Court Cases

A group of seven multifaith Arkansas families has filed a federal lawsuit to stop Act 573, a new state law that requires all public elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library.

The ACLU of Arkansas filed a joint lawsuit against Arkansas’ newest censorship law, Act 372.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, cooperating attorneys John E. Tull III and Noah P. Watson settled a federal lawsuit on behalf of Arkansas poll worker Barry Haas. Haas’ free-speech rights were disregarded when he was denied an appointed position for the September 2021 special Little Rock tax election due to participation in lawsuits and his personal political views.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas filed a federal lawsuit against the Washington County Detention Center (WCDC), Tim Helder, Sheriff of Washington County, and Dr. Robert Karas. The lawsuit charges the defendants for administering Ivermectin to incarcerated individuals without prior informed consent as to the nature, contents, or potential side effects of the drug.

Victory! In 2016 the ACLU of Arkansas challenged a state law making it a crime to ask for money, food or other charity, any time and any place, saying it violated the right to free speech. The case was filed on behalf of two people, Michael Andrew Rodgers and Glynn Dilbeck.

Victory! The ACLU, the ACLU of Arkansas, and private counsel filed suit in federal court on behalf of Patricia Dawson against her former employer, H & H Electric, for firing her after she made her transition from male to female apparent at her workplace.

Victory! In 2013, private counsel filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the constitutionality of Arkansas’ ban on same-sex couples marrying, and the state’s refusal to recognize such marriages performed in other states. On May 9, 2014, a state judge found the law unconstitutional and struck it down, but a week later the Arkansas Supreme Court put the decision on hold. However, in the interim, approximately 450 same-sex couples were married.

Victory! In April, 2013, the ACLU, ACLU of Arkansas and the Centers for Reproductive Rights challenged in federal court a 2013 law that banned abortions after twelve weeks of pregnancy, saying it violated the right of a woman to terminate a pregnancy before viability. The federal court agreed. However, the court upheld a separate provision mandating that doctors perform an ultrasound on women seeking abortions and then inform her in writing whether the fetus has a “heartbeat,” and what the chances are of carrying a fetus of that gestational age to term.

Victory! In 2014 the ACLU and the Arkansas Public Law Center filed suit in state court on behalf of voters challenging the Arkansas voter identification law passed in 2013. The suit said the law violated the Arkansas Constitution by impairing the right to vote and by adding to the voting qualifications already set out in the Constitution. People who had voted for twenty years in the same precinct and were known by election officials were turned away for lack of a picture ID. The court agreed with us and found the law unconstitutional. The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the decision.