Latest American Civil Liberties Union News

The ACLU commits $2 million to Michigan's Supreme Court race for reproductive rights ads

Sep. 12, 2024 15:35 PM EDT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has announced a multimillion-dollar investment into two races for the state Supreme Court, signaling the importance of the competition in the battleground state where control of the court is at stake. The...

Local Republican official in Michigan promises to certify election results after being sued

Sep. 10, 2024 19:38 PM EDT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A local Republican election official in Michigan has promised to certify the results of the November presidential election after being sued for stating that he wouldn’t sign off on the results if he disagreed with how the election was run. The lawsuit, filed...

A federal judge tosses a lawsuit over the ban on recorded inmate interviews in South Carolina

Sep. 09, 2024 13:31 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit trying to overturn the South Carolina prison system's banning on-camera, in-person interviews with inmates or recording their phone calls for broadcast. The American Civil Liberties Union wanted to air a podcast with a...

ACLU plans to spend $1.3M in educate Montana voters about state Supreme Court candidates

Sep. 06, 2024 17:37 PM EDT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union plans to spend $1.3 million on campaign advertising to educate Montana voters about where state Supreme Court candidates stand on abortion and other civil rights issues with a measure constitutionally protecting protect abortion access also...

Nebraska's Supreme Court to decide if those with felony convictions can vote in November

Aug. 28, 2024 17:20 PM EDT

Nebraska's top election official has no authority to declare unconstitutional a state law that restores the voting rights of those who’ve been convicted of a felony, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union told the state Supreme Court on Wednesday. ACLU attorney Jane Seu...

Judge blocks 24-hour waiting period for abortions in Ohio, citing 2023 reproductive rights amendment

Aug. 23, 2024 17:39 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A county judge in Ohio temporarily blocked several state laws on Friday that combined to create a 24-hour waiting period for obtaining an abortion in the state, in the first court decision on the merits of a 2023 constitutional amendment that guarantees access to the...

Lawsuit accuses Oregon police department of illegally monitoring progressive activists

Aug. 20, 2024 21:30 PM EDT

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon is suing the city of Medford, saying its police department has been unlawfully monitoring progressive political activists who aren't suspected of criminal activity. City officials insisted they have not monitored the...

Honolulu mayor vows tougher approach on homelessness

Aug. 16, 2024 10:56 AM EDT

Emboldened by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that gives local governments more power to clear homeless encampments, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi plans to double down on removing homeless people from the street. “I’m going to be very aggressive about that, and you’re...

Judge keeps alive Vermont lawsuit that accuses police of force, discrimination against Black teen

Aug. 06, 2024 16:57 PM EDT

A Vermont judge has denied the city of Burlington’s request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that police used excessive force and discriminated against a Black teenager whose mother had called law enforcement to teach him a lesson about stealing. When the 14-year-old, who has...

Sept. 11 families group leader cheers restoration of death penalty option in 9-11 prosecutions

Aug. 03, 2024 15:17 PM EDT

The head of a group of family members of victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks said Saturday that she’s hearing nearly unanimous praise of the U.S. defense secretary’s nullification of plea deals for the accused 9/11 mastermind and two others that would have removed the death penalty as a...