Who We Are
The ACLU of Mississippi is a private, non-profit membership organization. Our mission is to preserve and protect the civil liberties and civil rights guaranteed by the Constitutions of the United States and Mississippi, especially the principles contained in the Bill of Rights.
What We Do
The ACLU of Mississippi's legal department represents individuals whose rights have been denied. Most of our clients are ordinary people who have suffered a violation of their rights and have decided to fight for justice. Generally, we can offer assistance to only a small fraction of those who request it.
We look for situations taking place in Mississippi involving civil rights and civil liberties issues, in which our assistance may have a strong chance of making positive changes for a potentially significant number of people with the same, or similar, issue, rather than those involving an isolated dispute between individual parties or private, non-governmental organizations. Although there are exceptions to this rule, involvement depends on the circumstances of the incident, such as discrimination and harassment of a protected class.
You will find a resource list here, containing other organizations or services that may be able to assist you. We encourage you to review it in addition to contacting us.
Submitting a Request for Legal Assistance
If you believe your case may be the kind of case we accept (see below for further information), use our online form to file your complaint and request legal assistance.
You may also mail your request. To receive a blank complaint in the mail, please call our office at 601-354-3408 and leave a voicemail clearly stating your name and mailing address.
- Complaint forms will only be accepted via U.S. Mail or online.
- We cannot accept complaints via telephone, walk-ins, nor by email.
- If you are requesting a blank complaint form on our voicemail, please be sure to provide all necessary information for contacting you by mail and by telephone and please also clarify the spelling of your contact information.
- Until we receive the filled out paper or online complaint form, we cannot consider your case.
- In describing the incident on your complaint form, it may be helpful to answer the five “W” questions: who, what, when, where, and why.
- If we need more information, we will call you. We will try to let you know as soon as possible as to whether or not we can accept your case.
- If you do not hear from us within eight weeks from the date you submit your complaint, then our caseload is such that we regrettably are unable to assist you.
- If you have documents, please send copies only; we cannot return originals.
- If you are jailed or being held in another temporary facility, please include the name and contact information of a close relative or friend who will always know where you are. Please also include your inmate number, if you have one.
- When requesting assistance from us, be careful with any upcoming deadlines. If you have any pending court dates or similar deadlines, you should appear in court on those dates so that you do not face any contempt charges. Continue to seek legal assistance elsewhere while we investigate your complaint and determine whether we can help you.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How does the ACLU intake process work?
- Each complaint is reviewed by staff to determine whether it constitutes a civil rights or civil liberties problem with which the ACLU of Mississippi may be able to help. There are many factors that go into determining whether we may be of assistance at any given time, including availability of staff, resources and timing.
- If the ACLU of Mississippi is able to offer assistance after your initial intake, we will contact you to gather more information about your situation. If your situation is time sensitive, please continue to look for help elsewhere while we review your complaint. It may take several weeks for us to determine whether we can help you.
- If we are not able to offer assistance, we will similarly try to contact you by phone, mail or email. In either case, because of our small size and the large volume of complaints that we receive, it will take at least a few weeks to let you know of our decision.
- If you do not hear from us within eight weeks from the date you submit your complaint, then our caseload is such that we regrettably are unable to assist you.
2. Has the ACLU of Mississippi agreed to represent me once I submit my complaint to the intake system?
No, submitting a complaint to our intake process does not guarantee that the ACLU of Mississippi will provide legal assistance or advice. We receive many requests for assistance each month, and there are many cases and problems of unfairness and injustice which the ACLU of Mississippi is simply unable to handle.
3. What are civil liberties?
Civil liberties are the protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. The civil liberties we seek to protect include:
- Equal Protection / Discrimination
- The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees equal protection of the laws for all persons. Common forms of discrimination are on the basis of race, sex, age, disability, and sexual orientation. It is important to understand that not every law or policy that "discriminates" is unconstitutional. Racial discrimination and sex discrimination nearly always are unconstitutional, but classifications based on age, disability, economic status, etc. may or may not be unconstitutional, depending on the situation. This could include for example, a sheriff's department which refuses to accept women deputies, a refusal to allow homeless people to vote because they have no fixed address, or racial discrimination.
- Freedom Of Speech and The Press
- The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedoms of speech, press, and association, subject to a number of complex exceptions such as libel and endangering public welfare. Some examples of free expression violations include a student is suspended for writing a newspaper article critical of the principal, a police officer is disciplined for speaking out against police brutality, and a group is charged for police protection when it applies for a demonstration permit.
- Freedom Of Religion and of Conscience
- This involves both the right of individuals to religious beliefs and the separation of church and state. Though the ACLU of Mississippi is probably best known for opposing involuntary public school sponsored prayer, our organization supports religious freedom in all forms. The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees free exercise of religion and that government will not "establish" religion, which has been interpreted to mean that government may not actually or give the appearance of endorsing a particular religion or religion in general. "Free Exercise" means that individuals have the right to practice their religion and that government may not substantially burden one's freedom to practice one's religion without a compelling reason. "Establishment" means that government may not coerce individuals into participating in or witnessing religious practices and that the state may not endorse one religion or religion in general.
- Privacy
- The right to privacy is not explicitly mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, but has been inferred from the 1st Amendment rights of freedom of speech and association, the 4th Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and the 5th Amendment right not to incriminate oneself. The right of reproductive choice, for example, is grounded upon the right of privacy. Privacy also includes individual rights concerning personal information about oneself.
- Due Process
- The right to due process is found in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The essential elements of due process are notice and the opportunity to be heard. An example of a due process violation would be if a community group were denied a permit by the police and the town provided no process by which to appeal the police department's decision.
- The LGBTQ Justice Project
- The LGBTQ Justice Project currently assists clients with civil legal matters, primarily in the following areas: name changes, birth certificate corrections, civil rights, consumer law, housing, school and youth issues, employment discrimination matters, and referral to LGBTQ-friendly private attorneys. The LGBTQ Justice Project does not handle criminal matters.
4. How much does legal assistance from the ACLU cost?
In ACLU of Mississippi cases, the attorneys represent the clients free of charge.
5. How does the ACLU of Mississippi choose which cases to take on?
The ACLU of Mississippi generally selects cases that affect the civil liberties of large numbers of people, rather than those involving a dispute between two parties. The basic questions we ask when reviewing a potential case are:
- Is this a significant civil liberties issue?
- What effect will this case have on people in addition to our client?
- Do we have the resources to take this case?
6. What cases affect others?
Lawsuits can affect a large number of people in two ways. First, we sometimes challenge a policy or practice which directly impacts upon many people. Second, a lawsuit brought on behalf of one person can have a larger impact on others in the long run when it establishes or expands legal protections.
7. What types of cases are generally not accepted by the ACLU?
Types of cases that the ACLU of Mississippi does not generally accept include:
- a person was fired without a good reason or just cause;
- a person is being denied benefits, such as workers compensation or unemployment benefits;
- family law cases (divorce and/or child custody), unless there is a civil liberties issue involved such as religions freedom;
- regular civil cases such as landlord tenant problems or consumer fraud, unless there is a civil liberties issue involved such as gender discrimination;
- environmental or pollution cases unless there is a civil liberties issue involved such as racial discrimination; and
- criminal cases or complaints about a person's attorney in a criminal case. Only in limited cases, for example when a person is being prosecuted for engaging in an activity protected by the U.S. Constitution (such as participating in a political demonstration), do we consider accepting criminal cases.
8. Why does the ACLU sometimes turn down cases within guidelines?
There are many cases and problems of unfairness that the ACLU of Mississippi is simply unable to handle. We receive hundreds of requests for assistance a year. Therefore, we cannot accept many of the cases that fall within the guidelines discussed above. We must select those cases which we believe will have the greatest impact on protecting civil liberties.
9. Can the ACLU of Mississippi advise me about my case?
No, the ACLU of Mississippi is unable to give you advice about your case, or provide other types of assistance (for example, reviewing your papers or conducting legal research to assist you) if we do not accept your case. This policy allows us to direct the necessary resources to those cases that we do accept.
