FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON - Timothy D. Sparapani today joined the Washington Legislative Office as Legislative Counsel on Privacy Issues. Sparapani will be a key member of the ACLU's "Safe and Free" team and will work closely with the ACLU's Technology & Liberty Project.

"Tim Sparapani joins the ACLU when privacy is under its greatest assault," said Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "He will work on a wide range of privacy issues, including national ID cards, Secure Flight, data-mining and the ever-growing surveillance society-- areas where concerns are not limited to one political school of thought. We must enact policies that both enhance our security and protect our privacy."

Sparapani will work at the epicenter of the ACLU's efforts to impact federal lawmakers and policy makers. The Washington office has a team of 40 that includes legislative counsels, field and internet organizers, media professionals and administrative staff committed to working with Congress to ensure that any legislation enacted serves to enhance, and not diminish, the civil rights and liberties of all.

"In the fight for privacy, there should not be -- there cannot be -- an ideological divide," Sparapani said. "I look forward to working with concerned individuals, regardless of their political affiliation, to prevent unnecessary invasions of privacy. It is false to say that Americans must choose safety over freedom. We can, and should, be both safe and free."

Concerns about our diminishing civil liberties and privacy rights have recently led to several "strange bedfellows" alliances, with the ACLU hiring former Representative Bob Barr, a conservative from Georgia, as a consultant. The ACLU is also working with the American Conservative Union, Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, and other staunchly conservative organizations to fight the government's unwarranted expansion of surveillance powers.

Prior to joining the ACLU, Sparapani was for four years an associate at the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP. While there, Sparapani assisted clients on an array of lobbying issues, including increasing federal funding for childhood lead poisoning prevention. He also served as a legal intern for the Senate Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee, where he assisted Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). Prior to attending law school, he was a legislative assistant at Hale and Dorr, LLP, and at American International Group.

Sparapani also volunteered for the "Edwards for President" and the Kerry/Edwards campaigns. Sparapani helped campaign staff develop the candidates' domestic policy positions and prepared materials to brief Senator Edwards for his debate with Vice President Cheney. (The ACLU itself is a non-partisan organization, and has never endorsed or opposed any candidate for an elected office.)

Sparapani is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University.