Topic: ACLU-TN

ACLU sues over Tennessee’s felon disenfranchisement law‏

By Terry McMoore | March 3, 2008 |

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN), joined by the national ACLU Voting Rights Project, filed a lawsuit today in federal court challenging the state’s 2006 law that made the restoration of voting rights for people convicted of crimes contingent on the payment of all outstanding legal financial obligations (LFOs), namely restitution and child support fees.

According to the ACLU’s lawsuit, requiring some individuals to bear anundue financial burden before voting is tantamount to a poll tax in violation of the constitutional right to vote and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. “The legal financial obligations provision creates an undue burden on the voting rights of the economically disadvantaged,” said ACLU-TN Cooperating Attorney Charles Grant, of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz. “Although not intended, these provisions harken back to a time when Blacks, the poor and other marginalized groups were required to pay poll taxes for the privilege to vote. We are hopeful the courtwill protect the rights of all Tennessee voters, not just the ones who can afford to buy back their franchise.” «Read the rest of this article»

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ACLU-TN Students’ Rights Conference

By Terry McMoore | February 22, 2008 |

Youth In Action: Know Your Rights, Make Some Change is the topic of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee’s fourth-annual Students’ Rights Conference, which will take place Saturday, March 8, at the Nashville Public Library’s Main Branch at 615 Church Street. This event, designed for Tennessee’s public and private high school students, runs from 10 am - 4 pm with registration at 9:30 am.

The conference will focus on young people’s rights, both in school and in the community. Topics include freedom of speech and expression, discipline, dress code, youth violence, LGBT rights, and drug testing. Special sessions will focus on what to do when stopped by the police and Activism 101 (the tools needed for making change), Freedom of Expression (including student rights related to speech, press, dress, and the Internet), and Street Law (including student rights and responsibilities related to police and the courts, racial profiling and police/community relations). «Read the rest of this article»

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