Court Cases

On October 14, 2025, the United States military carried out an illegal missile strike that killed Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, two Trinidadian men who were traveling by boat from Venezuela to their homes in Las Cuevas, Trinidad and Tobago. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, and Professor Jonathan Hafetz of Seton Hall Law School filed suit on behalf of Lenore Burnley, Mr. Joseph’s mother, and Sallycar Korasingh, Mr. Samaroo’s sister, seeking redress and accountability for these extrajudicial killings pursuant to the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute.

In May 2023, the ACLU of Massachusetts filed a public records lawsuit against the Office of the State Auditor for wrongfully withholding documents related to prisoner deaths and health care at the houses of correction in two counties.

The ACLU of Massachusetts, together with law firm Wolf Greenfield, filed a lawsuit against two Massachusetts agencies for failing to produce public records regarding the state’s use of automatic license plate reader (ALPR) technology.

The ACLU of Massachusetts filed a public records lawsuit against the City of Pittsfield for failing to produce the Pittsfield Police Department’s policies, procedures, and records of street-level interactions.

The ACLU of Massachusetts filed a public records lawsuit to gather information about whether former President Donald Trump lied when he recently asserted the existence of a declassification “standing order” for materials he removed from the Oval Office.

The ACLU of Massachusetts, together with American Oversight, filed a lawsuit seeking the release of records concerning the investigation and prosecution of a state court judge.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit calling for an investigation into Springfield police violence and misconduct, as well as the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office’s failure to investigate and disclose that misconduct.

The ACLU is suing the Boston Police Department for withholding public records.