Summary
Learn how we work in the courts and through public records to defend Maine people.
Well before the recent ICE surge in our state, the ACLU of Maine was already working in the courts and obtaining public records to defend immigrants’ rights and hold law enforcement accountable.
Join staff attorneys Anahita Sotoohi and Max Brooks to hear about how their legal work to protect immigrants' rights in Maine. They'll cover how we work in the courts to ensure the rights of individual immigrants, how accessing public records sheds light on law enforcement and federal immigration operations, and the resources available to immigrants and their communities.
Staff Attorney
As the staff attorney, Anahita works to further the work of the legal team by litigating cases involving Maine’s Freedom of Access Act and the Freedom of Information Act. She joined the organization in the fall of 2021 as a legal fellow and became a staff attorney in 2024. Prior to joining the ACLU, Anahita was a government defense litigator in Denver. Before litigating, Anahita clerked for Judges Emily Anderson, Michael Goodbee, and Rayna Gokli of the Colorado District Court. Anahita attended the University of Iowa College of Law. During law school, Anahita served as contributing editor for the Iowa Law Review and was awarded the Kenneth J. Cmiel Human Rights Scholarship.
Staff Attorney
Max Brooks joined the ACLU of Maine in the summer of 2025. As a staff attorney, Max focuses on immigrant rights issues, including challenging unlawful detentions by ICE and fighting for public records showing how local authorities in Maine are working with ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Before coming to the ACLU of Maine, Max worked on immigrant rights issues on the southern border for five years, including as a staff attorney at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas, where he defended detained immigrants in removal proceedings, and as a staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico, where he litigated immigrant rights issues. Max is originally from the Bangor area and began his legal career in the state, clerking for Judge Nancy Torresen at the federal court for the District of Maine. Following his clerkship, Max worked for five years at Johnson & Webbert, LLP, litigating civil rights and employment cases in Maine. During this time, Max also worked with the Southern Maine Workers Center and the Volunteer Lawyers Project to help launch and run a free Workers Rights Legal Clinic. Max earned his Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College and his Juris Doctor from the Boston University School of Law. During law school, Max received the Clinical Legal Education Association’s Outstanding Clinical Student Award for his work defending indigent clients in criminal proceedings in the Boston Municipal Court. Max enjoys biking, spending time with his dog Jazzy, and getting lost in books, movies, and music.
Engagement & Education Coordinator
Aaron joined the ACLU of Maine in 2025. He collaborates within the organization and with external partners to engage our members and the public with the ACLU of Maine’s mission and critical work. Before joining ACLU of Maine, Aaron was an adult services librarian at the Portland Public Library, where he designed inclusive public health and sustainability programs and offered multi-lingual reference services. Prior to that, Aaron worked as a regional programs coordinator for the Louisville Free Public Library, producing adult programming on a wide range of topics across a busy and diverse urban library system. In these and other roles, he has consistently sought opportunities for innovative public engagement and outreach, with a focus on inclusion and accessibility. As an artist, he has performed across North America, produced radio programs and podcasts broadcast or distributed in the US, Europe, and the UK, and has exhibited and led workshops in libraries, schools, and museums in the eastern US. Aaron earned a Master of Library and Information Science degree from McGill University (2010), and a Bachelor of Arts in music and cultural studies from Hampshire College (2003). In his free time, Aaron can be found in the woods on a bicycle, at home creating sound and audiovisual art, or at the end of a leash wherever his dog leads him.
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