News & Commentary

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a prayer mural addressed to “Our Heavenly Father” that is displayed in the auditorium of a Cranston public high school. The lawsuit, filed by RI ACLU volunteer attorneys Lynette Labinger and Thomas Bender, is on behalf of Jessica Ahlquist, a sophomore at Cranston High School West, who in the past year has spoken out against her school’s prayer display.

A Providence ordinance signed into law today by Mayor Angel Taveras could have a significant and adverse impact on the advocacy activities of local community and non-profit organizations, the RI ACLU today claimed. The ACLU called the Act, “An Ordinance Relative to Lobbyist Registration,” well-intentioned, but said its far-reaching scope “will deter and chill robust community advocacy.”

The RI ACLU indicated today that it plans to take legal action against the Cranston School District in light of the school committee’s vote on Tuesday to maintain a prayer mural in the auditorium of Cranston High School West.  Upon learning of it last July, the ACLU wrote school officials to point out the blatant unconstitutionality of the display of the prayer, which is addressed to “Our Heavenly Father.”

Various constitutionally problematic provisions in North Kingstown’s political sign ordinance have been rendered unenforceable under a consent judgment that has been filed in federal court, settling a lawsuit that the Rhode Island ACLU filed last year against the Town.

The Rhode Island ACLU has asked a federal court to rule unconstitutional, without the need for a trial, the City of Pawtucket’s long-standing practice of giving preferential treatment to parochial schools over public schools in granting permits for the use of city athletics fields. The ACLU’s motion for summary judgment follows months of discovery in the lawsuit, which was filed in October 2009 on behalf of seven Pawtucket parents and their children.

The Rhode Island ACLU has today filed a federal lawsuit charging Providence police with violating the free speech rights of a local resident in February when she was stopped from peacefully leafleting on a public sidewalk in front of a building where Mayor Cicilline was speaking.

The Town of North Kingstown has agreed to the entry of a temporary restraining order limiting enforcement of a constitutionally problematic political sign ordinance that the Rhode Island ACLU challenged in federal court on Wednesday. The agreement eliminates the need for a planned court hearing this afternoon on the ACLU’s request for a restraining order.

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of North Kingstown, challenging an ordinance that discriminatorily limits the posting of political signs in the town. The suit was filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Richard A. Sinapi on behalf of independent Congressional candidate John O. Matson, who was forced to take down a number of his political signs this month after being notified that they violated the town’s zoning restrictions on the size and placement of such signs.

Claiming that the Narragansett Police Department has “set a very dangerous precedent that could have a significantly chilling effect on freedom of speech by town residents,” the Rhode Island ACLU has called on the town’s Police Chief to drop criminal “cyberstalking” charges recently lodged against two town residents in separate incidents. The charges stem from vulgar comments the residents made about two local politicians on a Craigslist website devoted to “rants and raves.”