Home

civil liberties

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2009
1:57 PM

CONTACT: ACLU
Maria Archuleta, ACLU national, (212) 519-7808 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Alessandra Soler-Meetze, ACLU of Arizona, (602) 650-1854
Laura Rodriguez, MALDEF, (310) 956-2425; lrodriguez@maldef.org
Jamie Moss, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, (201) 493-1027; newsPRos@aol.com

Lawsuit Charging Sheriff Arpaio Illegally Targeted Latinos in Maricopa County Can Go Forward

PHOENIX - February 11 - A federal court ruled that a class action lawsuit charging that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio illegally profiled Latinos can proceed.

###

The ACLU conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

ACLU Links:
Posted in civil liberties

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2009
10:01 AM

CONTACT: ACLU

Will Matthews, ACLU, (212) 549-2582 or 2666; media@aclu.org
Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio, (216) 472-2220; mbrickner@acluohio.org

Juvenile Justice System Failing Ohio’s Children, Investigation Finds

ACLU, Children’s Law Center and Ohio Public Defender’s Office Say Too Many Kids Being Shackled, Not Represented by Lawyers

COLUMBUS, Ohio - February 10 - The Ohio juvenile justice system is failing the state's children by permitting children to be routinely shackled, mandating that children accused of certain crimes be charged as adults and by not ensuring that all children accused of crimes get lawyers.

###

The ACLU conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

ACLU Links:
Posted in children, civil liberties, prison system

Warning Over British 'Surveillance State'

Britain leads the world in the use of CCTV, says report published today. (Photograph: Getty Images)

Electronic surveillance and collection of personal data are "pervasive" in British society and threaten to undermine democracy, peers have warned.

CCTV cameras and the DNA database were two examples of threats to privacy, the Lords constitution committee said.

It called for compensation for people subject to illegal surveillance.

The government said CCTV and DNA were "essential" to fight crime but campaign group Liberty said abuses of power mean "even the innocent have a lot to fear".

'Orwellian'

Posted in civil liberties

Target of Immigrant Raids Shifted

An activist holds a sign reading \"Yes To Immigration Reform\" during an immigrant's rights demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City January 21, 2009. The sign on the ground reads \"No More Raids\". (Reuters/Daniel LeClair/Guatemala)

The raids on homes around the country were billed as carefully planned hunts for dangerous immigrant fugitives, and given catchy names like Operation Return to Sender.

And they garnered bigger increases in money and staff from Congress than any other program run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even as complaints grew that teams of armed agents were entering homes indiscriminately.

Posted in civil liberties, immigrant rights, immigration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2009
4:41 PM

CONTACT: Freedom to Marry
Evan Wolfson, Executive Director, Freedom to Marry
212-851-8418; Mobile: 646-263-5552
evan@freedomtomarry.org

New Web Campaign Helps Promote Conversations for Upcoming Freedom to Marry Week

Tell-Three.org Offers Tools to Support This Year’s Theme, 7 Conversations in 7 Days, for February 8-14

NEW YORK - February 3 - Join the Impact has partnered with other national LGBT groups to develop a web based public education campaign, www.tell-three.org, to encourage LGBT people and their supporters to have three conversations with friends and family to help build support for LGBT equality.  The new web campaign can assist people across the country pledging to have 7 Conversations in 7 Days to celebrate Freedom to Marry Week, February 8-14, 2009. 

###
Freedom to Marry is the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide. Launched in 2003, Freedom to Marry is headed by Evan Wolfson, nationally recognized as a central "architect of the marriage equality movement." Freedom to Marry guides and focuses this social justice movement on a nationwide level, serving as a strategy and support center for national, state, and local partners, a catalyst that drives and shapes the national debate on marriage equality, and an alliance-builder fostering support from non-gay allies.
Posted in civil liberties, gay marriage, glbt

Medical Marijuana Raid Raises Question: What's Obama Policy

An unidentified medical marijuana patient smells the different offerings of the Love Shack medicinal cannabis shop in the Mission District of San Francisco on Monday. (Associated Press photo by Dino Vournas)

WASHINGTON - A recent Drug Enforcement Administration raid on a South Lake Tahoe, Calif., medical marijuana dispensary showcases one of the legal conflicts inherited by the Obama administration.

The Jan. 22 raid near the California-Nevada border occurred two days after Obama took office and before the new president's own Justice Department team was in place. The raid resembled many conducted during the Bush administration, but seemingly clashed with Obama's campaign opposition to such tactics.

Posted in civil liberties, healthcare

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2009
4:28 PM

CONTACT: ACLU
James Freedland, ACLU, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Tia T. Gordon, Advancement Project, (202) 728-9557 or (202) 906-0149

ACLU and Advancement Project Challenge Unlawful Disenfranchisement of Michigan Resident

Wife of US Serviceman Was Target of Unlawful Statewide Voter Purge Program

DETROIT - January 29 - Today, Advancement Project, the American Civil Liberties Union and Pepper Hamilton LLP filed a motion on behalf of Lisa A. Blehm - a Michigan resident who was improperly disenfranchised in the November election - that would allow her to join a previously filed voting rights lawsuit challenging the state's unlawful voter purge programs. The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Christopher M. Thomas and Standish City Clerk Rebecca Lakin.

###

The ACLU conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

ACLU Links:
Posted in civil liberties, voting

A Distress Signal in Westerly

Kelly and Jason Jarvis, an unemployed couple in Westerly, grew so frustrated by their situation that they hung a flag upside down from their house last week as a sign of distress. (The Providence Journal / Kris Craig)

WESTERLY, R.I. - Jason and Kelly Jarvis are in trouble. She lost her job in September. He has been out of work since last month.

The couple, married for 16 years and with two teenage sons, are running out of money. They are behind on their mortgage payments and their lender keeps calling, asking them when they'll mail a check.

They've tried to stay positive, but a week ago, after answering several of those calls, Kelly Jarvis broke down. Her husband tried to reassure her, but he grew frustrated, too.

Posted in civil liberties, financial crisis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2009
2:54 PM

CONTACT: ACLU

James Freedland, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org

ACLU Meets With Top UK Officials to Garner International Support for US Restoration of Civil Liberties

LONDON - January 27 - American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony D. Romero and Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti of the U.K. met with officials at the British Foreign Office on Monday and at 10 Downing Street today to promote the shared goals of restoring the rule of law to the U.S. after eight years of abuse and reestablishing the unique Anglo-American alliance based on a respect for civil liberties and human rights.

###

The ACLU conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

ACLU Links:
Posted in civil liberties

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2009
4:02 PM

CONTACT: ACLU

Will Matthews, ACLU National, (212) 549-2582 or 2666; media@aclu.org
Chris Ahmuty, ACLU of Wisconsin, (414) 272-4032, ext. 13; cahmuty@aclu-wi.org

ACLU Says Failure to Properly Administer Medicines at Wisconsin Prison Puts Women’s Lives at Risk

MILWAUKEE - January 23 - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Wisconsin and the law firm of Jenner & Block today filed a motion in federal court seeking an immediate halt to the dangerously dysfunctional system of ordering and administering medication to prisoners at the Taycheedah Correctional Institution, Wisconsin's largest women's prison.

###

The ACLU conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

ACLU Links:
Posted in civil liberties, prison system
« first‹ previous…34567891011…next ›last »
Syndicate content