News & Commentary

Over 1,200 needy families suffered delays in receiving SNAP benefits in March, including over 800 families who qualified for expedited benefits because of their emergency need, according to a recent RI Department of Human Services (DHS) report. The report was required by the recent settlement of a lawsuit filed in December by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island (ACLU) and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice  (NCLEJ), challenging DHS's failure to timely process SNAP applications.

The ACLU of Rhode Island today filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Cranston, challenging its blatantly selective enforcement of an ordinance that bars the placement of commercial advertisements on city property. The suit was filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Richard A. Sinapi on behalf of attorney Stephen Hunter, who was threatened with fines if he did not take down signs advertising his business that he had posted at various intersections throughout the city – even though there were dozens of other advertising signs posted at the same locations and many hundreds more citywide, which were, and have been, left untouched and not cited.

The ACLU of RI is proud to testify today in support of the Community Safety Act at the Providence City Council's Ordinance Committee public hearing.  The comprehensive ordinance was spearheaded by the STEP Up Coalition to ban racial profiling and other discriminatory practices by Providence law enforcement, and "change the way that police interact with members of our community…"

The ACLU of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Disability Law Center have sent a letter to every police chief in Rhode Island urging them to ensure their policies comply with federal anti-discrimination laws regarding accommodations for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The letter was prompted by the organizations' recent settlement of a federal lawsuit on behalf of Woonsocket resident David Alves. In July 2015, Alves, who is profoundly deaf, was unlawfully arrested and detained overnight by Woonsocket police and was not provided an interpreter or any other services to allow him to communicate. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island (ACLU) and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice  (NCLEJ) today announced that a settlement agreement has been signed with the state in the federal lawsuit the groups filed in December over the widespread failure of the state Department of Human Services (DHS) to timely provide SNAP food stamp benefits to needy families due to its troubled UHIP computer system. The settlement was reached with the assistance of U.S. District Court Chief Judge William Smith and is subject to the Court’s approval.

The ACLU of Rhode Island has filed a brief today in Narragansett Municipal Court seeking dismissal of the charges against twelve people and businesses for violating a Town ordinance barring more than four unrelated people from living together. The brief, filed by ACLU of RI volunteer attorney H. Jefferson Melish, argues that the housing restriction, aimed at unruly URI students, is unconstitutional.

In recognition of a continuing backlog causing undue hardship to hundreds of poor residents, the ACLU of Rhode Island has set up a telephone hotline for people to call if they are having trouble with their SNAP (food stamp) application being processed in a timely manner due to the state’s months-long UHIP computer fiasco.

A federal court has ruled that federal immigration officials and the state of Rhode Island violated the Constitution in detaining a U.S. citizen without probable cause while the federal government investigated her immigration status.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island (ACLU) and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice  (NCLEJ) have today filed a class action lawsuit over the state’s ongoing, critical, and widespread failure to timely provide food stamp benefits to needy families due in large part to its transition to a new, and very troubled, computer system.