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LEGAL WORK
The ACLU of Utah litigates and provides amicus
assistance in a variety of cases each year and resolves many more issues
outside of the courtroom. Due to the extreme dedication and generosity
of our volunteer cooperating attorneys, the attentiveness of our staff,
and the support of our members and contributors, we have an active legal
presence in Utah and in the country.
» Current Docket of Cases
» History of Legal Advocacy
» Complete List of Case Resolutions from 1997
to the Present
» ACLU
in the U.S. Supreme Court
» Information about becoming a cooporating attorney with the ACLU of Utah
Investigation of Utah's Indigent Criminal Defense System Reveals Significant Violations in Box Elder County Justice Court
Posted 2/24/10 - Over the past several months, staff from the ACLU and law students from the University of Utah have spent substantial time observing court proceedings throughout the State of Utah as part of their larger investigation into Utah's constitutionally inadequate indigent criminal defense system. Observations of Judge Kevin Christensen in Box Elder County revealed such serious and systemic issues, involving not only violations of the defendants' constitutional rights but also potential violations of the Judicial Code of Conduct, that the ACLU felt it necessary to express its concerns directly to Chief Justice Durham.
Read the ACLU of Utah's letter (pdf) >>
Read an article about Utah's constitutionally inadequate criminal defense system >>
Indigent Defense in Utah: Constitutionally Adequate?
Posted 1/4/10 - Utah ranks behind almost all other states in its provision of indigent defense. The state provides no funding for indigent defense; instead, Utah shifts the burden to each county creating a patchwork of models across the state. An article by ACLU Staff Attorney, Marina Lowe, published in The Utah State Bar Journal examines this problem.
Read the article (pdf)>>
Indigent Defense in Utah Ranked Almost Last in Nation
 Posted 12/8/09 - "Utah ranks first in the nation when it comes to literacy, volunteerism, Jell-O Consumption and birth rates. Unfortunately, Utah's ranking dips dramatically when it comes to providing for indigent defense." An article by ACLU Staff Attorney, Marina Lowe, published in The Defender, the journal of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Read the article (pdf) >>
ACLU Argues That Patents on Breast Cancer Genes Are Unconstitutional and Invalid
Posted 2/5/10 - In the first hearing in federal court about the patentability of human genes, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), a not-for-profit organization affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, asked the court to rule that patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer are unconstitutional and invalid. The groups charge that the patents stifle diagnostic testing and research that could lead to cures and that they limit women's options regarding their medical care.
Read more >>
Utah Supreme Court Decision Restricting Certain Free Speech Violates First Amendment
Posted 11/25/09 - In a blow to First Amendment-protected expression in Utah, the Utah Supreme Court rejected in part a challenge to a law that attempts to restrict or curtail nude dancing through taxation in its decision released on November 20, 2009. The law, originally enacted in 2004, imposes a 10-percent tax on all gross income from businesses that feature “any nude or partially denuded individual.” The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, which filed a friend-of-the court brief in support of businesses subject to the onerous tax, expressed disappointment with the decision.
Read more - including the ACLU of Utah's brief and the Utah Supreme Court decision
>>
Court Upholds Right Of Scientists And Patients To Challenge Gene Patents
11/5/09 - A federal district court ruled on November 2, that patients and scientists can challenge patents on human genes in court, allowing a lawsuit challenging patents on two human genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer to move forward. The ACLU and allies charge that the patents are illegal and restrict both scientific research and patients' access to medical care, and that patents on human genes violate the First Amendment and patent law because genes are "products of nature."
Read the ACLU press release >>
Read a Salt Lake Tribune article >>
AMA, March Of Dimes And Others Support ACLU Challenge To Patents On Breast Cancer Genes Posted 9/30/09 - The national ACLU and allies, joined by several new groups, filed a motion in the lawsuit against Myriad Genetics, a Utah based company, that "owns" patents on two genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer. The motion asked a federal court to rule that the patents are unconstitutional and invalid because they stifle diagnostic testing and research that could lead to cures and limit women's options regarding their medical care.
Read ACLU press release with links to recent motion >>
Read a Salt Lake Tribune article >>
National ACLU Challenges Patents on Breast Cancer Genes
On 5/12/2009, the national office of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit charging that patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer are unconstitutional and should be invalidated. The lawsuit, Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), Myriad Genetics, and the University of Utah Research Foundation, which hold the patents on the BRCA genes. The plaintiffs include organizations representing over 150,000 researchers and pathologists, breast cancer and women’s health groups, and individual women.
See a video and read more detailed background and resource materials on this national case>>
Read the ACLU of Utah's statement regarding this lawsuit (PDF) >>
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