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Our Vision to Achieve True Public Safety
For decades, local, state and federal public officials from both political parties and powerful interest groups engineered the system of mass incarceration. They did this in part by constructing a narrative of fear fueled by racism through which they passed laws, spent billions of dollars, and separated millions of families. It was a disaster of epic proportions that unfolded in slow motion and for which we are still paying the price today as a nation.
T
By aclutn
Dec 07, 2017
My Son Dontre's Killing by Police Was a Human Rights Violation
Few things define me as completely as being a mother. I gave birth to three sons: Nate, Dameion and Dontre. My world changed forever on April 30, 2014, when my son Dontre was killed by Milwaukee police.
Today I testified at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to say that Dontre’s death as a Black man i
By aclutn
Dec 06, 2017
The Muslim Ban: What Just Happened?
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court allowed President Trump’s Muslim ban to go into full effect while it is being litigated. Prior to the court’s Dec. 4 order, large portions of the ban were blocked by preliminary injunctions in the cases of IRAP v. Trump and Hawaii v. Trump.
Let’s be clear: The fact that the ban is moving fo
By aclutn
Dec 06, 2017
Dakota Access Pipeline Company Tries to Sue Environmental Groups Out of Existence
If you want to experience 2017 in a nutshell, check out the billion-dollar lawsuit filed by an oil and gas company against Greenpeace and other environmental groups for their roles in the Standing Rock protests.
In a 231-page
By aclutn
Dec 06, 2017
Standing Rock Protest Groups Sued by Dakota Access Pipeline Company
If you want to experience 2017 in a nutshell, check out the billion-dollar lawsuit filed by an oil and gas company against Greenpeace and other environmental groups for their roles in the Standing Rock protests.
In a 231-page
By aclutn
Dec 05, 2017
Diversion Programs Are Cheaper and More Effective Than Incarceration. Prosecutors Should Embrace Them.
When it comes to reducing mass incarceration, some solutions are actually staring us right in the face. That is certainly the case when it comes to diversion programs in the state of Kansas.
Although diversion can come in many forms, the basic principle is well-established and straight
By aclutn
Dec 05, 2017
ACLU Files Supreme Court Brief Responding to Government Request to Throw Out Jane Doe Abortion Ruling
The ACLU filed a brief last night in the Jane Doe abortion case opposing the Trump administration’s request that the Supreme Court throw out a lower court’s decision that cleared the way for Ms. Doe’s abortion after a month of unconstitutional delay.
The government’s brief also asked the court to stop Ms. Doe from conti
By aclutn
Dec 05, 2017
Reading the Tea Leaves From the Supreme Court’s Cakeshop Argument
The United States Supreme Court just finished hearing arguments in what will likely be a landmark case about the viability of the nation’s civil rights laws. In Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the question is whether a commercial bakery has a constitutional right to refuse to sell to a same-sex couple a wedding cake that it would have sold to any straight couple.
The BackgroundThe ACLU represents Dave Mullins a
By aclutn
Dec 05, 2017
Court Rules ICE Can’t Detain Immigrant Teens Without Due Process
After five months locked up in detention, F.E.* returned home to Brentwood, N.Y. “I thought I’d never see my 'Mami' again," the 17-year-old said.
His offense? Scribbling “503,” the calling code for El Salvador, in his school notebook and alleg
By aclutn
Dec 04, 2017
Are Rhode Island Police Implementing Illegal Traffic Ticket Quotas?
Nobody likes getting pulled over by the police, but when even the police officers making the stops are doing it against their will, something is seriously wrong.Welcome to the world of traffic ticket quotas.
Before Thanksgiving, amid
By aclutn
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