Press Releases

ACLU-D.C. lawyers and advocates are among the nation's leading experts on civil liberties and constitutional freedoms. They are regularly sought out by leading broadcast, print and online media to lend an essential voice to the conversation about some of the most important issues facing the nation and the District. For all press inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Mar 23, 2022

D.C. Jail Agrees To Improve Transgender Housing Policies To Settle Lawsuit of Trans Woman Housed in Men’s Unit

“No one should face what I had to face at the D.C. Jail. DOC put my safety and mental health at risk, and I’m glad that other trans people at the Jail will be treated with more dignity."
Issue Areas: Equal Protection and Discrimination, LGBTQ+ Rights, Women's Rights/Gender Equity, Criminal Justice Reform
Sep 30, 2021

Court Denies Preliminary Relief and Class Status in D.C. Jail Trans Housing Case But Allows Case to Continue

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia denied a preliminary injunction and class certification in Hinton v. District of Columbia, a case brought on behalf of Sunday Hinton, a trans woman who was housed in the men’s unit of the D.C. Jail for more than two weeks.
Issue Areas: LGBTQ+ Rights, Criminal Justice Reform, Equal Protection and Discrimination, Women's Rights/Gender Equity
Dec 19, 2018

Court Rules Trump Policies Denying Asylum Protections to People Fleeing Domestic and Gang Violence Are Illegal

A federal court has struck down Trump administration policies that sought to gut asylum protections for immigrants fleeing domestic violence and gang brutality.
Issue Areas: Women's Rights/Gender Equity, Immigrants' Rights
Court Cases: Grace v. Barr - Challenge to Trump Administration’s Narrow Interpretation of Asylum Law
Oct 31, 2018

Civil Rights Groups File Brief in Support of Equal Pay Act Case Against VA Medical Center

The ACLU and 25 women’s rights organizations have filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging a federal appeals court to reconsider a legal ruling that makes it more difficult for women to fight unlawful sex-based pay disparities under the Equal Pay Act.
Issue Areas: Women's Rights/Gender Equity, Equal Protection and Discrimination, Government Employees' Rights
Court Cases: Gordon v. United States - Enforcement of the Equal Pay Act to Eliminate Sex-Based Pay Disparity
May 09, 2016

ACLU Releases Report on DCPS's “Empowering Males of Color” Initiative

Report finds no justification for single-sex educational programs.
Issue Areas: Youth/Childrens' Rights, Racial Justice, Women's Rights/Gender Equity