This Week in Civil Liberties

12/02/2011
This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (12/2/2011)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:50pm

Which amendment rejected by the Senate this week would have banned indefinite detention without charge or trial?

What can’t Siri help you find?

How does S-Comm violate U.S. citizens’ rights?

Which state repealed a law that allows death row prisoners the opportunity to try to commute their sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole based on racial bias?

Which agency uses “community outreach” programs to collect intelligence on innocent Americans?

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11/18/2011
This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (11/18/2011)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:56pm

Guess who’s stalking you on the Internet?

Who is suing the Oakland Police Department to end violence against Occupy Oakland protesters?

Which amendment could the Stop Online Privacy Act impede?

Which presidential candidate thinks the ACLU is effectively running the CIA?

In which state does an anti-immigrant law put small businesses at risk?

The Social Network is Stalking You
A new web feature by USA Today details the ways Facebook stalks you around the Internet — even when you’re not logged in. Facebook’s tracking methods — in the guise of the innocent seeming “Like” button — record every web site its 800 million-plus members have visited during the previous 90 days, even if you never click on that button, or don’t have a Facebook account.

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11/11/2011
This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (11/10/2011)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 9:04pm

To whom did the ACLU write to ask that they stop tracking cell phone users and storing their data?

Which police department is refusing to hand over public information on its use of force against Occupy protesters?

In which state are parents concerned that their kids are being racially profiled in school because of an anti-immigrant law?

How many prisoners are held in the torturous conditions of solitary confinement in the U.S.?

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10/28/2011
Immigration Detention

This Week in Civil Liberties (10/28/11)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 6:29pm

In which states did ACLU lawsuits put a halt to suspicionless, mandatory drug testing?

Which Senators are working to show that the Patriot Act has a secret interpretation that violates the rights of American citizens?

What can be done to protect immigration detainees vulnerable to being sexually abused while in detention?

Victories in Florida and Missouri: No Illegal Drug Testing
On Monday we got some great news in Florida: following an ACLU lawsuit, the state will no longer be allowed to make people applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) take a drug test in order to get the assistance they need. And in Missouri on Tuesday, a federal judge ruled a policy at Linn State Technical College that would have mandated students pass a drug test as a condition of enrollment is clearly unconstitutional.

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10/07/2011
This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (10/7/2011)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:38pm

What school, abiding by the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics, removed a student for refusing to counsel LGBT clients?

Who assaulted one of his students for wearing an LGBT t-shirt?

What list can you get on, but not off?

In which state is a law preventing kids from going to school, sick people from going to the hospital and victims from reporting crimes to the police?

What should the police have to do before attaching a GPS to your car?

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09/23/2011
This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (9/23/2011)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:10pm

In memory of Troy Davis, what can you do to keep fighting for the innocent on death row?

What did Ceara Sturgis’ principal try to force her to wear for her yearbook picture?

What organizations are allowed to discriminate when hiring for government-funded jobs?

Who told the Senate not to let history repeat itself regarding indefinite detainment?

Need some book titles for your reading list?

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09/16/2011
This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (9/16/2011)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:48pm

What kind of information still remains vulnerable to government surveillance even 10 years after 9/11?

Who can you help save by sending a letter to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole?

Which state is proposing an amendment that is intended to limit the religious freedoms of Muslim-Americans?

At what school did a judge temporarily stop the unconstitutional mandatory drug testing of students?

Which federal agency’s training materials teach religious discrimination and mistrust of the Muslim-American community?

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09/02/2011
U.S. Torture

This Week in Civil Liberties (9/2/2011)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:03pm

What major telecom company participated in warrantless wiretapping?

Which former leader has no regrets about Bush Administration torture policies?

What supposedly quick fix to public education deficiencies endangers the separation between church and state?

What group is entitled to due process according to a US Court of Appeals case from this week?

Who did NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg endanger by failing to prepare adequately for Hurricane Irene?

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08/19/2011
This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (8/19/2011)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:55pm

What school fired a teacher for having to pump breast milk?
How did California's BART system censor the public to avoid a political demonstration?
What school district allows students to access anti-LGBT websites but blocks LGBT sites that provide anti-bullying information and other resources?
What state discourages donations to organizations that provide information on reproductive health services?
What major world power violated human rights according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. (Here’s a hint: If you are reading this, you most likely live in this country.)

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07/22/2011
This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (7/22/2011)

By Jessica Monaco, ACLU at 4:46pm

Quick:

  • What Vermont hotel won't host a lesbian couple's wedding?
  • Whose president has endorsed the Respect for Marriage Act?
  • Which government agency doesn't want to see you naked in airports so much anymore?
  • Which 23 documents are secret even though everyone on the Internet has seen them?
  • What White House advisor thinks "0 deaths" is the same as "dozens of deaths"?

The answers to these questions and more on the ACLU's Blog of Rights...

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