News & Commentary

More than twenty community organizations representing youth, nonviolence, and civil rights have urged Governor Chafee to veto legislation purportedly aimed at “criminal street gangs” that the groups say will likely target at-risk youth.

The ACLU of Rhode Island today applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision this morning that police generally must seek a warrant before examining the contents of an arrestee’s cell phone. Two years ago, the RI General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a bill that would have essentially codified the principle the Court enunciated today, but Governor Lincoln Chafee vetoed that legislation in a cursory veto message.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has urged Warwick City Council to amend an ordinance barring certain city employees from running for office after a worker faced losing his job if he ran for a seat in the United States Senate.

ACLU of Rhode Island executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement in response to the House of Representatives' approval this afternoon of legislation requiring law enforcement to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested for certain offenses:

The ACLU of Rhode Island raised serious concerns about a “computer crime” bill approved by House Judiciary Committee today that would criminalize the electronic dissemination of certain images even if they were taken with the knowledge and consent of the subject. The bill, aimed at combating “revenge porn,” would levy felony charges against individuals, including members of the media, who disseminate certain “sexual images” without permission of the subject even if the image was initially shared with the subject’s consent and sharing the image did not cause harm to the subject.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has urged the Rhode Island Department of Health to revise proposed regulations that would require physicians to establish written treatment agreements that, among other things, force patients to submit to drug tests on demand in order to receive their pain medication. In written testimony, the ACLU of RI said that these regulations and the department’s model agreement erode patient privacy, undermine the trust that should underlie a doctor-patient relationship, and may encourage individuals with addictions to seek their medication underground.

ACLU of Rhode Island executive director Steven Brown has issued the following statement in response to the Senate’s passage of legislation imposing a three-year moratorium on the use of high stakes testing requirements as a condition of high school graduation: “The ACLU is grateful for the Senate’s action today. Legislative intervention has become necessary because the state Board of Education has repeatedly refused to grapple with the valid criticisms that have been raised about its increasingly untenable high stakes test requirement. In fact, only two days ago, the Board once again rejected calls for public discussion of the issue. “The futures of too many high school seniors are hanging in the balance on the basis of a completely arbitrary high stakes testing requirement and a just as arbitrary waiver process. We are hopeful that the House will now follow the Senate’s lead and take prompt action so that the anxiety and uncertainty plaguing all these students are put to rest.” According to statistics released Monday by the Department of Education, with only a month to go before graduation, more than a quarter of all students with disabilities, more than a quarter of all English Language Learners, and almost one-sixth of all black and Hispanic seniors are at risk of not graduating as a result of the new diploma policy.

The ACLU of Rhode Island applauded the Senate Education Committee’s vote today to approve a bill imposing a three-year moratorium on the use of high stakes testing for high school students.

The ACLU of Rhode Island today commended the Senate Judiciary Committee for approving legislation ending the counting of prisoners as residents of Cranston for the purposes of drawing voting districts. The legislation eliminates the practice of giving extra political power to the voting districts that include the ACI, the result of what is known as "prison-based gerrymandering."