An Update on Our Biggest Stories of 2021

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held today in US v. Hemani that the government cannot prosecute someone as a felon simply for using marijuana and owning a gun that is securely stored. In 2023, the federal government charged Ali Hemani under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which makes it a felony for someone who is an “unlawful user of” or “addicted to” a controlled substance to possess a firearm. Hemani was charged under this statute as an “unlawful user” based on his use of marijuana and the fact that he owned a firearm that was safely secured in his home. The court held that the government’s prosecution of Mr. Hemani under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) based on his marijuana use violates the Second Amendment. “Today’s unanimous 9-0 decision makes it clear that the government cannot make it crime for people to own a gun, which the Supreme Court has held is a fundamental constitutional right, simply because they use marijuana,” said Cecillia Wang, legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union. “With nearly half of Americans reporting marijuana use at some point in their lives, this ruling protects the rights of millions and curbs the government’s ability to impose arbitrary and discriminatory penalties. The court has sent a strong message that the government cannot criminalize the conduct of large numbers of people by making categorical and unfounded assumptions about whether they are dangerous.” At the Supreme Court, Mr. Hemani’s defense team raised two constitutional arguments. First, that the statute is unconstitutionally vague because its plain text does not provide the degree of clarity required of criminal statutes and, therefore, invites overbroad and discriminatory enforcement. Second, that the law violates the Second Amendment when applied to individuals like Mr. Hemani because, applying the Supreme Court’s test, there is no historical tradition of imposing substantial criminal penalties on users of intoxicants like alcohol or marijuana. Ali Hemani is represented by the ACLU, the CLEAR clinic at the CUNY School of Law, Clement & Murphy, and Newland Legal. Organizations and individuals across the ideological spectrum joined as amici, including the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the Cato Institute, the National Rifle Association (NRA), criminal defense lawyers, and constitutional law scholars.

We’ve already seen what that looks like in places like Memphis; New “Model Cities Initiative” would spread it to other cities

PHOENIX — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today against the city of Phoenix for unlawfully denying access to public records that would shed light on the police department’s use of force policies and practices. The public records request, sent in May 2025, seeks to uncover whether the Phoenix Police Department (PPD) continues to have use of force problems that were identified in the Biden administration’s 2024 report. The ACLU filed similar requests in six other jurisdictions across the country where the Trump administration abruptly ended federal oversight. “Nearly a year after we submitted our public records request, PPD is still refusing to turn over information the public has a clear right to see,” said Sapana Anand, staff attorney at the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project. “The Trump administration let PPD off the hook before they had to do the work to fix the serious problems that plagued the department, and now the public is left in the dark about whether that misconduct is continuing. Police are supposed to serve our communities, not operate in the shadows. If PPD has nothing to hide, it should show that these abuses have stopped by turning over what we asked for.” In May 2025, the Trump administration retracted the Biden administration’s finding of widespread police misconduct, excessive force, and racial targeting in Phoenix. The report includes horror stories of PPD’s routine use of egregious force, including the use of deadly neck restraints and the use of firearms and tasers on people who were already incapacitated. “Transparency is not a courtesy — it is the law. The Phoenix Police Department’s refusal to turn over public records has only deepened concerns that misconduct and excessive use of force continue,” said Lauren Beall, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Arizona. “The people of Phoenix deserve to know how, when, and why their government uses violence against them.” “Since the DOJ came to Phoenix, the police department and the City Council that enables them have been parroting talking points about ‘continuous improvement’ and ‘self-correction,’ but the lived experience of Phoenix residents says otherwise,” said Ben Laughlin, interim director of Poder in Action. “Our reality since the Trump administration retracted the report is 22 shootings, numerous scandals, and blocked transparency. We need these records released so that everyone can see what our communities already know from experience: PPD is a violent agency that must be held accountable.” The ACLU’s public record request seeks information about continued excessive force at the moment the Trump administration retracted findings, to determine whether the misconduct uncovered by the DOJ is continuing absent of federal oversight. PPD denied the request, despite the request fitting comfortably within the category of information that PPD is required to produce under state law. The complaint is available here: https://www.aclu.org/documents/poder-in-action-v-city-of-phoenix-police-department-verified-complaint-for-statutory-special-action-and-injunctive-relief

ACLU and partners urged members of Congress during Community Safety Week to pass legislation that allows people to sue federal law enforcement when they violate their rights.