Racial Justice
The ACLU of Maryland aims to preserve and extend constitutional and statutory rights to persons who have historically been discriminated against on the basis of race. We have also assumed the additional charge of helping Maryland overcome the stains of a history of legal segregation that manifests itself in structural and institutional racism that still exists. That legacy expresses itself in rural areas like the Eastern Shore as well as in Baltimore City, where historic racism has contributed to a concentration of impoverished people within a densely populated urban setting now undergoing economic transition.
Recent Activity - Legal cases
Muslim ban challenge
Legal case, February 23, 2017
Federal lawsuit challenging President Trump's Muslim ban executive order
ARCHIVE: Hassan Sader vs. American Airlines
Legal case, November 18, 2015
in 2002, the ACLU of Maryland represented a U.S. citizen of Moroccan descent who was removed from an American Airlines flight because a passenger was not comfortable sitting next to him and because his name was Hassan.
Juvenile Curfew
Legal case, May 15, 2014
Extreme, far-reaching juvenile curfew in Baltimore City
Wrongful Nuisance Abatement Actions in Hyattsville
Legal case, December 18, 2013
Prince George's County State's Attorney wrongfully forced two women to sign “nuisance abatement” orders banishing their family members from their own homes and the neighborhood in which they had grown up. The ACLU is urging the prosecutor to dissolve the orders and call off longstanding harassment by police claiming to enforce the orders so the families can be reunited without fear that they will be arrested or that they could lose the homes they own.
Ending the federal 287(g) program in MD
Legal case, November 28, 2012
ACLU calls on congressional leaders to ask DHS to end 287(g) program in Frederick County
Maryland DNA collection of arrestees
Legal case, November 27, 2012
ACLU raises privacy, Fourth Amendment concerns about DNA collection without a warrant upon arrest
Illegal Arrests Lawsuit Against Baltimore Police Department
Legal case, April 26, 2012
ACLU works to ensure that reforms are fully implemented in the Baltimore City Police Department
Redistricting: Ensuring Election Fairness
Legal case, April 10, 2012
ACLU is dedicated to realizing the promise of the Voting Rights Act for all Marylanders
Amicus brief in support of "No Representation Without Population Act"
Legal case, December 2, 2011
The ACLU of Maryland and a coalition of local and national civil rights groups file an amicus brief to defend the "No Representation Without Population Act," Maryland’s first-in-the-nation voting rights law requiring the state to count incarcerated persons at their home addresses.
Mardela Springs' property ownership requirement for local office
Legal case, October 11, 2011
The ACLU of Maryland demanded that officials in the small town of Mardela Springs immediately rescind an unconstitutional property ownership requirement for candidates for local office.
Unconstitutional Hurlock voter ID proposal
Legal case, August 17, 2011
The ACLU of Maryland and the Dorchester County NAACP oppose proposed voter identification law in the town of Hurlock.
Dashiell v MSP: ACLU seeks public information about police racial slur complaint
Legal case, March 2, 2010
Maryland High Court Agrees to Hear Police Accountability Case
Racial Disparities in Somerset County Employment
Legal case, May 17, 2009
ACLU released report, help organize task force to produce recommendations for reform