Emma Bond is the Legal Director at the ACLU of Maine, where she oversees the legal department and advances the organization's mission through litigation. She has litigated cases on a broad range of civil rights and civil liberties issues, including juvenile justice, disability rights, free speech, reproductive rights, prisoners' rights, and police accountability. Representative cases include:
- Leuthy v. LePage, 17-cv-296-JAW (successfully settled a lawsuit against Gov. Paul LePage over his practice of censoring people on the official “Paul LePage, Maine’s Governor” Facebook page, after a federal judge denied the Governor's request to dismiss the case).
- Smith v. Aroostook County, 376 F. Supp. 3d 146 (D. Me. 2019), aff'd, 922 F.3d 41 (1st Cir. 2019) (prevailed in a landmark case requiring a jail to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act by providing physician-prescribed treatment for an incarcerated person diagnosed with opioid use disorder).
- Smith v. Fitzpatrick, 18-cv-288-NT (successfully settling a case about access to medication for opioid use disorder, in which the Maine Department of Corrections agreed to continue providing necessary medication to our client while he was is in state custody).
- A.I. v. Long Creek, 18-cv-109-JAW (Successfully settled a lawsuit on behalf of an 11-year-old boy who had his teeth knocked out by guards in the Long Creek Youth Development Center).
- A.I. v. State, 223 A.3d 910 (Me. 2020) (submitted an amicus brief alongside numerous other organizations arguing that it is unconstitutional to incarcerate a youth who has been declared incompetent to stand trial; the case was dismissed as moot after the youth was discharged from the Long Creek Youth Development Center).
- State v. P.S.,224 A.3d 593 (Me. 2020) (Vacating a juvenile sentence as contrary to statute, holding that the court had discretion to order a shorter term of commitment) (filed an amicus brief along with the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers).
- Norris ex rel. A.M. v. Cape Elizabeth School District, 422 F. Supp. 3d 353 (D. Me. 2019), aff'd, 969 F.3d 12 (1st Cir. 2020) (winning a preliminary injunction in a student free speech case on behalf of a high school student who posted a rape awareness note in the girls' bathroom).
- ACLU of Maine v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Security, 18-cv-00176-JDL (prevailed in a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, obtaining training records from Customs and Border Protection showing that CBP agents often rely on consent to search at transportation hubs like bus stations).
- ACLU of Maine, ACLU of Vermont, ACLU of New Hampshire v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Security, --- F.Supp.3d ----2020 WL 3643126 (D. Me. 2020) (in a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, obtained records from Customs and Border Protection regarding checkpoints in New England).
Before joining the ACLU of Maine in 2017 as a staff attorney, Emma served as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, where she litigated cases involving international trade, contract disputes, and administrative law. A native Mainer, Emma earned her law degree summa cum laude from the University of Maine School of Law. She clerked for the Honorable Evan Wallach of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
