Texas
OCA-Greater Houston v. Paxton
Texas has growing Hispanic and Black populations that helped propel record voter turnout in the November 2020 election. The Texas Legislature responded to this increased civic participation with an omnibus election bill titled Senate Bill 1—SB 1 for short—that targeted election practices that made voting more accessible to traditionally marginalized voters like voters of color, voters with disabilities, and voters with limited English proficiency. Since 2021, SB 1 has resulted in tens of thousands of lawful votes being rejected, and it remains a threat to democracy in Texas.
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2023
Women's Rights
Racial Justice
United States v. Rahimi
Whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which prohibits the possession of firearms by persons subject to domestic-violence restraining orders, violates the Second Amendment on its face.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2023
Reproductive Freedom
Danco Laboratories, LLC, v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine; U.S. FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
The American Civil Liberties Union joined over 200 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of an emergency request to stay a decision issued by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that severely restricted the use of mifepristone — a medication used in most abortions in this country — and threatened the innovation of new drugs and the ability of Americans to access lifesaving drugs.
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Reproductive Freedom
Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, and coalition partners filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of abortion providers and funds on July 13, 2021, challenging S.B. 8, a Texas law allowing private citizens to enforce a ban on abortion as early as six weeks in pregnancy—before many know they are pregnant. The ACLU’s challenge made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court three times in as many months. After hearing oral arguments in the case, the Court issued a decision on December 10, 2021, that ended the most promising pathways to blocking the ban. The Supreme Court’s decision makes it more difficult to obtain adequate relief from the courts and gives states the green light to ban abortion using bounty-hunting schemes. Texas’ abortion ban will remain in effect until relief can be secured from a court.
Texas
Jul 2021
Prisoners' Rights
Criminal Law Reform
Sanchez et al v. Dallas County Sheriff et al
Decarceration has always been an emergency, a life and death proposition, but COVID-19 makes this effort intensely urgent. The ACLU has been working with our partners to litigate for the rights of those who are incarcerated and cannot protect themselves because of the policies of the institutions in which they are jailed.
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42 Texas Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Women's Rights
National Coalition for Men, et al. v. Selective Service System, et al.
Whether the Military Selective Service Act, which allows the President to require young people to register for the draft only if they are men, discriminates on the basis of sex.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Women's Rights
National Coalition for Men, et al. v. Selective Service System, et al.
Whether the Military Selective Service Act, which allows the President to require young people to register for the draft only if they are men, discriminates on the basis of sex.
Texas
Oct 2021
Voting Rights
Hotze v. Hollins
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas moved to intervene in a lawsuit that sought to invalidate nearly 127,000 early votes cast via drive-thru voting in Harris County in the November 2020 election.
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Texas
Oct 2021
Voting Rights
Hotze v. Hollins
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas moved to intervene in a lawsuit that sought to invalidate nearly 127,000 early votes cast via drive-thru voting in Harris County in the November 2020 election.
U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2021
Immigrants' Rights
Biden v. Texas
The so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” were a program under the Trump administration that sent asylum seekers back to Mexico to wait for an asylum hearing. The ACLU sued to stop this illegal program, including filing amicus briefs at every level up to the Supreme Court to defend the termination of this cruel and misguided program.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2021
Immigrants' Rights
Biden v. Texas
The so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” were a program under the Trump administration that sent asylum seekers back to Mexico to wait for an asylum hearing. The ACLU sued to stop this illegal program, including filing amicus briefs at every level up to the Supreme Court to defend the termination of this cruel and misguided program.
Texas
Feb 2021
Immigrants' Rights
State of Texas v. United States of America
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas moved to intervene in a Texas lawsuit that seeks to block the Biden administration’s 100-day moratorium on deportations.
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Texas
Feb 2021
Immigrants' Rights
State of Texas v. United States of America
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas moved to intervene in a Texas lawsuit that seeks to block the Biden administration’s 100-day moratorium on deportations.
Texas
Apr 2020
Voting Rights
Texas Democratic Party v. DeBeauvoir
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and Texas Civil Rights Project joined a lawsuit on April 1, 2020, seeking to declare that under Texas law all registered voters qualify to request a mail-in ballot as a result of the COVID-19 public health crisis.
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Texas
Apr 2020
Voting Rights
Texas Democratic Party v. DeBeauvoir
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and Texas Civil Rights Project joined a lawsuit on April 1, 2020, seeking to declare that under Texas law all registered voters qualify to request a mail-in ballot as a result of the COVID-19 public health crisis.