American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil-rights organization based in Newark and affiliated with the national American Civil Liberties Union. It works to protect constitutional rights and civil liberties in New Jersey through litigation, legislative advocacy, public education, community organizing, and policy campaigns. Its work has covered free speech, religious liberty and the separation of church and state, voting and election rights, access to government information, privacy, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive freedom, gender equality, student rights, racial justice, police accountability, prisoners’ rights, poverty-related rights, and immigrant rights. The organization was formally established on June 16, 1960, when ACLU members from northern and southern New Jersey met in Newark to create a statewide affiliate. During its first decade, the affiliate created the Community Legal Action Workshop, or CLAW, to assist residents of inner-city communities affected by civil-liberties violations, particularly in the aftermath of the 1967 Newark unrest. The organization also developed a substantial police-accountability practice. In 1967 it sued the New Jersey State Police after warrantless searches of dozens of homes in Plainfield following civil disorder. It also represented people arrested during the Newark unrest and worked with Newark residents to document alleged police brutality. ACLU-NJ has pursued cases involving discrimination in public institutions and access to public services. In the early 1970s, volunteer attorneys including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Annamay Sheppard represented Abbe Seldin in a sex-discrimination dispute that secured her right to play tennis on Teaneck High School’s boys’ team. The organization later supported Richard Kreimer in litigation concerning his exclusion from a public library, co-counseled Sally Frank in her challenge to the exclusion of women from Princeton University’s all-male Eating Clubs, and represented a same-sex couple seeking to adopt their foster child. The adoption litigation contributed to New Jersey becoming the first state to give gay and lesbian couples equal standing in adoption proceedings. The affiliate has also emphasized transparency and accountability in government. Its Open Governance Project, announced in 2009, sought to improve public access to government meetings and records. In the following decade, ACLU-NJ advocacy contributed to stronger reporting requirements for Newark police stop-and-frisk activity and to policies limiting the Newark Police Department’s cooperation with federal immigration detainers. The organization also helped establish New Jersey United for Marriage, a coalition campaign supporting marriage equality. ACLU-NJ operates through two related nonprofit structures. The ACLU-NJ is organized as a 501(c)(4) entity and supports membership activity and legislative lobbying, while the ACLU-NJ Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization whose work centers on litigation and public education and whose donations may be tax-deductible. A board of trustees elected by members sets policy and provides oversight. The organization is supported by donations, membership dues, grants, investment income, bequests, and court-awarded attorney fees. It is an advocacy organization rather than a commercial product brand, and its principal offerings are legal representation, legislative advocacy, research, public education, and community engagement.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey was formally founded on June 16, 1960, when ACLU members from North Jersey and South Jersey convened in Newark to establish a single statewide affiliate. Its structure combined legal advocacy with legislative work and public education, reflecting the broader ACLU model of defending constitutional rights through courts, legislatures, and community engagement. During the organization’s first decade, New Jersey experienced significant racial conflict and civil unrest. Following the 1967 Newark riots, ACLU-NJ intervened on behalf of arrested residents and helped Newark community members document alleged police brutality. It also created the Community Legal Action Workshop, known as CLAW, to provide advocacy for inner-city residents facing civil-liberties violations. In the same period, the affiliate sued the New Jersey State Police over warrantless searches of 66 homes in Plainfield after the Plainfield riots. ACLU-NJ also unsuccessfully sought federal judicial oversight of the Newark Police Department in 1967. Gender equality became another important area of litigation. In 1972, volunteer ACLU attorneys Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Annamay Sheppard, then associated with Rutgers School of Law–Newark, represented Abbe Seldin in a sex-discrimination case involving her participation on the boys’ tennis team at Teaneck High School. Seldin prevailed, establishing an early New Jersey example of the organization’s use of litigation to challenge sex-based exclusions. From the late 1970s through the early 1990s, ACLU-NJ supported challenges to discriminatory access rules at private institutions serving public or quasi-public functions. It served as co-counsel to Princeton student Sally Frank in litigation seeking admission of women to the university’s traditionally all-male Eating Clubs. The case began in 1979 and concluded more than a decade later, in 1992, when all of the clubs accepted women. The organization also represented Richard Kreimer in a dispute with the Joint Free Public Library of Morristown and Morris Township. Kreimer, who was homeless, had been barred under library rules and practices concerning hygiene, loitering, and conduct. The ACLU helped prompt changes to the rules and continued assisting him in seeking relief. ACLU-NJ expanded its LGBTQ+ equality work during the 1990s. In 1997 it represented Jon Holden and Michael Galluccio, a gay couple seeking to adopt their two-year-old foster son. Their successful case gave gay and lesbian couples equal standing in adoption proceedings in New Jersey, making the state the first in the United States to adopt that policy according to the cited account. The affiliate continued to litigate racial profiling and police practices in the 2000s. On August 25, 2004, it filed Yorker and others v. Township of Manalapan and others on behalf of three African-American youths who alleged that Manalapan police searched them and treated them differently from their white companions. The township later paid $275,000 to settle the case. In 2009, ACLU-NJ announced the Open Governance Project, making government transparency and public access to meetings and records a defined organizational priority. In the 2010s, the organization renewed its focus on Newark policing and immigration enforcement. In September 2010 it petitioned the Department of Justice concerning continuing allegations of Newark police brutality and abuse. Under executive director Udi Ofer, who took the position in 2013, ACLU-NJ helped campaign for marriage equality through New Jersey United for Marriage, advocated for comprehensive reporting of Newark stop-and-frisk activity, and supported policies under which Newark police would not honor immigration detainers. Its organizational model remains divided between the 501(c)(4) ACLU-NJ, which conducts lobbying and membership activity, and the 501(c)(3) ACLU-NJ Foundation, which focuses on litigation and public education.

• 2013

  Udi Ofer assumes executive leadership

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  Udi Ofer became executive director and oversaw the organization’s legal, legislative, public-education, and fundraising programs.

• 2009

  Open Governance Project announced

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  ACLU-NJ launched an initiative addressing government transparency and public access to official meetings and documents.

• 2004

  Yorker v. Manalapan filed

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  The affiliate filed a racial-profiling and discriminatory-treatment case on behalf of three African-American youths; the matter later settled for $275,000.

• 1997

  Equal adoption standing for same-sex couples

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  ACLU-NJ won a case representing a gay couple seeking to adopt their foster child, contributing to equal adoption standing in New Jersey.

• 1992

  Princeton Eating Clubs admit women

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  The litigation supported by ACLU-NJ concluded after all Princeton Eating Clubs accepted women.

• 1979

  Sally Frank Eating Clubs litigation begins

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  ACLU-NJ began supporting Sally Frank’s challenge to the exclusion of women from Princeton University’s all-male Eating Clubs.

• 1972

  Abbe Seldin sex-discrimination case

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  Volunteer ACLU attorneys represented Abbe Seldin in securing the right to play tennis on Teaneck High School’s boys’ team.

• 1967

  Community Legal Action Workshop created

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  ACLU-NJ formed CLAW to advocate for inner-city residents affected by civil-liberties violations, particularly after the Newark unrest.

• 1967

  Plainfield search litigation

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  The affiliate sued the New Jersey State Police over warrantless searches of 66 homes following the Plainfield riots.

• 1960

  Statewide affiliate founded

  [1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  ACLU members from northern and southern New Jersey formally established the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey in Newark on June 16.

A nonpartisan, rights-focused legal and advocacy organization defending civil liberties and challenging governmental or institutional discrimination in New Jersey.

• Legal advocacy

  Civil-rights litigation

  Representation and strategic litigation for individuals and groups alleging violations of constitutional or civil rights. The organization’s cases have addressed police searches, racial profiling, discrimination in education and public accommodations, library access, adoption, and gender equality.

• Public policy

  Legislative advocacy

  Lobbying and policy advocacy before New Jersey state and local governments on issues including voting rights, police accountability, privacy, immigration, reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ equality, open government, and separation of church and state.

• Civic education

  Public education and community organizing

  Educational programs, community outreach, reports, and organizing intended to explain civil-liberties protections and help residents document or challenge rights violations.

• 2013New Jersey United for Marriage

  New Jersey

  ACLU-NJ co-founded a coalition campaign advocating the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in New Jersey.

  Outcome. The campaign was described as achieving a major marriage-equality victory in New Jersey.

  Source
• 2009Open Governance Project

  New Jersey

  An ACLU-NJ initiative promoting transparency and easier public access to government meetings, records, and documentation.

  Outcome. The project established open government as a continuing priority of the New Jersey affiliate.

  Source

• 2013

  Expand coordinated marriage-equality and police-accountability advocacyStrategy

  Background

  Under executive director Udi Ofer, ACLU-NJ pursued coordinated litigation, legislative advocacy, and coalition campaigns on civil-rights issues.

  Action taken

  The organization co-founded New Jersey United for Marriage, advocated for Newark stop-and-frisk reporting requirements, and supported limits on immigration-detainer cooperation.

  Aftermath

  The cited account describes successes in marriage-equality advocacy, police transparency, and protection of immigrant access to local law enforcement.

  Source

• 2009

  Make open government a strategic priorityStrategy

  Background

  ACLU-NJ identified public access to government meetings and documents as an important civil-liberties concern.

  Action taken

  It announced the Open Governance Project to pursue transparency and accessibility in New Jersey government.

  Aftermath

  Open-government advocacy became part of the affiliate’s broader policy and public-education work.

  Source

• 2013

  Udi Ofer becomes executive director[1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  Udi Ofer assumed leadership of ACLU-NJ, overseeing its legal, legislative, public-education, and fundraising programs.

• 2010

  ACLU-NJ files renewed Newark police-accountability petition[1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit · Other

  The organization petitioned the U.S. Department of Justice in response to recurring complaints concerning alleged brutality and abuse by Newark police.

• 2009

  ACLU-NJ launches the Open Governance Project[1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Other

  The affiliate announced an initiative focused on improving access to government meetings, records, and other public information.

• 1967

  ACLU-NJ challenges warrantless State Police searches after Plainfield unrest[1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit · Other

  The organization sued the New Jersey State Police over searches of 66 homes conducted without warrants after the Plainfield riots.

• 1960

  ACLU-NJ established as a statewide affiliate[1]American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Members from northern and southern New Jersey formally created a statewide ACLU affiliate in Newark.

1. 1American Civil Liberties Union of New Jerseyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2ACLU of New Jersey official websiteaclu-nj.org