American Constitution Society

We’re thrilled to have , President and Director-Counsel of , at the ACS National Convention in Washington, DC! A national leader on civil rights, Nelson will talk about the path forward to secure a multiracial democracy. Her remarks will be a highlight of our Welcome Dinner on Thursday, June 18.

Don’t miss it! Register now and be part of the nation’s leading gathering of progressive legal minds.
 
Register at the link in our bio.

ACS is excited to announce that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will be speaking at the 2026 ACS National Convention later this month! The Senator will speak at our Welcome Dinner on Thursday, June 18 about some of the most pressing legal issues facing the nation today and how we can respond.

Don’t miss it! Register now and be part of the nation’s leading gathering of progressive legal minds.

Register at the link in our bio.

Join ACS for The Imperial Presidency, a plenary session at the 2026 ACS National Convention on Friday, June 19. This timely conversation will examine executive power and democratic accountability—what can be done now to curb executive overreach, restore balance among the branches of the federal government, and reduce the risk of constitutional crises in the future.

We’re honored to welcome a distinguished group of leaders and experts, including Hon. Jamie Raskin (Member, U.S. House of Representatives for the 8th District of Maryland), along with Harold Jongju Koh (Sterling Professor of International Law, Yale Law School), Barbara McQuade (Professor from Practice, University of Michigan Law School), and Donald Sherman (President & CEO, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington). The session will be moderated by Vanita Gupta (Director, Center for Law and Public Trust).

Join us for a rigorous, solutions-focused discussion and connect with colleagues from across the legal community.

Register at the link in our bio.

A three-judge panel, including two Trump appointees, made significant factual findings that Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black voters in drawing congressional districts post-Callais.

The Supreme Court's decision overturning this factual finding is shameful, undemocratic, and further abuse of the shadow docket in pursuit of a desired political end.

Supreme Court Clears the Way for Republican-Friendly Map in Alabama In the first major case since the justices narrowed the Voting Rights Act, the court cleared the way for Alabama to use a map preferred by Republicans that leaves the state with only one majority-Black district.

Join us at the ACS National Convention for our closing plenary titled Staying in the Fight!
 
ACS President Phil Brest, Taylor Brown of the NYC Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, Kalpana Kotagal of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Alice O’Brien of the National Education Association will lead a conversation moderated by publisher and author Chris Geidner on defending the rule of law. They will discuss progressive victories across the country and the roles that lawyers and law students can play in combatting authoritarian pressure.

Register for Convention at the link in our bio.

Courts matter.

In a new piece, ACS President Phil Brest reflects on two devastating rulings: the US Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act in LA v. Callais and the VA Supreme Court wiping away voter intent in Scott v. McDougle.

The right spent 50 years executing a disciplined plan to reshape the judiciary. To fight back, Phil Brest outlines ACS’s roadmap: prioritizing day-one federal judicial nominations, putting forward pro-democracy candidates for every state court seat, and hosting vital discussions around SCOTUS reform.

"The conservative legal movement invested time and resources into its judicial transformation project... It is past time for us to do the same." — Phil Brest.

Courts Matter: What We Can Learn from Callais and the Virginia Redistricting Case | ACS Over the last few weeks, I’ve found myself returning to a pair of judicial decisions, decided just ten days apart­—the United States Supreme Court’s cataclysmic ruling in Louisiana v. Callais and the Virginia Supreme Court’s deeply troubling opinion in Scott v. McDougle.

Join us at the ACS National Convention for a panel led by state supreme court justices titled State Courts as Champions of Rights!

Hon. Susan Crawford (Wisconsin Supreme Court), Hon. Anita Earls (North Carolina Supreme Court), and Hon. Karl Procaccini (Minnesota Supreme Court) will lead a conversation moderated by California Solicitor General Samuel Harbourt on the importance of state courts. They will discuss the role of state courts in protecting individual rights in a time of rapidly expanding federal overreach and the work that must be done to strengthen these critical institutions.

Register at the link in our bio.

This potential deal reeks of corruption and threatens the independence of the justice system.

Trump’s deal to drop suit against IRS creates $1.8B ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ The deal, laid out in a document signed by acting attorney general Todd Blanche, grants a commission broad authority to distribute the money, drawn from taxpayer dollars.

Joining us for the 2026 ACS National Convention? Don’t forget to book your hotel room! Attendees have until May 27 to confirm a room in the ACS Hotel Block at the reduced rate of $169 a night. Secure your spot today!

Find information about reserving a hotel room at the link in our bio.