Home : Criminal Justice

Court Strikes Down NJ City's Curfew (05/04/2001)
Today's decision by Judge Kenneth S. Levy, barred enforcement of the curfew. Levy held that exceptions to the curfew were so vague that they failed to inform people what conduct would be prohibited and what would not be permitted. 

California Highway Patrol Bans Consent Searches Following Review of Data Collection Showing Discriminatory Pattern (04/19/2001)
SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the California Highway Patrol (CHP) decision to issue an order mandating a six-month moratorium on consent searches. The mandate came in response to a review of a data collection process that revealed racially discriminatory search rates. 

ACLU and Religious Groups Bring Constitutional Challenge to CA Governor's "No Parole" Policy (04/18/2001)
SAN FRANCISCO--Three religious denominations represented by the American Civil Liberties Union affiliates of Northern and Southern California filed a friend-of-the-court brief today in support of a man who is challenging Governor Gray Davis' decision to deny him parole. 

ACLU Statement on the Execution of Timothy McVeigh (04/16/2001)
WASHINGTON--The impending execution of Timothy McVeigh should not and will not derail the growing call for a moratorium on federal executions. 

Amtrak Helps DEA Hunt Drug Couriers (04/11/2001)
ALBUQUERQUE, NM -- Amtrak is providing federal drug police here with ticketing information about passengers -- and Amtrak police get 10 percent of any cash seized from suspected drug couriers at the Downtown station, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

Noisy Steel Company Intimidates Quiet Neighbor with Retaliatory Lawsuit (04/09/2001)
DETROIT, MI--At a hearing today in Macomb County's Circuit Court, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan was among those asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit against a local woman who complained about noise from a neighboring steel business and is now being sued in retaliation. 

Connecticut's Sex Offender Website Registry Violates Rights, Court Rules (04/02/2001)
HARTFORD--A Connecticut law unfairly stigmatizes those who are forced to register as dangerous sex offenders without being allowed to show that they are not a threat to the community, a federal court here ruled today. 

NJ Appeals Court Affirms Decision Striking Down Local Curfew Ordinance (03/23/2001)
TRENTON, NJ -- Ruling in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, a state appeals court today upheld a ruling that had struck down a West New York curfew ordinance as unconstitutional. 

Alaska Court Strikes Down Curfew Law as Violation of Parents and Childrens' Constitutional Rights (03/22/2001)
ANCHORAGE--Moving to protect the rights of parents to rear their children free from unwarranted government intrusion and the rights of innocent teenagers to travel at night without being given criminal citations, a local court here struck down the city's curfew ordinance. 

CA Appeals Court Says Decision to Try Juveniles in Adult Court Belongs to Judges, Not Prosecutors (02/07/2001)
SAN DIEGO--A California Court of Appeals today ruled that Proposition 21, the Juvenile Crime initiative that's under challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union, violates the separation of powers provision of the state constitution.

Citing Anti-Gay Bias, ACLU Asks Governor to Spare Missouri Man Set for Execution (02/05/2001)
JEFFERSON CITY, MO -- The American Civil Liberties Union today asked Governor Bob Holden to grant clemency to Stanley Lingar, who is set to be executed here at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning. In a letter to Holden today and in earlier legal briefs in the case, the ACLU cited clear anti-gay bias in Lingar's trial and sentencing.