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ACLU Outlines Ways Waterboarding has Already Been Declared Illegal by the Federal Government (11/08/2007)
Washington, DC – As the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hears testimony today regarding torture and interrogation of detainees, the American Civil Liberties Union presents indisputable evidence that waterboarding has been repeatedly classified as torture and is banned by U.S. law. Waterboarding has been the subject of intense controversy recently as attorney general candidate Michael Mukasey has refused to classify it as torture.

ACLU Rebuts FBI Director’s Remarks About National Security Letter Lawsuit (11/07/2007)
NEW YORK – A federal court ruling striking down the national security letter (NSL) provision of the Patriot Act was anything but “misguided,” contrary to recent comments made by FBI Director Robert Mueller, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. NSLs allow the government to obtain private personal and financial records without prior court approval and permit the FBI to impose “gag” orders on those served with the letters.

ACLU to Monitor Guantánamo Military Commission Proceeding Thursday (11/07/2007)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union will be at Guantánamo Bay Thursday to monitor the military commission hearing of Canadian national Omar Ahmed Khadr. The proceeding follows months of disarray and uncertainty about the U.S. government’s system of prosecuting prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay without charges or trial. The ACLU is one of four organizations that have been granted status as human rights observers at the military commission proceedings and has observed the tribunals since they began in 2004.

ACLU to Testify Thursday Before House Subcommittee on Torture and Interrogation Practices (11/07/2007)
Washington, DC – Amrit Singh at the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants' Rights Project will testify tomorrow as part of a panel before the House Judiciary Subcommittee looking into "enhanced" interrogation methods used on detainees in U.S. custody.

Government Defies Recommendations of U.N. Committee on Torture (11/07/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today blasted the government's one year follow-up report to the U.N. Committee Against Torture. The report was recently submitted to the committee in Geneva and was made public Tuesday. Following a 2006 committee review that found widespread evidence of U.S sponsored policies involving torture and abuse, the committee gave the U.S. one year to report on its progress in ending these practices. But the new report proves the U.S. is still not in compliance with the treaty, said the ACLU.

ACLU and Civil Rights Lawyers Renew Effort to Desegregate Hartford Schools (11/06/2007)
HARTFORD – Before a Connecticut Superior Court today, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Connecticut and cooperating attorneys will argue that the state of Connecticut must honor its legal obligations to desegregate Hartford’s public schools.

ACLU Learns of Third Secret Torture Memo by Gonzales Justice Department (11/06/2007)
NEW YORK – Legal papers filed in federal court Monday in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations disclose that the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) for the Department of Justice issued three secret memos in May 2005 relating to the interrogation of detainees in CIA custody. Until now, the existence of only two of those memos had been reported and it was not known precisely when the memos had been written. The memos are believed to have authorized the CIA to use extremely harsh interrogation methods including waterboarding.

Gagged National Security Letter Recipient Condemns Excessive Secrecy As Government Appeals His Case (11/05/2007)
NEW YORK – The U.S. government today appealed a New York federal court ruling striking down the National Security Letter (NSL) provision of the amended Patriot Act.

MCLU Urges PUC to Consider Privacy as Condition of Verizon/FairPoint Sale (11/02/2007)
PORTLAND, Maine – The Maine Civil Liberties Union (MCLU) and a group of Verizon telephone customers urged the Maine Public Utilities Commission today to make privacy protections for telephone customers a condition of sale in the transfer of Verizon assets to FairPoint Communications. The MCLU and the consumers also argued that continued jurisdiction in the ongoing case regarding past violations of customer privacy should be a condition of sale.

ACLU Warns Congress Not to Legalize Warrantless Wiretapping (10/31/2007)
Washington, DC – As the Senate Judiciary Committee met to hear testimony on the FISA Amendment Act, the American Civil Liberties Union once again voiced its opposition to the proposed legislation and called for strict Fourth Amendment protections. The legislation contains some of the same language as the so-called Protect America Act, including "basket warrants" that give federal agents the power to intercept Americans’ communications without the individual warrants that the Fourth Amendment requires. The FISA Amendment Act also includes a provision that would grant telecommunications companies immunity for their role in the administration’s domestic spying program.

ACLU, MoveOn, People For the American Way and 250,000 Americans tell Congress - “Don’t Let the Bells Off the Hook” (10/31/2007)
Washington, DC – After the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to consider domestic surveillance legislation, activists sent a clear message to Capitol Hill – don’t let the bells off the hook for domestic spying. The American Civil Liberties Union, MoveOn.org Political Action, People For the American Way and bloggers from Open Left, Salon, Fire Dog Lake and others delivered petitions to Senate and House offices today illustrating Americans’ widespread opposition to granting immunity to telecom companies that may have aided in the violation of Fourth Amendment and privacy rights. Petitions circulated by the groups garnered more than 250,000 signatures from concerned constituents.

Rhode Island ACLU Report Finds Police Departments in Violation of Racial Profiling Law (10/31/2007)
PROVIDENCE - Almost half of the police departments in Rhode Island that are required to post their police complaint forms and procedures online have failed to do so, according to a report released today by the Rhode Island ACLU. The requirement, contained in the Racial Profiling Prevention Act of 2004, was designed to make it easier for victims of police misconduct to file complaints with departments.

ACLU In Court Today to Challenge U.S. Exclusion of Renowned Muslim Scholar (10/25/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union appeared before a federal district court today to challenge the government's exclusion from the U.S. of renowned Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan. The group charged that Ramadan, a leading European academic whose work addresses critical issues including Muslim identity and the role of Islam in democratic societies, has been banned due to his political viewpoints.

Case Against Largest U.S. Muslim Charity for Supporting Terrorism Results in Mistrial (10/22/2007)
DALLAS -- A federal judge declared a mistrial today in the criminal case against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and five of its former top officials. In 2001, HLF, then the nation's largest Muslim charity, was shut down when the government accused it of providing "material support" for terrorism. The government later charged it with having provided funds to local "zakat" committees that provide humanitarian aid in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, alleging that the committees were run by Hamas.

NYCLU Releases NYPD Firearms Discharge Report, Calls on NYPD to Reveal Race of Shooting Victims (10/22/2007)
NEW YORK - In a letter sent this morning to New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, the New York Civil Liberties Union called on the NYPD to release documents identifying the race of all people shot by the police, as well as all of the annual reports the NYPD has compiled about its shooting practices.

Government Improperly Invokes "State Secrets" Claim in Attempt to Throw Out CIA Rendition Case Against Boeing Subsidiary (10/19/2007)
NEW YORK -- Claiming "state secrets" are at stake, the U.S. government today requested the dismissal of a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against Boeing Company subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. for its participation in the CIA's unlawful "extraordinary rendition" program.

Jena 6 Hearing a Step in the Right Direction to End School-to-Prison Pipeline (10/16/2007)
Washington, DC – The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing today to examine violence in public schools in light of the Jena Six case, a move the American Civil Liberties Union hopes will inspire Congress to fix the racial disparities in the juvenile and criminal justice system exemplified by the unfair treatment of the six Louisiana students. Specifically, the ACLU hopes Congress will examine the systemic funneling of students from schools into the juvenile and criminal justice systems, known as the school to prison pipeline.

Verizon Admits Turning Over Customer Records to the Federal Government (10/16/2007)
PORTLAND, ME -- The Maine Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage today at Verizon's revelation that it has turned over the phone records of U.S. customers to the federal government without a warrant hundreds of times since 2005. Verizon is asserting that the acquisition of its operations by Fairpoint will remove the state's jurisdiction over any privacy violations it may have committed.

Hundreds of New Documents Reveal Expanded Military Role in Domestic Surveillance (10/14/2007)
NEW YORK – New documents uncovered as a result of an American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union lawsuit reveal that the Department of Defense secretly issued hundreds of national security letters (NSLs) to obtain private and sensitive records of people within the United States without court approval. A comprehensive analysis of 455 NSLs issued after 9/11 shows that the Defense Department seems to have collaborated with the FBI to circumvent the law, may have overstepped its legal authority to obtain financial and credit records, provided misleading information to Congress, and silenced NSL recipients from speaking out about the records requests, according to the ACLU.

Nevada Coalition to End the Death Penalty and ACLU of Nevada Request Stay of Scheduled Execution (10/12/2007)
RENO, NV - The Nevada Coalition to End the Death Penalty (NCADP) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada sent a letter to Governor Jim Gibbons, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court and Director of Corrections Howard Skolnik to request a stay of execution of William Castillo scheduled for Monday, October 15, 2007. Castillo volunteered to be executed.