News & Commentary

The ACLU of Rhode Island has filed a “friend of the court” brief addressing the issue whether the civil commitment hearing of convicted sex offender Todd McElroy should be public. In this highly publicized case, the Governor and Attorney General took steps to invoke the mental health civil commitment process just weeks before McElroy’s 17-year prison sentence was scheduled to end. The ACLU and a number of medical groups have been very critical of the state’s efforts in that regard.

Newly obtained documents reveal that Rhode Island state officials are concerned that federal legislation called the Real ID Act will require extensive changes to existing practices at the Registry of Motor Vehicles and will carry expenses of more than $20 million that will have to be absorbed by state taxpayers and license applicants. The Act, passed by Congress last spring without public hearings, imposes federal regulations on the design, issuance and management of state driver’s licenses – turning them, for all practical purposes, into a National ID card. RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown today called the information contained in the documents “one of many compelling reasons for Congress to repeal this ill-conceived law.”

The Rhode Island ACLU has filed an appeal in federal court on behalf of an ACI inmate who has been barred from preaching during Christian religious services at the state prison. The plaintiff, Wesley Spratt, had been preaching at ACI services for seven years before he was unilaterally stopped from doing so based on vague and generalized “security” concerns. The appeal, filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Carly Beauvais Iafrate, argues that the preaching ban violates a federal law designed to protect the religious freedom of institutionalized persons.

The Rhode Island ACLU today released a 35-page report that challenges recent highly-publicized claims about Rhode Island’s high alcohol fatality accident rate and the accompanying push for punitive drunk driving legislation at the State House this year. The report was released at a news conference today at which the ACLU was joined by the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Association of Rhode Island (DATA) in echoing the report’s findings and calling for an emphasis on treatment and other non-punitive measures to address the problem.

ACLU volunteer attorney John Dineen has asked a federal judge to hold Anthony Fire District Chief Walter Mruk in contempt of court – and personally fine him – for failing to abide by a consent agreement he entered into more than a year ago in an ACLU free speech case. The underlying suit had challenged a “gag order” issued by Mruk, barring two firefighters from publicly expressing fire-department related concerns without first getting his approval.

The ACLU of Rhode Island charged today that U.S. military officials have illegally engaged in monitoring peaceful protest activities of local anti-war demonstrators, and called for an immediate investigation of the matter. 

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a federal lawsuit challenging on free speech grounds state laws and regulations that allow billboard signs on buildings near highways only if the sign promotes an activity taking place on the property. The suit is on behalf of Anthony Joseph Vono and his business, Specialty Promotions, which have been cited by the state Department of Transportation for having a billboard sign that advertises “off premises activity.”

The RI ACLU today commended the issuance this week of a state Department of Education advisory to all school district superintendents, reminding them of their obligation to protect the privacy rights of students in interactions with military recruiters. The advisory, issued by DOE Commissioner Peter McWalters, follows a survey the ACLU released in August, showing that many local school districts did not have proper procedures in place to inform parents and students about their legal right to control the release of student information to the military.

In a 30-page report released today, the ACLU of Rhode Island said that a review of the latest statistics on police department traffic stop searches shows continued evidence of racial profiling in the state. The statistics further demonstrate, said the ACLU, that the search practices are not only unfair and discriminatory, they represent poor police work.