Among the earliest practitioners of American immigration and naturalization law, he was an early combatant of anti-miscegenation laws, challenged the segregation of public accommodations, and fought for the rights of sexual minorities to enter the country and have full employment rights in the federal government.
He served as the general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union (1976–1979);[1] helped to found the ACLU's National Capital Area chapter and Global Rights (then called the International Human Rights Law Group); and served on the boards of the ACLU (1965–1983),[1] the American Jewish Committee (1969–1971),[1] and a variety of other organizations.
After his time with the Army, Carliner spent a couple of years with the New Council of American Business, a pro-New Deal organization with close links to Henry Wallace.
The US Supreme Court eventually refused to rule, because, as Justice Tom C. Clark said, "one bombshell at a time is enough.
[16] Working with Frank Kameny, he developed a legal strategy that challenged directly the constitutionality of anti-gay discrimination.
[19] In addition to these cases Carliner represented "World Citizen" Garry Davis; leftist professor Staughton Lynd; Romanian engineer and dissident Nicolae Malaxa; New Orleans mobster Carlos Marcello; a vending machine company against Bobby Baker, a close friend and aide to Lyndon B. Johnson; and the Unification Church.
[1][4][5] Although Carliner was primarily an attorney, he sought social and political change in a variety of other ways, including through writing newspaper articles and testifying before congress.
He designed and spearheaded Lyndon Johnson's 1967 Reorganization Plan—called the Carliner Plan at the time—which replaced the three commissioners with an appointed mayor and city council.
"Washingtonians owe warm thanks to the long, patient efforts of the Home Rule Committee and its chairman, David Carliner," wrote The Washington Post editorial board.