JACKSON, Miss. - September 12 - Today the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a non-partisan advocate for voting rights and sound ballot design, released a letter sent yesterday to Mississippi state officials sharply criticizing their intention to place November's Wicker-Musgrove U.S. Senate race at the bottom of Mississippi's ballot, far from the other federal races listed in the 2008 election.

WASHINGTON - September 11 -  Today, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security is scheduled to hold a hearing on a bill that would help end the practice of sentencing children to life in prison without the possibility of parole and provide grants to states to improve the quality of legal representation for youth charged with an offense that could lead to a life sentence. In a letter to Representatives Robert C. Scott (D-VA), chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee, and Louie Gohmert (R-TX), ranking member, the ACLU calls on Congress to move forward with H.R.

NEW YORK - September 11 - This week, the United States District Court in Manhattan ordered the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to provide the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) with all stop-and-frisk data from 1998 through the present. The data will no longer be covered by a protective order as it was in an earlier suit, which means that CCR will be able to make it public along with an analysis.

WASHINGTON - September 10 -  Today, after months of compelling TV and newspaper exposés detailing deficient medical care and over 60 immigration detention deaths, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to mark up a bill requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop procedures to ensure adequate medical and mental health care for all detainees held by DHS Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ACLU urges the House Judiciary Committee members to vote for H.R. 5950, the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008, introduced by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).

WASHINGTON - September 10 - Today, the House Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing examining what has prevented the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) virtual fence initiative from becoming a reality. The American Civil Liberties Union reaffirms its opposition to the failed and intrusive program that has been besieged with technological difficulties since its inception and calls on Congress to prevent further homeland security resources from being squandered on this effort.

WASHINGTON - September 9 - As the House moves towards a vote on legislation that would shine a light on government secrecy, the American Civil Liberties Union praised members pivotal in bringing the bill forward. The bill, H.R. 6575, the Over-Classification Reduction Act, was introduced by House Government Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA). Similar legislation that would apply specifically to the Department of Homeland Security was also introduced this year by Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA).   

NEW YORK - September 9 - In a victory for voting rights, the Department of Veterans Affairs reversed course Monday by lifting a ban on nonpartisan voter registration drives in its facilities. The American Civil Liberties Union opposed the ban as an unconstitutional infringement on the voting rights of over 100,000 veterans who live in the VA's nursing homes, homeless shelters and rehabilitation centers.

The following can be attributed to Laughlin McDonald, Director of the ACLU Voting Rights Project: