News & Commentary

Ruling in an open meetings lawsuit brought by the Rhode Island ACLU and the Barrington Times, R.I. Superior Court Judge Brian Stern held yesterday that Barrington School Committee meeting agendas often violated the Open Meetings Act by “patently disregard[ing] the spirit and purpose” of the Act and “the public’s statutorily-protected right to be advised of the workings of its governmental bodies through appropriate notice.” Another portion of the ruling, which upheld the School Committee’s closure of a meeting in 2009 to discuss the merits of instituting a mandatory breathalyzer policy for all students attending school dances, also established significant limitations on what can constitute a valid basis for meeting with legal counsel in executive session.

The Rhode Island ACLU has today filed a federal lawsuit charging Providence police with violating the free speech rights of a local resident in February when she was stopped from peacefully leafleting on a public sidewalk in front of a building where Mayor Cicilline was speaking.

Just weeks after R.I. Superior Court Judge William Carnes denied a motion by Family Court Judges to dismiss the ACLU’s class-action lawsuit challenging various Truancy Court practices and procedures, the ACLU has amended its complaint in the case, adding four new school districts as defendants - East Providence, South Kingstown, Burrillville and Smithfield.

The Town of North Kingstown has agreed to the entry of a temporary restraining order limiting enforcement of a constitutionally problematic political sign ordinance that the Rhode Island ACLU challenged in federal court on Wednesday. The agreement eliminates the need for a planned court hearing this afternoon on the ACLU’s request for a restraining order.

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of North Kingstown, challenging an ordinance that discriminatorily limits the posting of political signs in the town. The suit was filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Richard A. Sinapi on behalf of independent Congressional candidate John O. Matson, who was forced to take down a number of his political signs this month after being notified that they violated the town’s zoning restrictions on the size and placement of such signs.

The Rhode Island ACLU was one of only two organizations to raise concerns about enactment of the statute passed in June by the General Assembly, and aimed at Central Falls, authorizing the state to appoint a “receiver” to “distressed” municipalities. The law was introduced, heard, voted on and signed into law within the space of less than 72 hours. RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement in response to Judge Silverstein’s ruling today upholding the law’s constitutionality:

The State has paid over $5,500 in attorneys’ fees and costs to the RI ACLU to conclude an Access to Public Records Act (APRA) lawsuit the ACLU filed against Governor Donald Carcieri in 2008 seeking access to documents addressing the “chain of command” when the Governor is out of state.

In an important procedural ruling, R.I. Superior Court Judge William Carnes today denied a motion by Family Court Judges to dismiss the ACLU’s class-action lawsuit challenging various Truancy Court practices and procedures. In a 67-page opinion, the Judge found there was a sufficient basis for the ACLU to begin limited discovery against the defendants in the lawsuit. In the meantime, the Judge called on the parties to assist with a schedule to keep the case on track.

Claiming that the Narragansett Police Department has “set a very dangerous precedent that could have a significantly chilling effect on freedom of speech by town residents,” the Rhode Island ACLU has called on the town’s Police Chief to drop criminal “cyberstalking” charges recently lodged against two town residents in separate incidents. The charges stem from vulgar comments the residents made about two local politicians on a Craigslist website devoted to “rants and raves.”