American Civil Liberties Union

Another busy week! We filed a lawsuit seeking declassification of the State Department cables released by Wikileaks, appealed the dismissal of our lawsuit on behalf of Jose Padilla against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, got a Louisiana school board to stop denying children equal educational opportunities in the classroom and more.

"If the Law Does Not Protect Jose Padilla . . . It Protects No One"
In February, a federal district court in South Carolina dismissed our lawsuit against Donald Rumsfeld and other current and former government officials for their roles in the detention and torture of American citizen Jose Padilla. This week we appealed that dismissal.

A few themes emerged at the ACLU this week: Women's Health, LGBT rights and the death penalty. We also found a moment or two to speak out against hate speech — in the advertising epicenter of the world — Times Square!

Our Bodies, Ourselves — It's a Cliché Because It's True.
Between hearings in the challenge to breast cancer gene patenting on Monday and a highly successful rally in Washington, D.C., yesterday, the ACLU was standing up for women's rights — not to mention free speech, scientific freedom, and choice — all over the place. The courtroom was crowded with scientists, medical professionals and legal scholars when the ACLU's Chris Hansen presented arguments in our case against Myriad Genetics' patent on the breast cancer gene. And about 3,500 supporters of women's health showed up at the rally. See what they had to say here.

This week, blog posts revealed that we are ignoring the rights of foreign nationals, ignoring juries, and ignoring the will of the people. Britain probably will continue being our BFF regardless, because they are ignoring privacy. Luckily, Washington, D.C. is ignoring the current fashion for corrections systems making big criminals out of little criminals...

Our weekly round-up of popular blog posts includes some real food for thought: Should we be locking up children? Should federal money be spent on schools that discriminate? And perhaps most puzzling, should we look to Texas for an enlightened approach to the war on drugs?

Lift Children Out of the Criminal Justice System – Don't Lock Them Away
What kind of person looks into the face of a child and sees no hope? What kind of society locks up children as if they were adults — and sometimes even throws away the key? Unfortunately, ours does. As a case in point, Kansas City prosecutors are currently mulling over whether to charge a 5-year-old child for the murder of an 18-month old.