List of court cases involving the American Civil Liberties Union

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been involved in the following legal cases, either by representing a party, or filing an amicus brief, or otherwise significantly involved.

1920s
1925
 * Tennessee v. Scopes (Scopes Trial) - paid for John Scopes' defense
 * Gitlow v. New York, - represented Benjamin Gitlow

1927
 * Whitney v. California,

1930s
1931
 * Stromberg v. California, - represented Yetta Stromberg

1932
 * Powell v. Alabama, - represented the Scottsboro Boys

1933
 * United States v. One Book Called Ulysses

1935
 * Patterson v. Alabama,

1937
 * De Jonge v. Oregon, - represented Dirk De Jonge

1938
 * Lovell v. City of Griffin,

1939
 * Hague v. CIO,.

1939
 * Bolanos v. California - represented Wesley Packard

1940s
1940
 * Cantwell v. Connecticut,

1941
 * Edwards v. California,

1942
 * Betts v. Brady,

1943
 * Hirabayashi v. United States, - Amicus curiae for Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi
 * West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, - Amicus curiae
 * Martin v. Struthers

1944
 * Korematsu v. United States
 * Smith v. Allwright

1946
 * Hannegan v. Esquire

1947
 * Everson v. Board of Education, - Amicus curiae for Arch R. Everson

1948
 * Shelley v. Kraemer

1950s
1951
 * Kunz v. New York

1952
 * Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson
 * Rochin v. California

1954 1957
 *  Brown v. Board of Education, - Amicus curiae for Oliver Brown
 * Hernandez v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475 (1954) civil rights
 * Roth v. United States, - Amicus curiae for Samuel Roth
 * Watkins v. United States
 * Yates v. United States, - Amicus curiae for Yates

1958
 * Kent v. Dulles
 * Speiser v. Randall, - ACLU lawyer Lawrence Speiser defended himself
 * Trop v. Dulles

1959
 * Smith v. California

1960s
1961
 * Mapp v. Ohio, - Amicus curiae for Dollree Mapp
 * Poe v. Ullman

1962
 * Engel v. Vitale, - represented Steven I. Engel

1963
 * Abington School District v. Schempp, - represented Edward Schempp
 * Gideon v. Wainwright, - Amicus curiae for Clarence Earl Gideon

1964
 * Baggett v. Bullitt
 * Carroll v. Princess Anne County
 * Escobedo v. Illinois, - Amicus curiae for Danny Escobedo
 * Jacobellis v. Ohio
 * New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, - Amicus curiae for The New York Times
 * Reynolds v. Sims, - represented B.A. Reynolds

1965
 * Griswold v. Connecticut, - Amicus curiae for Estelle T. Griswold
 * Lamont v. Postmaster General
 * United States v. Seeger, - Amicus curiae for Seeger, Jakobson and Peter

1966
 * Bond v. Floyd
 * Miranda v. Arizona, - Amicus curiae for Ernesto Miranda

1967
 * Keyishian v. Board of Regents
 * Loving v. Virginia
 * Whitus v. Georgia

1968
 * Epperson v. Arkansas, - Amicus curiae for Susan Epperson
 * Jones v. Mayer, - Amicus curiae for Joseph Lee Jones
 * King v. Smith
 * Levy v. Louisiana
 * Terry v. Ohio, - Amicus curiae for John W. Terry
 * Washington v. Lee

1969
 * Brandenburg v. Ohio, - represented Clarence Brandenburg
 * Gregory v. Chicago
 * Street v. New York
 * Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, - represented the Tinker and Eckhardt families
 * Watts v. United States

1970s
1970
 * Goldberg v. Kelly

1971
 * Cohen v. California, - Amicus curiae for Paul Robert Cohen
 * New York Times Co. v. United States, - Amicus curiae for The New York Times and The Washington Post
 * Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe
 * Reed v. Reed, - represented Sally Reed
 * United States v. Vuitch

1972
 * Eisenstadt v. Baird, - Amicus curiae for William Baird
 * Furman v. Georgia, - Amicus curiae for William Furman, Lucious Jackson and Elmer Branch
 * Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1

1973
 * Roe v. Wade,
 * Doe v. Bolton, - represented "Mary Doe"
 * Frontiero v. Richardson, - Amicus curiae for Sharron Frontiero
 * Schlesinger v. Holtzman
 * Miller v. California, - Amicus curiae for Marvin Miller

1974
 * Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb
 * Smith v. Goguen
 * United States v. Nixon, - Amicus curiae against Richard Nixon

1975
 * O'Connor v. Donaldson
 * Taylor v. Louisiana

1976
 * Buckley v. Valeo

1977
 * Wooley v. Maynard

1978
 * In re Primus
 * National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, - represented the National Socialist Party of America.  Also known as Smith v. Collin

1980s
1980
 * Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins

1982
 * Island Trees School District v. Pico
 * New York v. Ferber,  - Amicus curiae for Paul Ferber
 * McLean v. Arkansas

1983
 * Bob Jones University v. United States
 * City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health,.

1985
 * Wallace v. Jaffree, - Amicus curiae for Ishmael Jaffree

1987
 * Edwards v. Aguillard, - represented Aguillard pro bono

1988
 * Nelson v. Streeter - represented artist in Harold Washington portrait controversy

1989
 * County of Allegheny v. ACLU, - represented itself
 *  Texas v. Johnson, - Amicus curiae for Gregory Lee Johnson
 * United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, - Amicus curiae for Rene Martin Verdugo-Urquidez
 * Webster v. Reproductive Health Services,

1990s
1990
 * Cruzan v. Director of the Missouri Department of Health - represented Nancy Cruzan's family
 *  Employment Division v. Smith, - Amicus curiae for Alfred Smith and Galen Black
 * Hodgson v. Minnesota,.
 * United States v. Eichman, - Amicus curiae for Shawn Eichman

1991
 * Rust v. Sullivan,.

1992
 * Hudson v. McMillian
 * Lee v. Weisman, - Amicus curiae for Deborah Weisman
 * Planned Parenthood v. Casey, - represented Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania
 * R. A. V. v. City of St. Paul, - Amicus curiae for R. A. V.

1993
 * J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B.
 * Wisconsin v. Mitchell

1994
 * City of Ladue v. Gilleo

1995
 * Capitol Square Review Board v. Pinett
 * Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah
 * Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston
 * McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission
 * Miller v. Johnson,.
 * Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. v. State of New York, - Amicus curiae

1996
 * ACLU v. Zell Miller - represented itself
 * Romer v. Evans,.
 * NOW v. Scheidler, - Amicus curiae

1997
 * Reno v. ACLU,.

1999
 * ACLU v. Schundler
 * Hunt v. Cromartie, - Amicus curiae
 * Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc.

2000s
2000
 * Stenberg v. Carhart, - Amicus curiae
 * Curley v. NAMBLA - represented NAMBLA pro bono
 * Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, - Amicus curiae
 * City of Indianapolis v. Edmond

2002
 * ACLU v. Ashcroft (2002)
 * Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A.

2003
 * State v. Dalton
 *  McConnell v. FEC
 * Lawrence v. Texas, - Amicus curiae
 * Goodridge v. Department of Public Health - Amicus curiae
 * Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of New England - Amicus curiae
 * United States v. American Library Association

2004
 * ACLU v. Ashcroft (2004)
 * ACLU v. Department of Defense - appellant
 * Hamdi v. Rumsfeld - Amicus curiae
 * Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow - Amicus curiae
 * Rumsfeld v. Padilla - Amicus curiae
 * Rasul v. Bush - Amicus curiae
 * Locke v. Davey - Amicus curiae

2005
 * Castle Rock v. Gonzales - Amicus curiae for Jessica Gonzales
 * Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning - Plaintiff alongside Citizens for Equal Protection and Nebraska Advocates for Justice Equality
 * City of San Diego and Mt. Soledad Memorial Association v. Paulson - represented Philip Paulson
 * McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky - ACLU defended itself
 * The King’s English v. Shurtleff - represented King's English and others
 * Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District - represented eleven parents
 * Varian v. Delfino - Amicus curiae for Michelangelo Delfino and Mary Day
 * Gonzales v. Oregon - Amicus curiae for Oregon
 * Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights - Amicus curiae for Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights
 * MGM v. Grokster - Amicus curiae in support of Grokster

2006
 * Qassim v. Bush - Amicus curiae in support of Qassim
 * ACLU v. NSA
 * Howard v. Arkansas - represented Matthew Lee Howard and other plaintiffs

2007
 * Morse v. Frederick - Amicus curiae in support of Frederick
 * Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood - Amicus curiae in support of Carhart and Planned Parenthood

2008
 * Abdel-Moniem El-Ganayni vs. the United States Department of Energy et al. - represented Dr. El-Ganayni pro-bono

2009
 * In re Gill - represented Martin Gill
 * Safford Unified School District v. Redding – represented respondent Redding

2010s
2010 2013
 * Perry v. Schwarzenegger - Amicus curiae; private communications between officials in the organization were ordered to be released publicly as court evidence
 * Amnesty v. Blair - Amicus curiae
 * Davis v. Billington
 * Clapper v. Amnesty International
 * Missouri v. McNeely
 * United States v. Windsor

2015 2017
 * Ingersoll v. Arlene's Flowers
 * ACLU and others v. NSA
 * Obergefell v. Hodges


 * Stewart v. Heineman

2020s
2021
 * Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.

2024
 * National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo

Alphabetical

 * Abington School District v. Schempp
 * Abrams v. United States
 * ACLU v. NSA
 * ACLU v. Schundler
 * Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union
 * American Civil Liberties Union v. Ashcroft
 * American Civil Liberties Union v. Department of Defense
 * Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
 * Baggett v. Bullitt
 * Betts v. Brady
 * Bob Jones University v. United States
 * Bond v. Floyd
 * Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
 * Brandenburg v. Ohio
 * Brown v. Board of Education
 * Buckley v. Valeo
 * Cantwell v. Connecticut
 * Capitol Square Review Board v. Pinett
 * Carroll v. Princess Anne County
 * Castle Rock v. Gonzales
 * Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah
 * Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning
 * City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health
 * City of Ladue v. Gilleo
 * City of Indianapolis v. Edmond
 * Cohen v. California
 * Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb
 * County of Allegheny v. ACLU
 * Nancy Cruzan
 * Curley v. NAMBLA
 * Davis v. Billington
 * De Jonge v. Oregon
 * Doe v. Bolton
 * Edwards v. Aguillard
 * Edwards v. California
 * Eisenstadt v. Baird
 * Abdel-Moniem El-Ganayni
 * Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow
 * Employment Division v. Smith
 * Engel v. Vitale
 * Epperson v. Arkansas
 * Escobedo v. Illinois
 * Everson v. Board of Education
 * Frontiero v. Richardson
 * Furman v. Georgia
 * Gideon v. Wainwright
 * Gitlow v. New York
 * Goldberg v. Kelly
 * Gonzales v. Carhart
 * Gonzales v. Oregon
 * Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
 * Gregory v. Chicago
 * Griswold v. Connecticut
 * Hague v. Committee for Industrial Organization
 * Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
 * Hannegan v. Esquire
 * Hirabayashi v. United States
 * Hodgson v. Minnesota
 * Howard v. Arkansas
 * Hudson v. McMillian
 * Hunt v. Cromartie
 * Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston
 * Ingersoll v. Arlene's Flowers
 * In re Gill
 * In re Primus
 * Island Trees School District v. Pico
 * Jacobellis v. Ohio
 * J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B.
 * Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co.
 * Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson
 * Kent v. Dulles
 * Keyishian v. Board of Regents
 * King v. Smith
 * Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
 * Korematsu v. United States
 * Kunz v. New York
 * Lamont v. Postmaster General
 * Lawrence v. Texas
 * Lee v. Weisman
 * Levy v. Louisiana
 * Locke v. Davey
 * Lovell v. City of Griffin
 * Loving v. Virginia
 * Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.
 * Mapp v. Ohio
 * Martin v. Struthers
 * McConnell v. Federal Election Commission
 * McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky
 * McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission
 * McLean v. Arkansas
 * MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.
 * Miller v. California
 * Miller v. Johnson
 * Miranda v. Arizona
 * Morse v. Frederick
 * Mount Soledad cross controversy
 * National Organization for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler
 * National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo
 * National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie
 * New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
 * New York Times Co. v. United States
 * New York v. Ferber
 * O'Connor v. Donaldson
 * Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe
 * Patterson v. Alabama
 * Perry v. Schwarzenegger
 * Planned Parenthood v. Casey
 * Poe v. Ullman
 * Powell v. Alabama
 * Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins
 * Qassim v. Bush
 * R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul
 * Rasul v. Bush
 * Reed v. Reed
 * Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union
 * Reynolds v. Sims
 * Rochin v. California
 * Roe v. Wade
 * Romer v. Evans
 * Roth v. United States
 * Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc.
 * Rumsfeld v. Padilla
 * Rust v. Sullivan
 * Scopes Trial
 * Schlesinger v. Holtzman
 * Shelley v. Kraemer
 * Smith v. Allwright
 * Smith v. Collin
 * Smith v. California
 * Smith v. Goguen
 * Speiser v. Randall
 * State v. Dalton
 * Stenberg v. Carhart
 * Stewart v. Heineman
 * Street v. New York
 * Stromberg v. California
 * Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc.
 * Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A.
 * Taylor v. Louisiana
 * Terry v. Ohio
 * Texas v. Johnson
 * The King's English v. Shurtleff
 * Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
 * Trop v. Dulles
 * United States v. Eichman
 * United States v. One Book Called Ulysses
 * United States v. Nixon
 * United States v. Seeger
 * United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez
 * United States v. Vuitch
 * Varian v. Delfino
 * Wallace v. Jaffree
 * Washington v. Lee
 * Watkins v. United States
 * Watts v. United States
 * Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
 * West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
 * Whitney v. California
 * Whitus v. Georgia
 * Wisconsin v. Mitchell
 * Wooley v. Maynard
 * Yates v. United States