Blog of Rights
Rachel
Myers

Rachel Myers is a senior communications strategist at the ACLU focusing on criminal justice issues. She worked previously at the ACLU of Maine and the Portland (ME) Education Partnership, where she trained teachers, students and community organizations to use service learning in the public schools. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

03/31/2008

When the Torch Comes to Town

By Rachel Myers, ACLU at 4:32pm
On March 13, the ACLU of Northern California filed a Public Records Act request for information about the procedures the city of San Francisco intends to follow during the expected public demonstrations when the Olympic Torch passes through town on April 9.

In response they received al
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03/17/2008

What the BLEEP?

By Rachel Myers, ACLU at 12:09pm
This morning the Supreme Court announced it will hear an appeal of a lower court ruling in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, et al.

Last summer, the ACLU joined a friend-
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03/06/2008

Bank Drops Case Against Wikileaks

By Rachel Myers, ACLU at 9:02pm
Swiss Bank Julius Baer announced today that it's dropping its lawsuit against whistleblower website Wikileaks.

If you've been following the case, you know that it all started when the bank filed a lawsuit against the site because of
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02/07/2008

No Rain on This Parade

By Rachel Myers, ACLU at 6:13pm
This news story may have been drowned out by the lead-up to Super Tuesday, but the voices and music of New Orleans's historic Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs were not. Several of the clubs were allowed to hold their annual "second line" parade (so named after the second line of people that would follow the band in traditional jazz funerals) on Monday, February 4 despite an earlier threat by the NOLA P.D. to close down the parade.
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02/05/2008

Extraordinary Abuse

By Rachel Myers, ACLU at 11:08am
It's no secret that the United States government has participated in extraordinary rendition, the unlawful transfer of prisoners in U.S. custody to countries where we know torture and abusive interrogation techniques take place. And it's no secret that the government has had help from private entities like Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan, who knew exactly what they were doing when they provide
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01/16/2008

Utter Contempt

By Rachel Myers, ACLU at 1:38pm
Today's a big day in Tape Destruction World.

We're headed to court at 3:00 p.m. to argue that the CIA acted in contempt of court when it destroyed hundreds of hours of videotape depicting the harsh treatment of two detainees in its custody. The CIA neglected to mention the existence of the tapes, and ultimately Read More»
01/15/2008
Protestors' Rights

Protestors Should be Seen and Heard

By Rachel Myers, ACLU at 11:58am

Once again, it appears free speech may be the victim of official White House policy. In the rather un-grand tradition of shielding the president from dissenting opinions, several New Mexicans were recently made to stand 150 yards - and behind a blockade of police cars and horses - away from the presidential motorcade route while Bush supporters wielding a "God Bless George Bush! We Pray for You!" sign got right up close.

Like the Ranks in West Virginia who were escorted out of a Bush speech for their anti-Bush T-shirts, or Leslie Weise and Alex Young who were kicked out of another presidential event in Denver for the "No Blood for Oil" sticker on their car, it's likely that the treatment of the New Mexico protestors was dictated by the official Presidential Advance Manual.

This manual encourages people on the ground at the site of a presidential appearance to "ask the local police department to designate a protest area where demonstrators can be placed, preferably not in view of the event site or motorcade route" and suggests "rally squads" of supporters to "use their signs and banners as shields between the demonstrators and the main press platform."

Today the ACLU filed a complaint in federal court on behalf of six of the New Mexico protestors. The Constitution guarantees us all the right to express our views and protects us from being treated differently because of them. Policies - from the White House, local law enforcement agencies or otherwise - that dictate different treatment for different opinions is unconstitutional, and we hope this case proves so once and for all.

You can learn more about the case from blogger Chris Weigant's interview with ACLU Staff Attorney Catherine Crump on HuffingtonPost.

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