Tonight is the HBO premiere of , a documentary about Mildred and Richard Loving, the couple that challenged a Virginia law that forbade interracial marriages. With the ACLU’s representation, the case worked its way up to the Supreme Court, and in 1967, the struck down that Virginia law and all remaining state bans on interracial marriage. You can .
If you’re in New York, don’t miss the International Center of Photography’s (1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street) taken for Life magazine. "The Loving Story: Photographs by Grey Villet" will be on display through May 6, 2012. Many of these photographs are featured in the HBO documentary; you can see a few of them here in this slideshow.
Also this week, the first hearing under North Carolina's Racial Justice Act will come to a close tomorrow. The ACLU is part of a team of lawyers representing Marcus Robinson, a black defendant convicted and sentenced to death by a jury that may have been tainted by a racially biased jury selection process. Throughout the hearing, counsel and experts have presented damning statistical evidence of race discrimination in jury selection in North Carolina.
The House Judiciary Committee may continue a markup of the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act this week.
Wednesday, February 15
Criminal Justice: The United States Sentencing Commission will begin a two day hearing to discuss federal sentencing since the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Booker. The hearing will focus on the Sentencing Commission’s proposal to “strengthen” the sentencing guideline system.
National Security: The House Armed Services Committee will hold hearings on the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization budget request. Witnesses will include Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, and Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Women’s Rights: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hold a public meeting on the subject of pregnancy discrimination and caregiver issues. The ACLU is submitting a statement for the record.
Immigration/Privacy: The Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on proposed fiscal 2013 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will testify.
Thursday, February 16
National Security: The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled “Securing America’s Future: The Cybersecurity Act of 2012.”
National Security: The House Armed Services Committee will hold hearings on the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization budget request. Witnesses will include Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus; Chief of Naval operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert; and Gen. James Amos, commandant, U.S. Marine Corps.
National Security: The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a full committee hearing on worldwide threats to U.S. national security. Witnesses will include Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper and Director of Defense Intelligence Agency, Army Lt. Gen. Roland Burgess.
Privacy: The Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee of House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing titled "DHS [Department of Homeland Security] Monitoring of Social Networking and Media: Enhancing Intelligence Gathering and Ensuring Privacy."
Civil Rights: The House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing on No Child Left Behind reauthorization and overhaul legislation that would restructure the federal role in elementary and secondary education.
Thursday, February 16
Reproductive Freedom: The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing entitled, “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?”
Friday, February 17
Immigrants’ Rights: The ACLU will be in federal district court in Salt Lake City Friday challenging the constitutionality of Utah’s anti-immigrant law.
National Security: House Armed Services Committee will hold hearings on the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization budget request. Witnesses include Secretary of the Army, John McHugh and Chief of staff for the Army, Gen. Raymond Odierno.
Voting Rights: Senior Legislative Counsel Deborah J. Vagins will participate in a Congressional Black History Month Briefing on Voting Rights and a National Update on Voter Suppression Tactics in 2012, co-hosted by Reps. Steny Hoyer, John Lewis, and Marcia Fudge.
Immigrants’ Rights: The Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on proposed fiscal 2013 appropriations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant secretary of Homeland Security John Morton will testify.
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News & CommentaryDec 2024
Civil Liberties
We Need to Know More About State Supreme Court CasesWe Need to Know More About State Supreme Court Cases
State Supreme Courts interpret laws that impact some of the most intimate parts of our lives. Communities have a right to know what’s on the docket. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Civil Liberties
New ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency MeasuresNew ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency Measures
NEW YORK — Nearly half of all state supreme courts across the country fail to regularly post new cases they are considering, with only six meeting four key transparency measures already implemented by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new report published today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The report identifies significant steps that state supreme courts should take to inform the public about their cases, which have only grown in importance as the federal judiciary has become more hostile to protecting core rights and advocates have turned to state protections and state court litigation in response. Based on an analysis of the practices and policies of the highest courts in each state, including D.C., the report “Scorecard for State Supreme Court Transparency: How Does Your State Stack Up?” ranks each state supreme court in five tiers based on compliance with four key transparency measures. These measures include posting new cases online in a timely manner, providing timely information about legal issues presented by cases, making dockets accessible and free for the public, and making merits briefing accessible and free for the public. “State courts regularly hear — and are the final word on — cases affecting abortion rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and more. Yet, in many instances, the highest state courts do not provide meaningful public access to information about cases affecting the rights and liberties of millions of people. We urge state supreme courts to bring more transparency to the critical work they do,” said Julie Murray, co-director of the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative. “In the face of a federal judiciary increasingly unwilling to protect core rights and an incoming administration that threatens to exacerbate that problem, state courts are an important defense for our liberty. They should be leaders in transparency, too,” said Bridget Lavender, Skadden Fellow with the Initiative. The report emphasizes that state courts “play an outsized role” in many parts of the law, but their ability to “guard our liberties depends in significant part on whether those courts adopt transparent processes.” It further highlights that state supreme courts have led the way on enormously consequential decisions in recent years. In particular, some state supreme courts have recognized the right of same sex couples to marry, and did so long before federal courts. They have also declared the death penalty unconstitutional under state law despite contrary federal law, protected access to reproductive health care as a right even as that right was being stripped away at the federal level, and provided more robust protection to people subject to unreasonable searches and seizures. The report urges state supreme courts to take action to improve their transparency practices, taking notes from the courts that have already implemented these measures. It notes that regularly posting new cases and the issues they represent, and providing timely access to dockets and merits briefing allows the public, the press, and the legal community to track cases as they unfold, identify cases with statewide consequences, and understand what’s at stake. -
Press ReleaseNov 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
ACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political EnemiesACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups — by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on an unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. “Passing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,” said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU. “The freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block H.R. 9495 before it’s too late.” While there is a 90-day “cure” period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations. This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as "support," making it virtually impossible to clear its name. Last month, the ACLU and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations — including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants’ rights groups — wrote to Congress urging them to vote no. The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad. Indeed, these provisions have already passed the Senate on their own, and if the House of Representatives were to pass a version of this bill that did not include the text of H.R. 6408, it could be sent immediately to President Biden for his signature. -
News & CommentaryNov 2024
Civil Liberties
Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.
Starting in 2016, the ACLU filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump and his administration. As Trump returns to the White House, we’re ready to return to the courts and Congress to fight for our civil liberties.