About the Legal Program Mission         

The ACLU of Iowa  Foundation is a private not-for-profit civil rights organization established for the purpose of preserving and promoting individual rights and freedoms such as those identified in the Bill of Rights and in Article I of our Iowa Constitution. As such we seldom take cases that do not involve governmental action, laws or policies. We are not a state supported agency.

The ACLU-IA is an affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and our work is supported almost entirely through donations and the good will of our membership. Because these resources are extremely limited, we do not attempt to take every case that seems to have merit, nor can we serve as a general legal assistance organization. Very few cases are ultimately accepted for inclusion into our legal program.

Our cases generally involve some legally or culturally significant challenge to governmental actions, practices, laws or policies having to do with individual rights.  Cases involving free speech, religious freedom, equality, due process, personal privacy and autonomy tend to be at the top of our legal agenda. If your complaint is only against a private party, such as your employer, you may not have such a claim and should immediately seek alternative sources of assistance. Our decision to take a case depends on available resources, legal and factual merit and its perceived importance for our mission of protecting and expanding civil liberties.

If you are seeking legal assistance click here.