Much of the ACLU's work, protecting the civil liberties of the people of Hawai'i, takes place in the courts. The ACLU provides direct representation to people, acting as their attorney in court challenges. The ACLU also files amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs, arguing legal principles to the court without directly representing the parties in a matter.
In the past, the ACLU of Hawai'i has repealed residency requirements to take professional exams, defended the rights of unrelated persons to live together, defended the right of political candidates to distribute campaign literature at public forums, supported the rights of a Kaua'i church to display a religious sign atop their church, sued to allow write-in voting and small political parties to be on the ballot, defended the rights of women to legally retain their maiden names after marriage, protected the free exercise of expression by stopping the subpoenaing of petitioners, defended the right of adults to read or view sexually explicit material in the privacy of their homes, and defended Honolulu firefighters from being subjected to mandatory drug testing. These are only a very few of the cases the ACLU has been involved in.
In an action of major impact, the ACLU of Hawai'i filed a lawsuit over prison conditions and practices at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center and the Women's Community Correctional Center. This resulted in a settlement agreement with the state to substantially improve conditions and practices in the state prisons, providing for more humane treatment and better rehabilitation of its inmates. The ACLU continues to be active in this area.
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