Sep 18, 2025
United States of America v. Maine
Status: Pending
In September 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the State of Maine for violating young people's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Apr 18, 2025
Pasula v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al.
Status: Pending
The ACLU has filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of over 100 students whose F-1 student immigration statuses were unlawfully terminated. We're asking the court to reinstate their F-1 student...
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Apr 11, 2025
Defending Freedom of Speech - Smith v. Trump
Status: Active
On April 11, 2025, the ACLU and ACLU of Maine filed a lawsuit on behalf of two human rights advocates who, because of an executive order signed by President Trump, have been forced to stop humanitarian work...
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Mar 1, 2022
Protecting the Right to Counsel – Robbins v. State of Maine
Status: Active
We're suing the state for failing to provide effective legal assistance to people who cannot afford their own attorney – just as the Sixth Amendment demands. A person’s freedom should never depend on their...
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Jan 21, 2025
Defending Birthright Citizenship – New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support v. Donald J. Trump
Status: Active
We're suing the Trump administration for issuing an executive order that blatantly violates the plain language of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.
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Mar 26, 2025
Stainnak v. Trump
Status: Open
The ACLU of DC is representing dozens of federal workers -- including a plaintfill from Maine -- who were targeted in Trump's purge of federal employees associated with DEI initiatives.
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May 2, 2023
Ensuring Public Dollars Are Never Used to Discriminate – Crosspoint Church v. Makin, et al.
Status: Active
Crosspoint Church wants to exclude students from publicly funded education based on their identity. The right to discriminate has never been recognized by any court, and any school that wants to participate...
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Jul 31, 2019
Reining In Unchecked Police Power – Gaul v. York County, et al.
Status: Active
We're suing to protect Maine's people from unreasonable warrantless arrests after a York County man was detained, arrested, and strip searched for a minor, nonviolent misdemeanor charge – all without a...
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Aug 5, 2021
Defending the Right to Remain Silent During Police Interrogations — State of Maine v. Derric McLain
Status: Victory!
We filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that Maine's constitution should provide stronger protection for Miranda rights than current federal law. You have rights when you are interrogated by the police...
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Jun 13, 2023
Ensuring Public Dollars Are Never Used to Discriminate – St. Dominic Academy v. Makin
Status: Active
Crosspoint Church wants to exclude students from publicly funded education based on their identity. The right to discriminate has never been recognized by any court, and any school that wants to participate...
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Aug 1, 2023
Enforcing Disability Rights Law to Keep Families Together – In re Child of Barni A
Status: Decided
In a victory for parents and children with disabilities, Maine’s highest court reversed a decision that punished a family for the state’s own failure to provide home nursing services for a child.
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Oct 10, 2023
Upholding First Amendment Rights – State v. Labbe
Status: Decided
We filed a friend-of-the-court brief with Maine’s highest court arguing the state’s vague anti-stalking law opened the door to the criminalization of speech in violation of a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court...
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Jul 27, 2020
Keeping Government Transparent – Human Rights Defense Center v. Municipal Risk Pool
Status: Victory!
In a landmark decision, Maine’s highest court ruled that a government entity acted in bad faith when it withheld public documents. This ruling shows that Maine’s open records laws have teeth, and that when...
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Aug 11, 2020
Holding Border Patrol Accountable – Drewniak v. US CBP
Status: Victory!
We sued the federal government in 2020 for unconstitutional border patrol checkpoints in northern New England. In 2023, Border Patrol agreed to stop operating a problematic checkpoint until January 1, 2025...
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Oct 28, 2022
Dana Cheng & Epoch Group v. Dan Neumann & Maine People's Alliance d/b/a Beacon
Status: Victory!
On October 25, 2022, the First Circuit affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of Cheng and Epoch Group’s defamation claims on First Amendment grounds.
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Aug 26, 2022
Sparks v. Mills
Status: Victory!
About 50 incarcerated workers in the state's work release program brought this lawsuit against the State for seizing their unemployment benefits without due process. The settlement returns their benefits...
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Jun 24, 2022
ACLU v. US Citizenship and Immigration Services
Status: Victory!
In November 2020, ACLU of Maine filed a lawsuit against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for its violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Our FOIA request and the...
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Jun 21, 2022
Carson v. Makin
Status: Decided
In October 2021, ACLU of Maine submitted a “friend of the court” brief to the United States Supreme Court in Carson v. Makin, along with the ACLU National Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief and a ...
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