News & Commentary

A federal judge today approved a substantial financial settlement on behalf of the family of Hiu Lui (“Jason”) Ng, a 34-year-old Chinese detainee who died in 2008 while in the custody of immigration officials at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls.

The R.I. Supreme Court today dismissed as moot a lawsuit the ACLU filed in 2010, challenging various Truancy Court practices. In doing so, the Court acknowledged many of the constitutional claims the ACLU had raised, but ruled they were obviated when Family Court Chief Haiganush Bedrosian, after the suit was filed, issued an administrative order establishing various new rules for truancy court proceedings.

The RI ACLU expressed its support for a lawsuit filed by the SEIU today against a Department of Health regulation requiring thousands of health care workers, including volunteers and non-medical staff, to get a flu shot or else wear a mask if they have any contact with patients. In testimony previously submitted to the DOH, the ACLU pointed out that the requirement may actually do very little to promote patient health care, significantly undermines notions of informed consent, could erode the use of other and more effective infection control practices, and might even at some point adversely affect family caregivers. The RI ACLU also expressed its disappointment with the Department of Health's order this week requiring indefinite masking of all unvaccinated health care workers, regardless of evidence indicating the use of masks provides little protection for patients and may, in fact, exacerbate the spread of the virus.

R.I. Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter today upheld the constitutionality of a state law that makes it a felony for any person required to register as a sex offender to reside within 300 feet of any school. RI ACLU volunteer attorney Katherine Godin, who brought the lawsuit, said the ACLU would appeal the ruling. Across the country, experts involved in the treatment of sex offenders, as well as victims’ rights groups, have opposed sex offender residency laws as being ineffective, counter-productive, and potentially more, rather than less, harmful to public safety. If the ruling is formally implemented pending appeal, a number of ex-offenders in Rhode Island who have not been deemed a public safety risk may likely face potential homelessness.

Four community and civil rights organizations have asked Mayor Angel Taveras to veto an ordinance passed Tuesday by the Providence City Council, which would unduly expand the city’s nuisance properties ordinance.

On November 6th, voters will be required for the first time in a Presidential election to show some form of identification at the polls. To help inform voters about the requirements of this new law and other election issues, the Rhode Island ACLU has published a free brochure and postcard explaining rules and regulations surrounding voting on Election Day, the new voter identification rules, and how to deal with problems at the polls. The brochure is available in English, and the postcard is available in both English and in Spanish.

The following statement was made today:

Thirteen local community organizations and agencies, including the RI ACLU, have today urged the Providence City Council to delay adoption of a lobbying registration ordinance that the groups claim will “chill and deter local advocacy efforts.” In a letter to City Council members, the groups raise concerns about the breadth of the ordinance – which defines lobbying as contact with any city official to influence a municipal decision – and the significant record-keeping burdens and fees it imposes on small community organizations who engage in any such activities. The letter also notes the potentially significant penalties that can be imposed for violations of any of the ordinance’s myriad requirements.

Arguing that Providence police have “utterly and completely fail[ed] to establish any legitimate governmental interest—let alone a ‘significant’ one—to justify their conduct,” the Rhode Island ACLU has asked a federal court to rule that police engaged in a clear violation of the free speech rights of a local resident in 2010 when she was barred from peacefully leafleting on a public sidewalk in front of a building where then-Mayor David Cicilline was speaking. In a 47-page brief filed today by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Richard A. Sinapi, the ACLU also seeks a court order requiring city officials to appropriately train and supervise police officers on the First Amendment rights of individuals to peaceably distribute political flyers.