One of the main ways ACLU-DC works to protect civil liberties and civil rights is through litigation. This section of our website documents the cases we’re working on now and those we’ve handled in recent years. Click here for general information about what types of cases we litigate.
Important disclaimer: Communicating with us through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship; only a signed agreement can create such a relationship. Additionally, past success is no guarantee of future results, even if we agree to represent you.
Plaintiffs Robert Dexter Weir, Patrick Wayne Ferguson, David Roderick Williams, and Luther Fian Patterson are Jamaican fishermen. In September 2017, the Coast Guard stopped their fishing boat in the...
In 2017, the American Civil Liberties Union filed this lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to expose the treatment of hunger strikers in Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
Mr. Blades was convicted of assault with intent to kill while armed and related offenses, after a trial in which was conducted in a manner that is quite common in D.C. Superior Court. First, the judge...
Respondent Erik Brunetti sought federal registration of the trademark FUCT. The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) denied his application under a provision of federal law that prohibits registration of...
Residents of the District of Columbia have no voting representation in Congress. They have a delegate (Eleanor Holmes Norton) who can vote in House committees, but cannot vote on the House floor on proposed...
In November 2002, the CIA tortured Afghan citizen Gul Rahman to death. The CIA covered up his death for years and continues to hide information about the whereabouts of his body from his grieving family....