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ACLU of Rhode Island Urges Governor to Reject Unconstitutional Roadblocks (01/05/2005)
PROVIDENCE--The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today urged Governor Donald Carcieri to reject calls to review a 1989 state Supreme Court ruling, which found that random sobriety roadblocks violate the state constitution's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures.

ACLU of New Jersey Wins Victory In DNA Law Challenge (12/22/2004)
NEWARK, NJ - The Superior Court of New Jersey in Mercer County ruled today that New Jersey must limit its new DNA collection law so that it does not violate the constitutional right of freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.

ACLU Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Privacy Rights in Police-Dog Case (11/10/2004)
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court today heard arguments in a case that will determine whether police must have individualized suspicion before using drug-sniffing dogs during routine traffic stops.

ACLU Argues in Supreme Court that the Poor Have a Right to Counsel (10/04/2004)
DETROIT - The Supreme Court will hear arguments from the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today that a state law is unconstitutional because it prevents poor people from getting legal representation in the appeal of most guilty plea cases. Michigan is the only state in the nation that does not allow judges to appoint lawyers and to deny attorneys in such circumstances.

Growing Rate of Juvenile Life Sentences Examined in ACLU of Michigan Report (09/14/2004)
DETROIT - In a report released today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan called attention to the growing number of juveniles serving life sentences in Michigan prisons with no hope of rehabilitation or release.

ACLU Hails New Mexico Court Decision Upholding Immigrants' Right to Effective Counsel (09/01/2004)
ALBUQUERQUE -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico today hailed a unanimous decision by the State Supreme Court requiring that immigrants be told they could be deported if they plead guilty to a crime.

ACLU of Washington Lawsuit Challenging County's Inadequate Public Defense System Granted Class-Action Status (08/26/2004)
ELLENSBURG, WA-- Kittitas Superior Court Judge Michael Cooper today granted class-action status to a lawsuit seeking to reform Grant County's woefully inadequate public defense system, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington announced today.

ACLU of New Jersey Sues Manalapan Police for Targeting African American Youths (08/25/2004)
NEWARK -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Manalapan Police Department on behalf of three African American teenagers who said that officers searched them without justification and called them names while the boys' three white friends were told to go home.

ACLU Denounces FBI Tactics Targeting Political Protesters (08/16/2004)
NEW YORK-The American Civil Liberties Union today denounced the FBI's use of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) to monitor, interrogate and suppress anti-war and other political protesters and called on individuals who have been targeted for investigation to come forward.

Social Workers Speak Out on Behalf of Gay Teen Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison (08/09/2004)
TOPEKA, KS - In a friend-of-the-court brief filed today, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and its Kansas chapter are joining the American Civil Liberties Union in asking the Kansas Supreme Court to reverse the conviction of a teenager who is serving a prison sentence 13 times longer than he would have received if he were heterosexual.

After Latest Data Release Controversy, ACLU Urges Census Bureau to Create Privacy Advisory Committee (08/05/2004)
NEW YORK--In a letter sent today to the Director of the Census Bureau, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) expressed consternation over the Bureau's provision of detailed data on individuals of Arab descent to the Department of Homeland Security, and urged the Bureau to create "a new outside body to advise the bureau on privacy and civil liberties issues."

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Upholds Indigent Right to Counsel in Historic Case Filed by ACLU (07/28/2004)
BOSTON - The right of poor people to legal counsel was upheld in an historic decision issued today by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Committee for Public Service Counsel.

ACLU Denounces Boston's Random Subway Searches (07/22/2004)
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today criticized a plan by Massachusetts transit officials to conduct random bag searches on the more than one million people who use the train and subway system each day. The ACLU is calling on commuters to assist in bringing a legal challenge to the random search policy, which is the first in the nation.

ACLU of Rhode Island Files Justice Department Complaint Over Lack of Court Interpreters for Defendants (07/19/2004)
PROVIDENCE, RI -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island announced today that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division against the state for failing to provide sufficient interpreter services for the 20,000 defendants with limited English proficiency who are involved in criminal court proceedings each year.

Federal Judge Rules ACLU of Minnesota Racial Profiling Lawsuit Can Move Forward (07/07/2004)
ST. PAUL--A federal judge has cleared the way for a racial profiling lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota against the Drug Enforcement Administration to move forward by denying most of the government's motion to dismiss the case, the ACLU announced today.

NYCLU Hails New York Appeals Decision Invalidating State Death Penalty (06/24/2004)
NEW YORK -- The New York Civil Liberties Union today hailed a New York Court of Appeals decision that effectively invalidates the state's death penalty. In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that the "deadlock" instruction given to juries improperly coerces them to vote for the death penalty.

ACLU Asks Kansas Supreme Court to Drop 17-Year Prison Sentence of Gay Teenager (06/24/2004)
TOPEKA, KS - In a brief filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union asked the Kansas Supreme Court to reverse a 17-year conviction for a teenager who would have only had to serve 15 months if he were heterosexual.