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Dismal High School Graduation Rate Violates Florida Constitution, Says ACLU (03/18/2008)

ACLU Of Oregon Urges Appeals Court To Reject Patriot Act Search And Surveillance Provisions (03/17/2008)
PORTLAND, OR – The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging a federal appeals court to affirm a lower court’s decision to strike down two search and surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional. The case was brought by Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield against the federal government after the FBI mistakenly linked him to the Madrid train bombings in 2004. The lower court found that secret searches of Mayfield’s house and office violated the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure.

ACLU Urges High Court to Uphold Free Speech Ruling (03/17/2008)
Washington, DC - The Court announced this morning that it will hear an appeal of a lower court ruling in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, et al. that found the FCC failed to provide adequate justification for its regulations governing the broadcast of "fleeting expletives." The Department of Justice is appealing that decision on behalf of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Terror Watch Lists are Unworkable (03/17/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) comments on a report on Terror Watch lists released today from the Office of the Inspector of the Department of Justice. The following can be attributed to Timothy Sparapani, Senior Legislative Counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union.

ACLU Announces Winners of 2008 Youth Activist Scholarship (03/14/2008)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today announced the winners of its 2008 Youth Activist Scholarship contest. Fifteen high school seniors from across the country will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship in recognition of their outstanding work to protect civil liberties, especially for young people.

ACLU Appeals Dismissal Of Extraordinary Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary (03/14/2008)
SAN JOSE, CA - The American Civil Liberties Union today announced it will appeal a federal court decision to throw out a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for its role in the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” program. Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen, filed by the ACLU on behalf of five victims of the rendition program, was dismissed in February after the government intervened, once again misusing the “state secrets” privilege to avoid legal scrutiny of an unlawful program.

ACLU Asks Appeals Court To Affirm Decision Striking Down Patriot Act ”National Security Letter” Provision (03/14/2008)
NEW YORK - In a brief filed under seal on Monday and unsealed yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union urged a federal appellate court to uphold a lower court decision striking down the National Security Letter (NSL) provision of the Patriot Act. The provision gives the FBI the authority to issue letters demanding private information about people within the United States, and to place the recipients of the letters under indefinite gag order. A report released on Thursday by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) revealed widespread, systemic abuse of the NSL power by the FBI.

Senate Budget Resolution a Setback for Minorities in the Workplace (03/14/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union expressed its disappointment with yesterday’s Senate adoption of Senator Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) amendment to the budget resolution. The amendment rolls back federal civil rights enforcement authority created in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Alexander amendment cuts funds allocated to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to prosecute workplace discrimination based on national origin, and redirects the funds to the Department of Education for English language training. Yesterday the Senate also passed an amendment offered by Sen. Kennedy to increase funding for English language training by $1 million.

The House Stands Up to Scare Tactics, House Votes to Let Consumers Have Their Day in Court (03/14/2008)
Washington, DC – The bruising battle over domestic surveillance that has been red hot since August took a dramatic turn today as the U.S. House of Representatives refused to bow to the president’s scare tactics. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) commends the Members of the House for standing up to the president and for allowing Americans to have their day in court against telecommunications companies that released private information to the government without a warrant.

ACLU Lauds Introduction of House State Secrets Bill (03/13/2008)
Washington, DC – Legislation introduced today may give a much-needed reprieve to those who have sued the government and encountered the state secrets privilege. The legislation, introduced by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), would establish appropriate limits on the use of the state secrets privilege. The Bush administration has misused the privilege to halt several important lawsuits against the government, including an ACLU case involving the extraordinary rendition of an innocent German citizen, Khaled El-Masri. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA).

ACLU Sues To Uncover Records Detailing Torture And Abuse Of Guantánamo Prisoners (03/13/2008)
WASHINGTON – Decrying the U.S. government’s failure to comply with its records request, the American Civil Liberties Union is filing a federal lawsuit today to force the government to release un-redacted transcripts in which 14 prisoners now held at Guantánamo Bay describe abuse and torture they suffered in CIA custody. The ACLU’s lawsuit, which raises claims under the First Amendment and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), follows a FOIA request seeking the uncensored transcripts from Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) that determine if prisoners held by the Defense Department at Guantánamo qualify as “enemy combatants.”

Don’t Follow Bush/Cheney Playbook on Domestic Spying, ACLU Statement on House FISA Vote (03/13/2008)
Washington, DC – A vote on the Democratic House leadership’s proposal to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is scheduled for this afternoon. Below is a statement that can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the Washington Legislative Office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on that vote:

FBI Audit Exposes Widespread Abuse Of Patriot Act Powers (03/13/2008)
WASHINGTON – A report released today by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on the FBI’s use of National Security Letters (NSLs) reveals a systemic, widespread abuse of power. The FBI’s authority to issue NSLs was widely expanded by the USA Patriot Act and it has been increasingly used to collect private information on American citizens without court approval. Today’s audit follows a report released last year that found serious breaches of department regulations and multiple potential violations of the law.

Washington Legislative Office Hires New State Legislative Counsel (03/13/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union recently welcomed Larry Frankel as the new State Legislative Counsel for the Washington Legislative Office. Frankel oversees the WLO State Legislative Department, which provides support to the 53 ACLU affiliate offices across the country. The State Legislative Department bolsters the ACLU’s work in state legislatures by analyzing legislation, providing background research, offering legislative strategy and acting as a liaison between policy experts and ACLU state lobbyists working on the ground.

ACLU Continues Monitoring Illegitimate Guantánamo Hearings This Week (03/12/2008)
NEW YORK – Continuing its role as vigilant monitor of the U.S. Military Commission hearings, the American Civil Liberties Union will be at Guantánamo Bay this week to observe the proceedings of Afghan national Mohammed Jawad, Saudi national Ahmed Mohammad al-Darbi, and Canadian national Omar Ahmed Khadr. The ACLU has attended every military commission proceeding since the system’s inception in 2004 and has seen no indication that the tribunals are fair, impartial or legitimate.

Stunning New Report on Domestic NSA Dragnet Spying Confirms ACLU Surveillance Warnings (03/12/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union responded today to a stunning new report that the NSA has effectively revived the Orwellian "Total Information Awareness" domestic-spying program that was banned by Congress in 2003. In response, the ACLU said that it was filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for more information about the spying. And, the group announced that it was moving its "Surveillance Clock" one minute closer to midnight.

ACLU Calls for Greater Congressional Oversight of HUD and its Failure to Meet its Obligations Under VAWA (03/11/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties today called on Congress to examine the failure of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to fully implement the requirements of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as it relates to victims of domestic violence. The House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee are slated to begin oversight hearings of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week. The ACLU urges these committees to ask HUD why it leaves battered women and children out in the cold.

ACLU Sues Over Failed Privately-Run Alternative School In Atlanta (03/11/2008)
ATLANTA – In a case with national implications, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Georgia filed a class action lawsuit today against the Atlanta Independent School System (AISS) and Community Education Partners (CEP) for violating students’ constitutional right to an adequate public education. CEP is a for-profit corporation paid nearly $7 million a year by the city to run its alternative school, which is among the most dangerous and lowest performing schools in Georgia.

Congress Must Act to Keep the Internet Free from Censorship (03/11/2008)
Washington, DC – Testifying today before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on net neutrality, the director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office, Caroline Fredrickson, urged Congress to act to safeguard free speech on the Internet. “Congress should act to protect the rights of all Internet users to send and receive lawful content free of censorship from government or business,” Fredrickson said. “Restoring meaningful rules that protect Internet users from corporate censorship is vital to the future of free speech on the Internet.”

Death Sentence Of Mentally Ill Man Reversed (03/11/2008)
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has reversed the conviction and death sentence of Richard Taylor, a severely mentally ill man who has twice been forced to stand trial despite his mental illness and likely incompetence. Taylor was represented during the appeal of his conviction by the American Civil Liberties Union and Kelly Gleason, then a private attorney and now with the Office of the Tennessee Post-Conviction Defender.