Legal Help
Intake Procedure
(Information about how the ACLU accepts 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 at www.aclu.org
and click on States.
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 relative 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.
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. This involves both the right of individuals
to practice religious beliefs and the separation of church and state.
Privacy, for example reproductive rights, employee privacy, 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. For
instance, if the state cut Medi-Cal 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.
Types of Cases the ACLU Generally Does Not Accept
The ACLU does not generally accept these types of cases:
- A person has been fired from a job without a good reason or just cause;
- A person is being denied benefits, such as workers' compensation or
unemployment benefits;
- Criminal cases, or complaints about a person's attorney in a criminal
case. We consider 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.
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 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 Case
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:
- Use the Intake Form on our website and mail it to our Legal
Department. We will respond by regular mail. The link to the Form
is found at the end of this document.
- You may write and mail a letter to our Legal
Department.
- You may leave a voice mail message at our Legal
Department (414.272.4032 ext. 16) giving your name and mailing address,
if you wish to receive the Intake Form via U.S. Mail.
- If you have difficulties reading or completing the form, you can leave
a voice mail message at (414.272.4032 ext. 14) for assistance.
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 about deadlines.
::: NO OFFICE VISITS :::
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.
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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