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ACLU Says Misguided Constitutional Amendment Hasn't Improved; Measure to Diminish Due Process Rights Unnecessary Change to Constitution (05/09/2002)
WASHINGTON - Saying that the Constitution should never be modified to diminish individual rights, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged Congress to reject the disingenuously named "Victim's Rights Amendment."

ACLU Opposes End to Prison Work Programs; Calls Inmate Employment Important for Rehabilitation (04/24/2002)
WASHINGTON - Saying inmate work is an important component of rehabilitation, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged opposition to a bill that would effectively end prison employment programs in the country. 

State Court Affirms Constitutional Guarantee Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures (03/07/2002)
WESTFIELD, MA-A Massachusetts state court today rejected the Commonwealth's attempt to create a new "homeland security" exception to the Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures.

ACLU of CO Sues Federal and State Law Enforcement Agencies Over Illegal SWAT Raid on Family (02/20/2002)
According to the ACLU lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of Dan and Rosa Unis and their two college-aged sons, on August 19, 2000, the family was peacefully enjoying the privacy of their home when ""black-masked, black-helmeted men brandishing automatic weapons and wearing all-black uniforms with no insignias suddenly burst into the house unannounced, kicked the family's dog across the floor and ordered the entire family to "get on the fucking floor." 

ACLU Files Class-Action Lawsuit Against Montana's Indigent Defense Program (02/14/2002)
HELENA, MT - - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Montana today filed a class-action lawsuit against the state of Montana and seven counties alleging that the indigent defense services in those counties are constitutionally deficient. 

ACLU Says Bush Anti-Drug Goals Unattainable Unless Funding Meets Rhetoric (02/12/2002)
WASHINGTON -- While the American Civil Liberties Union applauds the President's newly announced goal of reducing drug use in America by 25 percent over the next five years, such a goal seems unrealistic unless the White House brings its funding priorities more in-line with its rhetoric. 

ACLU of PA Says Passage of Law Allowing Post-Conviction DNA Testing is Critical to Promoting Justice (02/07/2002)
PHILADELPHIA--Following reports of yet another case in which DNA test results have demonstrated that an individual was wrongfully convicted, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today urged state lawmakers to enact legislation providing for post-conviction DNA testing. 

ACLU Hails Victory as Hawaii Court Orders Immediate Release of Innocent People Held in Jail (01/04/2002)
HONOLULU--Hundreds of people who were wrongfully detained in local jails after proving their innocence have been freed as the result of a class-action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i, the group announced today. 

CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments Against Sweeping Juvenile Justice Measure Today (12/05/2001)
LOS ANGELES--The state's highest court will hear arguments today in a landmark case that tests whether Proposition 21, the largest crime-related initiative in California history, violates the state Constitution and strips courts of their traditional powers. 

ACLU Files Legal Challenge to Solitary Confinement of Sex Offenders Awaiting Civil Commitment Trials in Iowa (11/29/2001)
DES MOINES--The Iowa Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit on behalf of former convicts who have served their time and are now being held in solitary confinement pending trial on whether they should be indefinitely committed as "sexually violent predators." 

Free Congress, ACLU: Congress Should Realize 'Sneak and Peek' Is Not Child's Play (10/19/2001)
WASHINGTON -- In a letter sent today to congressional conferees on the anti-terrorism legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Free Congress Foundation and 17 other organizations from across the political spectrum today urged that "Sneak and Peek" provision be deleted because it undermines the Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. 

ACLU's National Prison Project Convenes Conference on Ending Prisoner Rape (10/19/2001)
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Although federal courts have deemed prisoner rape constitutionally unacceptable, sexual abuse of inmates continues to be a serious and largely ignored problem in U.S. prisons and jails. A conference convened this weekend by the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project, titled, ""Not Part of the Penalty: Ending Prison Rape,"" will seek to shed light on this disturbing trend.