Court Cases

The R.I. Center for Justice and cooperating counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of RI have filed a lawsuit on behalf of four low-income tenants in Pawtucket and West Warwick who have been threatened with eviction for associating with Reclaim RI, a non-profit agency that organizes tenants to vindicate their rights to safe and healthy housing conditions. In October 2025, the case was brought to RI Superior Court and an amended complaint was filed.

A nationwide group of 17 state domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, led by the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence (RICADV), filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the Trump administration from imposing unlawful restrictions on grants issued by the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) under the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

This lawsuit was filed on behalf of three Native Americans at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI), and argues that Rhode Island Department of Corrections has refused to accommodate an array of religious practices.

In its third skirmish with the Weekapaug Fire District in less than six months, the ACLU of Rhode Island has come to the defense of Westerly resident Caroline Contrata, who has been sued for monetary damages by the District in a high-profile shoreline access case

Cooperating attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island filed a federal lawsuit against DOC officials for refusing to accommodate the religious practices of a Native American prisoner.