Wisconsin Affiliate, American Civil Liberties Union

Filing A Complaint

How the ACLU of Wisconsin accepts legal questions and cases:

Our office handles civil liberties and civil rights matters arising in the state of Wisconsin. If your issue arises elsewhere, you should contact the ACLU office in that area. To find the address for the appropriate affiliate, please go to the National ACLU website and find the relevant state office.

Please read this information carefully to find out the kinds of cases we accept and how to have the ACLU consider your problem. You may also want to view our Referral List for information on other organizations that may work on issues related to your case.

Selection of Cases:

The ACLU of Wisconsin selects cases which are believed to have the greatest impact on protecting civil liberties. Keep in mind that there are many cases and problems of unfairness and injustice which the ACLU of Wisconsin is simply unable to handle. In general, the ACLU only handles cases against the government or government official because the constitution only applies to government actors.

The ACLU generally files cases that affect the civil liberties or civil rights of large numbers of people, rather than those involving a dispute between individual parties. The basic questions we ask when reviewing a potential case are: (1) Is this a significant civil liberties or civil rights issue? (2) What effect will this case have on people in addition to our client? (3) Do we have the necessary resources to take this case?

Examples of Civil Liberties the ACLU of Wisconsin Seeks To Protect:

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; or a group is charged for police protection when it applies for a demonstration permit.

Freedom of Religion involving both the right of individuals to practice religious beliefs and the separation of church and state.

Privacy, for example reproductive rights, government surveillance, or drug testing.

Equal Protection/Discrimination, for example a sheriff's department which refuses to accept women deputies; or 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.

Cases That Affect Others:

Lawsuits can affect a large number of people in two ways. First, we sometimes challenge a policy or practice that directly impacts many people or would support systemic change. For instance, if the state cut Medicaid funding for abortions from the annual budget, thousands of poor women would be affected. Second, a lawsuit brought on behalf of one person can have a larger impact on others when it establishes or expands legal protections. For example, a lawsuit challenging the denial of health care at a clinic to one HIV+ person, if successful, could set a precedent for thousands of patients in the future.

We Prefer Cases Without Serious Factual Disputes:

We tend to take cases that do not involve complicated disputes of fact, and prefer 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.

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 staff attorneys that it is difficult for us to devote attorney time to resolving factual disputes.

The ACLU does not generally accept these types of cases:

In general we don't handle cases that involve such things as evictions, tenant-landlord disputes, general disputes between employees and employers (i.e. disputes centering on wages and hours), criminal prosecutions, divorce, child custody, or wills, unless they clearly raise broader constitutional or civil rights concerns.

Why the ACLU Turns Down Cases Which Fall Within Our Guidelines:

There are many cases and problems of unfairness and injustice that the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation is simply unable to handle. We receive hundreds of requests for assistance each month. Therefore, we cannot accept many of the cases that fall within the guidelines discussed above. We must select those cases which we believe will have the greatest impact on protecting civil liberties.

Can the ACLU Advise Me About My Case?

If we do not accept your case, the ACLU is unable to give you advice about your case, answer questions, or provide other types of assistance - for example, reviewing papers or conducting legal research to assist you. This policy allows us to direct the necessary resources to those cases we do accept.

How To Contact the ACLU About Your Legal Concern:

There are several ways in which you may contact the ACLU of Wisconsin for legal assistance. If you believe your case may be the kind of case the ACLU of Wisconsin will accept, you can do one of the following:

If we need more information, we will contact you. We will let you know as soon as possible whether or not we can accept your case, because of limited resources, there may be a delay in getting back to you. Please be sure to read the information below about deadlines.

::: NO OFFICE VISITS :::

::: INTAKE FORM :::

::: Español Formulario de consulta :::

What Does It Cost?

Attorneys represent ACLU clients free of charge. Our cases are handled by staff counsel, sometimes working together with attorneys in private practice who volunteer their time for ACLU cases.

Important Note About the Consideration Process

WE ARE NOT ACTING AS YOUR ATTORNEY WHILE WE ARE CONSIDERING THE MERITS OF YOUR CASE. At this stage we are only considering the merits of your case and whether it is within our expertise and priorities. If we are able to offer you representation, you will be asked to sign a retainer agreement with a volunteer attorney, before we can take any action as your attorney. Only after this agreement is signed can there be an offiical relationship between your case and the ACLU of Wisconsin.

Important Note About Deadlines:

All legal claims have time deadlines. The deadlines may be different depending on who violated your rights and which 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 have their own time deadlines. If you do not comply with the applicable statute of limitations, you may be legally barred from pursuing your claim in court. Contacting the ACLU to describe your problem does not mean that the ACLU represents you, and will not stop the statute of limitations from running. The ACLU cannot give you advice about the deadlines that apply to your case. To protect your rights, please consult an attorney promptly to find out what deadline may apply in your case.

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