Freda Levenson is the legal director for the ACLU of Ohio. She conducts litigation, manages the legal team, and performs legal analysis of emerging civil liberties issues.
Freda has litigated major cases for the ACLU of Ohio, including: in the area of voting rights, challenging the constitutionality of Ohio’s gerrymandered maps in League of Women Voters v. Ohio Redistricting Commission, (house and senate maps), League of Women Voters v. DeWine, (Congressional Map), and, APRI v. Householder, (Ohio's previous Congressional Map); APRI v. Husted, challenging Ohio’s practice of purging infrequent voters; NAACP v Husted et al., restoring early voting opportunities; Thompson v. DeWine, fighting for the rights of petition circulators, Libertarian Party of Ohio v. Husted, protecting minor party ballot access, and many cases challenging restrictions on voting and participation in the political process.
She also litigates to uphold expressive rights under the First Amendment, including Citizens for Trump, et al. v. Cleveland, successfully challenging restrictions on public expression at Cleveland’s Republican National Convention. Freda is engaged in the ongoing fight to protect reproductive rights in Ohio, bringing cases challenging the so-called Heartbeat Bill (Preterm v. Yost), the Fetal Anomaly Abortion Ban, the Fetal Tissue Disposal Bill, the Method Ban, so-called Sanctuary Cities, and others. In Maudlin v. Inside Out, Inc, Rotondo v. JP MorganChase, and other cases, Freda has fought against sex discrimination in the workplace. She also litigates and develops strategies to defend the civil rights of transgender individuals, such as in Ray v. Himes, people who have disabilities, and people in the criminal justice system, including children.
A graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts and the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Mich., Freda was a litigation partner at a large commercial law firm in Chicago until moving back to her hometown of Shaker Heights, Ohio. There, she served on the Shaker Heights Board of Education for 16 years, including four years as its president.
A long-time adjunct law professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Freda taught in both the master of laws (LL.M.) and in the juris doctor (J.D.) programs. She is also an avid yoga practitioner and a certified instructor.
