News & Commentary

Despite legislation enacted in 2017 aimed at promoting criminal justice reform, the Rhode Island General Assembly’s 2018 session took significant steps back from a “smart justice” approach by adding more than a dozen new felonies to the books and increasing sentences for several other crimes.

Eight state-based and national advocacy organizations – including the ACLU of RI, the NAACP Providence Branch, the National Employment Law Center, and JustLeadershipUSA – have sharply criticized the Rhode Island Department of Health (DOH) for a “disturbing trend” of “undermining a major goal of criminal justice reform by increasing the barriers for people with past criminal records or substance use disorders to obtain professional licensing.” The five-page letter to DOH Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott highlights several recent Department rule enactments or re-adoptions that the groups say unfairly allow for the disqualification of people with any criminal record from obtaining professional licenses in a number of fields – ranging from EMTs to midwives to physical therapy assistants.

The ACLU's origins date back to the First World War when its predecessor organization,  the National Civil Liberties Bureau, provided legal aid to conscientious objectors during that war. But on this Veterans' Day, as the country honors those who have served in the military over the decades, it's worth noting that the ACLU of RI has also been involved in supporting the legal rights of veterans.

Three organizations that support the rights of students with disabilities have sent a letter to Providence school superintendent Christopher Maher, emphasizing the school district’s legal obligation to provide transportation to special education students during the city-wide school bus strike. The school district has claimed it has been unable to find alternative transportation, but will reimburse parents for the costs they incur in getting their children to school themselves.

MAJOR UPDATE 9/24: N. Smithfield Town Council has rescinded the anti-Nike resolution.

It was no coincidence when undocumented immigrants like Rhode Island resident Lilian Calderon were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials immediately after showing up for interviews at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices (CIS) to legalize their status. Instead, documents released yesterday reveal that CIS officials informed Boston ICE agents of the interviews, scheduled them at a convenient time for ICE, and sometimes even notified ICE when an individual arrived for his or her interview and how the interview was progressing. The disclosures came in a request for a preliminary injunction against the practice made by ACLU of Massachusetts attorneys in a class-action lawsuit filed in April on behalf of Ms. Calderon.

The ACLU of RI today filed a sex and age discrimination lawsuit against the Newport Grand Casino on behalf of a female employee who claims that, for a decade, she has been paid significantly less than a younger male employee performing the same duties in the same position. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court by ACLU of RI cooperating attorney Lynette Labinger, is on behalf of Paula Borrelli, who has worked at Newport Grand since 2007 and as a “night manager on duty” (MOD) there since 2008. 

If General Assembly leaders thought paying lip service to women’s rights would satisfy Rhode Islanders, the past two weeks have proven them sorely mistaken. In the short time since legislators concluded their business, their failure to act on separate bills addressing sexual harassment in the workplace and reproductive rights – along with the Democratic Party’s refusal to endorse three progressive women incumbents for office – has generated enormous political controversy.