News & Commentary

ACLU of Rhode Island executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement today in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this morning in City of Los Angeles v. Patel, ruling unconstitutional a city ordinance that required hotel operators to turn over to police upon request registry information about their guests: “Earlier this year it was revealed that Motel 6 in Warwick had entered into an agreement with Warwick Police to routinely turn over its daily guest list of patrons. This policy was roundly condemned by the ACLU of Rhode Island and others as a significant intrusion on guests’ privacy. As a result of the outcry, the motel agreed to revise its policy. “At the same time, it remained unclear exactly how significant that change in policy was. There was some suggestion that the motel, without any formal legal process or cause to believe criminal activity was occurring, would permit Warwick police officers to view the guest list at the motel upon request, while no longer routinely sending it over to the police department. If so, this superficial change in policy has only perpetuated the serious intrusion of privacy that Motel 6 guests are being subjected to. “Today’s Supreme Court decision makes clear that establishments like Motel 6 have a constitutional right to keep their guest registries confidential in the absence of the use of a formal legal process by police or exigent circumstances. With this constitutional authority now available to establishments to protect the privacy of their guests, the ACLU hopes and expects that Motel 6 and other public accommodations across the state will halt any current practices to the contrary. As we have said before, hotels should be treating their patrons as guests, not as participants in a police line-up."

As Governor Gina Raimondo and top state health officials gather later this morning to discuss responding to Rhode Island’s drug overdose epidemic, medical professionals and public health experts are asking them to throw their support behind a Senate bill pending in the General Assembly that would expand the legal immunity available to people who call 911 when they are witnessing or experiencing a drug overdose.

By Johanna Kaiser, Development & Communications Associate

Expressing concern that “lives are on the line,” nineteen local medical professional associations and dozens of public health experts and activists are urging the Rhode Island House of Representatives to expand the Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Act’s immunity to include more charges and provide protection for people on parole and/or probation in order to save more lives.

By Megan Khatchadourian, Assistant to the Executive Director

Late last Friday, the Attorney General’s office issued opinions on ACCESS/RI complaints against 14 state and municipal agencies for violating the state’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA), finding that 12 of the 14 agencies had violated the law. Of those 12 agencies, 10 were deemed to have committed more than one APRA violation. “We are pleased the Attorney General agreed with us in the majority of our complaints,” says Linda Lotridge Levin, President of ACCESS/RI. She continued, “It is worth noting that these complaints represent just a sampling of the dozens of violations discovered during our 2014 audit of 39 cities and towns and 24 state agencies.”

Keeping Up with the General Assembly. We are heading into the final weeks of the 2015 legislative session, which means we are busier than ever here at the ACLU. Check out our frequently updated legislation page to see the status of important civil liberties-related bills and follow us on Twitter and Facebook to see last minute updates, breaking news, and calls to action.

By Johanna Kaiser, Development & Communications Associate

By Philip Eil, journalist and RI ACLU plaintiff