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Privacy
Court Cases Over the Years
The Right to Privacy
“The right to be left alone,” U.S. Supreme Court Louis Brandeis noted more than 100 years ago, is a basic human right, and the ACLU has vigorously fought for that right, as the cases below demonstrate:
1977: Michaelson v. New England Telephone Company
Successful intervention in opposition to a suit brought by the Attorney General to force the phone company to give assistance in court-ordered wiretaps.
1980: Santos v. Brown
Representation of person convicted of violating state sodomy law prohibiting “the abominable and detestable crime against nature”; the conviction was reversed on other grounds.
1983: Harris v. Moran
Favorably settled federal court suit challenging prison strip-searching of female visitors on the basis of unsubstantiated tips.
1984: Planned Parenthood v. Board of Medical Review
Successful challenge to state law requiring husbands to be notified before a woman could have an abortion.
1986: Deleiris v. Scott
Successful federal challenge to Health Department policy denying birth certificates to parents who refused to provide personal information on a hospital birth worksheet.
1987: Field v. Field
“Friend of the court” brief filed in state Supreme Court against Family Court custody restrictions on a mother solely because of her sexual orientation; the case was settled.
1988: Parillo v. Parillo
R.I. Supreme Court appeal filed on behalf of a mother barred by Family Court from allowing her boyfriend to stay overnight when her children were present.
1989: Virella v. Scott
Favorably settled federal lawsuit challenging Health Department policy denying married but separated women the right to give their children the surname of their choice.
1989: Pimental v. Department of Transportation
“Friend of the court” brief in the state Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of drunk driving roadblocks; the court ruled them unconstitutional.
1993: Vote Choice v. DiStefano
Federal lawsuit successfully challenging a state law requiring that the names of people making small donations to controversial PAC’s be made public.
1994: Ducharme v. State of Rhode Island, Division of State Police
Favorably settled federal lawsuit challenging the strip search of a person arrested for disorderly conduct.
1998: Liu v. Striuli
“Friend of the court” brief filed in this sexual harassment case, successfully opposing a ruling that the defendant waived any doctor-patient privilege in his psychiatric records by discussing his treatment with the plaintiff.
2001: Reitsma v. Vinagro
Challenge to an injunction sought by the DEM to search a defendant’s property at any time without a warrant; favorable court decision issued.
2002: Lanoue v. City of Woonsocket
Federal lawsuit challenging, on Fourth Amendment grounds, a police department’s actions in strip-searching the plaintiff and leaving her naked in a holding cell for over five hours after she was arrested for “driving under the influence.”
See Other Highlighted Privacy Cases:
Return to: Recent Privacy Court Cases
Providence, RI 02903