Last week was a very bad week for the National Security Agency. The disclosures . The anger of U.S. allies . And two powerful members of Congress from the House and Senate Judiciary Committees introduced a bill – - to rein in the agency’s spying. The ACLU strongly supports the legislation, which would ban the bulk collection of Americans’ sensitive business records, and is advocating hard for its passage. The bill shouldn’t be confused with the legislation last week that codifies the NSA’s bulk collection authority, which the ACLU opposes.
Oh, and Cory Booker is in the house. Well, technically, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is in the Senate after being last week, but you get the idea.
And with the arrival of the senator from New Jersey and the endorsement of , we’re expecting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to pass the Senate this week with a large bipartisan majority. In a year of historic victories for LGBT people, this one will rank near the top. The ACLU has played a lead role in achieving this big step forward to prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
This week is setting up to be a doozy; we have lots lined up as Washington continues to recover from its post-shutdown hangover.
Monday, November 4th
LGBT Rights
The Senate will vote on a motion to proceed to begin debate on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) on Monday evening. Debate will continue throughout the week and a vote is expected by the end of the week.
NSA Surveillance
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will hold a hearing on NSA spying.
Tuesday, November 5th
Disability Treaty
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Immigration
The ACLU’s Ruthie Epstein will participate in an advocates’ call on the immigration bed mandate, a controversial policy that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement Policy to keep an average of 34,000 detainees per day in its custody.
Juvenile Justice
Legislative Counsel Jennifer Bellamy will speak in support of the Youth PROMISE Act at a briefing sponsored by the United Methodist Church for advocates from the faith community.
Wednesday, November 6th
Federal Prison Oversight
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons and Cost-Effective Strategies for Reducing Recidivism."
Religious Liberty
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Town of Greece vs. Galloway, a case that will determine whether a town council’s practice of opening its meetings with Christian prayers violates the Establishment Clause. The ACLU filed an amicus brief in the case.
Thursday, November 7th
Women’s Rights
The congressionally mandated “Department of Defense Response Systems to Adult Sexual Assault Crimes Panel” will hold an all-day meeting where military officials and victim advocates will discuss issues surrounding sexual assault in the armed forces.
Friday, November 8th
Voting Rights
The National Commission on the Voting Rights Act will hold a field hearing in North Carolina.
Women’s Rights
The Department of Defense Response Systems to Adult Sexual Assault Crimes Panel will hold an all-day meeting where sexual assault survivors, civilian attorneys, and military officials will discuss issues surrounding sexual assault in the armed forces.
Future Events
Defense Bill
We expect the National Defense Authorization Act to go to the Senate floor the week of November 12 with amendments being considered the following week. In anticipation of floor debate the ACLU and coalition partners are meeting with members on both sides of the aisle to support the more flexible Guantanamo transfer provisions found in the Senate Armed Services Committee bill.
Voting Rights
On November 14, the Presidential Commission on Election Administration will hold a public teleconference meeting.
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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.