Massachusetts
Committee for Public Counsel Services v. Middlesex and Suffolk District Courts
For more than two decades, criminal defendants in Massachusetts have experienced a recurring counsel crisis, with defendants periodically going unrepresented due to low attorney compensation rates. Despite many opportunities, the Legislature has failed to raise rates high enough to remedy the constitutional violation. At present, the compensation rate for district court cases is $75 per hour. Consequently, in a case brought by the Committee for Public Counsel Services鈥攖he Massachusetts public defender agency鈥攖he ACLU of Massachusetts and the ACLU鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative filed an amicus brief urging the Court to hold that the statute setting attorney compensation rates is unconstitutional. This case has important implications for the right to counsel and access to justice in Massachusetts.
Status: Ongoing
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19 Massachusetts Cases
Massachusetts
Jul 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Barbara v. Donald J. Trump
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Massachusetts
Jul 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Barbara v. Donald J. Trump
Massachusetts
Jun 2025
Free Speech
President and Fellows of Harvard College v. US Department of Health and Human Services
The federal government threatened to withhold billions of dollars in research funding from Harvard University after the school refused to adopt the government鈥檚 preferred ideological approach to who it admits to study, who it employs to teach, and what classes and other programs it offers. The ACLU, ACLU of Massachusetts, and a diverse group of other legal advocacy organizations filed an amicus brief arguing that this is retaliation, coercion, and ideological bullying in violation of the First Amendment.
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Massachusetts
Jun 2025
Free Speech
President and Fellows of Harvard College v. US Department of Health and Human Services
The federal government threatened to withhold billions of dollars in research funding from Harvard University after the school refused to adopt the government鈥檚 preferred ideological approach to who it admits to study, who it employs to teach, and what classes and other programs it offers. The ACLU, ACLU of Massachusetts, and a diverse group of other legal advocacy organizations filed an amicus brief arguing that this is retaliation, coercion, and ideological bullying in violation of the First Amendment.
U.S. Supreme Court
May 2025
Civil Liberties
APHA v. NIH
APHA v. NIH is a legal challenge to the unprecedented and ideologically-driven purge of hundreds of biomedical research projects by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Years of research on a wide span of critical health issues has been abruptly cancelled, as have grants and programs designed to address the underrepresentation of racial minorities, women, and economically disadvantaged scientists in the biomedical field.
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U.S. Supreme Court
May 2025
Civil Liberties
APHA v. NIH
APHA v. NIH is a legal challenge to the unprecedented and ideologically-driven purge of hundreds of biomedical research projects by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Years of research on a wide span of critical health issues has been abruptly cancelled, as have grants and programs designed to address the underrepresentation of racial minorities, women, and economically disadvantaged scientists in the biomedical field.
Massachusetts
Apr 2025
Free Speech
Immigrants' Rights
脰zt眉rk v. Trump
Whether someone with a valid visa within the U.S. can be arrested and detained on the basis of their political speech and advocacy.
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Massachusetts
Apr 2025
Free Speech
Immigrants' Rights
脰zt眉rk v. Trump
Whether someone with a valid visa within the U.S. can be arrested and detained on the basis of their political speech and advocacy.