David McGuire, a white man with short brown hair wearing a light blue dress shirt with a red tie and brown glasses, looking at the camera with a smile.

David McGuire

Pronouns: he, his

ACLU of Connecticut Executive Director

Bio

David J. McGuire joined the ACLU of Connecticut as a staff attorney in 2007 and served as its legislative and policy director from 2015 through 2016. In 2016, McGuire was chosen to lead the organization as its executive director. In his decade-plus with the ACLU-CT, McGuire has litigated cases to protect incarcerated people’s rights, separation of church, and state and free speech rights.  He also played a leading role in advocating for police accountability, and successfully pressed for the passage of dozens of laws to protect civil rights and liberties. A past recipient of Connecticut Magazine’s “40 Under 40” award, McGuire also is the chair of the Connecticut Special Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, serves on the state’s Racial Profiling Prohibition Project Advisory Board, and is a member of the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System. McGuire received his B.A. in history from Purdue University and graduated cum laude from Western New England University School of Law.

Featured Work

News & Commentary
On a blue background, a translucent overlay of a dark blue Lady Liberty stands behind white text that reads "THE FIRST 100 DAYS"

We must not acquiesce in advance.

One hundred days into the second Trump administration, it’s clear that we are living through an explicit assault on civil rights and liberties, and democracy itself. If we remain united, active, and stand firm in our values, we will not only survive this moment, but we will build something stronger.
News & Commentary
Behind a wooden podium with the ACLU-CT's logo, stands a Black-Taino women with a light brown afro on the left, a white woman with blonde hair to her right, a white man with dark hair and glasses to her right, and a white man with brown hair on the right.

ACLU-CT Introduces New Office in Fairfield County

Sit down with David McGuire, Erycka Ortiz, and Amber Vlangas to talk about what the ACLU-CT sees for its future in Fairfield County.