Two Arkansas grassroots groups moved to intervene today in an ongoing lawsuit to defend the First Amendment rights of Arkansans who use the ballot initiative process to organize, speak out, and propose new laws. 

Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Patty Hector, the former director of the Saline County Library, against Saline County Judge Matthew Brumley and Saline County.

Today, in a resounding victory for free speech and intellectual freedom, a federal district court struck down key provisions of Arkansas’s censorship law, Act 372, as unconstitutional.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas today announced the filing of a federal lawsuit against Arkansas State Police Sergeant Dakotah Bailey for violating the constitutional rights of De’Jarnette Johnson during this year’s annual Benton-Bryant Salt Bowl.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas is pleased to announce the hiring of Shelby Shroff as a new staff attorney and Hadiyah Cummings as a legal fellow. Both bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion for civil liberties to their respective roles.

In response to the federal election results, Holly Dickson, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arkansas, issued the following statement:

On Friday, a broad coalition of labor, workers’ rights, and gender justice organizations filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in support of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) regulations implementing the landmark Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU affiliates within the Eighth Circuit, and PEN America filed a friend-of-the-court brief today in Walls v. Sanders, a First Amendment challenge to Arkansas’s ban on “prohibited indoctrination” in K-12 public schools.

Today, the Arkansas Supreme Court paused a circuit judge’s previous order blocking the state’s emergency rule regarding gender markers on Arkansas driver’s licenses and IDs. The court did not provide any explanation for this decision.