吃瓜大本营

NEW YORK 鈥� In a victory for judicial transparency, today the New York Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed a previous New York County Supreme Court order in NYCLU v. New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) that requires OCA to disclose all memos it sent to judges that contain guidance on how to interpret and apply the law. The ruling affirmed that the memos 鈥� which inform how courts adjudicate New Yorkers鈥� rights 鈥� cannot be considered privileged attorney-client communications or internal judicial deliberations. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 ruling rightly affirms that the public deserves to understand how our judicial system operates, and what goes into judges鈥� decision-making,鈥� said Daniel Lambright, supervising attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union. 鈥淓very day, judges make decisions that can dramatically impact New Yorkers鈥� rights, especially within vulnerable communities. New York鈥檚 judicial system is strongest when it is transparent, accountable, and responsive to the public. After years of litigation, today鈥檚 First Department decision makes clear: it's time for OCA to finally do the right thing and turn over the memos.鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 been five years since OCA admitted that it sends memos to judges purporting to advise them on how to decide cases,鈥� said Terry Ding, staff attorney with the ACLU鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative. 鈥淭he Freedom of Information Law exists to give the public access to documents like this, so that the process of government decision-making is not shrouded in secrecy. The decision today confirms that OCA must release the memos.鈥� Intended to be a non-partisan, administrative arm of New York鈥檚 court system, OCA oversees operations, staffing, and day-to-day support for judges. But in 2021, the New York Focus revealed that OCA had a practice of issuing secret guidance to state court judges, including for cases concerning critical civil rights 鈥� like whether defendants in criminal cases should be granted bail and whether to uphold due process protections for people accused of crimes. As shown by the leaked 2021 Crawford Memorandum, these directives seem to carry weight in how state court judges rule. The NYCLU and ACLU have been fighting for these records for five years. In September 2021, the NYCLU filed a Freedom of Information request expressing concern over OCA鈥檚 secretive practices, and requested copies of all memos of this nature. The agency denied the request, so the NYCLU sued, arguing that the public is entitled to such guidance. The trial court then ordered OCA to produce its memos, but OCA appealed. In October 2025, the Court of Appeals ordered OCA to turn over any responsive documents to be reviewed. OCA identified 22 memos that it has continued to fight to keep secret. Today鈥檚 ruling affirms that OCA has no basis to continue withholding these memos. Today鈥檚 decision can be found here. All case materials can be found here.

The ACLU鈥檚 Center for Liberty and Women's Rights Project, alongside the ACLU of Georgia, filed an amicus brief in the Georgia Supreme Court supporting a mother after a juvenile court terminated her parental rights even though at the same time the juvenile court expressly found that her continued relationship with her children would not harm them. Under Georgia鈥檚 termination statute, courts may terminate parental rights if they find that a child cannot safely return home at present, without any finding that, or even considering whether, a continued parent-child relationship would harm the child or that termination is necessary. In this case, the Department鈥檚 own caseworker testified that the mother鈥檚 weekly visits with her children went well and that the relationship benefited the children and would continue to. The children's advocate agreed, testifying that the children had a good relationship and were bonded to their mother. Our brief urges the Court to require an individualized finding that severance is necessary to protect the child and that less drastic alternatives would not suffice. We argue that the Constitution does not permit the State to permanently end a parent-child relationship without first establishing that doing so is genuinely necessary.

MISSOULA, Mont. 鈥� The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana today announced the launch of a $2 million joint campaign with ACLU Voter Education Fund to educate and engage Montana voters ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. 鈥淢ontanans are fed up with partisan infighting and extreme laws that try to take away our fundamental rights. That鈥檚 why the ACLU is committed to keeping politics out of our courts and investing to ensure the Montana Supreme Court can continue to play a critical role in defending our freedoms,鈥� said Khadija Davis, ACLU of Montana political strategist. 鈥淰oters deserve to know where candidates stand on key issues that affect their rights. It鈥檚 more important than ever that they know what鈥檚 at stake when they cast their ballots this November.鈥� The ACLU Voter Education Fund (VEF), a federal political action committee, is spending $2 million on a series of statewide advertisements on social and digital media platforms and direct-to-voter mailers during the final weeks of the state Supreme Court race and key state legislative races. Additionally, the ACLU VEF will fund radio advertisements in Indian Country. The advertisements will focus on educating voters about where candidates stand on key issues, including abortion rights, voting rights, and keeping politics out of the courts. This is the organizations鈥� largest electoral investment in Montana to date and will reach over 191,200 voters. The Montana Supreme Court is responsible for interpreting the state constitution and state laws. As the state鈥檚 highest court, it has the final say on many questions involving civil rights and civil liberties, and the Montana Constitution can provide broader protections than the U.S. Constitution. In recent years, the court has issued decisions protecting abortion rights and striking down restrictions on Indigenous voting rights. Amid increasing attacks on civil rights and liberties, voters will choose justices who will decide cases involving fundamental rights in the state. The spending in the state Supreme Court race builds on the ACLU鈥檚 electoral work in Montana in 2024. That year, the ACLU of Montana and ACLU spent $1.3 million educating voters about issues at stake in the state Supreme Court election. The ACLU Foundation also contributed more than $500,000 to a ballot measure to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution. The ACLU of Montana, ACLU Voter Education Fund, and ACLU are nonpartisan and do not support or oppose candidates for elected office. The organizations do, however, educate the voters about the issues at stake in elections and candidates鈥� positions and records on civil rights and civil liberties.

NEW YORK 鈥� The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that it has awarded its prestigious Pro Bono Attorney of the Year honor to solo practitioner Sara Norman, and the Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year honor to Ballard Spahr LLP. These honors recognize the tremendous pro bono support the ACLU receives from law firms and solo practitioners, and the years of partnership and tireless energy they have contributed to defending our civil rights and liberties. 鈥淔aced with attacks on civil rights and liberties from every direction, we count on the private bar to join forces with us on the most important fights to protect our rights and freedoms,鈥� said Cecillia Wang, ACLU national legal director. 鈥淎s one of our nation鈥檚 leading experts on the rights of incarcerated people, Sara Norman has been an extraordinary, longtime partner to the ACLU in our work in complex litigation holding prisons accountable for the health, safety, and fundamental rights of our clients. Sara centers the humanity and dignity of all people in her work. We are thrilled to name her our Pro Bono Attorney of the Year.鈥� 鈥淭he ACLU is delighted to name Ballard Spahr our Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year. At a time when the rights of transgender Americans are being tested in legislatures and courtrooms across the country, Ballard Spahr has stepped up time and again, alongside the ACLU, to advocate for the civil rights of our clients. We are grateful to the firm for fighting with us to make our Constitution鈥檚 guarantees a lived reality for all of us.鈥� Sara Norman, a solo practitioner based in San Francisco, has served as co-counsel to the ACLU鈥檚 National Prison Project and Capital Punishment Project for over a year in Taylor v. Trump, our challenge to President Trump鈥檚 executive order directing that individuals who received commutations of their death sentences from President Biden should be incarcerated in the worst possible conditions in the federal prison system. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of 21 people whose death sentences were commuted by President Biden and who were designated under the Trump order to be transferred to the ADX Florence 鈥渟upermax鈥� prison in Colorado, which is known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies. Norman is an integral member of the Taylor v. Trump litigation team. She has worked closely with our clients, especially those with medical and mental health conditions, to advocate for a preliminary injunction enjoining the Federal Bureau of Prisons from moving people from their current prison at Terre Haute, Indiana, to ADX Florence. Norman has volunteered hundreds of pro bono hours for this case, and contributed her extraordinary expertise based on 30 years as a leading advocate for incarcerated people. Ballard Spahr has partnered with the ACLU鈥檚 LGBTQ & HIV Project on multiple transgender rights cases, contributing extraordinary litigation experience, a shared commitment to civil rights and civil liberties, and thousands of hours of attorneys鈥� time. Ballard Spahr is currently co-counsel with us on three major cases at the forefront of the defense of transgender Americans鈥� civil rights: Loe v. Kansas, our state-court challenge to a Kansas law that prohibits medical care for transgender adolescents; Doe v. Kansas, our state-court challenge to another Kansas law, which prohibits updating the gender markers on driver's licenses and also bars transgender people from using restrooms in government buildings; and Robinson v. Labrador, our federal-court litigation challenging the deprivation of essential health care to incarcerated individuals, under an Idaho state law that prohibits the use of state funds for gender-affirming care. Previously, in 2024, Ballard Spahr partnered with the ACLU in Tennessee Equality Project v. City of Murfreesboro, a successful First Amendment challenge to a city ordinance banning drag shows.