The NCLU takes the cases other lawyers run from — fighting in courtrooms across America to defend the constitutional rights of ordinary citizens against government and corporate power.
"I want to thank John Pierce and his team. They're looking into the weaponization of our government… You're very special people. You're doing a fantastic job."— President Donald J. Trump, 45th & 47th President of the United States
To preserve and protect the United States Constitution and the rights it guarantees to every American.
Founded in 2021 by a trial attorney litigating some of the most consequential constitutional cases in the country, the NCLU exists to even the odds. We fund and support skilled litigators across the country — putting serious legal firepower behind Americans whose constitutional rights and civil liberties are under threat, no matter who they are.
The freedoms in our founding documents are not gifts from government — they are natural rights, endowed by our Creator, that no government may rightfully take away. When the state tramples those rights, someone has to show up in court and hold it to account. That is the work we do, case by case.
Constitutional rights aren't theoretical when they're under threat. These are the front lines.
Defending Americans silenced, deplatformed, or punished for expressing their views — online and off.
Ensuring every citizen gets the fair hearing, fair trial, and equal treatment the Constitution guarantees.
Protecting the right of law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms against overreaching restrictions.
Standing up for the freedom to worship — and to live by one's conscience — without government coercion.
Challenging unconstitutional mandates, unlawful searches, and the steady expansion of state power.
Holding the system to its own standard: the same rules, applied the same way, for every American.
We don't just talk about the Constitution. We litigate for it.
Filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark presidential-immunity case, arguing for immunity for official acts of the presidency.
Filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Fourteenth Amendment case over presidential ballot eligibility.
Defending a decorated Army combat veteran's constitutional rights against federal prosecution.
The first subpoenas ever issued to sitting members of Congress to testify in a January 6th matter.
Representing Americans deplatformed and silenced by major technology companies.
From local courtrooms to the Supreme Court, we take on fights others won't.
Founded by a trial attorney litigating some of the most important constitutional cases in the country.
A proud member of the Free Speech Alliance, a coalition organized under the Media Research Center.
The first organization to subpoena sitting members of Congress to testify in a January 6th matter.
The NCLU developed and first advanced the constitutional theory that a President cannot be criminally prosecuted for official acts absent impeachment and conviction by the Senate — an argument that went on to shape one of the most consequential legal questions of our time. The NCLU then carried that fight to the highest court in the land, filing amicus briefs at the United States Supreme Court in Trump v. United States, the landmark presidential-immunity case, and in Trump v. Anderson, the Fourteenth Amendment ballot-eligibility case.
When the country debated the limits of presidential power, the conversation started with the work we put on the table. The NCLU has also provided support and funding for constitutional litigation across the country — including ongoing matters arising from FISA surveillance abuse — even where the organization was not counsel of record.
From the NCLU to the highest levels of government. Former NCLU Executive Director Gavin Wax now serves as Chief of Staff to a senior official at the U.S. Department of State — one of several who built this organization and went on to senior roles across the federal government.
John M. Pierce founded the National Constitutional Law Union in 2021 to confront what he described as accelerating government overreach, Big Tech censorship, and the ACLU's drift away from defending the rights of all Americans.
A trial lawyer and founder of John Pierce Law, he previously practiced at some of the nation's most prominent litigation firms, including Latham & Watkins and Quinn Emanuel. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, he has won multiple multi-million-dollar jury verdicts over his career. Among his high-profile work, he represented Carter Page in landmark litigation against the FBI, the Department of Justice, and former officials over FISA surveillance abuse during the Russia investigation.
He built the NCLU on that conviction — that ordinary Americans deserve serious legal firepower when their constitutional rights are on the line, no matter who they are.
The NCLU was built by serious constitutional litigators — many of whom have gone on to represent President Trump, argue before the Supreme Court, and serve at the highest levels of government.
A nationally known constitutional litigator whose amicus brief in the landmark Second Amendment case NYSRPA v. Bruen was cited by Justice Alito. He has gone on to represent President Trump in litigation and serves as outside counsel to the Second Amendment Foundation.
A constitutional litigator who built a national profile challenging COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates, and the author of the NCLU's influential legal memorandum on presidential immunity.
Led communications for the NCLU before going on to serve in senior roles across the federal government, including as a White House liaison to the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
Add your name to stand with the NCLU. You'll be the first to hear about new cases, courtroom victories, and the constitutional fights that matter most — and you'll be counted among the Americans who refuse to let our rights be taken.
Constitutional cases are long and expensive. Your gift helps the NCLU fund and defray the cost of these fights — and keeps us in the courtroom for those who need us.
The NCLU's work has been covered and discussed across national media.
Recurring appearances by NCLU leadership on constitutional rights and current legal battles.
Listen on Apple →Attorney John M. Pierce explains why high-profile constitutional cases matter and how the NCLU fights.
Watch on YouTube →The NCLU's presidential-immunity theory drew coverage in Rolling Stone, Newsweek, and other national outlets.
See Our Impact →