Civil Liberties
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U.S. Supreme Court
May 2020
Civil Liberties
Trump v. Vance
Whether President Trump should comply with a grandy jury subpoena and hand over his personal finance documents.
All Cases
24 Civil Liberties Cases
New Mexico Supreme Court
Feb 2026
Civil Liberties
Atencio v. State of New Mexico
This case asks whether the State of New Mexico’s actions enabling pollution from oil and gas extraction, and its failure to control that pollution, violate the New Mexico Constitution’s Pollution Control Clause, Inherent Rights Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause. Our brief urges the New Mexico Supreme Court to answer those questions by retiring its “interstitial approach” to state constitutional interpretation—which looks first to federal doctrine when interpreting state constitutional provisions that arguably have U.S. Constitutional analogues—and instead interpreting the New Mexico Constitution holistically and independently. This independent approach, we explain, will ensure that New Mexicans can enjoy—and enforce—the rights guaranteed to them in their unique founding document.
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New Mexico Supreme Court
Feb 2026
Civil Liberties
Atencio v. State of New Mexico
This case asks whether the State of New Mexico’s actions enabling pollution from oil and gas extraction, and its failure to control that pollution, violate the New Mexico Constitution’s Pollution Control Clause, Inherent Rights Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause. Our brief urges the New Mexico Supreme Court to answer those questions by retiring its “interstitial approach” to state constitutional interpretation—which looks first to federal doctrine when interpreting state constitutional provisions that arguably have U.S. Constitutional analogues—and instead interpreting the New Mexico Constitution holistically and independently. This independent approach, we explain, will ensure that New Mexicans can enjoy—and enforce—the rights guaranteed to them in their unique founding document.
Utah Supreme Court
Jan 2026
Civil Liberties
Fuja v. Stephens
This case asks whether government officials who intentionally violate the law are immune from damages suits under a state statute governing such suits, and if so, whether the statute itself violates the Open Courts Clause of the Utah Constitution.
Utah’s Open Courts Clause, like similar provisions in thirty-nine other states across the country, protects an individual’s right to seek judicial remedies for wrongs committed against them. It therefore serves as an important tool that does not exist in the U.S. Constitution to hold government actors accountable.
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Utah Supreme Court
Jan 2026
Civil Liberties
Fuja v. Stephens
This case asks whether government officials who intentionally violate the law are immune from damages suits under a state statute governing such suits, and if so, whether the statute itself violates the Open Courts Clause of the Utah Constitution.
Utah’s Open Courts Clause, like similar provisions in thirty-nine other states across the country, protects an individual’s right to seek judicial remedies for wrongs committed against them. It therefore serves as an important tool that does not exist in the U.S. Constitution to hold government actors accountable.
Washington, D.C.
Dec 2025
Civil Liberties
Voting Rights
United States v. Evans
Representing Common Cause and two D.C. voters, the ACLU Voting Rights Project and has filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit over the federal government’s demand that D.C. turn over its entire voter registration rolls, including voters’ sensitive personal data such as drivers’ license numbers and partial social security numbers.
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Washington, D.C.
Dec 2025
Civil Liberties
Voting Rights
United States v. Evans
Representing Common Cause and two D.C. voters, the ACLU Voting Rights Project and has filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit over the federal government’s demand that D.C. turn over its entire voter registration rolls, including voters’ sensitive personal data such as drivers’ license numbers and partial social security numbers.
Kentucky Supreme Court
Dec 2025
Civil Liberties
Commonwealth v. Davis and Commonwealth v. Kentucky Education Association
This case asks whether Kentucky’s legislature can legally favor some unions by giving them preferential treatment and disfavor others. A recent law does just that: SB 7 prohibits public employers from allowing their employees to use payroll deductions for union dues yet expressly exempts law enforcement and fire protection unions from this prohibition. Two state circuit courts and the Court of Appeals have held that this law violates the Kentucky Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. The State now appeals to the Kentucky Supreme Court. The Court’s decision has important implications for equal protection, free speech, and labor rights in Kentucky.
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Kentucky Supreme Court
Dec 2025
Civil Liberties
Commonwealth v. Davis and Commonwealth v. Kentucky Education Association
This case asks whether Kentucky’s legislature can legally favor some unions by giving them preferential treatment and disfavor others. A recent law does just that: SB 7 prohibits public employers from allowing their employees to use payroll deductions for union dues yet expressly exempts law enforcement and fire protection unions from this prohibition. Two state circuit courts and the Court of Appeals have held that this law violates the Kentucky Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. The State now appeals to the Kentucky Supreme Court. The Court’s decision has important implications for equal protection, free speech, and labor rights in Kentucky.
Rhode Island Supreme Court
Oct 2025
Civil Liberties
Parente et al. v. Lefebvre et al.
This case asks whether state officials in Rhode Island can be held liable for their discriminatory acts under the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act (RICRA), a state anti-discrimination law. The State of Rhode Island asserts that it has sovereign immunity as to claims brought under the RICRA and therefore cannot be sued for damages for violating that law. The State Supreme Court Initiative and the ACLU of Rhode Island filed an amicus brief arguing that the State is wrong: discrimination claims under the RICRA are covered by the State Tort Claims Act’s broad waiver of state sovereign immunity for “all actions of torts.” Thus, state officials may be held liable when they engage in discrimination prohibited by the RICRA, allowing harmed Rhode Islanders to seek redress.
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Rhode Island Supreme Court
Oct 2025
Civil Liberties
Parente et al. v. Lefebvre et al.
This case asks whether state officials in Rhode Island can be held liable for their discriminatory acts under the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act (RICRA), a state anti-discrimination law. The State of Rhode Island asserts that it has sovereign immunity as to claims brought under the RICRA and therefore cannot be sued for damages for violating that law. The State Supreme Court Initiative and the ACLU of Rhode Island filed an amicus brief arguing that the State is wrong: discrimination claims under the RICRA are covered by the State Tort Claims Act’s broad waiver of state sovereign immunity for “all actions of torts.” Thus, state officials may be held liable when they engage in discrimination prohibited by the RICRA, allowing harmed Rhode Islanders to seek redress.