State Supreme Court Initiative
Last updated on May 17, 2023
State Supreme Court Initiative
Last updated on May 17, 2023
The U.S. Supreme Court is increasingly not an option to protect, let alone expand, civil liberties and civil rights. Last year’s Supreme Court term was the most conservative in a century, as President Trump’s three nominees exercised their newfound power to rule against liberty and shrink our constitutional rights.
But state supreme courts offer promise in the face of a hostile federal judiciary. That’s why we’re taking the fight to the states – we want to show up with as many resources and tools as we have available. The ACLU is launching a dedicated effort, called the State Supreme Court Initiative, to fight for the expansion of rights through state supreme courts, both through litigation and advocacy work.
The State Supreme Court Initiative will build on the organization’s existing work in state supreme courts and will expand the organization’s litigating capacity. With lawyers in every state in the country, the ACLU is uniquely situated to do this important work and to develop cross-state expertise on state constitutional litigation.
Read The Report
In our report, “Our New Federalism,” we featured more than 125 cases in which the ACLU and our state affiliate offices have advanced arguments across 24 states over the last 5 years.
Read MoreAbout the Attorneys
Matthew Segal
Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU State Supreme Court Initiative
Julie Murray
Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU State Supreme Court Initiative
Where We've Made Progress
The ACLU and our affiliates have long been litigating for civil liberties and civil rights in state courts and we’ve seen a wide range of state constitutional victories over the past several years, a testament to our commitment to using state courts to protect and expand these rights. Below is a sample.
Gerrymandering
League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Commission
Ohio
Since the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that partisan gerrymandering is beyond the reach of the federal courts, the ACLU and its Ohio affiliate won state supreme court rulings that Ohio’s redistricting maps violate a state constitutional provision that bans partisan gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering
Abortion Access
Weems v. State
Montana
The ACLU of Montana, together with the Center for Reproductive Rights, blocked a state law that prevented qualified clinicians, including nurse practitioners and nurse midwives, from providing early abortion services.
Abortion Access
LGBTQ Rights
Doe v. Cleveland County Board of Education
North Carolina
The ACLU of North Carolina secured a temporary restraining order and a court-ordered settlement on the grounds that school officials had violated the Equal Protection Clause of the state constitution when they forbade a transgender boy from using the boys’ bathroom.
LGBTQ Rights
Criminal Justice
Comm. for Pub. Counsel Servs. v. Attorney Gen.
Massachusetts
The ACLU of Massachusetts, together with public defenders and other advocates, has won a series of victories at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court setting out rules for addressing mass outbreaks of wrongful convictions. These victories have overturned tens of thousands of wrongful convictions arising from drug scandals in Massachusetts, including the single largest court-ordered dismissal of wrongful convictions in U.S. history.
Criminal JusticeContact Us
For more information or to let us know about a pending case, contact statesupremecourt@aclu.org.
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