Aclu

Pittsburgh Man Gives Cop Middle Finger, Gets $50,000

Associated Press | Posted 11.25.2009 | Home


PITTSBURGH (Associated Press) -- Pittsburgh City Council has tentatively approved paying $50,000 to settle a free speech lawsuit filed by a man cited...

Right And Left Join To Reform Criminal Justice System

New York Times | ADAM LIPTAK | Posted 11.24.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON -- In the next several months, the Supreme Court will decide at least a half-dozen cases about the rights of people accused of crimes invol...

Expanding Opportunity And Hope For Children In America

Nahal Zamani | Posted 11.23.2009 | Politics


Nahal Zamani

Friday, November 20, marked the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most comprehensive treaty on children's rights.

ACLU Attorney Who Fought For Miranda Rights Rules Against the Poor

Auburn McCanta | Posted 11.23.2009 | Politics


Auburn McCanta

The attorney who introduced the concept of Miranda rights into U.S. legal doctrine ruled this month that poor church members can't eat pancakes before a worship service.

Robert Gates Bars Release Of Torture Photos

Mother Jones | Nick Baumann | Posted 11.14.2009 | Politics


Defense Secretary Robert Gates has used powers granted to him by a controversial new law to block the court-ordered release of numerous photos of deta...

Close it Right: Guantanamo Must Be Shut Down Quickly and Properly

Anthony D. Romero | Posted 11.11.2009 | Politics


Anthony D. Romero

The clock's ticking and it's not looking good. As January 22, 2010 fast approaches, the administration is signaling that it's unlikely to meet its own deadline to close

How My Lawsuit Against the TSA Made Airports Safe For the Constitution Again

Steve Bierfeldt | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics


Steve Bierfeldt

As a result of my just-dropped case against the TSA, passengers will no longer be forced to check their constitutional rights at the airport counter, and that is a victory for all.

The Mustache Movement

Jerry Zezima | Posted 11.10.2009 | Living


Jerry Zezima

I may not be British, but for the past three decades, I have kept a stiff upper lip. Now, after all these years of hair-raising adventure, I am celebrating the 30th anniversary of my mustache.

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler | Posted 11.09.2009 | Entertainment


Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler

At home, Dad spoke of the racism he saw every day in the courtroom. Civil rights leaders, he told us, where only honored when they were safely dead.

Human Rights Watch Should Not Be Criticized for Doing Its Job

Aryeh Neier | Posted 11.02.2009 | World


Aryeh Neier

Human Rights Watch has an immense amount of experience in all parts of the world in fact-gathering and getting the story right. That is why its reporting matters.

Naked Pumpkin Run At Risk: Boulder Colorado Police Threaten Crackdown

Wall Street Journal | STEPHANIE SIMON | Posted 10.31.2009 | Denver


For nearly a decade, naked pumpkin runners did their thing unmolested, stampeding through the frigid dark past crowds of admirers who hooted, hollered...

Thirsting for Justice

Deborah Jacobs | Posted 10.31.2009 | Politics


Deborah Jacobs

Since August, Newark turned off nearly 600 water accounts in an attempt to collect $29 million in unpaid bills. Newark's desire to collect this debt is entirely understandable, but unpaid bills do not trump human rights or public health.

Detainee Torture Claims Can Be Suppressed, Federal Court Rues

AP | Posted 10.16.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Friday in a case on detainees at Guantanamo Bay that the government can maintain the secrecy of portions of s...

Congress To Keep Detainee Abuse Photos Hidden

AP | MARK SHERMAN | Posted 10.10.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — Congress is set to allow the Pentagon to keep new pictures of foreign detainees abused by their U.S. captors from the public, a mov...

Justice Scalia's Cross

Geoffrey R. Stone | Posted 10.09.2009 | Politics


Geoffrey R. Stone

Justice Scalia takes umbrage at the suggestion that an eight-foot-high Christian cross, erected as a memorial to soldiers killed in military service, violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

Congress Assists In Torture Photo Cover-Up, Lieberman At Center Of Controversy

The American Prospect | Adam Serwer | Posted 10.08.2009 | Politics


Since 2003, the ACLU has been seeking torture documents through a FOIA lawsuit. In 2005, the Southern District Court of New York ordered the governmen...

A Decision Whose Time Has Come: Constitution Protects Women in Prison From Unsafe Shackling During Labor And Delivery

Reproductive Justice | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics


Reproductive Justice

Last week, in a historic ruling, a federal Court of Appeals held that the U.S. Constitution protects pregnant women in prison from the inhumane practice of shackling during labor.

Congress Is Losing Its Chance to Reform the Patriot Act

Michael Macleod-Ball | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics


Michael Macleod-Ball

Tomorrow the debate continues over the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act, which includes minor tweaks to the Patriot Act but does not go nearly far enough to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans.

Republican Leaders Join In Honoring New Rotunda Statue Of Radical Socialist Woman

Chris Weigant | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

A woman whose name we all know was a proud Red, a committed Socialist, and an unapologetic Wobbly. And now she's not only buried in the National Cathedral, she's got her own statue in the Capitol.

Churches Have No License to Harm Our State

Leah Anthony Libresco | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics


Leah Anthony Libresco

If we distort the framework of nondiscrimination for religious organizations it privileges prejudice. We would, in the name of separating church and state, give the church license to harm our state.

Thanks to Operation Gatekeeper, Death Toll Increases to Over 5,000

Mary Ann West | Posted 10.05.2009 | Politics


Mary Ann West

Fifteen years of failed immigration policy has not lessened the number of undocumented aliens entering the country and has cost millions in dollars.

Death Toll Increases to Over 5,000 and Counting

Mary Ann West | Posted 10.02.2009 | World


Mary Ann West

The deaths of unauthorized migrants have been a predictable and inhumane outcome of border security policies on the U.S.-Mexico border over the last fifteen years.

Law & Order Tackles Accountability for Torture. Will We Have It in Real Life?

Anthony D. Romero | Posted 11.25.2009 | Politics


Anthony D. Romero

Jack McCoy isn't afraid to hold members of the Bush administration accountable for torture. Now the question is, in real life, will Attorney General Holder rise to the occasion?

The Torture Report

Jameel Jaffer | Posted 11.24.2009 | Politics


Jameel Jaffer

Five years after Abu Ghraib, the Defense Department is still withholding photographs showing prisoners being abused at other facilities, as well as interrogation directives used by special forces.

Court Says Employer Must Pay For 340-Pound Employee's Weight-Loss Surgery

AP | CHARLES WILSON | Posted 11.10.2009 | Business


INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana court has ruled that a pizza shop must pay for a 340-pound employee's weight-loss surgery to ensure the success of ano...