WEATHER ALERT
Civil rights groups sue Florida agency over website discussing Amendment 4, allege it’s spreading ‘misinformation’
Read full article: Civil rights groups sue Florida agency over website discussing Amendment 4, allege it’s spreading ‘misinformation’Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration Thursday alleging it is using a website and ads to spread “misinformation” about the amendment on abortion rights.
Amendment 4 advocates plan to file lawsuit accusing state agency of misusing taxpayer funds for political purposes
Read full article: Amendment 4 advocates plan to file lawsuit accusing state agency of misusing taxpayer funds for political purposesSupporters of a proposed constitutional amendment that would overrule Florida’s six-week abortion ban say they are now planning to sue, accusing a state health agency of illegally using taxpayer money to push a political agenda.
Missouri says clinic that challenged transgender treatment restrictions didn't provide proper care
Read full article: Missouri says clinic that challenged transgender treatment restrictions didn't provide proper careMissouri officials struck back at one of the clinics that unsuccessfully challenged new state restrictions on gender affirming care by filing a new lawsuit accusing the clinic of failing to provide proper care for transgender minors even before the new law took effect last month.
Texas ban on gender-affirming health care for minors blocked, Missouri ban allowed to take effect
Read full article: Texas ban on gender-affirming health care for minors blocked, Missouri ban allowed to take effectA Texas judge has blocked the state’s upcoming ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, the latest move in a legal fight over transgender rights.
Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materials
Read full article: Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materialsA federal judge has temporarily blocked Arkansas from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors.
Children face solitary confinement in cells at Illinois juvenile detention facility, ACLU says
Read full article: Children face solitary confinement in cells at Illinois juvenile detention facility, ACLU saysYoung people are confined to cells the size of parking spaces up to 23 hours per day alone, with fluorescent lights that never turn off, at Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center in Benton, Illinois.
Future of Pride event in Massachusetts town still uncertain
Read full article: Future of Pride event in Massachusetts town still uncertainThe future of a Pride event that included a drag show in a small Massachusetts town remains up in the air after town officials held another vote on whether to allow the event.
ACLU calls jury selection processes in Jacksonville death penalty cases ‘discriminatory’
Read full article: ACLU calls jury selection processes in Jacksonville death penalty cases ‘discriminatory’Defense attorneys in two death penalty cases are challenging what they say is a discriminatory jury selection process.
Missouri to restrict transgender care for minors, adults
Read full article: Missouri to restrict transgender care for minors, adultsMissouri’s attorney general announced new restrictions Thursday on transgender care for adults in addition to minors in a move that is believed to be a first nationally and has advocacy groups threatening to sue.
Supreme Court won't revive lawsuit over NSA surveillance
Read full article: Supreme Court won't revive lawsuit over NSA surveillanceThe Supreme Court has declined to revive an ACLU lawsuit challenging a portion of the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international email and phone communications.
ACLU lawsuit: Louisiana deputies punched Black man in 2019
Read full article: ACLU lawsuit: Louisiana deputies punched Black man in 2019A lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Louisiana is alleging sheriff's deputies in that state beat a Black man so brutally in 2019 that they broke his nose and left eye socket.
Court rejects lawsuit against NSA on "state secrets" grounds
Read full article: Court rejects lawsuit against NSA on "state secrets" groundsA divided federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of an ACLU lawsuit challenging a portion of the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international email and phone communications.
ACLU sends letter to St. Johns County school district urging further changes in dress code policy
Read full article: ACLU sends letter to St. Johns County school district urging further changes in dress code policyAs the St. Johns County School District continues to grapple with a dress code policy that has been the source of controversy for months and is the subject of a federal investigation, the ACLU of Florida weighed in Friday, sending a letter to the district about the policy.
Federal judge could soon rule on $30K initiative contribution limit
Read full article: Federal judge could soon rule on $30K initiative contribution limitSeveral dozen proposed amendments in Florida have been filed for the 2022 ballot, but new restrictions on contributions for initiatives are expected to slow any efforts to amend the state constitution.
ACLU of Florida says legal observers will be critical in light of ‘anti-riot’ law
Read full article: ACLU of Florida says legal observers will be critical in light of ‘anti-riot’ lawThe American Civil Liberties Union of Florida says legal observers will be critical after Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed into law a controversial bill creating penalties for people who participate in protests that turn violent.
2 detained for speaking Spanish settle border patrol lawsuit
Read full article: 2 detained for speaking Spanish settle border patrol lawsuit– Two women who were detained in northern Montana by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents for speaking Spanish while shopping at a convenience store have reached an undisclosed monetary settlement in their lawsuit against the agency, the ACLU of Montana announced Tuesday. “Ma’am, the reason I asked you for your ID is because I came in here and I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here,” O’Neill said in the video. “We stood up to the government because speaking Spanish is not a reason to be racially profile and harassed,” Suda said in a statement provided by the ACLU. In gathering information for the lawsuit, the ACLU said Customs and Border Protection agents in northern Montana acknowledged they routinely profiled non-white people. “If there's somebody speaking Spanish down there it's like all of a sudden you've got five agents swarming in, ‘What’s going on?'
He applied for a green card. Then the FBI came calling
Read full article: He applied for a green card. Then the FBI came callingAfter marrying an American citizen and becoming an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota, Ostadhassan applied for a green card. A month later, he applied for a green card. "That has not been the case for any other marriage-based green card interview I have ever sat in on. He later amended his green card application after hiring Balgamwalla, who told him to include all of his past associations. It was another rejection of Ostadhassan's green card application, citing the previous rejection.
ACLU: Sheriff's office holds all Hispanics for immigration check
Read full article: ACLU: Sheriff's office holds all Hispanics for immigration check- When Ramon Torres was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, he produced his Louisiana driver's license, social security card, and U.S. passport, but the ACLU says the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office refused to release him until an ICE official confirmed his immigration status. When Torres asked his jailers why he was being held and why his citizenship was in question, Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office deputies told Torres that every Hispanic person was automatically held for a immigration review, according to a new lawsuit the ACLU of Louisiana has filed against the sheriff's office. "Ramon Torres was held in jail for four days simply because he has brown skin and a Latino name," ACLU of Louisiana legal director Katie Schwartzmann said. Not doing so violated Torres' constitutional rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, according to the ACLU. "The increasing national rhetoric of fear and racism around immigration is tearing apart our local communities," Schwartzmann said.
ACLU: Felons' voting rights law undermines Amendment 4
Read full article: ACLU: Felons' voting rights law undermines Amendment 4JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida hosted a meeting Thursday in Jacksonville, discussing plans to fight a new state law, which it says is a threat to Amendment 4. The Legislature passed the law this spring to carry out the November constitutional amendment designed to restore the voting rights of felons. Voting- and civil-rights groups, including the ACLU, went to federal court contending that the law improperly ties restoration of felons voting rights to their ability to pay financial obligations -- what critics of the law have described as a poll tax."They immediately set toward undermining and restricting Amendment 4. Now they talk about it in terms of implementing Amendment 4," said Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. ACLU attorney Jimmy Midyette also expressed concerns about racial disparity with the legislation (SB 7066), saying that African Americans are less likely to be freed of these financial obligations before getting back their voting rights.