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.”

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.

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.

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.”

Saying that it “sends a very discouraging message to minority youth in the state,” the RI ACLU today criticized a 2-1 decision issued on Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals, rejecting the appeal by a group of Central Falls High School students who were subjected to a controversial search by Coventry Police after a school soccer game in 2006. Over the vigorous dissent of Judge Rogeriee Thompson, the majority ruled that the police could have reasonably believed that the search did not violate the students’ constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Rhode Island ACLU had filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the students’ appeal.

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the appeal by a group of Central Falls High School students who were subject to a controversial search by Coventry Police after a school soccer game in 2006. Last year, a federal judge dismissed the students’ lawsuit, ruling that the police could have reasonably believed that the search did not violate the students’ constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

The Rhode Island ACLU today announced the favorable settlement of a suit it filed against the City of Pawtucket in July, charging city officials with violating a state law that restricts random drug testing in the workplace.

The Rhode Island ACLU has today filed suit against the City of Pawtucket, charging city officials with blatantly violating a state law that restricts random drug testing in the workplace.

Claiming that not enough has been done to protect the privacy rights of patients, the Rhode Island ACLU today filed suit against the R.I. Department of Health (DOH), challenging the inadequacy of rules the agency has adopted to implement a centralized database of patient health care records in the state. The Health Information Exchange (HIE), established by legislation (link to bill as enacted) approved by the General Assembly in 2008, will allow medical personnel to routinely access a patient’s entire medical file, including mental health records and other sensitive medical information.