Latest American Civil Liberties Union News

Mississippi absentee ballot law harms voters with disabilities, lawsuit says

Jun. 02, 2023 13:41 PM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's new restrictions on absentee ballots could disenfranchise voters who have disabilities by preventing them from receiving help from people they trust, according to a lawsuit that seeks to block the restrictions. The law — set to take effect July...

ACLU sues to block new hybrid Nebraska law restricting abortion, gender-affirming care for minors

May. 30, 2023 18:47 PM EDT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — As promised, the American Civil Liberties Union is suing to block the Nebraska Legislature’s most controversial measure combining an abortion ban with restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, just days after it was signed into law. The lawsuit, filed...

Phoenix faces dueling lawsuits over homeless crisis as advocates scramble for more shelter

May. 26, 2023 18:31 PM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix is facing dueling lawsuits as it tries to manage a crisis of homelessness that has converted its downtown into a tent city housing hundreds of people as summer temperatures soar. The city was ordered by the local Superior Court to clear out the downtown...

Drag performers sue St. George, Utah, over denying permit for show in public park

May. 23, 2023 21:34 PM EDT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah-based group that organizes drag performances is suing a city over the denial of permits for an all-ages show it aimed to host in a public park in April. The group, Southern Utah Drag Stars, and its CEO Mitski Avalōx accuse the city of St. George of...

Trans girl misses Mississippi graduation after being told to dress like boy

May. 20, 2023 17:41 PM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A transgender girl in Mississippi is not participating in her high school graduation ceremony because school officials told her to dress like a boy and a federal judge did not block the officials' decision, an attorney for the girl's family said Saturday. ...

Mississippi attorneys argue in lawsuit over trans student's graduation attire

May. 19, 2023 19:56 PM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Opposing attorneys clashed Friday over whether a Mississippi school district can require a transgender girl to abide by a boys' dress code as she and her classmates graduate from high school this weekend. The 17-year-old girl, listed in court papers by her...

US Border Patrol agrees not to set up checkpoints in New Hampshire town

May. 19, 2023 15:34 PM EDT

The U.S. Border Patrol has agreed in a legal settlement to not set up interior checkpoints in a northern New Hampshire town just under 100 miles from the Canadian border before Jan. 1, 2025. The agreement announced Friday settled a 2020 lawsuit over the use of the checkpoints in...

Trans girl is told not to wear dress to Mississippi graduation, lawsuit says

May. 18, 2023 15:54 PM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi school district is refusing to let a transgender girl wear a dress and heeled shoes with her graduation cap and gown for high school graduation this weekend, her family says in a federal lawsuit against the district. The lawsuit filed Thursday...

Massachusetts attorney general probes often criticized Boston police gang unit

May. 16, 2023 15:16 PM EDT

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts attorney general’s office is investigating possible racial bias by the Boston Police Department’s gang unit and its associated gang member database, which has been criticized in the past for disproportionately tracking young Black and Latino men. ...

Transgender youth sue over Montana gender-affirming care ban

May. 09, 2023 15:46 PM EDT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Two transgender children, their parents and two health care providers filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that a Montana law that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth is unconstitutional. The ban on puberty blockers, hormone treatment and surgical...