Human Rights
Weir v. U.S.
The ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ filed a federal lawsuit in June 2019 against the United States and the head of the U.S. Coast Guard on behalf of four Jamaican fishermen, who were forcibly removed from their fishing boat and detained for over a month at sea on four U.S. Coast Guard ships in patently inhumane conditions.
Status: Ongoing
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26 Human Rights Cases

U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2024
Human Rights
Immigrants' Rights
Bouarfa v. Mayorkas
Whether a U.S. citizen gets a day in court to challenge the federal governmentās revocation of her spouseās immigrant visa.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2024

Human Rights
Immigrants' Rights
Bouarfa v. Mayorkas
Whether a U.S. citizen gets a day in court to challenge the federal governmentās revocation of her spouseās immigrant visa.

Montana Supreme Court
May 2024
Human Rights
+2 Issues
Held v. Montana
This case pending before the Montana Supreme Court asks, among other things, whether the claims of sixteen youth plaintiffs challenging Montana energy policy present a political question under the Montana Constitution. The ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ās State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ of Montana, filed an amicus brief arguing that the claims do not present a political question and, moreover, that state courts should not wholesale adopt the federal political questions doctrine.
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Montana Supreme Court
May 2024

Human Rights
+2 Issues
Held v. Montana
This case pending before the Montana Supreme Court asks, among other things, whether the claims of sixteen youth plaintiffs challenging Montana energy policy present a political question under the Montana Constitution. The ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ās State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ of Montana, filed an amicus brief arguing that the claims do not present a political question and, moreover, that state courts should not wholesale adopt the federal political questions doctrine.

Washington, D.C.
Feb 2024
Human Rights
National Security
³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ v. DOD ā FOIA Case Seeking Biden Administrationās Presidential Policy Memorandum
In October 2022, the Biden administration confirmed the existence of the White Houseās latest set of policy rules governing the United Statesā use of lethal force outside of recognized battlefields abroad. These new rules are known as the āPresidential Policy Memorandum (PPM).ā The administration made the partially-redacted PPM public in response to the latest in a series of ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ lawsuits to force transparency about the U.S. governmentās secretive, unlawful, and controversial use of lethal force abroad, including through the use of drones.
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Washington, D.C.
Feb 2024

Human Rights
National Security
³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ v. DOD ā FOIA Case Seeking Biden Administrationās Presidential Policy Memorandum
In October 2022, the Biden administration confirmed the existence of the White Houseās latest set of policy rules governing the United Statesā use of lethal force outside of recognized battlefields abroad. These new rules are known as the āPresidential Policy Memorandum (PPM).ā The administration made the partially-redacted PPM public in response to the latest in a series of ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ lawsuits to force transparency about the U.S. governmentās secretive, unlawful, and controversial use of lethal force abroad, including through the use of drones.

Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Human Rights
Civil Liberties
Barrani v. Salt Lake City
Hundreds if not thousands of Salt Lake City, Utah, residents have nowhere safe to stay and must live and sleep in public. This caseābrought by a small group of residents and businessesāinvolves the question whether this citywide homelessness crisis constitutes a nuisance under Utah state law. It also presents the question whether Salt Lake City can be ordered to clear encampments, forcibly relocate people who are unhoused, and enforce vague and overbroad laws criminalizing homelessness where doing so will likely, if not certainly, violate unhoused peopleās state and federal constitutional rights. The ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ās State Supreme Court Initiative and Trone Center for Justice and Equality, along with the ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ of Utah and the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association, represent amici curiae in the trial court who oppose the plaintiffsā nuisance claims and their request for relief.
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Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023

Human Rights
Civil Liberties
Barrani v. Salt Lake City
Hundreds if not thousands of Salt Lake City, Utah, residents have nowhere safe to stay and must live and sleep in public. This caseābrought by a small group of residents and businessesāinvolves the question whether this citywide homelessness crisis constitutes a nuisance under Utah state law. It also presents the question whether Salt Lake City can be ordered to clear encampments, forcibly relocate people who are unhoused, and enforce vague and overbroad laws criminalizing homelessness where doing so will likely, if not certainly, violate unhoused peopleās state and federal constitutional rights. The ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ās State Supreme Court Initiative and Trone Center for Justice and Equality, along with the ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ of Utah and the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association, represent amici curiae in the trial court who oppose the plaintiffsā nuisance claims and their request for relief.

California
Apr 2023
Human Rights
Prisoners' Rights
Ashker v. Governor of California
Ashker is a multi-year legal and advocacy struggle led by directly-impacted people to reform Californiaās use of solitary confinement and end its systemic reliance on fabricated confidential information to discipline people in prison.
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California
Apr 2023

Human Rights
Prisoners' Rights
Ashker v. Governor of California
Ashker is a multi-year legal and advocacy struggle led by directly-impacted people to reform Californiaās use of solitary confinement and end its systemic reliance on fabricated confidential information to discipline people in prison.