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Widespread racial profiling by law enforcement agents remains a pervasive problem in Rhode Island and throughout the United States, according to a report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Rights Working Group (RWG). Government policies are a major cause of the disproportionate stopping and searching of racial minorities by law enforcement agencies, according to the report, which was submitted to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

The Rhode Island ACLU today announced the settlement of a federal lawsuit it filed last October against the Town of West Warwick, challenging on free speech grounds the enforcement of an ordinance that significantly limited the posting of political signs. The suit was filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Richard Sinapi on behalf of local resident Thomas K. Jones, who at the time was both a state legislative candidate and an outspoken critic of plans to develop a water park in the town.

The Rhode Island ACLU has today filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Corrections (DOC), alleging that correctional officials have engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional harassment against inmate Jason Cook after he publicly criticized Department of Corrections’ mail policies and sought legal assistance from the ACLU. The lawsuit, filed by ACLU volunteer attorneys from the law firm of DeLuca and Weizenbaum, details a series of retaliatory and disciplinary actions against Cook who, until he spoke out, had a relatively clean disciplinary record.

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Pawtucket, charging that the Parks and Recreation Division has, for a number of years, given preferential treatment to parochial schools over public schools in granting permits for the use of city athletics fields. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of seven Pawtucket parents and their children, seeks a court order declaring unconstitutional both the preferential treatment to religious schools and the City’s lack of any objective standards for granting permits for use of the fields.

The RI ACLU has filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of Johnston and police chief Richard Tamburini for illegally releasing the private driver's license information of a firefighter to a Town Councilman as part of a public dispute between the Council and the Fire Department. The lawsuit, filed by RI ACLU volunteer attorney James Kelleher, is on behalf of town resident and firefighter Edward Simone, who was the victim of the disclosure.