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Protecting Civil Liberties in Rhode Island for Over 50 Years

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COVID-19 & Civil Liberties in RI

The ACLU of RI continues to monitor the government's response to COVID-19 and its impact on civil liberties. Our related actions (detailed below and to the right) are motivated by the following principles:

  • Government responses should be based on science & public health.
  • Any response plan must protect the health, safety, and civil liberties of all.
  • We need to pay particular attention to the most vulnerable people in our society, including people who are detained and incarcerated.
  • Government transparency and the right to vote are fundamental to our democracy – especially in times of crisis.

Page last updated August 5, 2020.

Click a topic to scroll down to that section.

INCARCERATED & DETAINED PEOPLE

  • More than half of the total ICE detainees at Wyatt have been conditionally released due to a class action lawsuit we filed.
  • We wrote to officials at both the Dept. of Corrections (DOC) and the Wyatt Detention Center, calling on them to develop evidence-based, proactive plans for the prevention and management of COVID-19.  That letter is here.
  • We wrote to the DOC requesting that officials start making public bi-weekly reports documenting COVID-19 cases, testing and other data.  Wyatt had already been court ordered to do this. Click here for the letter we sent.

VOTING RIGHTS

RIGHTS of PEOPLE with DISABILITIES

DUE PROCESS & UI BENEFITS

  • On June 3, the DLT agreed to take interim action to address frozen unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in response to our class-action lawsuit challenging the agency's actions in summarily suspending the benefits for hundreds of people - without any notice or explanation.

4TH AMENDMENT RIGHTS

  • An Executive Order from Governor Raimondo gave police the power to stop cars with ANY out-of-state license plates coming into Rhode Island.  Police exercise of this power raises extraordinarily serious constitutional concerns, and the ACLU called on the Governor to amend or repeal the EO in question.  However, because - during the stops - the police do not ask for ID, disavow any attempt at law enforcement, and take no action against drivers who refuse to provide info, the ACLU has not taken legal action. Our blog post providing more detail on our position, which was also published as an op-ed in the Providence Journal, can be found here.

STUDENTS' RIGHTS

  • In response to concerns raised by the ACLU and other advocacy organizations, as well as attorneys specializing in special education law, Education Commissioner Infante-Green recently issued guidance to school districts ensuring that students with disabilities who have been disadvantaged by remote learning obtain necessary in-person instruction.
  • The ACLU of RI conducted a review of school district tech privacy policies in the state, finding that many districts allow for widespread snooping on both students and families. The review found that many school district policies on this issue allow for remote access to school-loaned computers’ microphones and cameras, and third-party programs used for remote learning that are installed on both loaned devices and personal computers allow school officials to view weeks of browsing activity. The ACLU urged school districts to amend their practices and strengthen privacy rights for students.

PRIVACY

  • We issued a statement regarding the Governor's announcement of a voluntary contact tracing app. 
  • In response to news reports that the Department of Health is sharing with law enforcement the addresses of people who have COVID-19, we sent a letter expressing grave concern and urging the DOH to cease this information-sharing.  That letter is here.

OPEN GOVERNMENT

QUARANTINE

  • The ACLU continues to monitor the state's actions in quarantining individuals and in RI's technological approach to contact tracing. In April, we wrote the state on behalf of one couple with homes in both RI and NY who travel back and forth every few weeks for chemotherapy treatments, and who face quarantine every time they return to Rhode Island. The letter raises concerns about the lack of due process procedures to challenge a quarantine order as well as the state's failure to have the infrastructure in place to ensure that people quarantined have access to food and other necessities.

COURT CLOSURES

  • The courts are currently open to hear pleas from arrestees and pre-trial detainees to reduce their bail, and they continue to hold judicial bypass hearings for minors seeking abortions. Certain non-emergency court matters have also resumed.  For specific information, visit the RI Judiciary website.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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