Legislation

In April and May, the ACLU testified before the House and Senate Judiciary committees, respectively, in support of legislation to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana use by adults.

The General Assembly approved important legislation allowing individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to ease their symptoms using medical marijuana.

The General Assembly seemed poised to pass a number of bills aimed at improving the criminal justice system, including bills clarifying the definition of misdemeanor and felony, a bill adjusting the way probation and parole are done, and a bill establishing a Superior Court diversion program.

In March and April, the ACLU gave testimony to the Senate and House Judiciary committees in support of legislation limiting the use of solitary confinement.

The ACLU testified in support of legislation ensuring juveniles given lengthy prison sentences would have the opportunity to appear before the parole board within fifteen years after the start of their sentence.

This year, the General Assembly approved legislation, submitted on behalf of the Attorney General, undermining a previous effort to decriminalize marijuana effort by placing juveniles caught with marijuana back in front of a Family Court judge instead of the Traffic Tribunal.

Language in legislation to combat human trafficking carried serious potential for unintended consequences, including the further victimization of individuals caught up in trafficking.

In February and March, the ACLU testified in opposition to broadly worded legislation that treated whistleblowers and overzealous spouses the same as malicious hackers, subjecting them to felony penalties for gaining "unauthorized access" to a computer.

This legislation gives the police unilateral authority, without court review, to obtain Internet subscriber information on new crimes including “online impersonation,” a law that already raises serious First Amendment concerns.