Human Rights

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Washington, D.C.
Jun 2019
Weir clients group shot

Human Rights

Weir v. U.S.

The Ƶ filed a federal lawsuit in June 2019 against the United States and the head of the U.S. Coast Guard on behalf of four Jamaican fishermen, who were forcibly removed from their fishing boat and detained for over a month at sea on four U.S. Coast Guard ships in patently inhumane conditions.
Weir V. U.s.. Explore Case.

All Cases

27 Human Rights Cases

Fishing boats in Las Cuevas, Trinidad. Picture credit: Steven M. Watt
Massachusetts
Jan 2026

Human Rights

National Security

Burnley v. U.S.: Demanding Accountability on Caribbean Boat Strikes

On October 14, 2025, the United States military carried out an illegal missile strike that killed Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, two Trinidadian men who were traveling by boat from Venezuela to their homes in Las Cuevas, Trinidad and Tobago. The Ƶ, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Ƶ of Massachusetts, and Professor Jonathan Hafetz of Seton Hall Law School filed suit on behalf of Lenore Burnley, Mr. Joseph’s mother, and Sallycar Korasingh, Mr. Samaroo’s sister, seeking redress and accountability for these extrajudicial killings pursuant to the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute.
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Burnley V. U.s.: Demanding Accountability On Caribbean Boat Strikes. Explore Case.
Massachusetts
Jan 2026
Fishing boats in Las Cuevas, Trinidad. Picture credit: Steven M. Watt

Human Rights

National Security

Burnley v. U.S.: Demanding Accountability on Caribbean Boat Strikes

On October 14, 2025, the United States military carried out an illegal missile strike that killed Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, two Trinidadian men who were traveling by boat from Venezuela to their homes in Las Cuevas, Trinidad and Tobago. The Ƶ, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Ƶ of Massachusetts, and Professor Jonathan Hafetz of Seton Hall Law School filed suit on behalf of Lenore Burnley, Mr. Joseph’s mother, and Sallycar Korasingh, Mr. Samaroo’s sister, seeking redress and accountability for these extrajudicial killings pursuant to the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute.
Burnley V. U.s.: Demanding Accountability On Caribbean Boat Strikes. Explore Case.
A participant folds her hands of a copy of the Oath of Allegiance and an American flag while listening to speeches during a naturalization ceremony
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2024

Human Rights

Immigrants' Rights

Bouarfa v. Mayorkas

Whether a U.S. citizen gets a day in court to challenge the federal government’s revocation of her spouse’s immigrant visa.
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Bouarfa V. Mayorkas. Explore Case.
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2024
A participant folds her hands of a copy of the Oath of Allegiance and an American flag while listening to speeches during a naturalization ceremony

Human Rights

Immigrants' Rights

Bouarfa v. Mayorkas

Whether a U.S. citizen gets a day in court to challenge the federal government’s revocation of her spouse’s immigrant visa.
Bouarfa V. Mayorkas. Explore Case.
Held v. Montana
Montana Supreme Court
May 2024

Human Rights

+2 Ƶ

Held v. Montana

This case pending before the Montana Supreme Court asks, among other things, whether the claims of sixteen youth plaintiffs challenging Montana energy policy present a political question under the Montana Constitution. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the Ƶof Montana, filed an amicus brief arguing that the claims do not present a political question and, moreover, that state courts should not wholesale adopt the federal political questions doctrine.
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Held V. Montana. Explore Case.
Montana Supreme Court
May 2024
Held v. Montana

Human Rights

+2 Ƶ

Held v. Montana

This case pending before the Montana Supreme Court asks, among other things, whether the claims of sixteen youth plaintiffs challenging Montana energy policy present a political question under the Montana Constitution. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the Ƶof Montana, filed an amicus brief arguing that the claims do not present a political question and, moreover, that state courts should not wholesale adopt the federal political questions doctrine.
Held V. Montana. Explore Case.
A view of the camp and the ruins of the building through an airplane bomber fighter viewfinder
Washington, D.C.
Feb 2024

Human Rights

National Security

Ƶv. DOD – FOIA Case Seeking Biden Administration’s Presidential Policy Memorandum

In October 2022, the Biden administration confirmed the existence of the White House’s latest set of policy rules governing the United States’ use of lethal force outside of recognized battlefields abroad. These new rules are known as the “Presidential Policy Memorandum (PPM).” The administration made the partially-redacted PPM public in response to the latest in a series of Ƶlawsuits to force transparency about the U.S. government’s secretive, unlawful, and controversial use of lethal force abroad, including through the use of drones.
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Aclu V. Dod – Foia Case Seeking Biden Administration’s Presidential Policy Memorandum. Explore Case.
Washington, D.C.
Feb 2024
A view of the camp and the ruins of the building through an airplane bomber fighter viewfinder

Human Rights

National Security

Ƶv. DOD – FOIA Case Seeking Biden Administration’s Presidential Policy Memorandum

In October 2022, the Biden administration confirmed the existence of the White House’s latest set of policy rules governing the United States’ use of lethal force outside of recognized battlefields abroad. These new rules are known as the “Presidential Policy Memorandum (PPM).” The administration made the partially-redacted PPM public in response to the latest in a series of Ƶlawsuits to force transparency about the U.S. government’s secretive, unlawful, and controversial use of lethal force abroad, including through the use of drones.
Aclu V. Dod – Foia Case Seeking Biden Administration’s Presidential Policy Memorandum. Explore Case.
Barrani v. Salt Lake City
Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023

Human Rights

Civil Liberties

Barrani v. Salt Lake City

Hundreds if not thousands of Salt Lake City, Utah, residents have nowhere safe to stay and must live and sleep in public. This case—brought by a small group of residents and businesses—involves the question whether this citywide homelessness crisis constitutes a nuisance under Utah state law. It also presents the question whether Salt Lake City can be ordered to clear encampments, forcibly relocate people who are unhoused, and enforce vague and overbroad laws criminalizing homelessness where doing so will likely, if not certainly, violate unhoused people’s state and federal constitutional rights. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative and Trone Center for Justice and Equality, along with the Ƶof Utah and the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association, represent amici curiae in the trial court who oppose the plaintiffs’ nuisance claims and their request for relief.
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Barrani V. Salt Lake City. Explore Case.
Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Barrani v. Salt Lake City

Human Rights

Civil Liberties

Barrani v. Salt Lake City

Hundreds if not thousands of Salt Lake City, Utah, residents have nowhere safe to stay and must live and sleep in public. This case—brought by a small group of residents and businesses—involves the question whether this citywide homelessness crisis constitutes a nuisance under Utah state law. It also presents the question whether Salt Lake City can be ordered to clear encampments, forcibly relocate people who are unhoused, and enforce vague and overbroad laws criminalizing homelessness where doing so will likely, if not certainly, violate unhoused people’s state and federal constitutional rights. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative and Trone Center for Justice and Equality, along with the Ƶof Utah and the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association, represent amici curiae in the trial court who oppose the plaintiffs’ nuisance claims and their request for relief.
Barrani V. Salt Lake City. Explore Case.
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