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ACLU Releases Crack Cocaine Report, Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 Deepened Racial Inequity in Sentencing (10/26/2006)
WASHINGTON – To mark the 20th anniversary of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, the American Civil Liberties Union today issued the report, “Cracks in the System: Twenty Years of the Unjust Federal Crack Cocaine Law.” The report details discriminatory effects of the drug law that devastated African American and low-income communities.

On Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, ACLU Sees America's Reputation as Human Rights Leader Diminished (08/29/2006)

U.N. Human Rights Body Slams Louisiana Actions During Katrina (07/28/2006)
NEW ORLEANS — A United Nations human rights body today criticized Louisiana officials for their actions during Hurricane Katrina, including a police blockade on Gretna New Orleans Bridge, which left thousands of mostly black residents trapped in the city, and the failure to evacuate prisoners from the flooded Orleans Parish Prison. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, which has long called for investigations into the conditions at the prison and on the bridge, welcomed the report and its recommendations.

ACLU Urges New Orleans City Council to Review Conditions at Prison (12/08/2005)
In response to reports that hundreds of prisoners have returned to Orleans Parish Prison, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today urged the City Council to conduct a full and thorough review of the conditions within the facility. In letters to each council member, the ACLU expressed concern that Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman re-opened the prison despite the lack of adequate evacuation plans or medical staff and equipment.

Sheriff Illegally Withholding Records on Orleans Parish Prison, ACLU Lawsuit Charges (11/10/2005)
BATON ROUGE, LA--The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today filed a lawsuit charging that Orleans Parish Prison officials are violating state law by refusing to turn over public records that would shine light on why prisoners were abandoned when Hurricane Katrina struck.

Following ACLU of Washington Lawsuit, Grant County Agrees to Overhaul Public Defense System (11/07/2005)
SEATTLE -- Settling a class-action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and Columbia Legal Services, Grant County officials have agreed to overhaul the county’s system for providing legal defense to people charged with felonies who cannot afford an attorney.

ACLU Calls on New Orleans City Council to Hold Hearing on Plans to Re-Open Prison (10/21/2005)
NEW ORLEANS -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today sent letters to New Orleans City Council members urging them to immediately schedule a hearing on plans to re-open the Orleans Parish Prison (OPP), which the ACLU says plunged into chaos after Hurricane Katrina hit.

Washington Judge Finds Grant County's Public Defense System Deficient (10/20/2005)
ELLENSBURG, WA -- A superior court judge has ruled that indigent defendants have a well-grounded fear that they will not receive effective legal counsel from Grant County's public defense system. In his ruling, Kittitas County Superior Court Judge Michael E. Cooper found that Grant County's system overworked its lawyers, failed to provide effective supervision, and allowed the Grant County Prosecutor's Office to interfere with funding for expert witnesses and investigators.

Men Tell Court They Were Left to Drown in New Orleans Prison (10/06/2005)
NEW ORLEANS -- In legal papers filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union, two men detained on minor charges recount disturbing details of being abandoned without food or water in over-crowded, flooded cells for days at the Orleans Parish Prison during Hurricane Katrina. The ACLU submitted declarations from the men, who have since been released from prison, along with an emergency request to allow attorneys to inspect the prison before officials remove evidence.

ACLU Seeks Information on the Fate of 6,500 New Orleans Prisoners (09/28/2005)
NEW ORLEANS - Citing eyewitness reports of locked prisoners being abandoned to drown in their cells in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the American Civil Liberties Union today demanded access to the relocated prisoners it represents under a longstanding class-action lawsuit over prison conditions.

Indiana Civil Liberties Union and Broad Coalition Challenge State's New Voting Rights Rules (04/28/2005)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Civil Liberties Union, acting on behalf of a broad coalition including state representatives and advocacy groups, today filed a challenge to a new state law with the most restrictive voting requirements in the nation, including a mandate that government-issued photo identification must be presented in order for most Hoosier citizens to cast their ballots.

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 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 Arkansas Successfully Blocks Biased Dress Code for Visitors to Public Housing Units (07/01/2004)
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Responding to a challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the city of North Little Rock decided Monday not to impose an unconstitutional dress code on visitors to public housing units that would prohibit entry to anyone wearing backward baseball caps, saggy pants or bandanas.

ACLU Applauds Pennsylvania Court Decision to Appoint Lawyers for Poor People Facing Prison (06/09/2004)
PITTSBURGH -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today applauded a decision by the Beaver County Court of Common Pleas to provide court-appointed lawyers to poor people facing jail-time for failing to make payments in child-support cases.

ACLU of New Mexico Wins Temporary Halt to Albuquerque's Anti-Panhandling Ordinance (01/16/2004)
ALBUQUERQUE -- State District Court Judge William F. Lang today granted the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico's request for a temporary restraining order barring Albuquerque from implementing an anti-panhandling ordinance that was to go into effect on January 21.

Settlement Reached in ACLU of Michigan Lawsuit Over Mandatory Drug Testing of Welfare Recipients (12/18/2003)
DETROIT - Michigan's attempt to impose mandatory drug tests on all welfare recipients has finally come to an end, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today after a settlement was reached with the Family Independence Agency (FIA). The FIA can now require drug testing of welfare recipients only where there is a reasonable suspicion that the recipient is using drugs.

ACLU Lawsuit Over Pittsburgh's Property Sweeps of Homeless Results in One of Nation's Most Protective Policies (05/13/2003)
PITTSBURGH -- Under a settlement reached in a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of Pittsburgh's unsheltered homeless people by the American Civil Liberties Union, city officials have agreed to stop destroying homeless people's property and to provide advance notice of property sweeps.

ACLU Sues Pittsburgh Over Seizure and Destruction of Homeless People's Belongings (05/05/2003)
PITTSBURGH -- Acting on behalf of unsheltered homeless individuals here, the American Civil Liberties Union of Greater Pittsburgh today filed a federal civil rights class action lawsuit charging the city with depriving local homeless people of their due process rights when it seizes and destroys their personal property, including family photographs, medications and identification papers.

In Legal First, NJ Supreme Court to Consider Law Denying Aid to Children of Families on Welfare (01/21/2003)
TRENTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union will tomorrow urge the New Jersey Supreme Court to reject a state law that denies welfare benefits to children born into families already receiving welfare.