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.
Status: Ongoing
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Arizona
Oct 2023
Racial Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Fund for Empowerment v. Phoenix, City of
Fund for Empowerment is a challenge to the City of Phoenix’s practice of conducting sweeps of encampments without notice, issuing citations to unsheltered people for camping and sleeping on public property when they have no place else to go, and confiscating and destroying their property without notice or process.
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2023
Racial Justice
Women's Rights
United States v. Rahimi
Whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which prohibits the possession of firearms by persons subject to domestic-violence restraining orders, violates the Second Amendment on its face.
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2023
Racial Justice
Muldrow v. City of St. Louis
Do employees claiming that they have been denied a transfer because of their race have to demonstrate in addition that the transfer caused a significant material disadvantage?
Court Case
Jun 2020
Racial Justice
Defy Ventures, Inc. v. Small Business Administration
Suing the Trump administration to lift its unlawful exclusion of businesses owned by people with criminal records from being eligible for Paycheck Protection Act funds
California
Mar 2019
Racial Justice
MediaJustice, et al. v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al.
On March 21, 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union and MediaJustice, formerly known as “Center for Media Justice,” filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records about FBI targeting of Black activists. The lawsuit enforces the ACLU and MediaJustice’s right to information about a 2017 FBI Intelligence Assessment that asserts, without evidence, that a group of so-called “Black Identity Extremists” poses a threat of domestic terrorism. The Intelligence Assessment was widely disseminated to law enforcement agencies nationwide, raising public concern about government surveillance of Black people and Black-led organizations based on anti-Black stereotypes and First Amendment protected activities.
Court Case
Aug 2015
Racial Justice
Disability Rights
S.R. v. Kenton County Sheriff's Office
A deputy sheriff shackled two elementary school children who have disabilities, causing them pain and trauma, according to a federal lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Children’s Law Center, and Dinsmore & Shohl.
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132 Racial Justice Cases
Montana
Jul 2021
Racial Justice
Yellow Kidney, et al. v. Montana Office of Public Instruction, et al.
In July 2021, the ACLU, the ACLU of Montana, and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of five Indian Nations and 18 individual plaintiffs challenging the state of Montana’s failure to fulfill its constitutional mandate to teach public school students the history and culture of the first peoples of Montana in consultation with local tribes.
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Montana
Jul 2021
Racial Justice
Yellow Kidney, et al. v. Montana Office of Public Instruction, et al.
In July 2021, the ACLU, the ACLU of Montana, and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of five Indian Nations and 18 individual plaintiffs challenging the state of Montana’s failure to fulfill its constitutional mandate to teach public school students the history and culture of the first peoples of Montana in consultation with local tribes.
Court Case
Feb 2021
Racial Justice
Jones et al v. City of Faribault
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Minnesota sued the City of Faribault, Minnesota for its unconstitutional rental licensing ordinance, aimed at reducing the number of people of color living in rental housing within its borders.
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Court Case
Feb 2021
Racial Justice
Jones et al v. City of Faribault
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Minnesota sued the City of Faribault, Minnesota for its unconstitutional rental licensing ordinance, aimed at reducing the number of people of color living in rental housing within its borders.
Montana
Nov 2020
Racial Justice
Immigrants' Rights
Suda v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Montana filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two American citizens detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for speaking Spanish while shopping at a local convenience store in Havre, Montana.
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Montana
Nov 2020
Racial Justice
Immigrants' Rights
Suda v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Montana filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two American citizens detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for speaking Spanish while shopping at a local convenience store in Havre, Montana.
Court Case
Sep 2020
Racial Justice
Voting Rights
NAACP Minnesota-Dakotas Area State Conference v. Simon
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Minnesota, and Faegre Drinker LLP are suing Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon seeking to make voting safer in Minnesota in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Court Case
Sep 2020
Racial Justice
Voting Rights
NAACP Minnesota-Dakotas Area State Conference v. Simon
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Minnesota, and Faegre Drinker LLP are suing Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon seeking to make voting safer in Minnesota in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Court Case
Jun 2020
Racial Justice
Disability Rights
McCadden v. City of Flint
The ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Flint Police Department and the Flint Chamber of Commerce on behalf of Cameron McCadden, a child with disabilities who was handcuffed by a school resource officer (SRO) when he was seven years old. Cameron, who is black, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
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Court Case
Jun 2020
Racial Justice
Disability Rights
McCadden v. City of Flint
The ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Flint Police Department and the Flint Chamber of Commerce on behalf of Cameron McCadden, a child with disabilities who was handcuffed by a school resource officer (SRO) when he was seven years old. Cameron, who is black, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).