News & Commentary

The ACLU of Rhode Island Monday filed a federal lawsuit against the Providence Police Department for violating the “clearly established” free speech rights of two protesters last year at a fundraiser in Roger Williams Park for then-Gubernatorial candidate, and now Governor-elect, Gina Raimondo. The suit alleges that the police department’s actions amounted to a “willful” violation of the “constitutionally protected right of people to peaceably assemble and demonstrate in public parks,” and seeks various court-imposed remedies, including monetary damages. The suit notes that only six months earlier in another ACLU case, a federal judge condemned the Providence police department’s practice of “clearing vast public spaces” of people engaged in free speech activity without legal cause.

The ACLU of Rhode Island Tuesday said the investiagion into a Providence firefighter for silently gesturing in support of an anti-racism protest was troubling on a number of levels and raised a number of questions. Executive Director Steven Brown said:

Ruling in an ACLU lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge William Smith struck down a state law that makes it a crime to circulate anonymous political literature, including unsigned newspaper editorials. The ACLU of Rhode Island sued over the legality of the statute earlier this year to halt the Town of Smithfield’s stated plans to enforce it. The statute, which carries a potential one-year prison sentence, bars the distribution of any anonymous political literature that relates to ballot questions or that criticizes a political candidate’s “personal character or political action.”

ACLU of Rhode Island and the Brown University Chapter of the ACLU commended Brown University President Christina Paxson’s response to the reports on the incident surrounding former New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly’s planned lecture on the Brown Campus last year. ACLU of Rhode Island executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement: “The ACLU commends President Paxson’s clear and thoughtful response to the civil liberties and civil rights issues raised by last year’s incident. We cannot do better than echo her succinct observation that ‘we do not need to choose between supporting freedom of expression or racial equality. Protecting freedom of expression and furthering human rights are mutually reinforcing.’ “University campuses must be a haven for the expression of unpopular viewpoints if they are to fulfill their basic mission.  As President Paxson noted: ‘If we do not protect the expression of all ideas, valuable ones may not be heard.’ By protecting freedom of expression, seeking to promote diversity of viewpoints, and promoting a more diverse faculty and student body, Brown University will be upholding the best traditions of academic freedom and inclusion.”

A number of local non-profit organizations and community groups are urging the Providence City Council to reject amendments to the city’s lobbying ordinance that would require unpaid volunteers to register as lobbyists – and subject them to potentially severe penalties for violations – if they spend just ten hours a year engaged in broadly defined “lobbying” activities with the City. The proposal is scheduled to be introduced at the City Council’s meeting Thursday.

Nine local organizations have asked police departments across the state to formally adopt policies codifying the public’s right to record, without interference, the actions of police. The request, contained in a letter sent to all municipal police departments and the State Police, was made in the backdrop of the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, where police have impeded individuals’ and credentialed journalists’ efforts to document the ongoing protests there.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has urged Warwick City Council to amend an ordinance barring certain city employees from running for office after a worker faced losing his job if he ran for a seat in the United States Senate.

The ACLU of Rhode Island today filed a federal lawsuit to prevent the Smithfield Police Department from continuing to enforce an overly broad state law that makes it a crime to circulate anonymous political literature, including unsigned newspaper editorials. The statute, which carries a potential one-year prison sentence, unconstitutionally bars the distribution of any anonymous political literature that relates to ballot questions or that criticizes a political candidate’s “personal character or political action.”