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The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has requested the “gag order” issued for the settlement discussions in the pension case be lifted now that plaintiffs are voting on a possible settlement agreement. In a letter delivered Friday to R.I. Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter, the ACLU said that since the “broadly written” gag order was issued to protect the confidentiality of the mediation process, it is “counter-productive and unduly intrusive on basic First Amendment values to allow it to remain in effect” now that that task is completed. In the letter, ACLU of Rhode Island executive director Steven Brown noted that, as plaintiffs began an expedited process of considering and voting on a settlement agreement, various explanations of the agreement have circulated with no public details coming from those who know what it contains.

Citing repeated instances of police not activating body worn cameras in encounters with the public, the ACLU of RI has called on PVD Pubic Safety Commissioner Paré and Police Chief Clements to take stronger steps to enforce the department’s body camera policy.

The ACLU of Rhode Island has called on Attorney General Patrick Lynch to withdraw a recent advisory opinion issued by his office which, the ACLU argues, “has enormous adverse consequences for open government and overturns over 25 years of precedent.”  The opinion held that the Open Meetings Act’s restriction on the use of “electronic communication” to hold meetings does not include “telephonic” communication. The ACLU learned of the opinion last week when a legislative committee heard a bill, sponsored by Sen. Frank Ciccone, designed to overturn that ruling.

Claiming that the ruling has “significant ramifications for First Amendment rights,” the ACLU has called on the state Board of Elections to reverse its decision barring Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey from continuing to host a radio talk show on WPRO. That ruling held that Laffey’s “receipt of airtime” from WPRO constituted an illegal “in-kind political contribution” from a corporation.

Calling the findings of the Rhode Island State Police (RISP) investigation into the Cranston Police Department likely the “tip of an iceberg,” the ACLU of Rhode Island urged the Cranston City Council to call for further investigations into police practices and possible abuses of power against individuals outside the department.