California
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
Apr 2022
FBI v. Fazaga
In a case scheduled to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on November 8, 2021, three Muslim Americans are challenging the FBI’s secret spying on them and their communities based on their religion, in violation of the Constitution and federal law. In what will likely be a landmark case, the plaintiffs — Yassir Fazaga, Ali Uddin Malik, and Yasser Abdelrahim — insist that the FBI cannot escape accountability for violating their religious freedom by invoking “state secrets.” The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, the ACLU of Southern California, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Council for American Islamic Relations, and the law firm of Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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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
Aug 2021
Innovation Law Lab v. Wolf
The American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s new policy forcing asylum seekers to return to Mexico and remain there while their cases are considered.
Status: Ongoing
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California
Mar 2019
MediaJustice, et al. v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al.
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.
Status: Ongoing
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All Northern California Cases
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33 Northern California Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2013
Hollingsworth v. Perry
Whether California’s Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as solely between a man and a woman, violates equal protection.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
LGBTQ Rights
Hollingsworth v. Perry
Whether California’s Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as solely between a man and a woman, violates equal protection.
Jun 2013
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Nov 2012
NASA v. Nelson
Whether the government may require Caltech employees working under contract at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in "low-risk" and "non-sensitive" jobs to disclose, among other things, information about medical treatment and psychological counseling that they may have received in connection with illegal drug use.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
National Security
Privacy & Technology
NASA v. Nelson
Whether the government may require Caltech employees working under contract at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in "low-risk" and "non-sensitive" jobs to disclose, among other things, information about medical treatment and psychological counseling that they may have received in connection with illegal drug use.
Nov 2012
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2011
Wal-Mart v. Dukes
Whether this sex discrimination case against Wal-Mart should be allowed to proceed as a class action.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Women's Rights
Wal-Mart v. Dukes
Whether this sex discrimination case against Wal-Mart should be allowed to proceed as a class action.
Jun 2011
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
May 2011
Brown v. Plata
Whether a federal court appropriately exercised its authority by ordering the State of California to reduce the size of its prison population, which was more than double the system’s intended capacity, after dozens of remedial orders had failed for more than a decade to ensure that California prisoners received constitutionally adequate medical and mental health care.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Smart Justice
Prisoners' Rights
Brown v. Plata
Whether a federal court appropriately exercised its authority by ordering the State of California to reduce the size of its prison population, which was more than double the system’s intended capacity, after dozens of remedial orders had failed for more than a decade to ensure that California prisoners received constitutionally adequate medical and mental health care.
May 2011
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2010
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association
Whether a California law prohibiting the sale of "violent video games" to minors violates the First Amendment.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Free Speech
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association
Whether a California law prohibiting the sale of "violent video games" to minors violates the First Amendment.
Sep 2010
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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