The ACLU of Connecticut's legal program handles cases that involve infringements upon constitutional rights and civil liberties. We represent individuals or classes of individuals whose cases will either serve to create new legal precedent or will result in general system-wide reform in favor of protecting and defending civil liberties. We file lawsuits, and we file amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs addressing civil liberties issues in cases initiated by others. All of our legal work is on a pro bono basis; we never charge for our legal services. You can learn more about requesting legal assistance from the ACLU of Connecticut here.
The way to prevent men from harassing women in public spaces is to create measures to stop harassment, not to create exceptions to our state’s anti-discrimination law that implicate women as the problem.
When police disbelieve, shame, and punish sexual assault survivors for coming forward, it not only contributes to stigma and trauma around sexual assault – it also violates the Constitution’s protections against discrimination on the basis of sex.
With our partners, the ACLU-CT sued the Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) for its continuing physical and psychological abuse of people with mental illness incarcerated at Northern Correctional Institution.
With national women's rights organizations, the ACLU-CT filed a friend of the court brief siding with Noriana Radwan, a former UConn women's soccer player who was kicked off the team, lost her scholarship, and lost her ability to attend UConn because she raised her middle finger in celebration.
With other civil rights organizations, the ACLU of Connecticut is suing over the Trump Administration's new HUD rule that would roll back critical protections for fair housing by creating unnecessary barriers for victims of housing discrimination attempting to prove discriminatory practices.
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Connecticut filed a federal lawsuit on July 2, 2020, seeking to make absentee mail-in voting available to every eligible voter during the COVID-19 pandemic.