Court Cases

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.

On April 25, 2017, the ACLU filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of three Fayetteville residents and PFLAG of Fayetteville/Northwest Arkansas, arguing that the Arkansas legislature’s attempts to nullify Fayetteville’s local non discrimination ordinance violates their right to equal prot

The ACLU, Legal Aid of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen Law School Legal Clinic challenged a state law that makes it a crime to fail to pay rent to a landlord — the only law of its kind in the country.

In September, 2015, the ACLU of Arkansas and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland filed suit to ensure that people with limited incomes could continue to access affordable birth control and other healthcare at Planned Parenthood health centers using their Medicaid benefits.

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.

Tased, beaten, and terrorized: the Robinson family of Dover, Arkansas was not suspected of any crime when they were stopped by police near their home where they were walking their miniature schnauzer, in 2011. The catalyst for the stop was innocent: Matthew looked and waved at Dover Deputy Marshall Steven Payton as he drove by.

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.