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New FBI Guidelines Open Door to Further Abuse (09/12/2008)
Washington, DC - Following a briefing today at the Department of Justice (DOJ), the American Civil Liberties Union reiterated its deep concern over new guidelines that would govern FBI investigations. The new guidelines would lower standards for beginning "assessments" (precursors to investigations), conducting surveillance and gathering evidence, and would replace existing guidelines for five types of existing guidelines: general criminal, national security, foreign intelligence, civil disorders and demonstrations.

Veterans Now Allowed To Register To Vote At VA Facilities (09/09/2008)
NEW YORK – In a victory for voting rights, the Department of Veterans Affairs reversed course Monday by lifting a ban on nonpartisan voter registration drives in its facilities. The American Civil Liberties Union opposed the ban as an unconstitutional infringement on the voting rights of over 100,000 veterans who live in the VA's nursing homes, homeless shelters and rehabilitation centers.

ACLU Renews Its Call For Investigation Into Civil Liberties Violations At RNC (09/04/2008)
ST. PAUL - In response to reports of widespread civil liberties abuses in connection with mass arrests, police raids on private homes and the detention of several journalists during the Republican National Convention (RNC), the American Civil Liberties Union renewed its call for an investigation into the actions of law enforcement there.

Corrections Department Returns Women Held In New Jersey Men's Prison To Women's Prison After ACLU Lawsuit (09/04/2008)
TRENTON – Nine months after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit challenging the transfer of women prisoners from Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, the state's prison for women, to New Jersey State Prison (NJSP), a men's supermax prison, the Department of Corrections (DOC) has transferred the women back to the women's prison.

ACLU Calls For Investigation Into Raids And Mass Arrests At RNC (09/02/2008)
MINNEAPOLIS - Amid charges of police misconduct during the Republican National Convention in Minnesota, the American Civil Liberties Union called for accountability for any unconstitutional actions there.

Federal Judge Orders Justice Department To Turn Over Memos Authorizing Torture Or Justify Withholding Them (09/02/2008)
NEW YORK – A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) to turn over three memos that authorized the extremely harsh treatment of prisoners in CIA custody or explain by October 3 why these memos can lawfully be withheld. The American Civil Liberties Union called for the immediate release of the May 2005 OLC memos as part of its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit requesting information on the treatment and interrogation of detainees in U.S. custody overseas.

Federal Appeals Court Rules Osseo, MN School Must Treat Gay Student Club Equally (08/29/2008)
MINNEAPOLIS – Finding that school officials violated federal law in limiting access for a gay rights club, a federal appeals court today issued a permanent injunction that orders Osseo Area Schools to let the club have the same access to school facilities and resources as all other clubs. The ruling came as the result of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota today on behalf of Straights and Gays for Equality (SAGE), a student club at Maple Grove High School.

FISA Court Denies Public Access To Spy Law Proceedings (08/29/2008)
WASHINGTON - In a decision issued late Thursday, a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) judge denied a motion from the American Civil Liberties Union seeking to bring a measure of transparency to the court's legal review of the Bush administration's new spying law.

ACLU Responds To Arrest Of ABC Reporter In Denver (08/28/2008)
DENVER – Following news reports and a video showing Denver law enforcement agents ordering a reporter off a public sidewalk and pushing him into the street and later arresting him, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado called for renewed protection of the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and a free press.

Damage Of Drug War On Prominent Display At Telluride Film Festival This Weekend (08/28/2008)
TELLURIDE, CO – The devastating impact of America's "war on drugs" will be on prominent display this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival with the premiere of "American Violet," a film based on the racially charged drug war scandal that rocked the town of Hearne, Texas, several years ago. Directed by Tim Disney and written by Bill Haney, the film stars Alfre Woodard, Will Patton and Tim Blake Nelson.

ACLU Asks Appeals Court To Affirm Decision Striking Down Patriot Act's "National Security Letter" Provision (08/27/2008)
NEW YORK – In oral arguments today, the American Civil Liberties Union urged a federal appeals court to uphold a decision striking down the national security letter (NSL) provision of the Patriot Act. This provision gives the FBI the authority to issue letters demanding private information about people within the United States, and to place the recipients of the letters under indefinite gag orders. Recent reports issued by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) have revealed the FBI's widespread, systemic abuse of its NSL power.

ACLU Files Lawsuit To Protect Religious Freedom Of Florida High School Students (08/27/2008)
PENSACOLA, FL – Santa Rosa County school officials are using their governmental positions to promote their personal religious beliefs in public schools, according to a lawsuit filed today on behalf of two Pace High School students by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the national ACLU.

Guantánamo Military Lawyers Request Extension In 9/11 Cases To Prepare Adequate Defense (08/25/2008)
Guantánamo Bay – Military defense lawyers representing Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other detainees charged with 9/11 terrorism-related crimes filed a motion with the Guantánamo military commissions seeking more time to provide an adequate defense in a system that is unfair and biased in favor of the prosecution. The motion asks that the current due date for the filing of legal motions, August 29, be extended to November 25 so that proper investigation, research and communication with clients can be achieved. The motion comes after months of procedural and logistical obstacles that have hamstrung the ability of lawyers to wage a robust defense in these cases.

Court Upholds Privacy Advocate's Right to Post Public Records on Website (08/22/2008)
Richmond, VA - Federal Court Judge Robert E. Payne today ruled that Virginia's new law prohibiting the publication of Social Security Numbers, including those taken from government websites available to the public, is unconstitutional as applied to the website of privacy rights advocate B.J. Ostergren.

Proposed Bush Regulation Jeopardizes Women’s Health (08/21/2008)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed its grave concern over the proposed regulations released today by the Department of Health and Human Services that could seriously undermine women’s ability to access reproductive health services, including birth control.

ACLU Asks Federal Court To Reinstate Extraordinary Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary (06/30/2008)
The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a brief asking a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for its role in the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program on the grounds that the government misused the "state secrets" privilege to have the case thrown out. Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen was dismissed in February after the government intervened, inappropriately invoking the privilege to avoid legal scrutiny of an unlawful program.

U.S. Government Announces Charges Against USS Cole Suspect Al-Nashiri In Guantánamo Military Commission System (06/30/2008)
NEW YORK - Even while the Bush administration's Guantánamo policy continues to crumble, the U.S. government announced charges today against another detainee. The government is seeking the death penalty for Abd Al-Rahim Hussain Mohammed Al-Nashiri, who is being charged for his alleged involvement in crimes including the USS Cole bombing. The American Civil Liberties Union is sponsoring civilian attorneys to represent Al-Nashiri through its John Adams Project, a partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to supplement the under-resourced military defense teams that have been assigned to detainees.

ACLU Applauds Committee Passage of National Security Letter Reform (06/24/2008)
Washington, DC – Today, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties approved legislation that would greatly reduce the scope of the National Security Letter (NSL) statute. NSLs are secret government requests for information that are used to collect private records without judicial oversight. The FBI’s gross misuse and abuse of the NSL statute has led to consecutive and embarrassing reports issued by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General. In March, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the ACLU also uncovered abuses of the NSL statute by the Department of Defense.

ACLU Applauds House Judiciary Subcommittee on Continuing Its Examination into Torture Approval (06/18/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union applauds Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties on holding the second in a series of three hearings to determine who authorized or ordered torture and abuse during interrogations at Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan and in secret government torture cells around the world. In today’s hearing the subcommittee will hear from three former high-level officials in the Bush administration.

ACLU Challenges Government's Stigmatizing Of Mainstream Muslim Groups In Holy Land Case (06/18/2008)
DALLAS - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas filed a legal challenge today to clear the names of two mainstream Muslim organizations labeled by the government as "unindicted co-conspirators" in its criminal case against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF). Government attorneys publicly identified the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) as co-conspirators before the HLF trial, even though neither organization was the subject of a criminal investigation or charged with any crimes.