Intake:
The ACLU of Arizona does not review requests for legal assistance in person or over the telephone. To ask the ACLU- AZ for legal assistance, please choose:
What to include in your written request for legal assistance
A request for legal assistance will be processed after we receive the ACLU of Arizona complaint form or a letter asking for our help that describes the facts of your situation. Please keep the letter brief. We will respond to you in writing as soon as we can, however it may be up to four weeks before we are able to process your request. Please allow sufficient time for us to evaluate your letter.
Read below to help understand the type of cases we accept.
The ACLU of Arizona is able to provide legal assistance in only a small number of cases.
Violations of constitutional rights and civil liberties are widespread, yet the ACLU of Arizona is a small organization. We receive hundreds of requests for assistance each month. Because of our limited resources, we have to turn down the overwhelming majority of those requests for assistance.
The ACLU-AZ handles cases that involve violations of civil liberties and civil rights as protected by the Arizona and U.S. Constitutions and the Bill of Rights.
Civil liberties include the right to due process and equal protection of the law, as well as freedom of expression; freedom of the press; religious freedom; the right of association; the right of privacy; the right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment.
In most cases, these constitutional provisions apply only to the government. Accordingly, in most cases, a legal matter raises a civil liberties issue only when a government official or a government agency is responsible for violating your rights.
Civil rights statutes strengthen the right to equal protection by prohibiting private businesses as well as government agencies from discriminating. If you are the victim of discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, ethnic background, gender, religion, disability, and, in some jurisdictions, sexual orientation, you may have a legal remedy.
The ACLU of Arizona generally does not accept the following types of cases:
- Employment. The ACLU-AZ usually cannot help when employees believes that they were fired unjustly or were otherwise treated unfairly at work. This is especially true when the employer is a private company rather than a government agency. But when workers can show that they were fired or mistreated because of their race, gender, ethnic background, religion, disability or any other basis that violates anti-discrimination statutes, there is stronger legal protection. In such cases, we ask that you contact the Arizona Attorney General’s Office – Civil Rights Division before you send a letter to the ACLU of Arizona. For information about filing a complaint with the AZ AG, go to http://www.azag.gov/civil_rights /index.html. Or call 602-542-5263 in Phoenix or 520-628-6500 in Tucson.
- Family law/child custody. The ACLU of Arizona generally does not provide assistance in family law cases involving disputes about divorces, child custody, parenting time, or visitation.
- Landlord-tenant disputes. The ACLU-AZ does not generally get involved in disputes between tenants and their private landlords, unless the issue involves discrimination prohibited by statute or ordinance. This includes disputes with Home Owner Associations. For more information please visit http://phoenix.gov/NSD/coord.html
- Complaints about attorneys. The ACLU-AZ does not handle complaints about a person’s current court-appointed attorney. Complaints regarding ineffective assistance of counsel should be submitted to the Arizona State Bar Association. Please visit www.azbar.org/workingwithlawyers/unh.cfm for additional information.
- Cases that are too fact intensive. The ACLU-AZ generally does not accept cases that rest primarily on unusual or extensive facts versus an issue of law. If it is necessary for us to rely on numerous specific details versus the bigger picture of a Constitutional violation we will not take the case. An example of this might be found in a claim for “ineffective assistance of counsel.” If it is necessary to explain step by step why you feel your attorney violated your rights we will not take your case. However, if you show you were assigned a lawyer who was not a member of the State Bar, we would consider your case for acceptance as that might violate the 6th Amendment.
- Criminal defense. The ACLU-AZ generally does not provide criminal defense attorneys to persons who are accused of crimes. There is an exception, however, when the alleged criminal activity clearly implicates a constitutional right such as freedom of speech. Thus, the ACLU-AZ is unlikely to provide a criminal defense to someone charged with burglary, even if the person asserts that the evidence was obtained in a search that violates the Fourth Amendment. On the other hand, the ACLU-AZ would consider assisting in the criminal defense of persons arrested for participating in a demonstration, if the arrests infringed on the right of free expression.
- Challenges to convictions or prison sentences. It is very unlikely that the ACLU-AZ would provide an attorney to challenge a person’s criminal conviction or the length of a prison sentence. Similarly, the ACLU-AZ will not be able to help prisoners who believe that the length of their sentence has been calculated incorrectly. If a pending appeal raises an important constitutional issue, the ACLU-AZ may submit an amicus brief in the appellate courts. Requests for amicus briefs should come from your appellate attorney.
- Cases that are too old. There are time deadlines for initiating most legal actions. If the incident occurred too far in the past, it may be too late for a legal remedy. The ACLU of Arizona cannot provide advice about what time deadlines may apply to your particular legal matter.
- Cases that arise outside Arizona. The ACLU of Arizona cannot provide legal assistance if the matter did not take place in or arise in Arizona, even if the prisoner is now housed in the state. To find ACLU affiliates in other states, go the www.aclu.org.
If the ACLU-AZ does not accept your case, we will not provide legal advice
If the ACLU-AZ is not able to provide legal assistance, we also cannot provide legal advice about your case. We won’t be able to answer questions about the legal significance of the facts, conduct legal research, or provide information about the legal deadlines that might apply to your situation. If you have a quick legal question, the Lawyer Referral Service at (602)257-4434 can provide answers to specific questions for a minimal fee. Visit their website at www.azlawhelp.org.
Important information about deadlines (Statutes of Limitation)
All legal claims have time deadlines. These deadlines are different depending on the nature of the legal claim, the persons who violate your rights, and which particular rights were violated. Contacting the ACLU-AZ to describe your problem does not mean that ACLU-AZ attorneys represent you, and contacting the ACLU-AZ does not stop these time deadlines from running. The ACLU-AZ cannot provide you with advice about which time deadlines might apply to your particular situation. To ensure that your rights are protected, you may need to consult an attorney promptly to find out what time deadlines may apply in your case.
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