Home : Racial Justice : Racial Profiling

Rhode Island Supreme Court Orders City to Pay Costs in Police Misconduct Open Records Case (04/21/2003)
PROVIDENCE, RI -- In the near-final chapter of a long-running "open records" lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the police department here, the State Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that city cannot charge a community group for the costs of providing copies of internal police misconduct reports.

ACLU Files Racial Profiling Lawsuit Against Transportation Security Administration (04/14/2003)
PHILADELPHIA - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for civil rights violations stemming from the wrongful arrest of a Florida doctor and Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserves who was detained for hours solely on the basis of his skin color and national origin.

ACLU, Civil Rights Groups and Maryland Officials Reach Landmark Racial Profiling Settlement (04/02/2003)
ANNAPOLIS, MD--After months of delays and false starts, the Maryland Board of Public Works today approved a historic settlement ending the practice of racial profiling on the state's highways, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland announced.

ACLU Says FBI Questioning of Iraqi Nationals in U.S. Will Hamper, Not Help, War on Terror (03/19/2003)
NEW YORK - The government's latest plan to question thousands of Iraqi nationals is yet another example of ethnic and religious profiling that may hamper rather than help efforts to apprehend terrorists, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

ACLU of Northern CA Hails Landmark Racial Profiling Settlement (02/27/2003)
SAN FRANCISCO-The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has agreed to adopt sweeping reforms intended to end the practice of racial profiling on California's highways, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California announced today. The reforms include a ban on consent searches and restrictions on drug-related pretext stops and are likely to have a broad impact on law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

ACLU and CA Civil Rights Groups Call for Major Police Reforms in Sacramento (02/14/2003)
SAN FRANCISCO-Citing data from a report on racial profiling released today by the Sacramento Police Department, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and a number of civil rights groups called for major policy changes in the way minority motorists are treated by police.

ACLU of MD and Civil Rights Groups Decry Further Stalling on Landmark Racial Profiling Settlement (02/05/2003)
ANNAPOLIS, MD - After state officials here once again put off consideration of a negotiated settlement in a landmark racial profiling lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the NAACP said today that they are disappointed and are considering "next steps." The class-action lawsuit brought national attention to the issue of "driving while black or brown."

ACLU Calls FBI Mosque-Counting Scheme Blatant Ethnic and Religious Profiling (01/27/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today called a controversial scheme being implemented by the FBI to base investigation and wiretap goals on demographic information, including the number of mosques in a given area, a case of ethnic and religious profiling that will fail to make Americans any safer.

ACLU of San Diego and Coalition of Civil Rights Groups Denounce Police Department's Efforts to 'Whitewash' Racial Profiling Data (01/13/2003)
SAN DIEGO - A study on racial profiling conducted by the San Diego Police Department and released today contains troubling data on racial disparity in vehicle stops, yet the findings are being misrepresented by the department's chief official, the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties and a coalition of civil rights groups said today.

ACLU of NJ Wins $775,000 for Victims of Racial Profiling by State Troopers (01/13/2003)
NEWARK -- The State of New Jersey has agreed to pay more than $775,000 to motorists who were victims of racial profiling to settle lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, the group announced at a news conference today.

ACLU of Maryland and Civil Rights Groups Decry Postponement of Vote on Landmark Racial Profiling Settlement (01/08/2003)
BALTIMORE-The ACLU of Maryland and civil rights groups today accused state officials of foot-dragging after Governor-elect Robert Ehrlich postponed a vote to settle a landmark racial profiling lawsuit at the state Board of Public Works. The class action lawsuit brought national attention to the issue of "driving while black."

New ACLU Report Blasts Texas' Scandal-Plagued Narcotics Task Forces, Calls for End to Bloated $200 Million Program (12/17/2002)
AUSTIN, TX -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas today issued a report calling for an end to the state's $200 million regional narcotics task force system, citing pervasive racial profiling and 24 major drug scandals since 1998.

ACLU Charges Racial Discrimination in Second Texas Drug Bust Scandal (11/01/2002)
AUSTIN, TX--The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a class action lawsuit charging racial discrimination in an undercover drug bust that led to the arrest of 15 percent of African-American men between the ages of 18 and 34 in Hearne, a rural community of 5,000 in eastern Texas.

Court Finds RI Police in Contempt for Failing to Comply With State's "Driving While Black" Law (10/24/2002)
PROVIDENCE, RI -The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today hailed a decision by Superior Court Judge Stephen Fortunato, Jr. to hold the police department in contempt of court for failing to comply with the state's "Driving While Black" law.

Judge Rules ACLU Discrimination Suit Against Continental Airlines Can Go Forward (10/18/2002)
NEWARK - A federal district judge has denied a motion to dismiss two federal civil rights lawsuits alleging that Continental Airlines discriminated against passengers in removing them from a flight, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today.

ACLU Report Blasts San Francisco Police Failure to Report on Racial Profiling Stops and Searches (10/07/2002)
SAN FRANCISCO- A comprehensive report on police stops and searches of motorists released today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California sharply criticized the San Francisco Police Department's failure to take the issue of racial profiling seriously.

ACLU Urges Lawmakers to Investigate Racial Profiling And Recklessness by Federal Air Marshals (09/24/2002)
PHILADELPHIA--The American Civil Liberties Union today called on lawmakers to investigate the actions of air marshals who handcuffed and detained a 54-year-old Florida doctor of Indian descent because they ""didn't like the way he looked.""