President Trump has a record of attacking the rights of protesters, from suggesting that protest be illegal to praising dictators who crush any kind of dissent. Now, the Trump administration proposes to dramatically limit the right to demonstrate near the …
Voters should not have to risk their lives in order to register to vote. Yet, in Florida, that's exactly the position that the state has chosen to put tens of thousands of people in. Despite the state’s Oct. 9 deadline to register to vote arriving …
Last month, I walked across the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst to get to work. It was an ordinary stroll. But to a bystander, the sight of an educated Black professional going about his day was apparently cause for alarm. That bystander …
In New Hampshire, police officers are given special protections: Their personnel files are deemed confidential by the government. At the same time, to ensure that criminal defendants can present a strong defense, both the New Hampshire and U.S. …
Imagine: You’ve never been charged with any crime, yet the government blacklists you as a terrorism threat and bans you from flying indefinitely. You’re separated from family members, can’t get to weddings or funerals or religious obligations, and lose …
Our Constitution promises all people, regardless of race, equal protection under the law. Yet the San Francisco Police Department has consistently singled out Black people for enforcement of criminal laws. In 2013 and 2014, the SFPD collaborated with the U …
On Friday, Sept. 28, following the Senate Judiciary hearing at which both Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh testified, the ACLU decided to depart from its usual policy in order to oppose the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme …
Earlier this year, the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility released an ethical opinion that required federal prosecutors working in the state to disclose all information favorable to criminal defendants. It stated those disclosures must be even …
Tanisha (a pseudonym) is a 25-year-old mother of four who was arrested in Oklahoma in 2017 following a domestic dispute with her boyfriend. Three of her children, a toddler and twin infants, were present. Once jailed, Tanisha’s bail was set at $61,000. She …
In May of 2013, Astrid Morataya, a legal permanent resident, woke up to a knock on the door. Looking outside the window, she saw law enforcement agents with bulletproof vests encircling her home in Illinois. “They must have the wrong house,” she thought. …
An American family that underwent a harrowing detention at the hands of U.S. Customs and Border Protection can now seek some measure of justice. That’s the result of a recent ruling by the federal judge presiding over the lawsuit we filed on behalf of …
When the government believes that someone should be deported, it usually has to prove its case in an immigration court. And although the immigration courts have long been plagued by due process problems—including the lack of any right to an appointed …
A new wave of state laws that try to limit Americans’ constitutional right to engage in political boycotts is now 0 for 2 in federal court. On Thursday night, a federal court blocked Arizona from enforcing a law requiring state contractors to certify that …
When it reconvenes this fall, the Supreme Court will decide whether the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution can help stop state and local authorities from using people who come in contact with the justice system as their piggy banks. The case has …
Farmworkers play a vital role in North Carolina’s multibillion dollar agriculture industry, providing essential labor in a state that produces much of the nation’s sweet potatoes, tobacco, Christmas trees, and many other crops. More than 90 percent of …
We were in a Washington, D.C., appeals court on Wednesday facing off yet again with the Trump administration over its patently unconstitutional policy of obstructing young immigrant women from accessing abortion. Last September, a 17-year-old woman known …
School just got back in session, but one school district in Northern California already needs a lesson in how to create a welcoming and safe environment for Black students with disabilities. A 5-year-old Black student with autism and speech and language …
Sheer stubbornness is required of us when our government violates the law and refuses to recognize it. Seeking justice for the U.S. torture program of the post-9/11 period has required a lot of stubbornness. In North Carolina, a 12-year quest has led to a …
Geoffrey Pesce tried everything to overcome his addiction to opioids: detox at least four times, Suboxone, Naltrexone. In 2016, after overdosing three times in less than 48 hours, he was scared for his life and committed to recovery. That’s when his …
Last week, Philadelphia and its district attorney, Larry Krasner, agreed to overhaul the city’s civil asset forfeiture practices after a long history of abuse and subsequent reform efforts thwarted by prosecutors across the state. But no one should be …
