Court Cases
All Cases
38 Court Cases
Jul 29, 2025
Black Lives Matter D.C. v. Trump – Challenging Federal Officers’ Unprovoked Attack on Civil Rights Demonstrators at Lafayette Square in Front of the White House
A coalition of civil rights orgs sued President Trump and high-level officials for tear-gassing protesters outside the White House on June 1, 2020.
Jul 25, 2025
Martin v. United States – Fighting to preserve federal officer accountability for constitutional violations
Sep 07, 2023
Molina v. Book – Advancing the right to observe police, and challenging qualified immunity doctrine, which shields officials from constitutional accountability
In 2015, police officers shot tear gas at two legal observers with bright green "Legal Observer" hats. The court ruled that words printed on clothing are not entitled to First Amendment protections. Together with the National ACLU and the ACLU of Missouri, we petitioned SCOTUS to review the case.
Nov 04, 2021
Cameron v. District of Columbia – Challenging Practice of Needlessly Retaining Arrested Individuals' Cell Phones for Months or Years Without Process
Aug 12, 2021
Asinor v. District of Columbia – Challenging Use of Chemical Irritants and Less-Lethal Projectiles Against Demonstrators and Journalists
The ACLU-DC filed a lawsuit on behalf of two photojournalists against the District of Columbia and 8 D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officers for unleashing chemical irritants and stun grenades one month after the D.C. Council instilled a ban on the use of these weapons during demonstrations.
Apr 29, 2021
Young Freedom of Information Act Requests
On April 28, 2021, the ACLU-DC filed three D.C. Freedom of Information Act requests with multiple District agencies to ask for information regarding Mr. Young's death.
Feb 16, 2021
ACLU-DC v. District of Columbia – Challenging D.C. Police’s Failure to Release Stop-and-Frisk Data
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