Topic: ACLU

ACLU Sues DHS Over Unlawful TSA Searches and Detention

June 19, 2009 |

Treasurer Of Ron Paul’s Campaign For Liberty Detained And Interrogated For Carrying Cash At St. Louis Airport

NEW YORK – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is subjecting innocent Americans to unreasonable searches and detentions that violate the Constitution, according to a lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU filed the complaint on behalf of a traveler who was illegally detained and harassed by TSA agents at the airport for carrying approximately $4,700 in cash.

“Airport searches are the most common encounters between Americans and law enforcement agents. That’s why it is so important for TSA agents to do the job they were trained to do and not engage in fishing expeditions that do nothing to promote flight safety,” said Ben Wizner, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. “It is, of course, very important to ensure the safety of flights and keep illegal weapons and explosives off planes. But allowing TSA screeners to conduct general purpose law enforcement searches violates the Constitution while diverting limited resources from TSA’s core mission of protecting safety. For the sake of public safety and constitutional values, these unlawful searches should stop.”

A TSA checkpoint

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Montgomery County sets precedent for equal time, equal access

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 16, 2008 |

Inter – prefix: (1) between, among, in the midst. (2) reciprocal. (3) located between. (4) carried on between.

Denominational: a religious organization uniting local congregations in a single legal and administrative body.

“When the government associates one set of religious beliefs with the state and identifies nonadherents as outsiders, it encroaches upon the individual’s decision about whether and how to worship?Allowing government to be a potential mouthpiece for competing religious ideas risks the sort of division that might easily spill over into suppression of rival beliefs.” ~~ Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

In downtown Clarksville on Thursday, September 11, congregants and legislators from varied Christian churches across the county gathered. The implied purpose of the gathering, part of a nationwide movement called Cry Out America, was to acknowledge the tragedy of September 11, 2001, an event that cost America the lives of 3,000 of its citizens on home territory, precipitated the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, which cost this country thousands of live lost or irrevocably maimed, and dug a deep hole of nearly insurmountable debt that our children will have to pay. «Read the rest of this article»

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ACLU: In defense of Constitutional rights

By Rev. Charles Moreland | September 14, 2008 |

The ACLU is well-known throughout the nation but is frequently denounced by people who do not understand their mission. This organization is dedicated to the Constitution of the United States. For the ACLU, the Constitution is sacred, hallowed, and consecrated.

The ACLU focus is protecting the rights of individuals, whether they be in the minority or the majority. The ACLU shields citizens from abuse directed to minority groups. The are dedicated to defending, speaking up, and representing groups and individuals in court when said groups or individuals are threatened with loss of their constitutional rights.

An example of this singular purpose can be found in the neighboring state of Kentucky, as reported by the Associated Press. One recent headline, “ACLU to defend Amish on buggy light charges,” demonstrates ACLU involvement. In that article, distributed by Associated Press, the ACLU “will defend a group of Amish men in Kentucky charged with not displaying slow moving emblems on their horse-drawn buggies.” «Read the rest of this article»

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Before the Kafka Law of Military Commissions

April 18, 2008 |

Today, another hearing ended in turmoil when a 47-year-old Sudanese man, Ibrahim al-Qosi, refused representation and declared he would boycott the military commission, before which he is charged with conspiracy and providing material support to terrorism. Al-Qosi told the judge, Air Force Col. Nancy Paul, that he has been waiting for this day for four years, that he does not recognize the lawfulness of the military commission, and that he “leaves the field for you to play as you wish.”

Today, the fragile and flawed system of military commissions produced a new episode in its Kafkaesque system of “justice” series. As in the famous Franz Kafka piece “Before the Law,” Al-Qosi has waited “to gain entry into the law” only to discover that this unjust system was created for him (and the others declared “unlawful alien enemy combatants” by the Bush administration). In the Kafka story, the man who waits at the door until he is about to die asks the doorkeeper why, even though everyone seeks the law, no one else has come in all the years. To this question the doorkeeper replies: “No one else can gain entry, since this entrance was assigned only to you. I’m going now to close it.” «Read the rest of this article»

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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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Unconstitutional Acts to Protect the President from Protestors

January 15, 2008 |

In the waning days of this administration’s tenure, President Bush’s lack of interest in opinions contrary to his own is as striking as ever.  Most recently in New Mexico, a group of peaceful demonstrators was removed from the president’s sight, continuing the administration’s long-held tradition that dissenters should be neither seen nor heard.  Sound undemocratic? Indeed.

Last August, President Bush attended an exclusive, high-priced fundraiser for New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici.  Local activists opposed to the president’s policies were, of course, not invited.  To let the president know that not everyone agreed with him, they planned to stand along his motorcade route holding up signs expressing their views, especially their opposition to the war in Iraq.

The peaceful demonstrators’ attempt at free speech was quickly squashed when police officers forced them to stay at least 150 yards away from the motorcade route, walling them off by placing numerous police cars and officers on horseback between the protesters and the president.  Meanwhile, a group of Bush supporters was allowed to stand right along the motorcade route, where their “God Bless George Bush!  We pray for you!” sign was in plain view of both Bush and the journalists accompanying him. «Read the rest of this article»

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In the spirit of Christmas, the ACLU sings

By Rev. Charles Moreland | December 23, 2007 |

The Music of this Holiday Season is uplifting a prepares emotionally and spiritually the celebration of Christmas and the New Year. Whatever the faith, music and signing is indispensable and enriches out lives whether it’s sacred or secular.Joining us in our musical jubilation are myriad organizations who also recognize the values espoused in the songs, cards, and happiness of the season. In December, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Washington office joined carolers in expressing the peace, joy and hope of the season as expressed through music. «Read the rest of this article»

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Judge says section of Patriot Act “offends” Constitutional principles

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 6, 2007 |

“Democracy abhors undue secrecy … an unlimited government warrant to conceal… has no place in our open society… - US District Judge Victor Marrero

At least one part of the revised USA Patriot Act of 2001 has fallen under a federal judge’s gavel in a ruling that requires a court approval before investigators can order internet providers to turn over customer records. The ruling is another blow to already beleaguered Bush administration and its anti-terrorist policies.

The USA Patriot Act of 2001 (revised in 2005) is a perpetually controversial package of anti-terrorist legislation that has been sharply criticized for its apparent violations of basic constitutional rights and civil liberties.

In a 120-page ruling, US District Judge Victor Marrero supported the American Civil Liberties Union contention that the government’s ability to demand records and use administrative subpoenas known as security letters without warrants or judicial review was a violation of free speech and individual rights. The letters under protest include a gag order that also prohibited businesses from disclosing that such demands were even made. Marrero said the law “substantially deters any judicial challenge.” «Read the rest of this article»

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ACLU-TN Right to Vote Conference

By Terry McMoore | April 19, 2007 |

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) is holding a Right To Vote Conference entitled Breaking the Chains: From Jail Cell to Voting Booth on Thursday, May 3, from 8:30 to 4:30 at the United Steelworkers Union Hall (3340 Perimeter Hill Drive).

Conference highlights include:

• Marc Mauer addressing The US Record on Punishment (The Sentencing Project, Washington, DC);
• Jeff Manza discussing key findings published in his book Locked Out, Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL);
• Rachel Bloom contrasting international disenfranchisement practices with the US record (National ACLU, Washington, DC); and
• Nancy Abudu highlighting pending challenges to the child support and restitution provisions of the current Tennessee law (ACLU Southern Voting Rights Project, Atlanta, GA).

Workshops are designed to:

• Answer attorney and paralegal questions about the new law and share methods for addressing voter restoration issues (CLE credits available);
•  Offer agencies, organizations and churches strategies to help former felons register to vote (CEU credits available);
• Help former felons and their family members to improve their public speaking skills to better persuade the public to support voter re-enfranchisement.

For further information or to register contact the ACLU-TN Right to Vote Campaign at 615-320-7143 or rtv@aclu-tn.org, or visit the website at www.aclu-tn.org.

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ACLU Report Shows Widespread Pentagon Surveillance of Peace Activists

By Bill Larson | January 17, 2007 |

NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today released a new report revealing that the Pentagon monitored at least 186 anti-military protests in the United States and collected more than 2,800 reports involving Americans in an anti-terrorist threat database.

Pentagon Tracked at Least 186 Anti-Military Protests

“It cannot be an accident or coincidence that nearly 200 anti-war protests ended up in a Pentagon threat database,” said Ann Beeson, Associate Legal Director of the ACLU. “This unchecked surveillance is part of a broad pattern of the Bush administration using ‘national security’ as an excuse to run roughshod over the privacy and free speech rights of Americans.” «Read the rest of this article»

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