing that habeas courts have broad discretion to remedy violations and resulting harms. The brief explains that the Court of Appeals’ “close connection” test unduly constricts habeas relief, and which should be construed to encompass not only the need to halt ongoing constitutional violations, but also the need to mitigate various harms that may arise from those violations.
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.
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.
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1,756 Court Cases
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
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Sep 2024
Voting Rights
New PA Project Education Fund v. Schmidt
On September 25, 2024, 10 organizations filed a suit in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, asking the court to stop enforcement of the commonwealth’s requirement that voters include an irrelevant handwritten date on the outer return envelope of their mail ballot packets or else be disenfranchised.
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Sep 2024
Voting Rights
New PA Project Education Fund v. Schmidt
On September 25, 2024, 10 organizations filed a suit in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, asking the court to stop enforcement of the commonwealth’s requirement that voters include an irrelevant handwritten date on the outer return envelope of their mail ballot packets or else be disenfranchised.