Cases

At any given time, the ACLU of RI is involved in dozens of legal battles on behalf of civil liberties in the Ocean State. Below is a list of many the cases we have worked on. For our annual case dockets, click here.

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Wooden gavel
Wooden gavel
Mar 27, 1981

The Independent Press v. Brunelle

First Amendment
Status: Closed

Successful federal court challenge to Chariho School Committee decision prohibiting a student from distributing and selling an alternative school paper on school premises.

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Wooden gavel
Wooden gavel
Mar 28, 1980

Lancellotta v. West Warwick

First Amendment
Status: Closed

The first of a half-dozen successful Affiliate court challenges to town ordinances banning the posting of election signs in residential areas.

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Wooden gavel
Wooden gavel
Mar 27, 1980

Santos v. Brown

Privacy
Status: Closed

Representation of person convicted of violating state sodomy law prohibiting “the abominable and detestable crime against nature”; the conviction was reversed on other grounds.

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Wooden gavel
Wooden gavel
Mar 27, 1980

Monteiro v. McCarthy

Criminal Justice
Status: Closed

This was an unsuccessful police brutality suit brought on behalf of a developmentally disabled teenager who was beaten by East Providence police officers.

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Wooden gavel
Wooden gavel
Jan 18, 1980

Ruggieri v. Johns-Manville

Criminal Justice
Status: Closed

Successful amicus brief dealing with lawyer gag orders, in which the Federal court ruled that attorneys in civil litigation cannot be prohibited from making public statements about cases except in extreme...

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Wooden gavel
Wooden gavel
Jan 3, 1980

R.I. Federation of Teachers v. Norberg

First Amendment
Status: Closed

Favorable U.S. Court of Appeals decision striking down state law allowing parents to claim income tax deduction for money spent on tuition in parochial schools.

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