How does the ACLU decide which causes to defend?
Because the ACLU has a limited budget and staff, it is impossible to represent every person whose civil liberties have been violated. Instead, the organization tries to select cases which will impact the greatest number of people – those cases which have the potential to break new ground or establish new precedents to strengthen the freedoms all of us should enjoy. The ACLU has represented African-Americans and Latinos who were denied their right to vote; it has represented the elderly and children denied their constitutional rights; it has represented workers denied their right to organize into unions; it has represented journalists who refused to reveal their confidential sources; and it has represented teachers and others fired from their jobs because they were gay or lesbian. The ACLU always seems concerned about minorities. Doesn’t the majority have rights, too? For over 80 years, the ACLU has challenged violations against civil liberties, regardless of who has been victimized. It
