Request Legal Assistance

Before accepting a case, the ACLU of Alaska considers:

1. Does the case raise a civil liberties or civil rights issue?

   Civil liberties include freedom of speech, press, religion, and association; due process; equal protection; and privacy. Civil rights include, for example, voting rights; discrimination based on disability, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion or national origin, and police reform.

2. How likely is it that a court will reach the civil liberties issue?

   Generally, the ACLU of Alaska takes cases that do not involve complicated disputes of fact, and prefers cases that involve questions of law only. An example of a factual dispute is an employment discrimination case in which the employer claims he fired the employee because of poor job performance and has credible evidence to support that claim, but the employee disputes the evidence and has credible evidence of her own. Because employment claims are usually very fact dependent, it is not often that the ACLU of Alaska takes this kind of case.

   We often decide not to accept cases involving factual disputes because: (1) if a court resolves the facts against the client, it may never reach the civil liberties or civil rights issues; (2) if the decision rests upon the specific facts of a case, the case is less likely to have broad impact on many people; and (3) we have so few volunteer and staff attorneys that it is difficult for us to devote attorney time to resolving factual disputes.

   Because of the nature of civil liberties claims, only rarely does the ACLU of Alaska take a case that does not involve the government.

3. The potential impact, including:
   • Will the case set a civil liberties precedent?
   • Will the case strengthen an existing but ignored precedent?
   • What are the prospects of success and the risks of losing?
   • How likely is the issue to recur?
   • What educational opportunities does the case present?
4. The allocation of resources, including the costs and administrative burdens will the case impose in relation to available ACLU of Alaska staff and funds, and if volunteer attorneys are available.

The ACLU of Alaska does not generally accept these kind of cases:

• A person has been fired from a job without a good reason or just cause;
• Domestic matters (divorce, child custody, wills, etc.);
• A person is being denied benefits, such as workers’ compensation, unemployment benefits, or Social Security;
• Landlord / tenant disputes;
• Immigration matters; and,
• Criminal cases or complaints about a person’s attorney in a criminal case — the ACLU considers accepting criminal cases only in limited instances, such as, for example, when a person is being prosecuted for engaging in activity protected by the Constitution – such as participating in a political demonstration or where the statute or ordinance under which the person is charged is subject to constitutional attack.

Please consider the above before filing a complaint. Even if your complaint falls within the above guidelines, filing a complaint does not guarantee that the ACLU of Alaska will provide legal assistance. Before any legal assistance can be offered, a written agreement must be entered into and signed by an ACLU of Alaska representative. If you would like to find out more about what kind of cases the ACLU will take, please see the national ACLU website.

If you'd like to seek legal assistance from another organization or law firm, please see our referral list here.

There may be deadlines that might affect your lawsuit or grievance. If you are concerned about whether the time for bringing your complaint is about to pass, you should not rely on filing an ACLU complaint to protect you; you should consult with an attorney of your choice.