It may still only be 2014 on your Gregorian calendar, but for the political gossip press, it might as well be 2016 because it seems like all they can talk about is the presidential election that is 2.5 years away.
For example, pundits were abuzz when Hillary Clinton made an last week. And just outside of Washington, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference just wrapped up, where a whopping 26 candidates were in the presidential straw poll, which was . Good to see the field narrowing on the GOP side, or something.
Luckily, not all of Washington lives in this fantasyland where only presidential elections matter. Some of us (I’m looking at you, ACLU Washington Legislative Office) actually do substantive stuff in the off years, like, you know, advancing ACLU’s public policy priorities with lawmakers and the Administration.
Here is just some of what these busy bees are up to this week.
Tuesday, March 11th
Appropriations
The House Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on proposed fiscal 2015 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Jeh Johnson will be testifying.
Targeted Killing
The Senate Armed Services Committee will meet to hear testimony from Adm. William H. McRaven, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, who oversees part of the drone program.
Wednesday, March 12th
Employment Discrimination
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) are expected to introduce the Fair Employment Protection Act, a legislative fix to the Vance Supreme Court decision. A press conference will follow the introduction of the legislation.
Juvenile Justice
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges will hold a panel on “A More Effective JJDPA: The Role of an Educated Judiciary” to discuss federal programs and resources that assist juvenile and family court judges working to improve juvenile justice policies and practices.
Immigration
The Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on the Arizona border surveillance technology plan.
Surveillance
Legislative Counsel Michelle Richardson and Legislative Assistant Robyn Greene will speak to a class of international students at the U.S. Naval War College about U.S. surveillance law.
First Amendment
The House Committee on Small Business will hold a hearing on “The Rise of 3D Printing: Opportunities for Entrepreneurs.”
Thursday, March 13th
School Discipline
Legislative Counsel Jennifer Bellamy will be speaking at the Discipline Disparities Research to Practice Collaborative’s congressional staffers’ briefing on “Eliminating Disparities in School Discipline: What Works.”
Appropriations
The House Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on proposed fiscal 2015 appropriations for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Sentencing Guidelines
The United States Sentencing Commission will hold a public hearing on the 2014 proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines. The ACLU will be submitting testimony on the proposed amendments on March 18th.
Women’s Rights
The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services will hold an all-day meeting, which will include briefings on issues related to women in combat.
Guantanamo
The Senate Armed Services Committee will meet to hear testimony from Gen John F. Kelly, Commander of US Southern Command who oversees the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.
Future Events
Employment Discrimination
The Senate HELP Committee will likely hold a hearing on the Paycheck Fairness Act in March.
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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.