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The U.S. Supreme Court is increasingly not an option to protect, let alone expand, civil liberties and civil rights. Last year’s Supreme Court term was the most conservative in a century, as President Trump’s three nominees exercised their newfound power to rule against liberty and shrink our constitutional rights. But state supreme courts offer promise in the face of a hostile federal judiciary. That’s why we’re taking the fight to the states – we want to show up with as many resources and tools as we have available. The ³Ô¹ÏÖ±²¥ is launching a dedicated effort, called the State Supreme Court Initiative, to fight for the expansion of rights through state supreme courts, both through litigation and advocacy work. The State Supreme Court Initiative will build on the organization’s existing work in state supreme courts and will expand the organization’s litigating capacity. With lawyers in every state in the country, the ³Ô¹ÏÖ±²¥ is uniquely situated to do this important work and to develop cross-state expertise on state constitutional litigation.

President Trump’s second term agenda and The Heritage Foundation’s extreme Project 2025 are blatantly enmeshed. Read our memos on how to fight back!

President Biden must fulfill his campaign promise to address the failed death penalty and commute federal death sentences before Trump takes office.

Graduation is a time of celebration and community. After centuries of attempted genocide and erasure of Indigenous culture and tradition, the ability to celebrate commencement in a culturally appropriate way is deeply important for Indigenous students. Tribal regalia worn at commencement are a symbol of resistance, resilience, and reclamation by students of their right to an education that honors their culture and heritage. But for some Indigenous students, graduation can be fraught with uncertainty or controversy over their ability to wear tribal regalia during commencement ceremonies. Some schools still prohibit Indigenous students from wearing items at graduation, claiming that it would violate the school’s dress code and speculating, without any basis, that it would disrupt the ceremony.

In January 2016, the Dakota Access Pipeline was unanimously approved for construction, with the aim of creating a direct route to transport crude oil from the North Dakota Bakken region through South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois. The controversial pipeline could destroy ancestral burial grounds and poison the water supply for a sovereign nation — as well as millions of Americans downstream who rely on the Missouri River. All eyes were on Standing Rock late last year as unwarranted armored vehicles rolled in. Law enforcement used automatic rifles, sound cannons, and concussion grenades against water protectors. An estimated 300 protesters were injured in November when police in riot gear used water cannons for hours in subfreezing weather to disperse them. Personnel and equipment pouring in from over 75 law enforcement agencies from around the country and National Guard troops created a battlefield-like atmosphere at Standing Rock. Escalated police militarization was used to intimidate and silence water protectors’ free speech and their right to protest a pipeline which passes near sovereign territory. Thousands from across the globe have joined in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to stop the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. The protest has brought together 200 or so tribes that have not united for more than 150 years. President Trump took executive action on January 24th 2017 encouraging the Army Corps of Engineers to override environmental review and speed up construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. Any day now, law enforcement may try to disperse water protectors with unnecessary and dangerous use of force. With resilience, water protectors have already endured militarized crackdowns, police abuse, and daily intimidation – simply for defending their water rights.