Rhode Island Affiliate, American Civil Liberties Union
The Rhode Island ACLU has recently published a brochure answering commonly asked questions about protests and demonstrations in Rhode Island. Check it out!
“It’s exciting to be a part of a historic organization that is on the front lines of defending our Constitutional freedoms every single day.”
Read Meg's membership story here.
Latest News
January 18, 2012
A federal district court heard oral arguments today on whether to dismiss an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official from the federal lawsuit filed by the R.I. ACLU on behalf of the family of a detainee who died while in the custody of immigration officials at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. ACLU volunteer attorneys Fidelma Fitzpatrick and Robert McConnell urged the judge to reject the government’s motion.
Judge Rules Cranston Prayer Mural Unconstitutional
January 12, 2012
The Rhode Island ACLU today applauded a decision issued by U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux in the ACLU’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a prayer mural addressed to “Our Heavenly Father” that is displayed in the auditorium of a Cranston public high school. In a 40-page opinion, the court found the display to violate the First Amendment and ordered its immediate removal.
ACLU and Press Groups Challenge State Law Restricting Political Advertising
January 4, 2012
The Rhode Island Press Association and Beacon Communications, the publisher of the Warwick Beacon, have today filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that has been interpreted to bar the media from running advertisements containing the names and photographs of public officials without their permission. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on the groups’ behalf by the Rhode Island ACLU, argues that the statute “has an impermissible and unconstitutional chilling effect on free speech and on the free exchange of ideas” in violation of the First Amendment.
Providence, RI 02903