# 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, 268 U.S. 652 (1925) - represented Benjamin Gitlow
1927
* Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

## 1930s

1931
* Stromberg v. California, 283 U.S. 359 (1931) - represented Yetta Stromberg
1932
* Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932) - represented the Scottsboro Boys
1933
* United States v. One Book Called Ulysses
1935
* Patterson v. Alabama, 294 U.S. 600 (1935)
1937
* De Jonge v. Oregon, 299 U.S. 353 (1937) - represented Dirk De Jonge
1938
* Lovell v. City of Griffin, 303 U.S. 444 (1935)
1939
* Hague v. CIO, 307 U.S. 496 (1939).
1939
* Bolanos v. California - represented Wesley Packard

## 1940s

1940
* Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
1941
* Edwards v. California, 314 U.S. 160 (1941)
1942
* Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942)
1943
* Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81 (1943) - Amicus curiae for Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi
* West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) - Amicus curiae
* Martin v. Struthers
1944
* Korematsu v. United States
* Smith v. Allwright
1946
* Hannegan v. Esquire
1947
* Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947) - 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
* Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) - Amicus curiae for Oliver Brown
* Hernandez v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475 (1954) civil rights
1957
* Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957) - Amicus curiae for Samuel Roth
* Watkins v. United States
* Yates v. United States, 354 U.S. 298 (1957) - Amicus curiae for Yates
1958
* Kent v. Dulles
* Speiser v. Randall, 357 U.S. 513 (1958) - ACLU lawyer Lawrence Speiser defended himself
* Trop v. Dulles
1959
* Smith v. California

## 1960s

1961
* Mapp v. Ohio, 377 U.S. 643 (1961) - Amicus curiae for Dollree Mapp
* Poe v. Ullman
1962
* Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962) - represented Steven I. Engel
1963
* Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963) - represented Edward Schempp
* Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963) - Amicus curiae for Clarence Earl Gideon
1964
* Baggett v. Bullitt
* Carroll v. Princess Anne County
* Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 (1964) - Amicus curiae for Danny Escobedo
* Jacobellis v. Ohio
* New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964) - Amicus curiae for The New York Times
* Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964) - represented B.A. Reynolds
1965
* Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965) - Amicus curiae for Estelle T. Griswold
* Lamont v. Postmaster General
* United States v. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163 (1965) - Amicus curiae for Seeger, Jakobson and Peter
1966
* Bond v. Floyd
* Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966) - Amicus curiae for Ernesto Miranda
1967
* Keyishian v. Board of Regents
* Loving v. Virginia
* Whitus v. Georgia
1968
* Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968) - Amicus curiae for Susan Epperson
* Jones v. Mayer, 392 U.S. 409 (1968) - Amicus curiae for Joseph Lee Jones
* King v. Smith
* Levy v. Louisiana
* Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) - Amicus curiae for John W. Terry
* Washington v. Lee
1969
* Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969) - represented Clarence Brandenburg
* Gregory v. Chicago
* Street v. New York
* Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969) - represented the Tinker and Eckhardt families
* Watts v. United States

## 1970s

1970
* Goldberg v. Kelly
1971
* Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971) - Amicus curiae for Paul Robert Cohen
* New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971) - Amicus curiae for The New York Times and The Washington Post
* Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe
* Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71 (1971) - represented Sally Reed
* United States v. Vuitch
1972
* Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972) - Amicus curiae for William Baird
* Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972) - Amicus curiae for William Furman, Lucious Jackson and Elmer Branch
* Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1
1973
* Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
* Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973) - represented "Mary Doe"
* Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973) - Amicus curiae for Sharron Frontiero
* Schlesinger v. Holtzman
* Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973) - Amicus curiae for Marvin Miller
1974
* Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb
* Smith v. Goguen
* United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974) - 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, 432 U.S. 43 (1977) - 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, 458 U.S. 747 (1982) - Amicus curiae for Paul Ferber
* McLean v. Arkansas
1983
* Bob Jones University v. United States
* City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 462 U.S. 416 (1983).
1985
* Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985) - Amicus curiae for Ishmael Jaffree
1987
* Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987) - represented Aguillard pro bono
1988
* Nelson v. Streeter - represented artist in Harold Washington portrait controversy
1989
* County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573 (1989) - represented itself
* Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989) - Amicus curiae for Gregory Lee Johnson
* United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259 (1990) - Amicus curiae for Rene Martin Verdugo-Urquidez
* Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. 490 (1989)

## 1990s

1990
* Cruzan v. Director of the Missouri Department of Health - represented Nancy Cruzan's family
* Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990) - Amicus curiae for Alfred Smith and Galen Black
* Hodgson v. Minnesota, 497 U.S. 417 (1990).
* United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990) - Amicus curiae for Shawn Eichman
1991
* Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173 (1991).
1992
* Hudson v. McMillian
* Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992) - Amicus curiae for Deborah Weisman
* Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992) - represented Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania
* R. A. V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377 (1992) - 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, 515 U.S. 900 (1995).
* Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. v. State of New York, - Amicus curiae
1996
* ACLU v. Zell Miller - represented itself
* Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996).
* NOW v. Scheidler, - Amicus curiae
1997
* Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844 (1997).
1999
* ACLU v. Schundler
* Hunt v. Cromartie, 526 U.S. 541 (1999) - Amicus curiae
* Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc.

## 2000s

2000
* Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S. 914 (2000) - Amicus curiae
* Curley v. NAMBLA - represented NAMBLA pro bono
* Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000) - 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, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) - 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
* 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
2013
* Clapper v. Amnesty International
* Missouri v. McNeely
* United States v. Windsor
2015
* Ingersoll v. Arlene's Flowers
* ACLU and others v. NSA
* Obergefell v. Hodges
2017
* 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