This series consists of legal case files which cover the widest range of civil liberties issues. It contains briefs and other pleadings, correspondence, memoranda, and notes. There are over 5500 folders representing approximately 3000 individual cases, many of which went before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Legal Case Files series is not a comprehensive representation of the cases in which the ACLU has been involved. Some records have yet to be transferred to Princeton and are still being maintained by the ACLU Legal Department. The series is arranged alphabetically by case or individual name. Files may appear listed under either the plaintiff's or the defendant's names. Also some cases are filed under a subject heading such as "Gay Rights Task Force" or "Airport Searches". One should also consult the MCA/UMI Microfilm guides for the case files series which may contain copies of ACLU legal briefs filed for many of the cases listed here.

This subseries consists of publications produced by the ACLU and is broken down into the following sections:

This subseries (21.42 linear feet) contains periodicals as well as pamphlets, monographs, and public relations materials produced by individuals and organizations outside the ACLU. The organizations include well-known groups such as the YWCA and SNCC, but is composed primarily of regional councils and committees or highly-specialized activist groups--ranging from the extreme left to the extreme right.

Series 1: Organizational Files, Subseries 1: Administration (1923-1994) consists of correspondence, minutes, agenda, transcripts, reports, incorporation papers, articles, and clippings spanning most of the AAIA's existence: from its days as an "Indian interest organization," with non-Indians at the helm, to its days as an "Indian organization," under Native American leadership. This subseries documents the AAIA's administrative activities through the workings of its Board of Directors, committees, and staff; chronicles its evolving goals and the programs designed to realize them; delineates its organizational structure and manner of conducting business; and, last but not least, records the enormous variety of issues it considered over the years.

Series 1: Organizational Files, Subseries 2: Affiliates and Offices (1922-1964) consists of correspondence, reports, minutes, by-laws, membership lists and other documents relating to a number of local organizations with ties to the AAIA. Also to be found in this subseries are somewhat meager files concerning the AAIA's Southwest and Washington, D.C. offices. The character and sphere of the Association's affiliates, which were also known as branches or chapters, varied considerably. At one end of the spectrum can be found the short-lived Missouri Association on Indian Affairs, which was little more than a source of funds and where "no one," it was reported, "is really more than mildly interested." Positioned at the other extreme is the long-running New Mexico Association on Indian Affairs -- later known as the Southwestern Association on Indian Affairs -- with its noteworthy history of involvement in and advocacy of Indian concerns, be it the preservation of their lands, the improvement of their health, or the promotion of their arts and crafts.

Series 1: Organizational Files, Subseries 3: Correspondence (1929-1995) consists primarily of typescript letters from or to the AAIA's presidents, executive directors, general counsel, and staff members. While this subseries sheds considerable light on the AAIA's activities, it is especially useful in defining the preoccupations and, at a broader level, the personalities of the principal players in the Association: from its businesslike executive director, William Byler, to its colorful president, Alden Stevens. The consolidation of correspondence under the names of particular individuals, while a bar to ready access by subject, represents a distillation of viewpoints over an extended period, viewpoints which would otherwise lie scattered throughout the collection. Passing from one executive director to another, one encounters a diverse parade of topics: the right of tribes to legal counsel of their own choice (Alexander Lesser, 1951); the state of tension between President Oliver La Farge and onetime Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier (La Verne Madigan, 1955); the AAIA's relationship with the American Civil Liberties Union (Byler, 1975); the rationale behind postage-paid envelopes in fund raising appeals (Steven Unger, 1981); the solicitation of video recording equipment for Project Dream, a Native American rock group committed to the prevention of youth suicide (Idrian Resnick, 1987); the appointment of Robert Reich as Secretary of Labor (Gary Kimble, 1993); and the dearth of financial contributions from tribal casinos (Jerry Flute, 1995). Correspondence with the AAIA's general counsel of over 30 years, Arthur Lazarus, Jr. and Richard Schifter, and their predecessor, Felix Cohen, likewise chronicle a wide array of matters affecting the Association and its constituents. Of particular import were their opinions as to the advisability of filing amicus curiae -- "friend of the court" -- briefs in cases involving such issues as land and water rights.