Racial Justice
Fund for Empowerment v. Phoenix, City of
Fund for Empowerment is a challenge to the City of Phoenix’s practice of conducting sweeps of encampments without notice, issuing citations to unsheltered people for camping and sleeping on public property when they have no place else to go, and confiscating and destroying their property without notice or process.
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2023
![United States v. Rahimi](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
United States v. Rahimi
Whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which prohibits the possession of firearms by persons subject to domestic-violence restraining orders, violates the Second Amendment on its face.
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2023
![Muldrow v. City of St. Louis](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Muldrow v. City of St. Louis
Do employees claiming that they have been denied a transfer because of their race have to demonstrate in addition that the transfer caused a significant material disadvantage?
Status: Ongoing
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Jun 2020
![Defy Ventures, Inc. v. Small Business Administration](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Defy Ventures, Inc. v. Small Business Administration
Suing the Trump administration to lift its unlawful exclusion of businesses owned by people with criminal records from being eligible for Paycheck Protection Act funds
Status: Ongoing
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California
Mar 2019
![Protester holding "#Black Lives Matter" sign](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/web19-blm-rally-1160x864-600x447.jpg)
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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Aug 2015
![S.R. v. Kenton County Sheriff's Office](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/String out 2.00_01_01_06.Still001-600x338.jpg)
S.R. v. Kenton County Sheriff's Office
A deputy sheriff shackled two elementary school children who have disabilities, causing them pain and trauma, according to a federal lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Children's Law Center, and Dinsmore & Shohl.
Status: Closed (Settled)
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All Cases
124 Racial Justice Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Jan 2022
![Concepcion v. United States](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Concepcion v. United States
Whether a district court must or may consider intervening legal and factual developments when deciding if it should “impose a reduced sentence” on an individual under Section 404(b) of the First Step Act of 2018, which was enacted to ameliorate the unjust sentences imposed by overly harsh treatment of crack cocaine offenses under prior law.
Status: Ongoing
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![Concepcion v. United States](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
U.S. Supreme Court
Racial Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Concepcion v. United States
Whether a district court must or may consider intervening legal and factual developments when deciding if it should “impose a reduced sentence” on an individual under Section 404(b) of the First Step Act of 2018, which was enacted to ameliorate the unjust sentences imposed by overly harsh treatment of crack cocaine offenses under prior law.
Jan 2022
Status: Ongoing
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Oct 2021
![school classroom](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/Web21-critical-race-theory_Blog-Wordpress-1110x740-1-600x400.jpg)
Black Emergency Response Team v. O'Connor
This lawsuit challenges an Oklahoma classroom censorship law, HB 1775, that severely restricts public school teachers and students from teaching and learning about race and gender.
Status: Ongoing
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![school classroom](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/Web21-critical-race-theory_Blog-Wordpress-1110x740-1-600x400.jpg)
Racial Justice
Free Speech
Black Emergency Response Team v. O'Connor
This lawsuit challenges an Oklahoma classroom censorship law, HB 1775, that severely restricts public school teachers and students from teaching and learning about race and gender.
Oct 2021
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Oct 2021
![Center for Investigative Reporting v. SEPTA](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Center for Investigative Reporting v. SEPTA
In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the Philadelphia metropolitan transit system’s ban on “political” and public issue advertisements violated the First Amendment because the policy could not be applied in a logical, consistent manner.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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![Center for Investigative Reporting v. SEPTA](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
U.S. Supreme Court
Racial Justice
Free Speech
Center for Investigative Reporting v. SEPTA
In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the Philadelphia metropolitan transit system’s ban on “political” and public issue advertisements violated the First Amendment because the policy could not be applied in a logical, consistent manner.
Oct 2021
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Aug 2021
![J.W. v. Paley](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
J.W. v. Paley
It is critical that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals clarify that the Fourth Amendment applies to the use of force against schoolchildren. J.W. v. Paley involves Fourteenth and Fourth Amendment claims stemming from a police officer tasing a high school student with disabilities who was attempting to exit the school building to calm down following an incident with another student. The district court dismissed the Fourteenth Amendment claim based on precedent, but allowed the Fourth Amendment claim to proceed, denying qualified immunity to the officer. The Fifth Circuit, however, reversed the lower court’s decision regarding the Fourth Amendment claim, ultimately leaving schoolchildren without any constitutional protection from excessive force by law enforcement in the Fifth Circuit.
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![J.W. v. Paley](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Racial Justice
+2 Issues
J.W. v. Paley
It is critical that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals clarify that the Fourth Amendment applies to the use of force against schoolchildren. J.W. v. Paley involves Fourteenth and Fourth Amendment claims stemming from a police officer tasing a high school student with disabilities who was attempting to exit the school building to calm down following an incident with another student. The district court dismissed the Fourteenth Amendment claim based on precedent, but allowed the Fourth Amendment claim to proceed, denying qualified immunity to the officer. The Fifth Circuit, however, reversed the lower court’s decision regarding the Fourth Amendment claim, ultimately leaving schoolchildren without any constitutional protection from excessive force by law enforcement in the Fifth Circuit.
Aug 2021
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Montana
Jul 2021
![Native Americans on horse back protesting at Capitol Hill](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2021/07/Header-Native-American-History-600x400.jpg)
Yellow Kidney, et al. v. Montana Office of Public Instruction, et al.
In July 2021, the ACLU, the ACLU of Montana, and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of five Indian nations and 18 individual plaintiffs challenging the state of Montana’s failure to fulfill its constitutional mandate to teach public school students the history and culture of the first peoples of Montana in consultation with local tribes.
Status: Ongoing
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![Native Americans on horse back protesting at Capitol Hill](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2021/07/Header-Native-American-History-600x400.jpg)
Montana
Racial Justice
Yellow Kidney, et al. v. Montana Office of Public Instruction, et al.
In July 2021, the ACLU, the ACLU of Montana, and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of five Indian nations and 18 individual plaintiffs challenging the state of Montana’s failure to fulfill its constitutional mandate to teach public school students the history and culture of the first peoples of Montana in consultation with local tribes.
Jul 2021
Status: Ongoing
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