| ACLU-WV LEGAL PROGRAM
The ACLU of West Virginia maintains an active legal program to assure that the Bill of Rights and the rights guaranteed by the West Virginia Constitution are preserved for each new generation. A full-time staff attorney oversees and coordinates our litigation. However, we also depend upon many dedicated lawyers from around the state who are willing to donate their time and talent to the cause of protecting individual freedom. The cases we choose often receive a great deal of attention because the issues we address cut close to the way people live their lives and deal with both traditional and new threats to civil liberties on many fronts. We do not enter into litigation lightly. We receive more than 350 requests for help every year. From those, we generally file approximately 5 lawsuits.
The times when
we are able to solve problems without filing suit — by
quietly and patiently educating public officials on the
ways they have violated the Constitution — do
not generate much media attention. But that is an equally
important part of our legal program.
Whether we are filing a high-profile suit or quietly counseling a small-town mayor on constitutional practice, our goal remains realizing the promise of the Bill of Rights for all and expanding the reach of its guarantees to new areas.
To view our Legal Docket, PDF, please select here...
HOW THE ACLU OF WEST VIRGINIA ACCEPTS CASES
Please read this information carefully to find out the kinds of complaints we handle, fill out the questionnaire and return it to us. If we need more information, we will contact you. We will let you know as soon as possible whether we can offer you assistance. Please be patient as there may be some delay due to the overwhelming number of requests we receive.
For the questionnaire, PDF, please select here
HOW DO WE SELECT CASES?
The ACLU generally files cases that affect the civil liberties of large numbers of people, rather than those involving a dispute between two parties. The basic questions we ask when reviewing a potential case are: 1) Is this a significant civil liberties issue? 2) What effect will this case have on people other than the parties involved? 3) Do we have the necessary resources to take this case?
WHAT ARE CIVIL LIBERTIES?
The civil liberties we seek to protect include:
- Freedom of Speech and Press For example: a student is suspended for writing a newspaper article critical of the principal; a police officer is disciplined for speaking out against police brutality; a group is charged for police protection when it applies for a demonstration permit.
- Freedom of Religion
This involves both the right of individuals to religious
beliefs and the separation of church and state.
- Privacy
For example, illegal search and seizures (warrantless
searches).
- Equal Protection/Discrimination
For example: a sheriff's department which refuses to
accept women deputies; a refusal to allow homeless
people to vote because they have no fixed addresses.
- Due Process
For example, a community group is denied a permit by
the police and the town provides no appeal of the police
decision.
WHAT CASES AFFECT OTHERS?
Lawsuits can affect a large number of people in two ways. First, we sometimes challenge a policy or practice which directly impacts upon many people. Second, a lawsuit brought on behalf of one person can have a larger impact on others in the long run when it establishes or expands legal protections. For example, a lawsuit challenging drug testing of one employee, if successful, could set a precedent for thousands of workers in the future.
WHY DO WE PREFER CASES WITHOUT FACTUAL DISPUTES?
We tend to take cases which do not involve complicated disputes of fact, but prefer to take cases where the issue is a question of law. Facts are considered to be in dispute whenever you have one version of what happened and the other party(s) has a different view. An example of a factual dispute is an employment discrimination case where the employer claims he fired the employee because of poor job performance and has credible evidence to support that claim.
The reasons we often decide not to accept cases involving factual disputes are: 1) Our limited resources (it is often expensive to prove a case which involves substantial factual disputes); 2) A court might never reach the civil liberties legal issue if it resolves the facts against the client; 3) The case is less likely to have a broad impact on others if the decision rests upon the specific facts of a case.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
ACLU cooperating attorneys represent the clients free of charge. ACLU cases are handled by volunteer attorneys who are in private practice and volunteer their time for ACLU cases.
TYPES OF CASES THE ACLU GENERALLY CANNOT ACCEPT:
Types of cases the ACLU does not generally accept include:
- An individual was fired without a good reason or just
cause.
- An individual is being denied benefits such as worker's
compensation or unemployment benefits.
- Criminal cases or complaints about a person's attorney
in a criminal case. Only in limited cases, for example
when a person is being prosecuted for engaging in activity
protected by the Constitution (such as participating
in a political demonstration), do we consider accepting
criminal cases.
- Child custody/support or divorce cases.
- Private civil disputes including contractual matters.
WHY DOES THE ACLU TURN DOWN CASES THAT FALL WITHIN THE GUIDELINES FOR ACCEPTANCE?
There are many cases and problems of unfairness and injustice which the ACLU is simply unable to handle. We receive many requests for assistance each month. Therefore, we cannot accept all of the complaints that fall within the guidelines discussed above. We must select those which we believe will have the greatest impact on protecting civil liberties.
CAN THE ACLU ADVISE ME ABOUT MY CASE?
The ACLU is unable to give you advice about your case or provide other types of assistance, (for example, reviewing your papers or conducting legal research to assist you), if we do not accept your case. This policy allows us to direct the necessary resources to those cases that we do accept.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT DEADLINES:
All legal claims have time deadlines. The deadlines may be different depending on who violated your rights and depending on what rights were violated. For some kinds of violations, you may need to file a claim with a government agency before you can sue, and these agencies usually have their own time deadlines. The ACLU cannot give you advice about the deadlines that apply to your case. To protect your rights, please consult with an attorney promptly to find out what deadlines apply in your case.
OTHER RESOURCES IN WEST VIRGINIA:
State Bar Lawyer Referral — (304) 558-7991
Lawyer Information Services — Toll free 800-642-3617
State Law Library — (304) 558-2607
Legal Aid Services — Charleston (304) 343-4481, Toll free 800-834-0598
Human Rights Commission — (304) 558-2616
Human Rights Comm Charleston — (304) 348-6880
Equal Employment Opportunity — (304) 558-3950
NAACP — (304) 925-5237
WV Advocates (for the disabled) — (304) 346-0847, Toll free 800-950-5250
Senior Legal Advice & Referral — Toll free 800-229-5068
Consumer Protection — (304) 558-8986, Toll free 800-368-8808
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