HAVE YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS OR CIVIL LIBERTIES BEEN VIOLATED?
If you are seeking legal assistance, please see instructions below.
The ACLU of Massachusetts works to preserve and protect the civil rights and civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. and Massachusetts Constitutions and laws.
We are very interested in hearing about civil rights or civil liberties issues in Massachusetts. Learning about these experiences helps us set priority areas for our advocacy in the courts, in the Legislature, and in the community, even when we cannot get directly involved in a specific case.
Our legal department works on issues such as freedom of speech and press; privacy; freedom of religion and separation of church and state; immigration; police misconduct; criminal law reform; access to government documents and officials; discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, or disability, particularly by law enforcement and other government actors; and other issues of fair treatment by government.
We generally do not represent individuals unless an individual case creates an opportunity for law reform on an issue that is an ACLU of Massachusetts priority. We do our best, however, to provide suggestions of alternative resources you may want to contact. You may receive a response to your inquiry via an email from legalresources@aclum.org. Please be sure to check your junk folder as sometimes our response may go there.
If you want to bring one or more of the above civil rights or civil liberties issues to our attention, here’s how to contact us:
Online
You may submit a request via our online form available HERE or you may email us at legalresources@aclum.org. Please include your name, telephone number, email address and a brief description of the legal problem, even if you cannot complete the whole form.
Phone
Call the ACLUM offices at 617-482-3170 Monday through Friday 9am-5pm to speak to a Legal Resources Volunteer, or leave a message after business hours with your name, telephone number, email address if any, and a short description of the issue you are calling about. We will do our best to return your call although we cannot promise how soon. When leaving a message please speak slowly and clearly.
FOR CERTAIN PRISONERS ONLY — Mail
Please do not send us mail unless you are in a state, federal, or local prison or jail, AND are experiencing issues with obtaining Medication for Addiction Treatment.. DO NOT SEND US ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS OR COPIES THAT YOU MAY NEED -WE CANNOT RETURN DOCUMENTS. If you meet these criteria, you may contact us for a mailing address at: 617-482-3170
As noted above, however, we will not be able to respond promptly to requests received by mail. If you are seeking help for someone incarcerated in a state facility, you may want to contact Prisoner’s Legal Services.
Our office only handles matters arising in Massachusetts. If you live in another state, you can find your local ACLU affiliate here.
Please note that ACLUM generally does not help with or respond to requests for assistance on the topics listed below.
On these and other matters, you may want to seek legal assistance through the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) Lawyer Referral Service at 617-654-0400 or online. Information about others you may want to contact for help can be found by clicking on the links in each topic. Please note that any content or links to these resources exist solely for informational purposes. ACLUM does not promote or exclusively favor any of the listed resources, but instead mentions them as a neutral, separate third party. ACLUM also cannot guarantee that the information provided is up-to-date.