Home : Criminal Justice

Michigan Attorney General Plan Would Erode Right to Fair Trial, Charges ACLU (05/10/2005)
DETROIT -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today expressed concern over reports that Attorney General Mike Cox is pushing for legislation that would significantly alter the judicial process and jeopardize due process rights by doing away with preliminary examinations in most felony cases.

ACLU of Michigan Urges Supreme Court to Strike Down State Law Denying Poor the Right to Counsel (04/25/2005)
DETROIT -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Michigan law denying legal representation to thousands of poor people in their criminal appeals. ""Michigan has attempted to do something that no other state has done in 40 years - take away the right of poor people to have the same access to appellate courts that wealthy people have always had,"" said David Moran, the ACLU of Michigan cooperating attorney who argued the case.

ACLU of Michigan Argues in Supreme Court that the Poor Have a Right to Counsel (04/25/2005)
DETROIT -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today urged the Supreme Court to strike down a Michigan law denying legal representation to thousands of poor people in their criminal appeals. The Court will consider the issue during oral argument today.

ACLU of Massachusetts Warns that Random DNA Dragnets Hinder, Not Help, Crime Investigations (04/15/2005)
BOSTON, MA -- Reports that police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of Truro resident Christa Worthington based on a DNA sample taken more than a year ago highlights the importance of not over-whelming the state crime lab with ineffective and wasteful DNA roundups of ordinary citizens, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts said today.

NYCLU Hails Decision by Bronx DA to Dismiss Criminal Charges Against School Officials (04/12/2005)
NEW YORK--The New York Civil Liberties Union today praised the decision of the Bronx District Attorney to dismiss criminal charges against a high school principal and a school safety officer who were arrested for interference when they tried to stop the arrest of a 16-year-old student.

Judges Rule High School Strip Searches Unconstitutional in ACLU of Michigan Lawsuit (04/04/2005)
DETROIT - In a victory for student rights, a panel of federal judges ruled today that a strip search conducted on more than 20 students at Whitmore Lake High School was unconstitutional.

Research Shows Racial Profiling Persists in Rhode Island Traffic Enforcement; ACLU Plans Response (03/31/2005)
PROVIDENCE, RI-The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today expressed concern over a Northeastern University study released this week showing that African American and Hispanic drivers in Rhode Island continue to be subjected to disparate treatment by law enforcement. The study suggests that little has changed since a 2003 report by the same researchers found widespread racial disparities in Rhode Island traffic enforcement.

ACLU of Rhode Island Sharply Criticizes Proposed Amendment That Would Deny Compensation to Victims of Violent Crimes (03/28/2005)
PROVIDENCE, RI--The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today sharply criticized proposed regulations allowing the state to deny compensation to victims of violent crimes solely because the victim had been convicted of, or pled ""no contest"" to, a DUI offense in the past. The ACLU's criticism came at a public hearing held by the General Treasurer's office on the proposed amendment to its crime victim compensation regulations.

Drug Policies are Destroying Families, Groups Charge (03/17/2005)
NEW YORK -- The ACLU, Break the Chains: Communities of Color and the War on Drugs, and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law today released a report that compiles for the first time existing research on the effects of current drug laws and sentencing policies on women and their families. The report, Caught in the Net: the Impact of Drug Policies on Women & Families, is co-authored by the three organizations and is being launched at a national conference of experts on issues relating to women, families and drugs at NYU School of Law on March 17th and 18th.

Hawaii Agrees to End Prolonged Incarceration and Strip Searches in Response to ACLU Lawsuit (02/10/2005)
HONOLULU-The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii announced today that the state has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle a class action federal civil rights lawsuit brought on behalf of hundreds of innocent individuals who were wrongly detained by the State Department of Public Safety (PSD) after being ordered released by the courts and, in some cases, subjected to unconstitutional strip and body cavity searches without legal justification.

Rhode Island Police Settle ACLU Racial Profiling Lawsuit (02/03/2005)
PROVIDENCE--The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today announced the settlement of its racial profiling lawsuit against the Scituate Police Department, which charged that an officer unlawfully stopped, questioned and ticketed a man of Cape Verdean descent because of his race.

In Landmark Racial Profiling Settlement, Arizona Law Enforcement Agents Agree to Major Reforms (02/02/2005)
PHOENIX-In response to a class action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and local attorneys, the Arizona Department of Public Safety has agreed to make sweeping reforms to prevent racial profiling by patrol officers along the state's highways and streets.

ACLU of Illinois Disappointed with High Court Ruling on Drug Dog Searches, Calls for State Law to Prevent Searches Without Suspicion (01/24/2005)
CHICAGO -- We are disappointed that the Supreme Court of the United States today exposes all motorists across Illinois, and the rest of the nation, to unnecessary, intimidating searches by drug-sniffing dogs. Thousands of motorists in Illinois already have been subjected to threatening searches by drug-sniffing dogs simply because they exceeded the speed limit or violated some other traffic law.

ACLU Urges Michigan State Police to Stop Re-victimizing Identity Theft Victims (01/19/2005)
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and Western Michigan Legal Services (WMLS) today urged the state attorney general to stop re-victimizing victims of identity theft.