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ACLU Warns Alabama School District That Its Mandatory Sex Segregation Program Is Illegal And Discriminatory (11/12/2008)
MOBILE, AL – After hearing from outraged parents of students who, without notice, were involuntarily segregated by sex at Hankins Middle School in Mobile, Alabama, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Alabama sent a letter to the Mobile County School System today warning that mandatory sex segregation in public schools is illegal and discriminatory. The civil liberties organization also asked, under the Alabama Open Records Act, that the school district make public any and all documents relating to sex segregation policies in Mobile County schools from the past two years.

ACLU Calls On Obama To Close Guantánamo On Day One Of Presidency (11/10/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union launched a new campaign today calling on President-elect Barack Obama to close the Guantánamo Bay prison and end the military commissions on Day One of his presidency.

No Special Court System Necessary For Guantánamo Detainees, Says ACLU (11/10/2008)
NEW YORK – News reports today indicated that President-elect Barack Obama's team was preparing a plan to close the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay and possibly create an alternative court system to try some of the detainees. Obama's transition team later clarified that no decisions have yet been made about detainee prosecutions.

ACLU Commends Obama-Biden Ban on Discrimination Against LGBT Applicants for Jobs in the New Administration (11/07/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union commends the Obama-Biden Transition team for including sexual orientation and gender identity in its non-discrimination policy as it prepares to assume power in January. Although President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 11478, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, there are no explicit federal protections from gender identity bias in government hiring.

ACLU Reacts to Extortion of Private Medical Records (11/07/2008)
WASHINGTON – In response to today’s news that the FBI is investigating an extortion letter threatening the release of millions of private medical records, the ACLU reiterates its demand for the protection of individual privacy for all electronic medical records. Express Scripts, a medical benefits management company, said it has been investigating the threat since October, when the extortion letter was received containing the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of approximately 75 clients. Express Scripts then notified the FBI, and has since ruled out the possibility of an internal breach.

Bush Administration Once Again Attempts To Block Release Of Prisoner Abuse Photos In ACLU Lawsuit (11/07/2008)
NEW YORK – The Bush administration petitioned a full appeals court late Thursday to reconsider a decision ordering the Defense Department to release photographs showing detainee abuse by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In September, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered the government to release the photos as part of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit seeking information on the abuse of prisoners held in U.S. custody overseas.

Federal Court Upholds Exclusion Of Denver Residents From Bush Speech Based On Political Expression (11/07/2008)
DENVER – In a blow to free speech, a federal district court judge found that no constitutional rights were violated when Leslie Weise and Alex Young were ejected from one of President Bush's speeches in Denver in March 2005. The lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado, charged that Weise and Young, two of the so-called "Denver 3," were ejected simply because they arrived at the event in a car with the bumper sticker reading "No More Blood For Oil."

Legal Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Proposition 8, Should It Pass (11/05/2008)
SAN FRANCISCO – The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court today urging the court to invalidate Proposition 8 if it passes. The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians. Proposition 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities. According to the California Constitution, such radical changes to the organizing principles of state government cannot be made by simple majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first.

Military And Civilian Lawyers Petition Guantánamo Military Commission To Address Fundamental Flaws (11/03/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – A coalition of military and civilian lawyers, assembled as part of the American Civil Liberties Union's John Adams Project, filed pretrial motions in a Guantánamo military commission today requesting legal relief for some of the worst of the constitutional flaws plaguing the commission system. The ACLU's John Adams Project is a partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sponsoring expert civilian counsel to assist the under-resourced military defense counsel for several Guantánamo detainees.

San Bernardino County Agrees To Allow Religious Head Scarves In County Jails (11/03/2008)
ORANGE, CA -- San Bernardino County agreed today to institute policies that accommodate the First Amendment right to wear religious head scarves in jail.

Second Unconstitutional Military Commission Trial Ends In Conviction At Guantánamo (11/03/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – After a flawed military commission trial that was boycotted by the accused, a jury of nine military officers found Ali Hamza al Bahlul guilty of crimes including conspiracy and providing material support to al Qaeda. The American Civil Liberties Union was at Guantánamo Bay observing the al Bahlul proceedings, which, like all of the military commissions, lacked the fairness and transparency found in traditional U.S. or military courts.

Court Orders Justice Department To Submit NSA Wiretapping Memos For Judicial Review (10/31/2008)
WASHINGTON – A federal judge today said that he would review in chambers a set of Justice Department memos relating to the National Security Agency's (NSA) illegal warrantless wiretapping program. The judge found for the second time in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that the government had failed adequately to explain why the memos should be kept secret in their entirety.

ACLU Names Veteran Diplomat Executive Director Of South Carolina Office (10/30/2008)
CHARLESTON, SC – The American Civil Liberties Union today announced the appointment of Victoria Middleton, a career U.S. diplomat who has worked on three continents promoting the constitutional principles of democracy and freedom, as the new Executive Director of the ACLU South Carolina Office.

Appeals Court Orders Michigan To Restore 5,500 Voters To Rolls (10/30/2008)
CINCINNATI – A federal appeals court late Wednesday cleared the way for 5,500 illegally purged voters to be returned to the rolls in time for Election Day. The U.S. Appeals Court for the Sixth Circuit rejected Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land's request not to enforce an earlier court ruling that declared the state's voter removal programs illegal. The appeals court decision is the latest victory in a lawsuit filed in September by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Michigan, Advancement Project and the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP.

Federal Court Of Appeals Hears Arguments On Hazleton Anti-Immigrant Law (10/30/2008)
PHILADELPHIA – The American Civil Liberties Union argued in an appellate court today that it should uphold the landmark July 2007 ruling by a federal court in Pennsylvania that declared the city of Hazleton's anti-immigrant law unconstitutional. Hazleton's law would punish landlords and employers who are accused of renting to or hiring anyone the city classifies as an "illegal alien."

ACLU Launches Voter Empowerment Program (10/28/2008)
ATLANTA – The American Civil Liberties Union proudly launched its voter empowerment program today. As part of this effort, the ACLU will distribute 480,000 cards in 32 states that inform voters of their rights on Election Day and how to avoid problems when casting a ballot.

ACLU Urges Attorney General To Reject White House Challenge Of 200,000 Registered Voters In Ohio (10/28/2008)
WASHINGTON – In a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey today, the American Civil Liberties Union demanded the Department of Justice (DOJ) reject a White House request to challenge 200,000 registered voters in Ohio. The White House's request came days after the U.S. Supreme Court denied an attempt by Ohio Republicans to challenge voters with discrepancies between the information on their registration forms and other government databases. There is considerable evidence showing these databases are fraught with errors that could lead to the wrongful disfranchisement of thousands of lawful voters.

Guantánamo Judge Rejects Evidence Obtained Through Torture In Jawad Case (10/28/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – A military judge ruled today that the government cannot use statements made as a result of torture in the military commission case against Afghan national Mohammed Jawad. The judge held that Jawad's alleged confession to throwing a grenade at two U.S. service members and an Afghan interpreter was obtained after armed Afghan officials threatened to kill Jawad and his family. The government had previously told the judge that Jawad's alleged confession while in Afghan custody was central to the case against him.

ACLU Monitoring Unconstitutional Guantánamo Military Commission Trial This Week (10/27/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – The American Civil Liberties Union is at Guantánamo to monitor the military commission trial of Ali Hamza al-Bahlul scheduled to begin today. The ACLU has been present as an independent observer at nearly every military commission hearing since 2004 and continues to see no indication that the proceedings are fair, impartial or in accordance with constitutional principles.

U.N. Torture Expert Should Investigate Brutal Force-Feeding Of Connecticut Inmate, Says ACLU (10/27/2008)
HARTFORD, Conn. – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture (UNSR) should review the force-feeding of inmate Bill Coleman by the Connecticut Department of Corrections (DOC), according to a letter filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union under the U.N. Urgent Appeal procedure.