News & Commentary

The ACLU of Rhode Island today filed a “friend of the court” brief in the R.I. Supreme Court, arguing that the Providence Board of Licenses’ revocation of the Foxy Lady’s entertainment license earlier this month, and the failure to issue a stay of the decision pending full judicial review, violate the club’s First Amendment rights. All of the club’s licenses to operate were revoked earlier this month by the Board after undercover officers arrested three female employees for allegedly soliciting for prostitution.

Although the Foxy Lady has been providing adult entertainment in Providence for decades, it had never been called before the Providence Board of Licenses until this month, after a police sting there resulted in three women being charged with the misdemeanor offense of soliciting for prostitution. The Board, rather than commend the club for its longstanding record of compliance with the licensing laws, instead took the extraordinary step of permanently revoking the Foxy Lady’s entertainment and liquor licenses, throwing more than 200 people out of work just a week before Christmas.

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.

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.

The ACLU of RI  issued the following statement today on yesterday’s arrest of convicted sex offender Richard Gardner, whose residence in Providence has been the subject of protests and political grandstanding since his release from prison last month:

The ACLU of Rhode Island today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a North Smithfield resident, challenging the police department’s refusal to remove from its files a note falsely claiming that he is “dangerous,” “psychologically unstable,” and has numerous weapons at his house. Police officials have acknowledged that they have no basis for the claims contained in the note, which was uncovered while the ACLU was litigating another pending lawsuit on behalf of the resident, Jason Richer.

UPDATE 10/20/18: The ACLU has sent a letter to the Mayor of Providence specifically addressing the issue of the protests taking place in front Richard Gardner's house.

With legal assistance from the ACLU of Rhode Island, SouthCoast Fair Housing (SCFH) today filed a federal lawsuit against the RI Supreme Court over a court rule that is preventing the organization from providing legal help to victims of housing discrimination in RI. As the rule is currently written, non-profit organizations cannot obtain a license to practice law in the state unless they serve only “indigent” clients. This is despite the fact that the Court’s own rules recognize that it is not just the poor, but “sometimes persons who are not poor” who are unable to afford adequate legal assistance.

It has been more than 72 hours since DaShawn Cole was killed by Pawtucket police, yet very basic information about this tragic incident remains undisclosed.   The names of the officers, how many shots were fired, the threat faced by the police at the time, even whether the victim fired any shots himself -- all of this remains unknown.  We assume – we hope – that this and related information will be released shortly, but the contrast between the belated sharing of information by police during officer-involved shootings and the much more free-flowing disclosure of information when serious civilian-upon-civilian crimes occur remains striking and totally unacceptable. In fact, similar secrecy disconcertingly shrouded the last fatal police shooting in Pawtucket in 2016.(1)