This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (7/6/12)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 2:02pm

True or false: Aggressive collection of legal financial obligations creates a two-tiered system of justice in which the poorest defendants are punished more harshly than those with means.

Which court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act means that the contraceptive coverage rule – which ensures access to affordable birth control for millions of women across the country – is still in place?

In which state will a megabill have an impact on 100 percent of abortion providers, according to a new ACLU infographic?

This Week in Civil Liberties (6/29/12)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 1:43pm

Dr. James Watson thinks that patenting human genes is “lunacy.” What scientific discovery is he known for?

Which court ruled this week that a sentencing scheme of mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole for children is unconstitutional?

Which discriminatory provision of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law did the Supreme Court uphold this week?

Why does the government continue to fight ACLU efforts to increase transparency regarding the targeted killing program?

This Week in Civil Liberties (6/22/12)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:37pm

Which legislative body convened the first-ever hearing on the dangers of long-term solitary confinement?

Which standardized testing group announced a new, fairer lactation policy for nursing moms?

In which state are gay and lesbian parents banned from adopting their partners’ kids?

Which government agency found that a Texas school violated a student’s civil rights under Title IX when it failed to investigate the sexual assault she reported?

Which religious lobbying group is holding a “fortnight for freedom” because it wants to use religious liberty as a license to discriminate?

This Week in Civil Liberties (6/8/12)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 6:02pm
Why should you care about surveillance if you have nothing to hide?

True or False? Several states including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Louisiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia have taken steps to reduce overincarceration.

Which law that discriminates against same-sex couples was ruled unconstitutional by yet another federal judge?

Wh

This Week in Civil Liberties (06/01/12)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:30pm
Which government agency uses factually flawed and biased information in counterterrorism training materials?

What law, which discriminates against married same-sex couples, was ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court?

In which state did the ACLU file a lawsuit on behalf of same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry?

A constitutional amendment in which state could disenfranchise thousand

This Week in Civil Liberties (05/25/12)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 3:12pm

Which court has agreed to hear our case challenging the FISA Amendments Act, which authorizes NSA warrantless wiretapping?

The ACLU sent letters to school districts in which states regarding single-sex education programs thatpromote harmful sex stereotypes?

Members of the Select Senate Committee on Intelligence met in secret this week, according to press reports, to approve legislation to extend what sweeping surveillance law?

Free Future Friday links roundup

By Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 10:20am

A few links that have caught our eye this past week:

The Citynewswatch blog in Charlotte, NC has a nice post on that city’s new license plate reader program, among other surveillance systems (pity any city that hosts a major national or international event these days). Among many other good points, Citynewswatch highlights the fact that they are being funded via our deeply troubling civil asset forfeiture laws. I didn’t mention it in my blog the other day but the ALPR program being pushed in Utah by the DEA is being similarly funded.

This Week in Civil Liberties (5/18/12)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 3:22pm

Which law could be used to restrict the right to protest at next week’s NATO summit?

Which government watch list can you get on but are entirely at the government’s mercy if you want to get off?

A lawmaker from which state would rather women die than have abortion remain legal?

In which state did a grandmother get sentenced to life without parole for a nonviolent first-time drug offense?

This Week in Civil Liberties (5/11/12)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:20pm

Which Internet company is in court protecting one of its user's right to free speech?

Which state voted to ban marriage for same-sex couples?

Which politician endorsed the freedom to marry for same-sex couples this week?

Which judicial body did ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero describe as a system is "set up to guarantee convictions and hand down death sentences, nothing more?"

What bill would be a good start to prohibiting employers from asking for employees' or job applicants' social networking passwords?

This Week in Civil Liberties (5/4/2012)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 4:41pm

What surveillance tool used by law enforcement could lead to nightmarish privacy infringement?

This week, the White House confirmed the existence of what program that has been kept secret by the CIA?

“Liking” on what social network is not protected by the First Amendment, according to a federal judge in Virginia?

Which state wants to replace one private prison contractor with another?

Which state is being sued by an ACLU affiliate for its discriminatory voter ID law?

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