News & Commentary

The ACLU of Rhode Island today filed a court brief seeking to beat back an effort to overturn a state law that protects an individual’s right to an abortion.

The letter points out that one of the lockdowns is to accommodate a day-long cookout on Mulligan’s Island where COs and their families will enjoy golf, volleyball and other activities. The food for the cookout has typically been prepared by RIDOC inmates.

After receiving numerous complaints, the ACLU of RI has called on RIDE to revise the PVD school district’s “Social Media for Employees” policy that the letter argues infringes on teachers' free speech rights.

The ACLU of Rhode Island today called on the city councils in Cranston, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket to direct their respective police departments to halt the use of automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology leased from the company Flock Safety. In a letter sent to the city council and mayor of each municipality, the ACLU expressed concerns about the serious privacy issues such technologies can pose to all residents and noted that these systems were inappropriately installed on a trial basis in the absence of any public notice, input or statutory guidance.

Under the stipulation, the Mayor agreed to no longer block individuals from her page “based on First Amendment-protected viewpoints expressed.”

These are not decisions that should be unilaterally made by law enforcement. The public should have a say about whether they want potentially invasive and discriminatory technologies in their neighborhoods.

This is a major First Amendment lawsuit challenging Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt’s actions in banning some of her critics from her Facebook page.

The habeas corpus petition argues that DOC’s action violates a host of constitutional rights and contravenes state law, and asks for Martinez’s immediate release from custody, subject to Parole Board conditions.

The ACLU of RI has called on Cranston to “take immediate action to halt what appears to be a long-standing and flagrant violation of the law by the Cranston Police Department” – a traffic stop quota policy, requiring police officers to stop a minimum of two cars during their patrol shifts.