What to Expect From the Coming Supreme Court Term

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Department of Justice officials announced that a grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama returned an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony D. Romero had the following response: “The investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center is yet another example of the Trump administration’s extreme attempts to silence its critics. This administration’s continued weaponization of the Justice Department to target organizations speaking out against its agenda is anti-American behavior harkening back to the McCarthy era. “The ACLU stands in solidarity with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC’s work fighting hate, racism, and injustice in the American South has played a critical role in strengthening the civil rights of millions of Americans. While the Trump administration may not agree with the SPLC’s civil rights mission or work, its efforts to target the organization are fundamentally wrong. “The Trump administration’s attack against the Southern Poverty Law Center is a direct threat to the values that make America great. In this time of unprecedented peril for our democracy, we urge all Americans of good conscience to join us as we stand in support of the Southern Poverty Law Center.”

This consolidated case arises from two warrantless searches of closed containers belonging to criminal defendants. It raises two key questions: (1) whether the New Mexico Supreme Court should adopt an approach to interpreting the New Mexico Constitution that does not require reference to federal law, and (2) whether the New Mexico Constitution’s prohibition on unreasonable searches provides greater protections against inventory searches by police than does the federal Fourth Amendment standard. 

This case asks whether Michigan should adopt an approach to state constitutional interpretation that prioritizes Michigan sources and does not automatically require reference to parallel federal provisions or interpretations. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the constitutional rights of Michiganders because an interpretation of the Michigan Constitution untethered from federal precedent provides an independent, and potentially more expansive, layer of security for individual rights.

Amid President Donald Trump's unconstitutional war against Iran, ACLU experts break down who has the power to declare war — and how Congress can assert its war powers.