News & Commentary

A federal judge has ruled that a North Smithfield man’s due process rights were violated when the North Smithfield Police Department refused for over six years to return lawfully possessed weapons that officers had seized from him, and instead demanded that he obtain a state court order if he wanted to get his guns back.

Responding to the threat of a lawsuit by the ACLU of Rhode Island, the Town of Johnston has indicated that it will halt enforcement of an anti-panhandling ordinance banning “aggressive begging.”  In doing so, the town joins the cities of Providence and Cranston in backing down from enforcement of these unconstitutional ordinances.

In a precedent-setting ruling, U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux issued a decision today holding that the City of Cranston violated the one person, one vote requirements of the U.S. Constitution when it allocated the entire incarcerated population of the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) as “residents” of one ward of the City when it drew district lines for the City Council and School Committee following the 2010 Census.  The ruling allows the City 30 days to present the Court with a new redistricting plan meeting constitutional requirements.

The ACLU of Rhode Island issued the following statement today in advance of a major conference being held tomorrow designed to encourage the employment of ex-offenders. The conference, “Road Map to Reentry,” has been organized by U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha, with support from the Department of Corrections, the Governor’s office and many others:

Calling the City’s actions “blatantly unconstitutional,” Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU of Rhode Island, issued the following statement today in response to a Providence Journal article describing attempts by some Providence city officials to bar a church from holding weekly services in Burnside Park. “According to news reports, members of Church Beyond the Walls have been told by Wendy Nilsson, the Superintendent of the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, that the church can no longer congregate on Saturdays in Burnside Park to hold services. Nilsson has allegedly cited a 98-year old ordinance that bars anybody from ‘address[ing] any political or religious meeting in any public park.’ This ordinance is blatantly unconstitutional, and has been for decades. As the U.S. Supreme Court noted over 75 years ago: ‘Wherever the title of streets and parks may rest, they have immemorially been held in trust for the use of the public and, time out of mind, have been used for purposes of assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens, and discussing public questions.’ “It is embarrassing that the city founded by Roger Williams would claim the right to kick him out of a municipal park for preaching religious freedom. We call upon city officials to immediately acknowledge the unconstitutionality of this ordinance and to recognize the fundamental First Amendment rights of the Church and others to meet in the park for political and religious purposes.”

The House and Senate Judiciary Committees have each approved dangerous legislation allowing law enforcement access to your prescription information without a warrant.

One week after the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island filed a lawsuit against the North Kingstown Town Council for violating a Town Charter provision that gives members of the public “a reasonable opportunity to be heard” at Council meetings, the Town has agreed to entry of a court order reversing its position. The successful lawsuit, filed in Washington County Superior Court by ACLU volunteer attorney H. Jefferson Melish, was on behalf of North Kingstown resident and past Town Council candidate Richard Welch.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today filed a lawsuit against the North Kingstown Town Council for violating a Town Charter provision that gives members of the public “a reasonable opportunity to be heard” at Council meetings. The lawsuit, filed in Washington County Superior Court by ACLU volunteer attorney H. Jefferson Melish, is on behalf of North Kingstown resident and past Town Council candidate Richard Welch.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the R.I. Disability Law Center have today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of a profoundly deaf person who was arrested and detained overnight in jail by Woonsocket police for allegedly making an obscene gesture, and who was never provided an interpreter to allow him to communicate with the police during his detention. The case raises important issues regarding municipal agency obligations to accommodate residents who are deaf or hard of hearing.