Court Cases

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 American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has filed a federal complaint on behalf of the widow of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee who died while incarcerated at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in December of 2023. Frankline Okpu was a Cameroonian citizen who won immigration relief under the Convention Against Torture in October of 2023. ICE refused to release Mr. Okpu as the agency appealed this decision. In December of 2023, ICE officials found Mr. Okpu unresponsive in his solitary confinement cell. In ICE’s Detainee Death Report – the only public disclosure of the details of Mr. Okpu’s death – ICE claims that Mr. Okpu died as a result of MDMA (or ecstasy) toxicity. In May 2024, the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of Mr. Okpu’s widow to obtain Mr. Okpu’s detention file, medical records, autopsy report, and any witness statements and documented investigations into Mr. Okpu’s death. ICE’s failure to release these records is a violation of the Freedom of Information Act. This lawsuit asks the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to compel ICE to release the records to Mr. Okpu’s family.

On September 18, 2024, the Republican National Committee filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asking the court to use its "King's Bench" authority to stop counties from implementing "notice-and-cure" policies. Notice-and-cure refers to the practice of counties alerting mail voters that there are errors with their mail ballot return packets that could lead to their ballots being disqualified and directing the voters on how to correct their mistakes so that they can submit a ballot that will be counted. On September 20, 2024, the plaintiffs in Genser and Matis v. Butler County Board of Elections and Center for Coalfield Justice et al. v. Washington County Board of Elections filed a motion to intervene in the case. Represented by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, ACLU Voting Rights Project, Public Interest Law Center, and the law firm Dechert LLP, the intervenors argue that the RNC's position would adversely impact their cases and, consequently, thousands of voters. On October 5, 20204, the court declined to hear the RNC's case.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has filed a federal complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties over the treatment of a Mauritanian national, Mr. Niang, who is seeking political asylum in the United States.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has filed a federal complaint with the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties over inhumane conditions at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center.

On June 13, 2024, the ACLU-PA filed a lawsuit against Governor Josh Shapiro and the leadership of the state General Assembly challenging the inadequate representation provided to indigent criminal defendants in Pennsylvania courts. As a result of decades of inadequate funding and oversight of its public defense system, indigent Pennsylvanians are at risk of being denied their constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel in their criminal cases. The lawsuit was brought by 17 indigent Pennsylvanians facing criminal prosecution without effective assistance of counsel at each stage of their criminal proceedings. They brought the lawsuit on behalf of a class of all indigent Pennsylvanians at similar risk of harm due to the Commonwealth’s systemic failure to fund and supervise indigent defense services. The lawsuit asks a Pennsylvania court to rule that the current state of public defense services in Pennsylvania violates the constitution, so that the governor and the General Assembly will protect our constitutional rights by adequately funding public defense in Pennsylvania.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania has filed an amicus brief on behalf of a number of criminal legal reform and voting rights advocacy organizations in a lawsuit brought by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner that challenges Act 40. Act 40 is a state law that allows the Pennsylvania Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor for any crime that occurs on Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). If enforced, Act 40 would disenfranchise the Philadelphia voters who overwhelmingly elected and re-elected DA Krasner in landslide elections in 2017 and 2021. Act 40 would usurp the authority that those voters entrusted in DA Krasner. The amicus brief alleges a violation of DA Krasner’s rights to equal protection under the Pennsylvania Constitution and a violation of the rights of Philadelphia voters who would effectively have their vote nullified by Act 40. The amicus brief asks the court to declare Act 40 unconstitutional.

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.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against the Delaware County Office of Judicial Support’s due to the office's refusal to expunge a criminal record due to unpaid court costs, despite a court order requiring expungement.