Free Speech
Molina v. Book

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Molina v. Book
Free Speech
Status: Ongoing
Whether police officers violated clearly established First Amendment rights when they tear-gassed plaintiffs for serving as legal observers in a public protest.
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Featured
U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2023

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.
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jan 2021

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.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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All Cases
109 Free Speech Cases
Idaho
Aug 2023

Idaho Federation of Teachers v. Labrador
On August 8, 2023, the ACLU, the ACLU of Idaho, Professor Seth Kreimer, and law firm Strindberg Scholnick Birch Hallam Harstad Thorne, filed a lawsuit on behalf of two teachers’ unions and six professors in the U.S. District Court of Idaho to challenge Idaho’s No Public Funds for Abortion Act. The statute criminalizes the use of any public funds to “promote abortion” or “counsel in favor of abortion.” On behalf of our Plaintiffs, we argue that the law violates the First Amendment by restricting the academic speech of faculty at Idaho’s public universities, and is unconstitutionally vague under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Status: Ongoing
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Idaho
Free Speech
Idaho Federation of Teachers v. Labrador
On August 8, 2023, the ACLU, the ACLU of Idaho, Professor Seth Kreimer, and law firm Strindberg Scholnick Birch Hallam Harstad Thorne, filed a lawsuit on behalf of two teachers’ unions and six professors in the U.S. District Court of Idaho to challenge Idaho’s No Public Funds for Abortion Act. The statute criminalizes the use of any public funds to “promote abortion” or “counsel in favor of abortion.” On behalf of our Plaintiffs, we argue that the law violates the First Amendment by restricting the academic speech of faculty at Idaho’s public universities, and is unconstitutionally vague under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Aug 2023
Status: Ongoing
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Free Speech
Racial Justice
Pernell v. Lamb
On Thursday, August 18, 2022 the ACLU, ACLU of Florida, Legal Defense Fund and Ballard Spahr filed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s HB7 (aka the Stop W.O.K.E. Act) on behalf of a group of Florida educators and students in higher education.
Jul 2023
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Utah
Jun 2023

Southern Utah Drag Stars, LLC v. City of St. George
This case is about whether a city government’s selective and discriminatory refusal to permit a family-friendly drag event in a public park violated the event organizers’ First Amendment right to free speech and the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection, and related provisions contained in the Utah Constitution.
Status: Ongoing
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Utah
Free Speech
LGBTQ Rights
Southern Utah Drag Stars, LLC v. City of St. George
This case is about whether a city government’s selective and discriminatory refusal to permit a family-friendly drag event in a public park violated the event organizers’ First Amendment right to free speech and the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection, and related provisions contained in the Utah Constitution.
Jun 2023
Status: Ongoing
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Kentucky Supreme Court
Jun 2023

ARKK Properties v. Cameron
In 2023, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a new law that targets only those Kentuckians who “challenge the constitutionality” of a state statute or similar law and seek relief against a state defendant in state court. Under S.B. 126, any party to a covered lawsuit will have a unilateral right to require transfer of the case from the circuit court where it was properly filed to a randomly chosen circuit anywhere else in the state, potentially hundreds of miles away and at great cost to Kentuckians who stand up for their rights. The ACLU of Kentucky, the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, and the Kentucky Resources Council—with representation from attorneys at the ACLU of Kentucky and the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative—filed an amicus brief in the Kentucky Supreme Court, asking the Court to hold that the law violates the Kentucky Constitution.
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Kentucky Supreme Court
Free Speech
ARKK Properties v. Cameron
In 2023, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a new law that targets only those Kentuckians who “challenge the constitutionality” of a state statute or similar law and seek relief against a state defendant in state court. Under S.B. 126, any party to a covered lawsuit will have a unilateral right to require transfer of the case from the circuit court where it was properly filed to a randomly chosen circuit anywhere else in the state, potentially hundreds of miles away and at great cost to Kentuckians who stand up for their rights. The ACLU of Kentucky, the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, and the Kentucky Resources Council—with representation from attorneys at the ACLU of Kentucky and the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative—filed an amicus brief in the Kentucky Supreme Court, asking the Court to hold that the law violates the Kentucky Constitution.
Jun 2023
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