Court Cases

The ACLU of Arkansas has initiated a lawsuit against the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) on behalf of five plaintiffs, contesting a recent emergency rule that restricts transgender and nonbinary individuals' ability to self-identify their gender on driver’s licenses.

Four families of transgender youth and two doctors have challenged an Arkansas law that would prohibit healthcare professionals from providing or even referring transgender young people for medically necessary health care. The law would also bar any state funds or insurance coverage for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under 18, and it would allow private insurers to refuse to cover gender-affirming care for people of any age. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges that House Bill 1570 is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

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

The ACLU and the ACLU of Arkansas filed an amicus curiae brief with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in support of federal prisoner Marcus Jones arguing that Mr. Jones must be able to present his claim that he is imprisoned based on an acknowledged misinterpretation of law.

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.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Arkansas, Law Office of Bryan L. Sells LLC, and Dechert LLP filed a federal lawsuit challenging a new redistricting plan for the Arkansas State House of Representatives that would undermine the voting strength of Black Arkansans.

In 2016 the ACLU of Arkansas, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Morrison and Foerster law firm filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Sherwood, Pulaski County and Judge Milas Hale III, who presides over the Sherwood court where “hot check” cases are heard.

Same-sex couples who had children before marriage equality was the law of the land filed suit in state court in July 2015 in order to amend their children’s birth certificates to include the names of both parents without having to procure a court order, as the state required, although non-biological fathers in opposite-sex marriages are added to Arkansas birth certificates upon request and without a court order. After a lower court ruled that the Department of Health’s refusal to amend the birth certificates violated the couples’ rights to equal protection, the state appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which overturned the ruling.