1951
• The NYCLU is established in response to McCarthy era attacks on civil liberties.
1962
• Lawsuit ends required recitation of prayer in schools.
1965
• Defends political expression in the burning of draft cards and the war in Vietnam.
1970
• Leads effort that legalizes abortion in New York
• Lawsuit enables busing to achieve school integration in Buffalo.
1975
• Case establishes students’ right to hearings when threatened with suspension.
• Landmark Willowbrook case establishes comprehensive treatment standards for people living with mental disabilities.
1981
• Lawsuit achieves guidelines and reporting requirements for NYPD’s surveillance of political activities.
1982
• Wins U.S. Supreme Court ruling that students and parents can challenge school boards that remove library books they deem “offensive.”
1989
• Lawsuit ends the Board of Education’s system of awarding scholarships based solely on SAT scores, which advantaged male students.
1993
• Brings successful challenge that ends censorship of HIV/AIDS education in public schools.
1995
• Through 2001, successfully challenges 27 unconstitutional Giuiliani administration restrictions of First Amendment rights.
2003
• Wins the release of government records documenting torture of detainees at U.S. military sites and secret CIA detention facilities.
2004
• After nearly a decade of advocacy, death penalty is abolished in New York
• Lawsuit stops NYPD from restricting demonstrations at 2004 Republication National Convention
2009
• After more than 30 years of advocacy, NYCLU celebrates historic reforms of the state’s notorious Rockefeller drug sentencing laws.
2010
• Landmark case demanding reforms to NYS failing public defense system
• NYCLU advocacy leads to basic labor protections for domestic workers though the passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.
• Challenges police abuse in NYC schools and helps pass the Dignity for All Students Act, a law to prevent bullying and bias-based harassment in schools.
2011
• NYCLU advocacy helps same-sex couples finally win the freedom to marry in New York
• Student Safety Act is signed into law, requiring regular, public reporting by both the NYPD and Department of Education on school arrests and suspensions.
2012
• NYCLU launches acclaimed Stop & Frisk Watch app, allowing citizens to record abuse by the NYPD on mobile phones and easily submit video.
• Bloomberg administration agrees to end unlawful stop-and-frisk of passengers in livery cabs
2013
• NYCLU files class action suit Ligon v. City of New York challenging abusive stop-and-frisk in private buildings participating in NYC’s Clean Halls program.
• U.S. Supreme Court ruling ends discrimination against lesbian and gay couples when determining federal benefits and protections.
2014
• Peoples v. Fisher settlement leads to historic reforms of solitary confinement in New York state.
• Hurrell-Harring v. New York settlement overhauls public defense services in five counties and lays groundwork for statewide reform.
2015
• Dignity for All report exposes discrimination against trans and gender nonconforming students and leads Education Department to issue new guidance protecting students’ rights.
• New state laws protect against unequal pay, pregnancy discrimination, and sexual harassment at work.
2016
• Bipartisan public defense reform legislation unanimously passes state legislature.
• NYPD agrees to end discriminatory and unjustified surveillance of Muslims.
• Attorney General clarifies that women in New York have the right to abortion care consistent with Roe v. Wade despite outmoded state law