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
Texas
May 2019
Free Speech
Pluecker v. Paxton
On December 18, 2018, The ACLU and ACLU of Texas filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that requires government contractors to certify that they are not engaged in boycotts of Israel or territories controlled by Israel. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of four Texans, argues that the law, HB 89, which went into effect last year, violates the First Amendment’s protection against government intrusion into political speech.
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Texas
May 2019
Free Speech
Pluecker v. Paxton
On December 18, 2018, The ACLU and ACLU of Texas filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that requires government contractors to certify that they are not engaged in boycotts of Israel or territories controlled by Israel. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of four Texans, argues that the law, HB 89, which went into effect last year, violates the First Amendment’s protection against government intrusion into political speech.
Texas
Aug 2018
Immigrants' Rights
Reproductive Freedom
Garza v. Hargan - Challenge to Trump Administration's Attempts to Block Abortions for Young Immigrant Women
The ACLU has taken the Trump administration to court over its new policy of preventing young immigrant women from having abortions they want. The ACLU represents a 17-year-old woman who came to the United States without her parents and who is currently residing in a government-funded shelter in Texas. The Trump administration will not allow her to leave the shelter in order to get an abortion.
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Texas
Aug 2018
Immigrants' Rights
Reproductive Freedom
Garza v. Hargan - Challenge to Trump Administration's Attempts to Block Abortions for Young Immigrant Women
The ACLU has taken the Trump administration to court over its new policy of preventing young immigrant women from having abortions they want. The ACLU represents a 17-year-old woman who came to the United States without her parents and who is currently residing in a government-funded shelter in Texas. The Trump administration will not allow her to leave the shelter in order to get an abortion.
Texas
Nov 2017
Immigrants' Rights
R.M.H. v. Lloyd
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas filed a federal lawsuit seeking to free 10-year-old Rosa Maria Hernandez from government custody and reunite her with her family.
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Texas
Nov 2017
Immigrants' Rights
R.M.H. v. Lloyd
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas filed a federal lawsuit seeking to free 10-year-old Rosa Maria Hernandez from government custody and reunite her with her family.
Texas
Aug 2017
Immigrants' Rights
City of El Cenizo et al v. State of Texas et al
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas filed the first motion to block the anti-immigrant and anti-law enforcement Texas Senate Bill (SB4) before it takes effect.
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Texas
Aug 2017
Immigrants' Rights
City of El Cenizo et al v. State of Texas et al
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas filed the first motion to block the anti-immigrant and anti-law enforcement Texas Senate Bill (SB4) before it takes effect.
U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2017
Capital Punishment
Moore v. Texas
Whether Texas is violating the Constitution by using a test to determine intellectual disability in death penalty cases that is inconsistent with both Supreme Court precedent and science.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2017
Capital Punishment
Moore v. Texas
Whether Texas is violating the Constitution by using a test to determine intellectual disability in death penalty cases that is inconsistent with both Supreme Court precedent and science.