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Lesbian And Gay Couples Win Freedom To Marry In Connecticut (10/10/2008)
HARTFORD, CT – The Connecticut Supreme Court today ruled that barring same-sex couples from marriage violates that state's constitution. The American Civil Liberties Union, which was co-counsel in the case along with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, applauded the decision.

ACLU Challenges Threat By Government To Designate Charity As "Terrorist" (10/09/2008)
TOLEDO, OH – The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and several civil rights lawyers today asked a federal court to block the government from blacklisting an Ohio-based charity, KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc., without due process. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze the group's assets more than 31 months ago, without notice or a hearing, based simply on the assertion that KindHearts was "under investigation." OFAC has since threatened to designate KindHearts as a "specially designated global terrorist" based on classified evidence, again without providing KindHearts with a reason or meaningful opportunity to defend itself.

Court Blocks Government From Designating Charity As "Terrorist" (10/09/2008)
TOLEDO, OH – A federal judge today blocked the government from blacklisting an Ohio-based charity, KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc., without further judicial review. In response to a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and several civil rights lawyers on behalf of KindHearts, Judge James G. Carr of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Western Division blocked the government from designating the organization as a specially designated global terrorist "without first affording KindHearts with constitutionally adequate process," including notice and a meaningful opportunity to contest the basis for such a designation.

Due To Unlawful Practices In Nine States, Hundreds Of Thousands Of Voters Could Be Disenfranchised (10/09/2008)
NEW YORK – In response to a news report showing that tens of thousands of eligible voters are being illegally removed from voter rolls or blocked from registering to vote, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to require states to comply with federal law. The New York Times reported today that election officials in at least nine states are violating federal law by either improperly using Social Security data to screen newly registered voters or removing thousands of voters after the federal deadline expired.

NSA Monitored Personal Conversations Of Innocent Americans, Report Says (10/09/2008)
NEW YORK – National Security Agency (NSA) officials have intercepted, listened to and passed around the phone calls of hundreds of innocent U.S. citizens working overseas, according to an ABC News report out today. The new information shows the government has misled the American public about the scope of its surveillance activities, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

New Documents Reveal Unlawful Guantánamo Procedures Were Also Applied On American Soil (10/08/2008)
NEW YORK – According to newly released military documents, the Navy applied lawless Guantánamo protocols in detention facilities on American soil. The documents, which include regular emails between brig officers and others in the chain of command, uncover new details of the detention and interrogation of two U.S. citizens and a legal resident – Yaser Hamdi, Jose Padilla and Ali al-Marri – at naval brigs in Virginia and South Carolina.

NYCLU, ACLU Warn NYPD about Illegal Arrests of Schoolchildren (10/08/2008)

Attorney General To Reconsider Rules Protecting Immigrants From Lawyers' Mistakes (10/07/2008)
NEW YORK – In a radical departure from years of legal precedent, Attorney General Michael Mukasey is considering ending the practice of allowing immigrants to reopen cases that they lost because of their lawyers' mistakes or incompetence. Mukasey announced that he was considering the issue late this summer and then imposed the unrealistic deadline of October 6 for interested parties to submit briefs, preventing organizations opposing the change, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Bar Association (ABA), from providing a meaningful response.

Federal Court Orders Release Of Uighurs Indefinitely Detained At Guantánamo (10/07/2008)
NEW YORK – A federal judge today ordered the release of a small group of Chinese Muslims who have been held without charge at Guantánamo Bay. U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina in Washington, D.C. rejected the Bush administration's position of indefinitely holding the detainees, known as Uighurs, since they are not considered enemy combatants. The Uighurs have been held in Guantánamo for seven years.

As Declaration Of Human Rights Approaches 60, ACLU Announces New Campaign And Contest (10/06/2008)
NEW YORK – In anticipation of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the American Civil Liberties Union today announced the launch of "Dignity Begins at Home," a new campaign to celebrate the document that is the cornerstone of the modern human rights system. Despite the United States' involvement in drafting the UDHR and supposed support of the document, it has failed to honor its commitments under the UDHR, especially within U.S. borders.

ACLU Asks Court To Allow Rejected Absentee Ballot Applications (10/02/2008)
COLUMBUS, OH – The American Civil Liberties Union and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law filed a friend-of-the-court brief today asking the Ohio Supreme Court to protect voters' rights and allow rejected absentee ballot applications to be processed. The lawsuit was brought by two Hamilton County voters who completed absentee ballot request forms that were rejected because of an unchecked box.

ACLU Sues School District For Punishing Kindergarten Student Because Of Family's Religious Beliefs (10/02/2008)
HOUSTON – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas today filed a lawsuit against the Needville Independent School District (NISD) for punishing a five-year-old American Indian kindergarten student for practicing and expressing his family's religious beliefs and heritage by wearing his hair long in violation of school rules.

Reports Show Widespread Confusion About The Voting Rights Of People With Criminal Records (10/01/2008)
NEW YORK – A report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law reveals widespread misunderstanding among state elections officials of laws governing the right to vote of citizens with felony convictions.

ACLU Welcomes Introduction of Travelers’ Privacy Protection Act in Both Chambers of Congress (09/29/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union was pleased to see the Travelers’ Privacy Protection Act introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced S. 3612, with Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) signing on as original cosponsors, while Representative Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced H.R. 7118. The proposed legislation is a response to the troubling stories that Americans reentering the United States have had their personal belongings, such as laptops, cell phones and digital cameras, confiscated and searched without probable cause. The Senate and House bills raise the privacy protections for travelers without sacrificing national security at our borders.

Ohio Courts Protect Voters' Access To Absentee Ballots (09/29/2008)
CLEVELAND – In an overwhelming victory for voting rights, two different Ohio courts today ruled that counties cannot deny absentee ballots to newly registered voters in violation of directives issued by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit and two friend-of-the-court briefs challenging efforts to prevent new voters from casting absentee ballots.

ACLU Applauds Senators Menendez and Kennedy for Bill to Protect U.S. Citizens from Unlawful Detention and Deportation (09/26/2008)
Washington, DC – Last night, Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced legislation to protect U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents from being unlawfully detained and deported by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In the wake of sweeping immigration raids that have devastated communities across the country, the ACLU welcomes this bill, S.3594, The Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act, as the first legislation to require DHS to follow due process standards in executing immigration raids.

ACLU Applauds Senate Judiciary Committee for Reauthorizing and Expanding Deaths in Custody Reporting Act (09/25/2008)
Washington, DC – Today the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to reauthorize and expand a Bureau of Justice Statistics program that will require the Attorney General and encourage states to report information regarding the deaths of individuals in the custody of federal, state, and local law enforcement.

ACLU Asks Court To Allow All Ohio Registered Voters Access To Absentee Ballots (09/25/2008)
CLEVELAND – The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit late yesterday challenging an Ohio county that is denying absentee ballots to newly registered voters in violation of directives issued by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH), 1Matters, Project Vote and two individual voters.

ACLU Asks Federal Court To Restore Torture Flight Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary (09/25/2008)
SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union today asked a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for its role in the CIA's extraordinary rendition program. The U.S. government continues to misuse the "state secrets" privilege to avoid legal scrutiny of the unlawful program. It has become increasingly clear in recent months that other governments do not share the Bush administration's conviction that the program must remain shrouded in false claims of state secrets.

ACLU Commends Senate Judiciary Subpoena for Interrogation Documents (09/25/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC –The American Civil Liberties Union commends the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote today to authorize a subpoena of the Department of Justice (DOJ) legal opinions justifying harsh interrogation tactics.