Racial Justice
Defy Ventures, Inc. v. Small Business Administration

Defy Ventures, Inc. v. Small Business Administration
Racial Justice
Status: Filed
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
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Racial Justice
MediaJustice, et al. v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al.
Status: Filed
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.
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Racial Justice
S.R. v. Kenton County Sheriff's Office
Status: Settled
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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All Cases
May 23, 2022

May 23, 2022
Brown v. Lexington County, et al
Racial Justice
Status: Filed
In the latest front in the nationwide fight against criminalization of poverty and, specifically, debtors' prisons, on June 1, 2017, the ACLU's Racial Justice Program, the ACLU of South Carolina, and Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC filed a federal lawsuit challenging the illegal arrest and incarceration of indigent people in Lexington County, South Carolina, for failure to pay fines and fess, without determining willfulness or providing assistance to counsel. Those targeted by this long-standing practice can avoid jail only if they pay the entire amount of outstanding court fines and fees up front and in full. Indigent people who are unable to pay are incarcerated for weeks to months without ever seeing a judge, having a court hearing, or receiving help from a lawyer. The result is one of the most draconian debtors’ prisons uncovered by the ACLU since 2010.
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Apr 28, 2022


Apr 28, 2022
Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C.
Racial Justice
Status: Decided
Whether civil rights statutes that prohibit federal financial recipients from discriminating on the basis of disability, race, and sex allow plaintiffs to be compensated for emotional distress injuries where they show that they were victims of discrimination.
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Apr 21, 2022


Apr 21, 2022
U.S. v. Vaello-Madero
Racial Justice
Status: Decided
Whether excluding Puerto Rico residents from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program violates the equal protection component of the 5th Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
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Jan 19, 2022


Jan 19, 2022
Concepcion v. United States
Racial Justice
Status: Heard
Whether a district court must or may consider intervening legal and factual developments when deciding if it should “impose a reduced sentence” on an individual under Section 404(b) of the First Step Act of 2018, which was enacted to ameliorate the unjust sentences imposed by overly harsh treatment of crack cocaine offenses under prior law.
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Oct 29, 2021

Oct 29, 2021
BERT v. O'CONNOR
Racial Justice
Status: Filed
On October 19, 2021 the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Oklahoma, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and pro bono counsel Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP filed a lawsuit challenging an Oklahoma classroom censorship bill, HB 1775, which severely restricts public school teachers and students from learning and talking about race and gender in the classroom.
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