News & Commentary

Expressing “dismay and disappointment” at the state’s actions, the ACLU of Rhode Island today called on state officials to stop conducting criminal background checks on all of the Hurricane Katrina evacuees who have relocated to Rhode Island this week. The ACLU called the checks “intrusive, humiliating and discriminatory.” Below is a statement issued by RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown:

As students head back to school, the R.I. ACLU said today that a survey of school district practices across the state shows that many districts are not fully protecting the privacy rights of students in interactions with military recruiters. In a letter sent to school district superintendents across the state, the Rhode Island ACLU urged administrators to improve their procedures to inform parents and students about their right to control the release of student information to the military.

At the urging of the ACLU, local media outlets and open records advocates, the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island announced that it will amend a proposed court rule that, as originally written, would have severely curtailed the First Amendment rights of lawyers, litigants and court employees. 

The ACLU of Rhode Island has called on the Coventry School Committee to abandon its practice of barring community members from speaking about “personnel, litigation or negotiation” during the public comment portion of its meetings.  In a letter sent to the school committee and its solicitor, the ACLU argued that the policy was clearly unconstitutional.

In a 15-page report released today, the ACLU of Rhode Island said that a review of the latest statistics on police department traffic stops in the state shows an increase in searches of racial minorities even as white drivers are more likely to be found with contraband when searches are conducted. The statistics cover January through March 2005, the second quarter of a year-long study mandated by state law. That collection of data follows up a similar, comprehensive study of traffic stop data for 2001-2002.

Three local groups concerned about freedom of the press and the public’s right to know today criticized R.I. Attorney General Patrick Lynch for refusing to join with 34 fellow Attorneys General –- including those in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont – who last week filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the appeal of journalists Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper. These two nationally respected journalists are facing contempt of court sentences for refusing to reveal sources in response to a federal grand jury subpoena.

The ACLU today filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey’s lawsuit seeking an order allowing him to continue to host a radio talk show on WPRO. The brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston, precedes oral argument in the case scheduled on Thursday. Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lisi rejected Laffey’s request for a temporary restraining order against the Board of Elections’ ruling that the radio show constituted an illegal campaign contribution under state election law.

For the third time in two years, the ACLU of Rhode Island has taken legal action against the Town of North Smithfield, this time for a violation of the state’s open records law. The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court by ACLU volunteer attorney Karen Davidson, is on behalf of realtor Sam Butterfield, who unsuccessfully sought access to the Town’s on-line database of tax assessment information without having to provide personal data.

The ACLU of Rhode Island has filed a lawsuit against the state Division of Motor Vehicles, charging the agency with a complete failure to comply with an important state law designed to ensure open and responsive government. That law is the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), which requires state agencies to provide advance public notice and seek public comment before they adopt rules and regulations governing their activities.