This week, the Senate is expected to begin floor consideration of S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. There are multiple areas of ACLU interest with respect to this legislation, including LGBT-inclusive provisions, housing protections for victims of domestic violence, and protections against abuse for immigrants in detention.
Coming up next month: it's not too early to think about Equal Pay Day (EPD), which falls on April 17 this year. EPD marks how far women, on average, have to work into 2012 to be paid the same as men were paid in 2011. We will be working in conjunction with the Obama administration and the Paycheck Fairness Coalition to promote issues of fair pay for EPD.
Monday, March 19
Today we're filing a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR) against the U.S. on behalf of three Afghanis and three Iraqis who were tortured while held by the American military at detention centers in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2003 and 2004. They were part of a group of men that in 2005 sued then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and three senior military officials in federal court for their torture and abuse. That case was summarily dismissed on immunity grounds before reaching the merits.
Tuesday, March 20
Juvenile Justice: The Supreme Court will hear two cases, Jackson v. Hobbs and Miller v. Alabama, which will decide whether children can be sentenced to life without parole after being convicted of homicide.
ID Theft: The Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing titled "The Spread of Tax Fraud by Identity Theft."
REAL ID: The Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "Secure Identification: The REAL ID Act's (PL 109-13) Minimum Standards for Driver's Licenses and Identification Cards."
Employment: The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Ensuring Regulations Protect Access to Affordable and Quality Companion Care." This hearing will be examine the Department of Labor's proposed rule to provide most home care workers with federal minimum wage and overtime protections. The ACLU will be submitting agency comments in support of the proposed rule on March 12.
Wednesday, March 21
Privacy: The Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on ways to balance prosperity and security, focusing on challenges for the United States air travel in the 21st century global economy.
Employment: The House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing on the fiscal 2013 budget request for the activities and operations of the Department of Labor. Secretary of Labor Hila Solis will testify. ACLU will be monitoring.
Immigration: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the fiscal 2013 budget request for the operations and programs of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano will testify.
Thursday, March 22
Education: The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on proposed fiscal 2013 appropriations for the Departments of Education. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will testify. ACLU will be monitoring.
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News & CommentaryDec 2024
Civil Liberties
We Need to Know More About State Supreme Court CasesWe Need to Know More About State Supreme Court Cases
State Supreme Courts interpret laws that impact some of the most intimate parts of our lives. Communities have a right to know what’s on the docket. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Civil Liberties
New ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency MeasuresNew ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency Measures
NEW YORK — Nearly half of all state supreme courts across the country fail to regularly post new cases they are considering, with only six meeting four key transparency measures already implemented by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new report published today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The report identifies significant steps that state supreme courts should take to inform the public about their cases, which have only grown in importance as the federal judiciary has become more hostile to protecting core rights and advocates have turned to state protections and state court litigation in response. Based on an analysis of the practices and policies of the highest courts in each state, including D.C., the report “Scorecard for State Supreme Court Transparency: How Does Your State Stack Up?” ranks each state supreme court in five tiers based on compliance with four key transparency measures. These measures include posting new cases online in a timely manner, providing timely information about legal issues presented by cases, making dockets accessible and free for the public, and making merits briefing accessible and free for the public. “State courts regularly hear — and are the final word on — cases affecting abortion rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and more. Yet, in many instances, the highest state courts do not provide meaningful public access to information about cases affecting the rights and liberties of millions of people. We urge state supreme courts to bring more transparency to the critical work they do,” said Julie Murray, co-director of the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative. “In the face of a federal judiciary increasingly unwilling to protect core rights and an incoming administration that threatens to exacerbate that problem, state courts are an important defense for our liberty. They should be leaders in transparency, too,” said Bridget Lavender, Skadden Fellow with the Initiative. The report emphasizes that state courts “play an outsized role” in many parts of the law, but their ability to “guard our liberties depends in significant part on whether those courts adopt transparent processes.” It further highlights that state supreme courts have led the way on enormously consequential decisions in recent years. In particular, some state supreme courts have recognized the right of same sex couples to marry, and did so long before federal courts. They have also declared the death penalty unconstitutional under state law despite contrary federal law, protected access to reproductive health care as a right even as that right was being stripped away at the federal level, and provided more robust protection to people subject to unreasonable searches and seizures. The report urges state supreme courts to take action to improve their transparency practices, taking notes from the courts that have already implemented these measures. It notes that regularly posting new cases and the issues they represent, and providing timely access to dockets and merits briefing allows the public, the press, and the legal community to track cases as they unfold, identify cases with statewide consequences, and understand what’s at stake. -
Press ReleaseNov 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
ACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political EnemiesACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups — by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on an unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. “Passing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,” said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU. “The freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block H.R. 9495 before it’s too late.” While there is a 90-day “cure” period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations. This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as "support," making it virtually impossible to clear its name. Last month, the ACLU and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations — including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants’ rights groups — wrote to Congress urging them to vote no. The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad. Indeed, these provisions have already passed the Senate on their own, and if the House of Representatives were to pass a version of this bill that did not include the text of H.R. 6408, it could be sent immediately to President Biden for his signature. -
News & CommentaryNov 2024
Civil Liberties
Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.
Starting in 2016, the ACLU filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump and his administration. As Trump returns to the White House, we’re ready to return to the courts and Congress to fight for our civil liberties.