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ACLU Urges High Court to Uphold Free Speech Ruling (03/17/2008)
Washington, DC - The Court announced this morning that it will hear an appeal of a lower court ruling in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, et al. that found the FCC failed to provide adequate justification for its regulations governing the broadcast of "fleeting expletives." The Department of Justice is appealing that decision on behalf of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Congress Must Act to Keep the Internet Free from Censorship (03/11/2008)
Washington, DC – Testifying today before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on net neutrality, the director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office, Caroline Fredrickson, urged Congress to act to safeguard free speech on the Internet. “Congress should act to protect the rights of all Internet users to send and receive lawful content free of censorship from government or business,” Fredrickson said. “Restoring meaningful rules that protect Internet users from corporate censorship is vital to the future of free speech on the Internet.”

Fired Art Teacher Wins $65,000 Settlement from Chesterfield County School Board (03/07/2008)
Chesterfield County, VA — The ACLU of Virginia today announced that it has reached an agreement with the Chesterfield County School Board in the case of former Monacan High School art teacher Stephen Murmer. Murmer was fired in January 2007 for creating paintings rendered by transferring paint from his body onto canvasses. The paintings were produced at Murmer’s own expense and during his private time away from work.

Coalition Appeals City’s Incomplete “Conditional Alternative Permit” For RNC March (03/06/2008)
St. Paul, MN – Cooperating attorneys for the ACLU of Minnesota and the Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild today filed an appeal to the St. Paul City Council on behalf of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, challenging the conditions imposed by the City of St. Paul on the “Conditional Alternative Permit” that was granted to the Coalition earlier this week. The appeal challenges the failure of the City to grant the Coalition the permit that was requested due to the imposition of conditions on the permit which are not authorized by city ordinance. “The permit that we received is substantially different from the one that was requested, so we are asking the City Council to protect our constitutional rights,” said Coalition member Marie Braun. The “Conditional Alternative Permit” issued to the Coalition completely omitted any reference to important details such as a march route within sight and sound of the convention. “Tens of thousands of people will be coming from the Midwest and around the country to protest the illegal and immoral war against Iraq. We need these important details as soon as possible so we can work out the logistics of moving 50,000 people through the streets of St. Paul in a safe manner,” Braun added.

ACLU announces settlement of 4-year-old lawsuit over Colorado (03/05/2008)
The ACLU of Colorado announced today a settlement of a four-year-old legal battle over state regulations that apply to rallies, demonstrations, and other First Amendment activity on the West steps of the Capitol Building and nearby locations administered by the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA).

ACLU Asks Judge To Review Lawsuit Challenging FBI Brutality (03/05/2008)
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - The American Civil Liberties Union today will ask a federal appeals court to allow a case brought by journalists who were kicked, punched and pepper sprayed by FBI agents to move forward. The ACLU will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reverse an earlier decision by the district court that sided with the FBI agents and ignored important constitutional issues raised by the journalists.

ACLU of Arkansas Applauds Decision by Arkansas Technical University President to Lift Ban on Showing Sondheim-Weidman Musical, “Assassins” (02/29/2008)
Little Rock, Arkansas – Today the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas applauded the decision by Arkansas Technical University President Robert Brown to lift the ban he had imposed on the Theater Department showing the Sondheim-Weidman musical, “Assassins.” Dr. Brown first announced he would permit only one closed performance of the musical for family members of the cast. He later postponed the play indefinitely, “out of respect for the families of victims” of shootings at other campuses, because of the play’s “portrayal of graphically violent scenes.” The University later indicated that concerns about security issues that might be raised by the sounds of gunfire in the production prompted the postponement.

ACLU And EFF File To Intervene In Internet Free Speech Lawsuit (02/27/2008)
SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) last night filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit that led a federal district judge to order the domain name Wikileaks.org shut down. The motion is on behalf of organizations and individuals that have accessed and used documents on the Wikileaks.org website in their work and want to continue to be able to do so.

MAINE ACTIVISTS RENEW CALL FOR NET NEUTRALITY (02/25/2008)
PORTLAND –Mainers who are actively working to ensure that the Internet is available to all users without discrimination travel to Boston today for a Federal Communications Commission hearing on the issue of network neutrality, the principle of non-discrimination on the Internet. The FCC hearing will address Comcast’s practice of blocking peer-to-peer traffic on its network, and the FCC has requested comment on Verizon Communications’ recent blocking of text messaging.

NYCLU and Journalist Sue to End Secrecy Surrounding NYPD Press Passes (02/20/2008)
The New York Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the NYPD’s refusal to disclose information about its policy for issuing press passes to journalists covering the cops.