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Government Further Delays Release Of Crucial CIA Inspector General Report (07/02/2009)
NEW YORK – After agreeing three times to release an Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report on the CIA's interrogation and detention program and then reneging, the government announced today it will not release a reprocessed version of the report before August 31. The CIA had agreed to release the OIG report by June 19, 2009. It then requested two extensions – to June 26 and then July 1.

"America's Toughest Sheriff" Agrees To Stop Requiring Court Orders For Abortions But Creates New Obstacle (07/02/2009)
PHOENIX - The American Civil Liberties Union late yesterday asked an Arizona court to prevent Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio from requiring inmates to prepay transportation costs before they can obtain an abortion.

Court Should Suppress Evidence Obtained Through Torture In Jawad Habeas Case, Says ACLU (07/01/2009)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today asked a federal court to suppress all evidence obtained through torture and other coercion in the habeas corpus case challenging the unlawful detention of Guantánamo detainee Mohammed Jawad. The judge in Jawad's military commission proceedings previously suppressed statements made by Jawad to Afghan and U.S. officials following his arrest, finding that they were the product of torture. However, the government continues to rely on those same statements in Jawad's habeas corpus challenge.

Ohio Supreme Court Protects The Privacy Of Medical Records In Abortion Case (07/01/2009)
COLUMBUS, OH – The Ohio Supreme Court today moved to protect the privacy of minors' medical records when the minor is not a party in a lawsuit. The case involves a lawsuit against an Ohio Planned Parenthood and attempts by a teenager's parents to obtain the medical records not only of their own daughter but of all teenagers seen at that clinic over a ten year period.

DOJ Will Not Appeal Veteran’s Victory In Transgender Discrimination Case (07/01/2009)
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Justice decided not to appeal a federal court ruling awarding transgender veteran Diane Schroer the maximum compensation for the discrimination she suffered after being refused a job with the Library of Congress. The deadline for seeking an appeal was June 30. The American Civil Liberties Union has represented Schroer in her case.

New Report From ACLU And RWG Finds Racial Profiling Still Pervasive (06/30/2009)
NEW YORK – Widespread racial profiling by law enforcement agents as a result of Bush-era policies remains a pervasive problem throughout the United States, according to a report out today by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Rights Working Group (RWG). Government policies are a major cause of the disproportionate stopping and searching of racial minorities by law enforcement agencies, according to the report, which was submitted today to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

Obama Administration Should Not Revive Military Commissions, Says ACLU (06/29/2009)
NEW YORK – According to The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued guidance to the Obama administration on reviving the military commissions system to try Guantánamo detainees. The Journal reports that the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel advised the administration that detainees can claim some constitutional rights if they are tried in military commissions within the United States.

Justice Souter Ends A Distinguished Career As U.S. Supreme Court Concludes A Relatively Quiet Term (06/29/2009)
NEW YORK – The Supreme Court concluded its 2008 Term today, clearing the stage for the confirmation hearings of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, which are scheduled to begin in the Senate on July 13. It also marks the end of Justice David Souter's distinguished career on the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Rules Connecticut Firefighters Unfairly Denied Promotions Because Of Race (06/29/2009)
NEW YORK – The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the City of New Haven, Connecticut wrongly threw out a promotion examination for the city's firefighters, saying there was not sufficient evidence that the exam's impact on minorities violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Missouri Judge Strikes Down Attempted Ban On Equal Opportunity Programs (06/27/2009)
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – A Missouri circuit court judge late Friday struck down a proposed ballot initiative aimed at amending the state's constitution to outlaw equal opportunity programs in the state. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit last December charging that an anti-affirmative action ballot initiative proposed by Timothy Asher and the Missouri Civil Rights Initiative should not be circulated for signatures because it violates the Missouri Constitution by seeking to trick and defraud the state's voters in attempting to ban an array of equal opportunity programs.

Obama Administration Indefinite Detention Order Would Undermine American Values Of Justice, Says ACLU (06/26/2009)
NEW YORK - According to news reports, the Obama administration is considering issuing an executive order that would reassert executive authority to imprison terrorism suspects without charge or trial.

State Department Agrees To Fair Issuance Of Passports To Mexican Americans (06/26/2009)
McALLEN, TX –The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has agreed to implement new procedures designed to ensure the fair and prompt review of U.S. passport applications by Mexican Americans whose births in Texas were attended by midwives. Under the agreement, no eligible applicant should be denied a passport.

U.S. Supreme Court Declares Strip Search Of 13-Year-Old Student Unconstitutional (06/25/2009)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate's uncorroborated accusation that she previously possessed ibuprofen. The American Civil Liberties Union represents April Redding, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, whose daughter, Savana Redding, was strip searched by Safford Middle School officials six years ago.

Italian "Extraordinary Rendition" Victim Still Held In Morocco Based On Tortured Confession (06/25/2009)
NEW YORK – Human rights groups today asked two U.N. Special Rapporteurs to investigate the case of Abou Elkassim Britel, an Italian citizen and victim of the CIA's unlawful "extraordinary rendition" program who is currently held in a Moroccan prison based on a confession coerced from him through torture. The American Civil Liberties Union and Alkarama for Human Rights requested that the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights while Countering Terrorism investigate the circumstances of Britel's forced disappearance, rendition, detention and torture, and raise his case with the governments of the United States, Morocco, Pakistan and Italy.

Immigration Reform Must Not Sacrifice Fundamental Liberties, Says ACLU (06/25/2009)
WASHINGTON – President Obama today met with lawmakers to discuss upcoming action on immigration reform. Leading up to the meeting, Senate Immigration Subcommittee Chair Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) Wednesday proposed a biometric-based employer verification system as a key element of comprehensive immigration reform. The ACLU welcomes reform of our nation’s broken immigration system, but not at the cost of cherished fundamental liberties and privacy protections.

New Evidence Of Abuse At Bagram Underscores Need For Full Disclosure About Prison, Says ACLU (06/24/2009)
NEW YORK – Former detainees have alleged they were beaten, deprived of sleep and threatened with dogs at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, according to a new BBC report based on interviews with former detainees held at Bagram between 2002 and 2006. Hundreds of detainees are still being held in U.S. custody at the Bagram prison without charge or trial.

Child Advocacy Groups Urge Florida Appeals Court To Strike Gay Adoption Ban (06/23/2009)
MIAMI – The most respected Florida and national children’s health, welfare and legal advocacy groups filed seven friend-of-the-court briefs before a Florida appeals court Monday urging the court to strike down a Florida law barring lesbians and gay men from adopting. The briefs were filed in support of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that resulted in a Florida juvenile court judge striking down the law and granting the adoptions of two brothers to a gay man who has been raising the boys with his partner for more than four years.

Supreme Court Preserves Voting Rights Act Oversight Provision (06/22/2009)
WASHINGTON – In an 8-1 vote today, the Supreme Court left in place the preclearance requirements of the Voting Rights Act. Under Section 5 of the Act, jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination must obtain approval from either the Justice Department or a federal court before implementing any changes in their voting practices or procedures.

CIA Delays Release Of Inspector General Report On Torture (06/19/2009)
NEW YORK – The CIA informed the American Civil Liberties Union that it would delay by one week its release of a reprocessed version of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report on the CIA's interrogation and detention program. The CIA turned over a heavily redacted version of the report in May 2008 as part of an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, but on May 28, 2009, informed the court that it would review the same report with a view toward disclosing more information.

ACLU Sues DHS Over Unlawful TSA Searches And Detention (06/18/2009)
NEW YORK – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is subjecting innocent Americans to unreasonable searches and detentions that violate the Constitution, according to a lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU filed the complaint on behalf of a traveler who was illegally detained and harassed by TSA agents at the airport for carrying approximately $4,700 in cash.