By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:03pm
Wednesday marks the official start of the new 112th Congress. All of the Representatives and Senators who were elected in November now officially begin their terms in office today. The ACLU welcomes all of the new Members of Congress and looks forward to working with each of them to advance and defend civil liberties and civil rights. As a nonpartisan organization, we are firmly committed to the belief that we have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. For us, it is all about principle, not partisan politics.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 2:55pm
Nearly a quarter of a century after President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act resulting in the infamous 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine powder offenses the House of Representatives passed the Fair Sentencing Act by a voice vote yesterday with both Democrats and Republicans speaking on the floor in support of the legislation.
Anyone who works on reforming the criminal justice system can attest to the fact that such efforts often take years of commitment and dedication before bearing fruit. We are currently at just such a moment, as Congress is one final step away from passing major, if less than perfect, reform of one of the most deeply flawed aspects of a broken and dysfunctional criminal justice system - the 100 to 1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
By Jasmine Elliott, Washington Legislative Office & Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:22pm
The Arizona immigration law is poised to inflame the already widespread problem of racial profiling in the United States. This law, S.B. 1070, would require law enforcement officers to investigate a person's citizenship status if they think that the person could be in the country unlawfully. This is a clear invitation to racial profiling, and because of this new law, more people will be put into jails and the criminal justice system merely because of their race or ethnicity. When law enforcement is invited to question people based on appearance and without evidence of criminal activity, dire consequences occur.
By now, most everyone has heard about Arizona's new law requiring police to demand to see documentation from anyone they stop whom they suspect is in the country illegally. What this really means is that people in Arizona will be forced to "show their papers" simply for looking or sounding "foreign." These draconian police tactics are more than just offensive and discriminatory — they're unconstitutional. The law will result in harassment based on race, appearance, and language, carrying an echo of the Jim Crow South. America has fought too hard against racially divisive policies to allow this law to go forward.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:21pm
Today, a memorial service was held for civil rights pioneer Dorothy Height. Laura Murphy, Director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office, reflects upon Dr. Height's activism.
The passing of Dr. Dorothy Height was a huge loss to the nation, particularly to American women. She inspired me and so many women leaders because she embraced and nurtured her sisters and daughters in the movement. I lost a role model and a mentor who, whenever we met, always clasped my hand in hers, looked me in the eyes and said, "Carry on."
Late on Wednesday evening, the U.S. Senate passed, by unanimous consent no less, a long-overdue bill that will help to reform one of the most egregious aspects of our nation's criminal justice system — the staggering 100 to 1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. That we have arrived at this moment, less than a week after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 19-0 in support of the legislation, is a minor miracle that has taken years of advocacy to accomplish.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:06pm
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is a leading congressional proponent of using the discredited and fatally-flawed military commissions system to try the alleged planners and conspirators of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Sen. Graham feels so strongly that he has introduced legislation to bar the Justice Department from using any funds to try these cases — the most important terrorism trials in our country's history — in our regular federal courts.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 6:52pm
It has only been five days since I returned to head the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office (I previously served in that role from 1993-2005), but imagine my surprise to read today that we can count former Attorney General John Ashcroft among our allies on the issue of using our regular civilian courts to handle terrorism prosecutions. I never would have thought one of my first public “thanks” would be directed to one of the ACLU’s frequent adversaries.
Nearly a quarter of a century after President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act resulting in the infamous 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine powder offenses 
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