News & Commentary

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the R.I. Disability Law Center today announced the favorable settlement of a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of a profoundly deaf person who was not provided an interpreter to allow him to communicate after he was arrested and detained overnight in jail by Woonsocket police for allegedly making an obscene gesture. The groups expressed hope that the settlement, which addresses important issues regarding municipal agency obligations to accommodate people who are deaf or hard of hearing, will serve as a model for police departments across the state.

Below is a statement issued today by the ACLU of Rhode Island on allegations that excessive punishment has been imposed on students who last month protested Warwick school district educational policies:

This should be a happy Access to Public Records Act (APRA) story, but -- spoiler alert -- it's not. Valley Breeze reporter Ethan Shorey filed an APRA complaint with the Attorney General when the City of Pawtucket refused to provide him a list of vacant and abandoned properties it routinely shared with members of the City Council. Three weeks ago, the Attorney General’s office (AG) ruled that the document needed to be handed over. So why is this ruling a loss for open government instead of a victory?

Responding to objections from the ACLU of Rhode Island and two free press organizations, a Providence City Council committee has postponed voting on a proposal that would have made it illegal to leave unsolicited newspapers on a person’s property. Under the ordinance, doing so would have been deemed “littering” with a $50 fine attached to each violation.

The ACLU of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition today sharply criticized the state Department of Health for adopting new regulations governing the medical marijuana program that the groups say will greatly harm patients’ access to the program. If not revisited by the Department, the groups said they would seek legislative intervention to overturn the rules.

The ACLU of Rhode Island has called on the Providence City Council to reject the proposed expenditure of hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to purchase police body cameras unless and until clear, strong standards of transparency and accountability are in place for their use.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island (ACLU) and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice  (NCLEJ) have today filed a class action lawsuit over the state’s ongoing, critical, and widespread failure to timely provide food stamp benefits to needy families due in large part to its transition to a new, and very troubled, computer system.

ACLU STATEMENT ON REFUSAL OF DEPT. OF BUSINESS REGULATION TO RELEASE INFORMATION ON APPROVED MEDICAL MARIJUANA CULTIVATORS

The ACLU of Rhode Island testified today against various provisions of proposed regulations governing the state's medical marijuana program that could impose new burdens on  patients and their certifying physicians. A hearing on the regulations, 99 pages long and proposed by the state Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Business Regulation (DBR), drew a large crowd and much testimony.