Call Number:

03.04

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers

Extent:

437 boxes

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); American Civil Liberties Union Records, Box Number and Folder Title; Public Policy Papers, Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1864-2001 (inclusive) and 1965-1995 (bulk)

Creator:

American civil liberties union

Form:

Legal files. and Publications.

Abstract:

The Legal Case Files series documents the ACLU's involvement in litigation, ranging from files collected on cases for research purposes to records of cases they were significantly involved in. The records include documents filed with the court, correspondence, lawyer's notes, depositions and expert testimony, transcripts of the trials, newspaper clippings, and research materials on the background of the cases and legal precedents.

The ACLU is the preeminent civil liberties organization in the United States. The ACLU describes itself as "our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country." Since its inception in 1920, the ACLU has played a part in nearly every significant American social or political issue in the 20th century. This includes important work in the areas of civil rights, children and women's rights, freedom of speech (and all First Amendment questions), and due process, among many others.

For a more detailed history of the ACLU, please see the history in the finding aid for the processed portion of the ACLU Records.

The Legal Case Files series documents the ACLU's involvement in litigation, ranging from files collected on cases for research purposes to records of cases they were significantly involved in. The records include documents filed with the court, correspondence, lawyer's notes, depositions and expert testimony, transcripts of the trials, newspaper clippings, and research materials on the background of the cases and legal precedents.

The Legal Case Files series contains records about over 1,500 cases, with the majority being files collected on non-ACLU cases for research on the broad range of civil liberties which the ACLU investigates. Common subjects include freedom of speech and expression, illegal surveillance and search, injustice in the legal system, public education, racial and sexual discrimination, and the separation of church and state, as well as fair employment and health care practices, immigration, information access and privacy, and politics and voting. Cases which are particularly well documented include Carlos Rivera v. John Rowland about the public defender system in Connecticut and three cases about public education: Brown v. Board of Education, Charlet v. Legislature of Louisiana, and Harper v. Hunt.

This series is a continuation of ACLU Records: Subgroup 2, Legal Case Files Series, 1933-1990. In Subgroup 3, see also Series 2: Project Files and Series 5: Regional Offices for cases litigated by the ACLU.