 Before
the national ACLU was established
in 1920, no law—however much
it censored speech—was ever
struck down as a violation of the
First Amendment. When the public
hears “ACLU” the two
things that most come to mind are lawyers
in court and the First
Amendment. Although the
ACLU defends freedom in America through
legislation and public education,
challenging governmental violation
of the Bill of Rights in administrative
and court hearings is indeed central
to its mission of protecting civil
liberties for everyone. The
First Amendment guarantees of speech
and religion free from governmental
coercion remain a bedrock concern.
The ACLU is not a “single-issue” organization,
however, even if that “single” issue
is the First Amendment, so “the
nation’s largest public interest
law firm” also defends many
other constitutional rights - often
expanding their protection.
The
ACLU of the National
Capital Area has fought
for free speech and other
rights—sometimes
all the way to the United
States Supreme Court.
Nothing has been more
important than decades
of ACLU-NCA court cases
to establish, expand
and protect the rights
of free speech and assembly
in the Nation's Capital
(from the civil
rights marches, through
anti-Viet Nam protests,
pro-choice and anti-abortion
marches, to today's anti-war
demonstrations).
After September 11, the
ACLU-NCA Legal Director
has served as key ACLU
counsel on numerous cases
protecting the civil
liberties against a misguided
and over-reaching government,
while the ACLU-NCA also
pursues the full range
of “normal” civil
liberties cases.
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