News & Commentary

The Rhode Island ACLU has today filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Corrections (DOC), alleging that correctional officials have engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional harassment against inmate Jason Cook after he publicly criticized Department of Corrections’ mail policies and sought legal assistance from the ACLU. The lawsuit, filed by ACLU volunteer attorneys from the law firm of DeLuca and Weizenbaum, details a series of retaliatory and disciplinary actions against Cook who, until he spoke out, had a relatively clean disciplinary record.

The Rhode Island ACLU submitted a friend of the court brief today supporting plaintiffs who are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston to order a new election for five Smithfield Town Council seats because of defective ballots that thousands of town voters used in casting their votes.

The RI ACLU testified yesterday against a Senate bill to set up a government-appointed council to “provide oversight” of youth sports organizations in the state, including the power to impose fines against coaches, players, parents or officials in response to complaints the council receives arising from youth sporting events. The RI ACLU called such government involvement “unnecessary and inappropriate.” 

Ruling in an Access to Public Records Act (APRA) lawsuit the R.I. ACLU filed against Governor Donald Carcieri last August, Superior Court Judge Patricia Hurst today ordered the Governor to release certain requested documents to the ACLU, and further ordered that additional records be turned over to her for in camera (private) review for her determination as to whether they too should be released. In doing so, she rejected motions by the Governor’s attorneys to dismiss the ACLU suit, filed by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Kathleen Managhan.

In response to an emergency request filed by the RI ACLU, a judge has halted the deportation of a key witness in the RI ACLU’s lawsuit on behalf of the family of Hiu Lui (“Jason”) Ng.  Ng was a 34-year-old Chinese detainee who died last August while in the custody of immigration officials at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls.  Prison officials denied Ng appropriate medical care despite his complaints of excruciating pain.  He was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and a broken spine less than a week before his death. 

The RI ACLU has sent a letter to Mayor Charles Moreau of Central Falls, expressing concern about the City’s response to the death of Hiu Lui Ng after mistreatment by prison employees at the Wyatt Detention Facility last August.  The letter contrasts city officials’ general silence surrounding Ng’s death with the City’s outcry at the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) decision to remove immigration detainees from Wyatt, and officials’ recent efforts to solicit a private buyer for the prison.  “The juxtaposition of these responses and the sense of priorities they highlight are extremely disturbing,” states the letter.  Even after Ng’s death, the letter notes, the City entrusted Wyatt to detain teenage curfew violators. 

The Rhode Island ACLU has today filed a federal lawsuit against the City of East Providence, challenging City Charter provisions that impose increased burdens, above and beyond what state law requires, on candidates who wish to run for local office. The lawsuit was filed by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Angel Taveras on behalf of Brian Monteiro, an unsuccessful Ward 2 candidate for the East Providence School Committee in the 2008 primary election.

The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the family of Hiu Lui (“Jason”) Ng, a 34-year-old Chinese detainee who died last August while in the custody of immigration officials at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls.

The Rhode Island ACLU has today filed a federal lawsuit against Rhode Island elections officials on behalf of the Moderate Party of Rhode Island (MPRI), challenging the State’s restrictive ballot access laws. The lawsuit, filed by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Mark W. Freel, argues that the laws unconstitutionally impede the ability of fledgling groups like MPRI from gaining formal recognition as a political party.