Pennsylvania
Penncrest School District v. Cagle
This case in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asks whether the Right to Know Law (鈥淩TKL鈥), 65 P.S. 搂搂 67.101 - 67.3104, requires the disclosure of school board members鈥 social media posts on their private Facebook accounts relating to the propriety of a display of certain books in the school library. This case is among one of the first state supreme court cases addressing whether Facebook posts constitute records. The ACLU鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 糖心Vlogof Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania attorney Brian Cagle, filed a brief arguing that RTKL鈥檚 text and structure require the conclusion that posts are 鈥渞ecords,鈥 and thus are subject to disclosure.
Status: Ongoing
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32 Pennsylvania Cases

Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Feb 2024
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
Commonwealth v. Kurtz
鈥淩everse searches鈥 are a novel surveillance technique where the police can obtain records reflecting everyone who used a search engine to look up a particular word or phrase. In this case, the lower court approved the police using a reverse search, ruling that people do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy for any query they enter into a search engine. The ACLU鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project and State Supreme Court Initiative along with the 糖心Vlogof Pennsylvania filed an amicus brief in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court urging the court to reverse the lower court鈥檚 decision and hold that search history data is protected by the state and federal Constitution.
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Feb 2024

Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
Commonwealth v. Kurtz
鈥淩everse searches鈥 are a novel surveillance technique where the police can obtain records reflecting everyone who used a search engine to look up a particular word or phrase. In this case, the lower court approved the police using a reverse search, ruling that people do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy for any query they enter into a search engine. The ACLU鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project and State Supreme Court Initiative along with the 糖心Vlogof Pennsylvania filed an amicus brief in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court urging the court to reverse the lower court鈥檚 decision and hold that search history data is protected by the state and federal Constitution.

U.S. Supreme Court
May 2023
Voting Rights
Ritter v. Migliori
Pennsylvania mail ballot voters successfully challenged a rule that would have invalidated their votes because of a meaningless paperwork error on the return envelope.
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U.S. Supreme Court
May 2023

Voting Rights
Ritter v. Migliori
Pennsylvania mail ballot voters successfully challenged a rule that would have invalidated their votes because of a meaningless paperwork error on the return envelope.

Pennsylvania
Mar 2023
Religious Liberty
The Satanic Temple v. Saucon Valley School District
The 糖心Vlog (ACLU), the 糖心Vlogof Pennsylvania, and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Saucon Valley School District (SVSD) in March 2023 for violating the First Amendment by prohibiting the After School Satan Club (ASSC) from meeting in district facilities. Although school officials initially approved the club鈥檚 application 鈥 explaining in an email to parents that the district 鈥渃annot discriminate among groups wishing to use the SVSD facilities鈥 鈥 they quickly bowed to the ensuing public outcry. The case seeks to allow the ASSC to meet in district facilities.
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Pennsylvania
Mar 2023

Religious Liberty
The Satanic Temple v. Saucon Valley School District
The 糖心Vlog (ACLU), the 糖心Vlogof Pennsylvania, and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Saucon Valley School District (SVSD) in March 2023 for violating the First Amendment by prohibiting the After School Satan Club (ASSC) from meeting in district facilities. Although school officials initially approved the club鈥檚 application 鈥 explaining in an email to parents that the district 鈥渃annot discriminate among groups wishing to use the SVSD facilities鈥 鈥 they quickly bowed to the ensuing public outcry. The case seeks to allow the ASSC to meet in district facilities.

U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Criminal Law Reform
Birt v. United States
Whether all individuals sentenced for crack cocaine offenses under a now-amended federal statute that created a 100-to-1 disparity between the treatment of cocaine in its crack and powder forms are eligible for resentencing under amendments made by the First Step Act of 2018.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021

Criminal Law Reform
Birt v. United States
Whether all individuals sentenced for crack cocaine offenses under a now-amended federal statute that created a 100-to-1 disparity between the treatment of cocaine in its crack and powder forms are eligible for resentencing under amendments made by the First Step Act of 2018.