Sara J. Rose

Sara J. Rose

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Deputy Legal Director

Legal

Bio

Sara J. Rose is the Deputy Legal Director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Since joining the organization as a staff attorney in 2006, she has litigated a wide range of civil liberties issues including racial justice, students' rights, prisoners' rights, LGBQ&T rights, criminal law reform, freedom of speech, and voting rights. Her work includes impact litigation in federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels, as well as legislative and policy advocacy and public education. She previously worked as a legal fellow for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and publications coordinator for the Student Press Law Center. She received her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. (Pittsburgh)

Featured Work

News & Commentary
protest sign 2

2020 Recap: Decarceration During the Pandemic

Once it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic was a public health crisis in the United States in early March, our work quickly pivoted to decarceration efforts to prevent Pennsylvania jails and prisons from becoming COVID hotspots.
News & Commentary
Melissa Gass and Ashley Bennett
  • Drug Policy|
  • +1 Issue

Judges Are Not Doctors: Why the ACLU Is Challenging a Ban on Medical Marijuana for People on Probation

The law clearly protects medical marijuana patients from being denied probation, which is considered a privilege in Pennsylvania. So threatening to revoke a person’s probation if they lawfully use medical marijuana under state law — which is what the Lebanon County court has done — violates the law.