Court Cases

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has filed a complaint in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain more information about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) use of administrative subpoenas to unmask the identities of people online and intimidate individuals who are critical of the federal government. ACLU-PA has represented two clients who have been targets of DHS subpoenas. In both cases, DHS ended its investigations once they were challenged in court. In February of this year, the ACLU of Pennsylvania submitted a request to ICE under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking records of "unmasking" subpoenas from 2024 to the present. ICE did not respond to this request, nor did the agency confirm receipt or request an extension. Our case states that ICE has a statutory obligation under FOIA to respond to our request and asks the court to order ICE to immediately make a complete search for all responsive records and fulfill our request.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against the Souderton Area School District regarding the district's ban of two parents and one former student from school property as retaliation for criticisms leveled at a school board member who posted lewd comments about VP Kamala Harris online.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas in York, PA over the York County Board of Elections’ refusal to allow nonpartisan observers to witness the official canvass of the vote during the 2023 election cycle. The lawsuit alleges that York County’s refusal to admit public observers during its canvass procedure is a violation of the Pennsylvania Election Code, which mandates public access to the canvassing of election results. In November of 2023, a longtime York resident arrived at the county’s official canvass of election returns to observe the proceedings. An official from the county’s election office refused to allow the resident to enter the room where the official canvass meeting was taking place, incorrectly stating that the resident needed a “watcher’s certificate.” Watcher certificates are provided under Pennsylvania election law so that political parties and representatives can observe vote count canvasses. Residents unaffiliated with a party or a candidate do not need a watcher’s certificate to observe the computation of results from each district that occurs during an official canvass. ACLU-PA attorneys sent a letter to York County election officials raising concerns about their refusal to allow the volunteer to witness the canvass. The county responded that its actions were within the bounds of the law and that in refusing entry to the election canvass, it was hoping to prevent a "free for all" that "could be catastrophic." The lawsuit asks the court to mandate that York County follow the law by conducting a public canvass of election returns during the 2024 primary and general elections and to allow the plaintiff and other members of the public to observe the canvass.

On October 6, 2022, the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Education on behalf of seven students in Central Bucks School District who allege a culture of discrimination against LGBQ&T students, particularly trans and nonbinary students.

On March 18, 2021, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the law firm Offit Kurman P.C. filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas against the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia, challenging the board’s new policy limiting the number of speakers.

On March 2, 2021, the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a federal constitutional lawsuit against Allegheny County Judge Anthony Mariani, on behalf of Abolitionist Law Center and with co-counsel from the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center.