Home : Rights of the Poor

Homeless Children Denied Equal Access to Education (10/02/2007)
HONOLULU - Calling the State of Hawaii's treatment of homeless children a travesty, civil rights groups and attorneys filed a class action lawsuit today challenging the State's failure to provide homeless children with equal access to public education. The lawsuit - which names three homeless parents and their children - charges State officials with ignoring their legal obligations to provide homeless children with equal access to a free and appropriate public education in violation of the McKinney-Vento Act. The lawsuit also charges State officials with violating constitutional requirements to provide equal access to public education without regard to the status of homelessness.

ACLU of Southern California Challenges Developer Trying to Evade City Rules (06/06/2007)
LOS ANGELES — With L. A. in a housing crisis, a downtown developer sued the city in February to evade its affordable-housing rules. Today groups filed papers in L.A. Superior Court to prevent G.H. Palmer Associates from shutting downtown’s doors to low- and middle-income Angelenos.

Judge Authorizes ACLU of Michigan Public Defense Lawsuit against State of Michigan (05/16/2007)
LANSING, MI - An Ingham County Circuit Court Judge ruled today that a lawsuit charging that State of Michigan failed to fulfill its constitutional obligation to provide appropriate defense services for those who cannot afford private counsel will proceed.

ACLU of Southern California and Public Counsel Settle Lawsuit Over Dumping of Woman on Skid Row (05/15/2007)
LOS ANGELES - Lawyers from the ACLU of Southern California and Public Counsel joined L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo to announce a settlement in our lawsuit on behalf of a 64-year-old woman found wandering on Skid Row. Delgadillo also announced a settlement of the criminal charges the city filed against Kaiser Permanente, the hospital chain accused of dumping her there. The joint settlements provide new policies that will end alleged patient dumping by Kaiser and establish new model practices for other hospitals to follow.

Virginia Senate Upholds Governor Kaine's Veto of Bills That Would Have Eliminated the "Triggerman" Rule (04/04/2007)
RICHMOND, VA - The Virginia Senate today upheld Governor Tim Kaine's veto of two bills that could have dramatically increased the number of executions in Virginia by allowing capital charges to be brought against accomplices and others only indirectly involved in first degree murders.

Landmark Lawsuit Seeks Repairs to Michigan Justice System (02/22/2007)
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Coalition for Justice filed a landmark lawsuit today against the state of Michigan and Governor Jennifer Granholm for failing to fulfill their constitutional obligation to provide adequate defense services to those who cannot afford private counsel. The coalition charges that Michigan has long abdicated its duty to ensure that poor people accused of crimes receive timely, qualified and appropriately resourced lawyers for their defense.

NYCLU Urges Spitzer to Implement School-Based Reform, End School Segregation (01/04/2007)
NEW YORK - After Governor Eliot Spitzer pledged yesterday to spend billions more dollars on education for New York State children, the New York Civil Liberties Union today urged the new governor to focus not only on funding but also on implementing school-based reform. Statewide school-based reform will tailor remedial measures to failing schools' specific deficiencies, and decrease persistent racial inequality in the education system, said the NYCLU.

ACLU Releases Crack Cocaine Report, Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 Deepened Racial Inequity in Sentencing (10/26/2006)
WASHINGTON – To mark the 20th anniversary of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, the American Civil Liberties Union today issued the report, “Cracks in the System: Twenty Years of the Unjust Federal Crack Cocaine Law.” The report details discriminatory effects of the drug law that devastated African American and low-income communities.

On Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, ACLU Sees America's Reputation as Human Rights Leader Diminished (08/29/2006)

ACLU of Hawaii Files Federal Lawsuit on Behalf of Peaceful Protesters (08/08/2006)
HONOLULU -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of advocates for the homeless who were arrested while peacefully protesting at Honolulu City Hall.

U.N. Human Rights Body Slams Louisiana Actions During Katrina (07/28/2006)
NEW ORLEANS — A United Nations human rights body today criticized Louisiana officials for their actions during Hurricane Katrina, including a police blockade on Gretna New Orleans Bridge, which left thousands of mostly black residents trapped in the city, and the failure to evacuate prisoners from the flooded Orleans Parish Prison. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, which has long called for investigations into the conditions at the prison and on the bridge, welcomed the report and its recommendations.

ACLU of Southern California Wins Historic Victory in Homeless Rights Case (04/14/2006)
LOS ANGELES -- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a historic decision today in a case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the National Lawyers Guild seeking an end to the criminalization of people who sleep on the streets when no shelter is available.

School Fees Ruled Unconstitutional After ACLU of Indiana Challenge (03/30/2006)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Supreme Court today ruled in favor of parents represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana in a state constitutional challenge to mandatory student fees charged by Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation for all K-12 students.

Lawyer Selected to Monitor Washington County’s Troubled Public Defender System (02/02/2006)
SEATTLE -- Seattle attorney Jeffery Robinson has been selected to monitor Grant County’s compliance with terms of a settlement agreement to improve the County’s public defender system. The settlement came in a lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and Columbia Legal Services brought against the county for failing to provide indigent felony defendants with effective assistance of counsel. It was announced today that Robinson will monitor compliance over the six-year term of the agreement.