Home : Safe and Free : General

Congress Should Demand Answers from Attorney General
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union urges the House Judiciary Committee to demand accountability from Attorney General Michael Mukasey during the Department of Justice oversight hearing scheduled for today.

Mukasey Calls On Congress to Subvert Constitution
WASHINGTON, DC – In an enormous executive branch power grab, Attorney General Michael Mukasey called on Congress today to authorize indefinite detention through a new declaration of armed conflict. Mukasey also proposed that Congress subvert the right of habeas corpus with a new scheme of procedures that will hide the Bush administration’s past wrongdoing – an action that would undermine the constitutional guarantee of due process and conceal systematic torture and abuse of detainees.

ACLU Seeks Answers on Torture from Former Attorney General Ashcroft
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union calls on former Attorney General John Ashcroft, in today’s House Judiciary hearing, to provide Congress and the American people with answers to questions about when, why and how the use of torture was authorized. Ashcroft presided over the Department of Justice (DOJ) during President Bush’s first term in office, when the legal rationale for using torture and abuse during interrogations of detainees held by the United States was first articulated in a series of legal memos. The notorious memos, known as the “torture memos,” were produced by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), a DOJ office that assists the attorney general in his function as legal advisor to the president and all executive branch agencies.

ACLU Thanks Senators Who Stood for the Constitution
Washington, DC – After a brutal loss on the FISA Amendments Act today in the Senate, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed gratitude to the senators who cast their vote against the bill.

ACLU At Guantánamo This Week For Hearings On Detainees' Legal Representation
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union is at Guantánamo this week for hearings to determine whether any of the detainees accused of 9/11-related crimes were coerced by fellow detainees into rejecting direct legal representation at their June 5 arraignment.

Human Rights Abuses Under the Material Witness Law Since Sept. 11, 2001

Racial Profiling Since 9/11 report
Sanctioned Bias: Racial Profiling Since 9/11

United States v. Taleb-Jedi - Memorandum Decision and Order

AAR v. Chertoff - 2nd Circuit Appeal Brief

United States v. Taleb-Jedi - ACLU Amicus Brief

United States v. Taleb-Jedi - Amended Memo of Law in Support of Zeinab Taleb-Jedi's Pre-Trial Motions

Complaint - Habib v. Chertoff and Rice
Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in American Sociological Association, American Association of University, Professors, American-Arab Antidiscrimination Committee, Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights, and Adam Habib v. Michael Chertoff, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Condoleezza Rice, in her official capacity as Secretary of State.

Coalition Letter to the Senate Strongly Urging a "No" Vote on the FISA Amendments Act, H.R. 6304

ACLU Letter to Senate Members Urging Opposition to H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act
The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges you to vote “NO” on H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendment Acts of 2008. This bill unconstitutionally and unnecessarily permits the government to vacuum up Americans’ international communications, without a connection to al Qaeda, terrorism, or even to national security. While there is limited prior review by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the protection afforded by that review is almost completely illusory. H.R. 6304 also grants retroactive immunity to companies that facilitated warrantless wiretapping over the last seven years. For these reasons, we ask you to stand with the Constitution and vote no on this overreaching legislation. Because this bill essentially eviscerates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and many of the Fourth Amendment protections it contained, we will be scoring this vote.

ACLU Letter to the House Of Representatives Strongly Urging Opposition to H.R. 6304 , The FISA Amendments Act of 2008

ACLU Analysis of Telecom Immunity Provision in Senator Bond's Proposal of May 21, 2008
Despite claims that Senator Bond’s proposal will allow court review of the pending lawsuits against telecoms that illegally released consumer communications and records, the draft very clearly prevents the courts from determining whether those activities actually complied with the law. Instead, it directs the secret FISA court to dismiss all cases on a showing merely that the telecoms received a piece of paper from the government – regardless of what it said. Here’s what the Bond proposal really does:

Testimony of Caroline Fredrickson on Overclassification Before the House Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment

ACLU Statement to the House Judiciary Committee on the Use of the State Secrets Privilege

Polling From the Mellman Group: Voters Vigorously Oppose Warrantless Wiretaps and Immunity for Telecom Companies

New Poll: Majority of American Voters Want Next President to Restore and Protect Civil Liberties; Seek a More Assertive Congress
The majority of U.S. voters want the next president to protect civil liberties and the Constitution, according to a recent survey of 738 registered voters conducted for the ACLU.

Habeas Corpus FAQs

Habeas Corpus Talking Points

Quotes From Political Leaders on the Battle Over Domestic Surveillance and Immunity for Telecommunications Companies

ACLU Real ID Scorecard
Real ID regulations earn a failing grade. Find out why.

Fuzzy Math and the Real Cost of Real ID
A persistent criticism of the Real ID Act since its enactment in 2005 has been the charge that the law is a massive unfunded mandate. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially estimated that nationwide implementation would cost over $23 billion, roughly in line with estimates from independent groups like the National Governors Association and National Conference of State Legislators.

Fact Sheet: Final Real ID Regulations
Compliance Deadlines. States need to do almost nothing to comply with Real ID before 2014 (or 2017 for those over the age of 50)DHS will grant an extension until Dec 31, 2009 to any state which requests one.Citizens of states who become “materially compliant” will be able to use their license for all federal purposes until 2014 (or 2017 for those over the age of 50). Material compliance under the regulations is essentially what states are already doing in the issuance of licenses (and only a fraction of what the Real ID statute requires).

What We Need From the Next Attorney General
Any nominee for attorney general should take an oath to fulfill a four part pledge.