News & Commentary written by Matthew Segal

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Matthew Segal

Co-Director

ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµState Supreme Court Initiative

Bio

Matt is a co-director of the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, which he helped to launch in May 2023. At the SSCI, Matt has successfully briefed state supreme court cases on a range of issues, including prosecutorial accountability and access to justice. Matt previously served for 11 years as Legal Director of the ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµof Massachusetts, where he argued cases that secured the release of more than 5,000 people from state prisons and jails during the COVID pandemic; temporarily halted President Trump’s first travel ban; recognized state constitutional protection for cell phone location data; and dismissed more than 61,000 wrongful drug charges in the Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan lab scandals which was the single largest of wrongful convictions in U.S. history.
Before coming to the ACLU, Matt spent four years as an assistant federal defender in North Carolina, where he argued cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, including a case that resulted in the reversal of numerous wrongful convictions and sentences. Matt is a graduate of Brandeis University and Yale Law School, a member of the American Law Institute, and a former clerk to Judge Raymond Fisher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.


Featured work

May 2, 2023

State Supreme Courts Offer the Best Chance to Advance Rights

State Supreme Courts Offer the Best Chance to Advance Rights

Dec 9, 2019

Immigrants have been Denied Due Process for Years. In New England, that’s about to Change.

Immigrants have been Denied Due Process for Years. In New England, that’s about to Change.

Jan 8, 2018

30,000 Tainted Convictions, One Path Forward

30,000 Tainted Convictions, One Path Forward

Mar 27, 2017

President Trump’s Campaign Promises Stick With Us — They Should Stick With Him, Too

President Trump’s Campaign Promises Stick With Us — They Should Stick With Him, Too

Dec 1, 2016

If Cops Don’t Turn on Their Body Cameras, Courts Should Instruct Juries to Think Twice about Their Testimony

If Cops Don’t Turn on Their Body Cameras, Courts Should Instruct Juries to Think Twice about Their Testimony

Jul 27, 2016

To Make Black Lives Matter, We Must Tear Down the Case Law that Gave Police the Power to Stop, Search, and Abuse

To Make Black Lives Matter, We Must Tear Down the Case Law that Gave Police the Power to Stop, Search, and Abuse