Bio
Since joining the ACLU of Vermont as executive director in 2016, James Duff Lyall has led the organization through a period of unprecedented growth in members, supporters, and staff. Under his leadership, the ACLU of Vermont has grown new programs and expanded its statewide presence; celebrated landmark court victories affirming constitutional rights and strengthening government accountability; helped pass legislation advancing immigrants’ rights, police accountability, reproductive freedom, criminal law reform and other ACLU priorities; and led successful advocacy campaigns, including Smart Justice Vermont – which helped reduce the state prison population by more than 40% – and Vermont’s Reproductive Liberty Amendment, which enshrined the nation’s strongest abortion rights protections in the state constitution.
Previously, James was a staff attorney at the ACLU of Arizona, where he joined the fight against Arizona’s notorious “show me your papers” law and the inhumane and unlawful policies of then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio. James went on to co-lead the ACLU’s Border Litigation Project, opening the ACLU's first office in Tucson to investigate, document, and litigate in response to civil rights abuses committed by the U.S. Border Patrol and local police. In that role, he represented local residents challenging Border Patrol checkpoint activity, detention abuses, and excessive force, and worked with community organizers to expose and curtail the collusion of local police with federal immigration agents. Using agency documents obtained through FOIA litigation, James co-authored Record of Abuse: Lawlessness and Impunity in Border Patrol’s Interior Enforcement Operations. He also served as an adjunct professor at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona, teaching a course in cross-border legal issues.
Prior to joining the ACLU, at the Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project in Los Angeles, James provided Know Your Rights trainings to people in detention and pro bono legal representation to people seeking asylum and children in deportation proceedings. In addition to securing green cards for dozens of unaccompanied minors, one of his proudest achievements was successfully advocating for the removal of an abusive immigration judge from the Los Angeles unaccompanied children’s docket.
James earned his law degree from Georgetown University, where he completed clinical work at the Center for Applied Legal Studies and a certificate program in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies. He is a graduate of Middlebury College.