News & Commentary

The Rhode Island ACLU today issued a report examining some of the civil liberties battles that have taken place specifically in Rhode Island in the past decade in response to the government’s “war on terrorism.” Noting that the tenth anniversary of 9/11 offers a time for reflection on the “devastating and horrific loss of life that occurred that day,” the report adds that it also presents an opportunity to reflect on the government’s response and, how “all too often, it has acted in ways inimical to basic civil liberties.”

The RI ACLU has today filed suit against the RI Department of Public Safety (DPS), arguing that the agency failed to provide the public an appropriate opportunity to comment on controversial regulations establishing its policies for public access to DPS records. The suit, filed in R.I. Superior Court by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Jennifer Azevedo, argues that the DPS violated a state law known as the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), which is designed to ensure that state executive agencies go through a public rule-making process in adopting policies governing their conduct.

Less than nine months after adopting regulations restricting the public’s access to arrest reports, the RI Department of Public Safety (DPS) is proposing to hide even more of those records from public view. In preparation for a public hearing scheduled for next Tuesday, the RI ACLU has filed written testimony urging that the proposal be withdrawn.

In a campaign coordinated with its national office, the Rhode Island ACLU today sent open records requests to the RI State Police and the Providence Police Department to obtain information as to how and the extent they are using cell phone location data to track  the movements of Rhode Islanders. The requests are an effort to strip away the secrecy that has generally surrounded law enforcement use of cell phone tracking capabilities across the country.

The Rhode Island ACLU and CVS/pharmacy announced today the voluntary settlement of a complaint that challenged the company’s use of a pre-hire questionnaire that the ACLU claimed could have a discriminatory impact on people with certain mental impairments or disorders.

Governor Lincoln Chafee has signed into law an ACLU bill that will close a loophole in a long-standing state law designed to protect consumers’ privacy and help reduce the problem of identity theft.  The new law bars most merchants from demanding any part of a customer’s social security number in order to complete a sale.

Rhode Island ACLU executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement today in response to Governor Lincoln Chafee’s signing into law a bill requiring voters to present photo identification in order to vote at the polls:

The RI ACLU has called on Governor Lincoln Chafee to veto legislation that would allow police to obtain Internet subscriber service information without the need of a warrant or other judicial oversight. In a letter to the Governor, the ACLU argues that enactment of the bills, S-781A and H-5093A, “would not only lead to a very serious erosion of privacy rights, but will also have a chilling impact on freedom of speech.”

Eight organizations – including the RI ACLU, the RI Commission for Human Rights, the RI State Council of Churches, the Urban League of RI and the American Friends Service Committee – have today issued a statement that commends Governor Lincoln Chafee for seeking to prevent the institution of federal death penalty charges against Jason Wayne Pleau, and calls on the U.S. Attorney to cease those efforts.