BATON ROUGE, La. — Today, a federal judge has ordered Louisiana officials to stop housing children in the former death row of Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola, and to remove them from the location by Sept. 15. The ruling, which Chief Judge Shelly Dick delivered from the bench, comes after a seven-day hearing in August, […]
ACLU
Federal Court Rejects Latest Alabama Congressional Map
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. September 5, 2023— A federal court today rejected Alabama’s new congressional map due to its failure to remedy the violation of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965, ordering a special master redraw the map to include two districts where Black voters have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. In June, […]
Chinese Immigrants Sue Florida Over Unconstitutional and Discriminatory Law Banning Them From Buying Land
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. May 22, 2023 — A group of Chinese citizens who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida, as well as a real estate brokerage firm in Florida that primarily serves clients of Chinese descent, are filing a lawsuit to combat Florida’s discriminatory property law, SB 264. Signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the […]
Montana Health Care Providers and Families Challenge Law Banning Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth
HELENA, May 9, 2023 – Transgender youth, their families, and their medical providers are challenging a sweeping new Montana law banning transgender youth from accessing age-appropriate gender-affirming health care in court. In a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Montana, Lambda Legal, and Perkins Coie, two families with transgender youth […]
US Supreme Court Rejects West Virginia’s Effort to Deny a 12-Year-Old Trans Girl Her Right to Play
WASHINGTON, D.C. April 6, 2023 – The United States Supreme Court has rejected an effort by West Virginia’s Attorney General to block a 12-year-old transgender girl from continuing to participate in school sports with her peers along a 7-2 vote. The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of West Virginia, and Lambda Legal issued the […]
ACLU Sues Indiana Over Ban on Health Care for Transgender Youth
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. April 5, 2023 — The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana today filed a lawsuit on behalf of four transgender youth and their families, as well as a doctor and health care clinic, challenging an Indiana law that prohibits health care professionals from providing or even referring transgender young people […]
ACLU Condemns Biden Administration’s Decision to Move Forward with Trump-era Asylum Ban
WASHINGTON, February 21, 2023 – The Biden administration today proposed a rule with a 30-day comment period that will unlawfully deny asylum to people at the southern border. The proposed rule will force people to seek asylum and wait for an answer in Mexico or another country they passed through, unless they are granted a […]
ACLU Argues Evidence From Privacy-Invasive Geofence Warrants Should Be Suppressed
WASHINGTON, January 30, 2023 — The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia, along with eight Federal Public Defender offices, filed an amicus brief on Friday in United States v. Chatrie, the first geofence search case to reach a federal court of appeals. In the brief, the ACLU asserts that police should not be able to exploit […]
Court Rules LA County Must Fix Overcrowding and Abysmal Conditions at Jails Booking Facility
On Friday, a federal court judge ordered Los Angeles County to fix the massive backup in the jail’s Inmate Reception Center (IRC) after county lawyers conceded to revelations of horrific treatment of people confined at the jail’s booking facility. U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson’s order prohibits the county from keeping people in the IRC […]
Louisiana Will Pause Planned Transfer of Youth to Angola Prison
BATON ROUGE, La. August 24, 2022 — Louisiana’s Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) will pause its plan to move youth from a juvenile facility to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola. The pause comes as a result of a federal lawsuit filedlast Friday by attorneys representing youth who were in imminent danger of being […]
Injunction on Florida’s 15-Week Abortion Ban Revoked Automatically Upon Appeal, Law to Remain in Effect
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. July 5, 2022 — Shortly after a state trial court officially issued an order blocking the state’s 15-week abortion ban on the ground it likely violates Florida’s state constitution and will cause irreparable harm, the state appealed the ruling, triggering an automatic stay of that injunction under Florida state law. The law, which […]
ACLU Report: Dozens of Sheriffs Partnering on Federal Immigration Enforcement Have Records of Racism, Abuse, and Violence
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2022 — The American Civil Liberties Union released a new research report today on Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, which delegates federal immigration enforcement authority to local and state law enforcement agencies and which expanded five fold under the Trump administration. The report, License to Abuse, is the first in-depth and comprehensive […]
ACLU Promises Legal Action After Gov. DeSantis Signs 15-Week Abortion Ban
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis today signed into law HB 5, a bill passed by the Florida Legislature earlier this month that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and criminalize doctors who offer abortion care to patients after that point. HB 5 would have devastating effects due to the myriad of […]
NEI/ACLU Comment on Air Force Inspector General’s Investigation Into Deadly U.S. Drone Strike in Kabul
NEW YORK, November 3, 2021 — At a press briefing, the U.S. Air Force Inspector General Lt. Gen. Sami Said today provided a summary of his classified report investigating the Aug. 29 drone strike in Kabul that killed aid worker Zemari Ahmadi and nine members of his family, including 7 children. Mr. Ahmadi was employed by […]
Supreme Court declines to review ruling in favor of California patient who was denied care for being transgender
WASHINGTON November 1, 2021 – The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear a challenge to a California court decision in favor of a patient who was turned away from a hospital for being transgender. Evan Minton was scheduled to undergo a medical procedure in 2016 at Mercy San Juan Medical Center, a Sacramento hospital […]
ACLU, Lawyers Committee File Lawsuit Challenging Oklahoma Classroom Censorship Bill Banning Race and Gender Discourse
OKLAHOMA CITY, October 19, 2021 — A diverse group of students and educators filed a lawsuit today challenging an Oklahoma classroom censorship bill, HB 1775, which severely restricts public school teachers and students from learning and talking about race and gender in the classroom. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Oklahoma, […]
ACLU Rebukes President Biden for Breaking Campaign Promise to End Privatized Immigration Detention
The Biden administration has entered into at least one new Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agreement to expand its use of private prisons, despite a campaign promise and an executive order from President Biden to end the use of privately run detention facilities. On Tuesday, commissioners in Clearfield County, PA approved an agreement for Moshannon Valley […]
Civil Rights Organizations Appeal FBI’s Refusal to Disclose Government Records on the “China Initiative”
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2021 – The American Civil Liberties Union and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC administratively appealed the FBI’s decision to close their joint FOIA request for records related to the “China Initiative” on Wednesday. The “China Initiative” is a wide-ranging government effort to scrutinize, investigate, prosecute, and take other measures against U.S.-based scientists […]
ACLU Seeks Public Records to Uncover Information About People Released from ICE Custody on Their Death Beds
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2021 — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a public records request today under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain documents related to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s practice of releasing hospitalized detainees from custody prior to their imminent death. The request comes after multiple reports that ICE has formally released people from […]
ACLU, Disability Rights Orgs File Amicus Brief Urging Court to Allow Britney Spears to Select Her Attorney in Conservatorship Case
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, with the support of 25 civil rights and disability rights organizations, filed anamicus brief with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County on Monday in support of Britney Spears’s right to select her own attorney for her conservatorship proceedings. The brief also urged […]