Boumediene v. Bush and al Odah v. U.S (2007)
In a 5-4 decision, the Court upheld the rights of foreign detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to seek review of the legality of their detentions in federal court. ADL joined a coalition of human rights, public interest and religious groups in an amicus brief supporting the rights of the detainees. The brief argued that the Military Commissions Act passed by Congress creates unconstitutional "law free" zones in which executive detentions remain unchecked by the Judiciary and strips detainees of any meaningful opportunity to test the legality of their detention. This, the brief contends, is contrary to the American principles of checks and balances and due process.
PDF 284 kb
Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No.1
Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education (2006)
More than 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education, these cases are about our nation’s continuing, unfulfilled and still critically important duty to eliminate segregation in our public schools. ADL’s amicus brief supports Seattle and Louisville programs which use race as one factor in assigning students to public schools of comparable quality, asserting that these programs are justified not only by a compelling interest in desegregation, but also by a compelling interest in promoting racial diversity in the educational setting. The programs do not involve an unfair preference for students who might be less qualified, nor do they discriminate in the provision of benefits. To the contrary, the plans represent a legitimate, thoughtful and constitutionally sound way to promote equality, diversity, and cross-racial understanding.
PDF 417 kb
Gonzales v Planned Parenthood and Gonzales v Carhart (2006)
This case addresses the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. ADL, together with other religious and religiously affiliated organizations, joined a brief authored by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The brief argues that the Act unconstitutionally threatens the health and lives of women, and undermines their right to choose an abortion in accordance with their religious faiths. The brief also asserts that for many people of faith, freedom to make decisions of conscience without government interference is consistent with their deeply held religious convictions. Further, restrictions on access to abortion that do not provide an exception for the health of the woman not only risk women's health but threaten the religious values of many women of faith.
PDF 1,423 kb
Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, et al. (2005) This Supreme Court case involves the constitutionality of The New Hampshire Parental Notification Prior to Abortion Act. The Act prohibits abortions for minors unless the parents have been notified, but provides exceptions for abortions necessary to prevent death and for minors who have obtained a judicial declaration that they are mature enough to make a decision concerning abortion. The First Circuit Court of Appeals previously ruled that the Act was unconstitutional because it does not include a health exception and the death exception is too narrow. ADL, together with 41 other religious and religiously affiliated organizations, joined a brief authored by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The brief argued, among other things, that in emergency situations, the Act unconstitutionally threatens the health and lives of young women, and undermines their right to choose an abortion in accordance with religious faiths that place great value on women’s health and lives. The variety of religious beliefs about abortion underscores the importance of maintaining a private sphere– free from undue government interference – in which women, including minors, can make choices to protect their own lives and health in accordance with their faiths. Although parental guidance in young women’s major life decisions, including whether to end a pregnancy, is important, state-mandated parental involvement can sometimes harm the minor, such as where the family is dysfunctional or where an emergency situation requires immediate action.
PDF 634 kb
Rasul v. Bush (2004) The Anti-Defamation League has joined an amicus brief submitted to the United States Supreme Court in a case that will determine the status of the Guantanamo Bay detainees. The brief was authored by the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights for a coalition of civil rights organizations including the American Jewish Committee, and the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism among others. The brief focuses on the civil liberties “black hole” that would be created if detainees could be held in Guantanamo without access to any court. It suggests that Israeli law provides an example of how to both guarantee security and to respect fundamental civil liberties, as required under international law. The key point of the brief is that U.S. law and international law each require that there be some review of the legality of indefinite detention.
PDF 224 kb
Stenberg v. Carhart (530 U.S. 914 (2000))
In a 5-4 decision, the Court struck down a Nebraska law that criminalized the midterm dilation and extraction procedure referred to as "partial birth abortion" unless such procedure is necessary to save the mother's life. The Court struck down the statute because it placed an undue burden on a woman's right to have an abortion and did not allow for exception in cases of threatened health. ADL argued, along with 53 other organizations, that the Nebraska law unconstitutionally interfered with matters of individual choice and religious significance and impermissibly advocated certain beliefs over others.
PDF 170 kb
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (505 U.S. 833 (1992)):
In a splintered decision, the Court refused to overturn
Roe v. Wade, but upheld many provisions of Pennsylvania law restricting rights recognized in
Roe, including a parental consent requirement for minors, counseling by doctor about alternatives, a 24-hour waiting period, and reporting on patients and procedures by health clinics. ADL, together with a coalition of organizations, argued that
Roe should be reaffirmed.
PDF 516 kb
Hohri v. U.S. (482 U.S. 64 (1987)):
This 1986 case was brought by internees against the government seeking compensation for property taken from Japanese Americans without due process of law.
ADL joined a coalition of civil rights organizations in filing an amicus brief arguing that the government’s harsh treatment of Japanese Americans resulted in a stigma against them of racial inferiority and of disloyalty. The Court found jurisdictional issues with the case and did not decide the case on its merits.
NAACP v. State of Alabama (357 U.S. 449 (1958)): This case, which arose after Alabama prohibited the NAACP from meeting or conducting activities within its borders unless membership records were produced, marks a significant milestone in the struggle for racial equality in the United States. As a staunch advocate for equality among all people, ADL successfully maintained that the NAACP should not be deprived of its constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of association.
PDF 2,584 kb
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (347 U.S. 483 (1954)): This is the landmark civil rights case that resulted in the desegregation of public schools across the entire United States. As amicus curiae, ADL successfully argued that the "separate but equal" doctrine, which had historically been used to justify the establishment of separate school systems for black and white children, was unconstitutional and violated the Fourteenth Amendment.
PDF 2,492 kb
Shelley v. Kraemer (334 U.S. 1 (1948)): This case, a landmark in civil rights litigation, established the right of all citizens to own property regardless of race and thereby invalidated the racially restrictive covenants that had historically prevented non-white people from living in certain areas. In its first amicus curiae brief ever, ADL successfully argued that restrictive covenants and the segregated communities they promoted were unconstitutional and violated the Fourteenth Amendment.
PDF 2,333 kb
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