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TSA Officials And JetBlue Pay $240,000 To Settle Discrimination Charges (01/05/2009)
NEW YORK -- In a victory for constitutional rights, two Transportation Security Authority (TSA) officials and JetBlue Airways have paid Raed Jarrar $240,000 to settle charges that they illegally discriminated against the U.S. resident based on his ethnicity and the Arabic writing on his t-shirt. TSA and JetBlue officials prevented Jarrar from boarding his August 2006 flight at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport until he agreed to cover his shirt, which read "We Will Not Be Silent" in English and Arabic, and then forced him to sit at the back of the plane. The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Jarrar’s behalf in August 2007.

ACLU-TN Defends Peace Activist's Free Speech Rights (12/17/2008)
Greeneville, TN - The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) today announced that it is representing peace activist Dan Frazier who is being sued for $40 billion for selling anti-war t-shirts over the internet.

Free Speech Groups Challenge Ban on Political Attire at Polls (12/10/2008)
Richmond, VA - Three Virginia-based free speech organizations today filed suit in federal court in Richmond against the Virginia State Board of Elections and the general registrars of Richmond and Fairfax County, challenging the controversial new State Board of Elections policy prohibiting the wearing of buttons, t-shirts and other apparel with political messages in polling places.

ACLU Sues To Protect Broward Student's Free Speech In Web 2.0 World (12/08/2008)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed suit today on behalf of Katherine Evans, a former Pembroke Pines Charter high school student, to protect her freedom of speech. In November 2007, Evans was suspended for three days for engaging in protected off-campus speech. Principal Peter Bayer's actions came at a high price for Evans, an advanced placement student in her critical senior year.

ACLU of Pennsylvania Urges Court To Uphold Free-Speech Ruling In Student MySpace Case (12/08/2008)
PHILADELPHIA – The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania will urge a federal appeals court on Wednesday to uphold a 2007 trial court ruling that the Hermitage School District violated a student's First Amendment rights when it punished him for posting, from a home computer during non-school hours, a parody profile lampooning his principal on the social networking Web site MySpace. The case, Layshock v. Hermitage School District, raises important and unresolved issues about minors' free-speech rights, the reach of school officials' authority, and parents' rights to direct and control their children's upbringing, especially inside the home.

ACLU-NC Legal Foundation Applauds Court Decision Upholding Free Speech Rights Of Wilmington Street Musician (11/25/2008)
WILMINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) applauded a ruling earlier this month by New Hanover County District Court Judge John J. Carroll, III, dismissing a criminal citation issued by Wilmington police against Peter Barbeau for playing his saxophone on the sidewalk in downtown Wilmington. Despite the fact that many people enjoyed Mr. Barbeau's music and he never received a single complaint, he was issued a criminal citation under a City of Wilmington ordinance that prohibits solicitations of any kind in the Central Business District. Judge Carroll dismissed the criminal charge, finding that the City of Wilmington's ordinance against solicitations in the downtown area violated Mr. Barbeau's right to free speech and expression. Specifically, the Order states that the solicitation ordinance "is an overbroad and hence unconstitutional restriction on speech in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."

ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation Applauds Settlement in "Dirty Dancing" Lawsuit Against the Town of Marshall (11/13/2008)
MARSHALL, NC – The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) today applauded the successful settlement of a six-year-old lawsuit against the Town of Marshall, North Carolina, for unfairly imposing a lifetime ban on Rebecca Willis, prohibiting her from dancing at the Town Depot, the public music hall in Marshall.

Federal Court Upholds Exclusion Of Denver Residents From Bush Speech Based On Political Expression (11/07/2008)
DENVER – In a blow to free speech, a federal district court judge found that no constitutional rights were violated when Leslie Weise and Alex Young were ejected from one of President Bush's speeches in Denver in March 2005. The lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado, charged that Weise and Young, two of the so-called "Denver 3," were ejected simply because they arrived at the event in a car with the bumper sticker reading "No More Blood For Oil."

ACLU Releases Presidential Transition Plan To Restore Civil Liberties (10/27/2008)
WASHINGTON – In anticipation of the presidential election, the American Civil Liberties Union today released a set of detailed recommendations on steps that the new president should take to “clean house,” renew freedom, and restore the nation’s reputation.

Maine Law Court Strikes Down Political Endorsement Statute (10/21/2008)
PORTLAND – The Maine Supreme Judicial Court today struck down a Maine election statute as an unconstitutional restriction of political speech and a violation of the First Amendment. The court sided with a Cape Elizabeth man who challenged the law after he received a rebuke from the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices in the closing hours of his Republican primary campaign for election to the Maine House of Representatives.

Florida Student Who Won ACLU Lawsuit Wins Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award (10/21/2008)
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that Heather Gillman has been selected by the Playboy Foundation to receive the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award for "her fearlessness in speaking out on behalf of the rights of gay students" at Ponce de Leon High School, located in Florida's Panhandle.