News & Commentary

In response to widespread concerns over the physical appearance of criminal defendant Esteban Carpio at his arraignment, the ACLU and civil rights groups have called on Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman and four other government agencies to immediately gather available evidence  to determine the cause of the injuries.

The ACLU of Rhode Island today announced the favorable settlement of a federal lawsuit it filed last year on behalf of the environmental group Clean Water Action (CWA), challenging a Johnston Town Council directive barring the group from engaging in political door-to-door canvassing between 7 and 9 PM. The lawsuit, filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Carolyn Mannis, successfully argued that the restriction violated the group’s First Amendment rights.

In an important victory for vigorous advocacy by civil rights attorneys, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston today reversed District Court Judge Mary Lisi’s sanctions on attorneys in the Cornel Young, Jr. civil rights case for allegedly misrepresenting the judge’s position in court papers. The Rhode Island ACLU had filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of the attorneys. The brief, filed by volunteer attorney Amy R. Tabor, had argued that Judge Lisi’s actions “not only violated the due process and First Amendment rights of both the plaintiff and her attorneys, but will, if not reversed, chill and undermine the independent and vigorous advocacy that is an indispensable component of our system of justice.”

A study released this week by Northeastern University researchers shows that African-American and Hispanic drivers in Rhode Island continue to be subjected to disparate treatment by law enforcement, prompting concern from the ACLU and others in the civil rights community.

Administrators at Central High School in Providence have allowed sophomore Eliazar Velasquez to return to school after the student was suspended last week for posting photographs of the school principal on a personal website. The photographs depicted principal Elaine Almagno smoking a cigarette on school grounds, in direct violation of state law.

The ACLU of Rhode Island has called on Attorney General Patrick Lynch to withdraw a recent advisory opinion issued by his office which, the ACLU argues, “has enormous adverse consequences for open government and overturns over 25 years of precedent.”  The opinion held that the Open Meetings Act’s restriction on the use of “electronic communication” to hold meetings does not include “telephonic” communication. The ACLU learned of the opinion last week when a legislative committee heard a bill, sponsored by Sen. Frank Ciccone, designed to overturn that ruling.

The ACLU of Rhode Island has settled a discrimination complaint against the Town of North Smithfield on behalf of Thomas Bourgeois, who was denied appointment as a school coach last year solely because of his gender.

The Tiverton School Committee and the Rhode Island ACLU have settled a suit the School Committee had filed seeking clarification of its obligations to Cheryl McCullough, a retired Tiverton School Department employee seeking to add Joyce Boivin, McCullough’s same-sex spouse, to her health insurance plan. The lawsuit was filed in September against McCullough, a Tiverton guidance counselor and health educator for 27 years, and her spouse, Joyce Boivin. They were married last year in Massachusetts, where they reside, following that state’s supreme court decision allowing same-sex couples to marry.  After being sued, McCullough contacted the ACLU for assistance.

The R.I. ACLU today announced the settlement of its racial profiling lawsuit against the Scituate Police Department in a case in which the ACLU alleged that Pawtucket resident Jean Philippe Barros, a person of Cape Verdean descent, was the victim of racial profiling when he was stopped, questioned and ticketed. Without acknowledging any wrongdoing, the Town has agreed to pay Barros $10,500. Last October, a federal jury cleared the police, but the ACLU appealed, challenging significant restrictions on the evidence that the judge allowed the jury to consider. As a result of the settlement, the appeal is being dismissed.