Sell Flavored Tobacco in Massachusetts, Go To Jail
Massachusetts outlawed flavored tobacco. Now, just as criminal justice groups warned, a vape shop owner is serving time.
ACLU
Iowa Supreme Court is Considering if the State Can Charge Acquitted Defendants for Court-Appointed Attorneys
Iowa has one of the most aggressive court systems in the country when it comes to billing defendants for court-appointed attorneys, even in cases where they're acquitted or charges are dropped.
The ACLU of South Carolina is Suing To Publish Interviews With a Death Row Inmate
South Carolina bans all media interviews with incarcerated people, a policy the state's ACLU chapter says is the most restrictive in the country and infringes on its First Amendment rights.
Seattle's 'Stay Out' Zones Will Curb Civil Liberties, Not Crime
The city plans to ban people accused of some drug and prostitution crimes from visiting designated areas.
9th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for Honolulu Cops Who Handcuffed 10-Year-Old Girl
Officers should have known that handcuffing a compliant 10-year-old is unnecessary, the court ruled.
Trump's Conviction Requires Him To Surrender His Guns. Civil Libertarians Should Be Troubled.
The former president's loss of his Second Amendment rights highlights an arbitrary restriction that applies to many people with no history of violence.
The NRA's Unanimous Supreme Court Victory Is Good for Free Speech—No Matter How You Feel About Guns
The ACLU, another polarizing organization, was willing to defend the NRA in court. That should tell you that some things aren't partisan.
Even If You Support Police, Don't Ban People From Recording Them
Filming cops is a First Amendment right, and there are already plenty of laws against harassing them.
What Leaving Abortion Up to the States Really Means
Reproductive freedom initiatives are advancing toward November ballots, putting the matter of abortion access in voters' hands.
Defending Pornography on Feminist Grounds: A Q&A With Nadine Strossen
"There were many of us who opposed censoring pornography...precisely because of our commitment to feminist goals and principles," says the former ACLU chief.
ACLU, Once a Defender of Free Speech, Goes After a Whistleblower
The former civil liberties group continues morphing into a progressive organization.
Video Shows Vermont State Trooper Arrest Man for Flipping Him Off
FIRE and the ACLU of Vermont are now representing the man in a free speech lawsuit.
This NRA Supreme Court Case Has Big Implications for Porn
The ACLU will represent the gun rights group in a case with widespread relevance for free speech.
Illinois Youth Lockup Is 'No Place for Children,' According to ACLU Lawsuit
Children held in the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center are routinely subjected to solitary confinement, inadequate meals, and filthy cells, according to legal documents.
Critics Sue Over Hawaii's Housing Deregulation, Calling It Attempted 'Genocide'
A coalition including the state ACLU, Sierra Club, and Native Hawaiian cultural groups argue Gov. Josh Green vastly exceeded his emergency powers when he waived most regulations on homebuilding.
Indiana Law Lets Cops Push Bystanders Back 25 Feet. A New Lawsuit Says It's Unconstitutional.
The law makes it harder to record and observe police activity.
ACLU-Backed Complaint Says Not Renting to People With Past Evictions Is Illegal Race, Sex Discrimination
HOPE Fair Housing Center argues in a new federal complaint that an Illinois landlord's blanket refusal to rent to people with eviction records amounts to illegal sex and race discrimination.
Federal Judge Strikes Down Arizona Law Limiting Ability To Record Police
Both the state attorney general and the state legislature declined to defend the law in court after the ACLU of Arizona and news media organizations sued to overturn it.
Kansas Cops Have 'Waged War on Motorists' by Subjecting Them to Pretextual Traffic Stops, a Federal Judge Says
The ruling draws back the veil on routine police practices that victimize innocent drivers.
Poppy Seeds Trigger Child Neglect Investigations
Drug tests for new moms are "unnecessary and nonconsensual," argues the ACLU.
Florida's Restrictions on Property Purchases by Chinese Citizens Hark Back to a Dark History of Xenophobia
In a federal lawsuit on behalf of legal U.S. residents from China, the ACLU argues that "Florida's New Alien Land Law" is unconstitutional.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds First Amendment Right To Warn Drivers of Police Ahead
Michael Friend was arrested in 2018 for holding a sign that read "Cops Ahead" near a police checkpoint. That arrest violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights, a federal appeals court has ruled.
In Alabama, New Rules Make Botched Executions More Likely
"Under the new rule, the State would have been able to prolong the botched execution process indefinitely," the Equal Justice Initiative wrote in a press release.
Arizona-Led Effort Spies on Americans' Financial Transactions
Thousands of local, state, and federal law-enforcers have access to sensitive financial data.
With Jordan Peterson, Occupational Licensing Becomes a Way To Censor
New mechanisms to threaten liberty are brought to bear on those who need the government's permission to do their jobs.
New York Repealed Its Police Secrecy Law Two Years Ago. Departments Are Still Trying To Hide Misconduct Files.
The New York Civil Liberties Union is fighting about a dozen different lawsuits against stonewalling police departments.
Court to Girl: You Have To Wait 2 Years To Comfort Your Father as He Dies. And We're Killing Him Next Week.
Missouri law bans those under 21 from witnessing executions. Despite attempts to challenge the law, 19-year-old Khorry Ramey will be barred from attending her father's execution on Tuesday.
California's COVID-19 'Misinformation' Law Chills Constitutionally Protected Speech
The state is threatening to punish doctors whose advice deviates from the "scientific consensus."
The ACLU Says California's Ban on COVID-19 'Misinformation' From Doctors Is Gratuitous and Unconstitutional
Two chapters of the organization say the law violates the First Amendment.
Federal Judge Blocks Arizona Law Making It Illegal To Film Cops Within 8 Feet
"The Court fails to see how the presence of a person recording a video near an officer interferes with the officer's activities," the judge wrote.
It's (Almost) Always the Feds: How the FBI Fabricates Schemes To Entrap Would-Be Radicals
The FBI's long history of using informants and manufactured plots to prosecute extremists
The Student Loan Debate Shows How the ACLU Has Lost Its Way
The venerable champion of civil liberties is increasingly indistinguishable from myriad progressive advocacy groups.
Lawsuit: New Arizona Law Criminalizing Filming Police Within 8 Feet Violates First Amendment
The lawsuit argues the new law will chill protected First Amendment activities and keep media and the public from holding police accountable.
ACLU Abandons First Amendment in Colorado Gay Wedding Web-Hosting Case
How do you justify government speech mandates? Apparently, you deliberately pretend that businesses have no right to control the messages they choose to present.
Federal Judge Rules Gruesome Medical Neglect in Arizona Prisons Violates Eighth Amendment
"No legitimate humane system would operate in this manner," the judge concluded.
As the ACLU Recedes From Its Core Mission, FIRE Expands To Fill the Void
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is defending expression on campus and off as the ACLU becomes a progressive advocacy group.
Boycotts Aren't Protected Speech, Rules Appeals Court
Plus: Employers sue over Florida's Stop WOKE Act, how inflation erodes financial privacy, and more...
The ACLU Is Struggling To Find Its Identity In Post-Trump America
Despite its opposition to gun rights for individuals, the ACLU's drift away from its core mission resembles the NRA's recent trajectory.
Data Scraping Is Not a Crime
South Carolina's NAACP and ACLU are challenging the state's ban on automated data collection.
Greg Lukianoff: Saving the 'Culture of Free Speech'
The longtime head of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education announces a new name and expanded mission for FIRE.
Tempe Police Watch as Man Drowns
Plus: FIRE moves beyond campus, a 1,000 percent excise tax on semiautomatic rifles?, and more...
ACLU Would Like You To Ignore Partisan Activism, Mission Drift
National Legal Director David Cole insists that the critics are wrong, but he fails to contend with much of the substance of their critiques.
Kentuckians Left Without Abortion Access After Lawmakers Override Governor's Veto
Plus: The end of travel mask mandates, pundits out of touch with how normies use social media, and more...
Fresno Bans Journalists—and Everyone Else—From Filming Cops Clearing Out Homeless Camps
The ACLU of Northern California is suing to overturn the ordinance.
Court Says U.S. Cannot Expel Migrant Families to Countries Where They Face Harm
A federal judge wrote that migrants could face "horrific consequences" if expelled to certain places, particularly Mexico and Central American countries.
Secret Surveillance Warrants Remain Secret
In November, the Supreme Court declined to consider an ACLU petition arguing that the public has a First Amendment right to see the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's classified decisions.
