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Victory! Supreme Court Declares Strip Search of 13-Year-Old Student Unconstitutional
ACLU Forum Takes on Tough Issues of Torture and Accountability
Restore Religious Freedom for Charitable Donors
ACLU Sues TSA for Unlawful Detention of Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty Treasurer
ACLU of Nevada Fights Subpoenas Issued to the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Locked Up for Being Pregnant and HIV-Positive
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE ACLU!
Your involvement is the life-blood of our organization and makes possible all that we do to defend our most basic liberties.
ACLU of Nevada Fights Subpoenas Issued to the Las Vegas Review-Journal
The United States Attorney’s office is attempting to dismiss a case filed by the ACLU of Nevada which seeks to quash a subpoena seeking information about two anonymous commenters on a Las Vegas Review-Journal article. The government filed the motion ex parte and under seal, meaning that neither the public nor the ACLU and its clients were given a copy.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office abused its grand jury subpoena power by issuing improper “fishing expedition” subpoenas. The subpoenas sought information protected by the First Amendment. Further, the U.S. Attorneys office threatened to prosecute individuals who disagreed publicly on the Review-Journal’s website with their position in a criminal case.
The ACLU is very concerned about the chilling effect of subpoenas seeking to unmask the government’s critics. People have the right to criticize the government, including anonymously, even if they do so in fiery terms.
"The right to anonymous speech is older than the Constitution itself," said Maggie McLetchie, staff attorney with the ACLU of Nevada.
While true threats do not merit First Amendment protection, none of the comments posted on the Review-Journal’s website rose to that level.
Further, the government’s most recent motion is not available to the public, which is deeply troubling. The public has the right to know what happens in this case. In addition, the commenters should have a fair chance at litigating the case, which cannot happen if the U.S. Attorney’s office is able to keep its filings secret from the ACLU, its clients, and the public.
>> Read the motion filed by the ACLU of Nevada.
Locked Up for Being Pregnant and HIV-Positive
In May, a federal district court in Maine sentenced a female prisoner known as Q.T. to jail for no other reason than that she was pregnant and HIV-positive.
The Honorable John A. Woodcock, Jr., District Court of Maine said of Q.T.’s sentence: “I’m going to do things a little backwards here… Ordinarily, I would give you what is called a time served sentence, and…your time in prison would effectively end today….[However] I’m inclined to keep you in jail, given your medical condition and the medical condition for your child, to prevent your child from being born HIV positive. And my inclination is to sentence you until September 15, which is a time after your due date, so that you can continue to receive the necessary medicine up to the time of your delivery. “
The court was aware that Q.T. had secured access to the care she needed at a nearby community center that provides HIV and AIDS services. She was entitled to immediate release under the sentencing guidelines. Further, the prosecutors who had charged Q.T. in the first place objected to increasing Q.T.’s sentence beyond time served.
These facts did not deter Judge Woodcock. Over the objections of both the defense and the prosecution, he sentenced Q.T. to an additional four months in jail followed by two years of supervised release. Despite the judge’s insistence that his harsh sentence was "not in any way to punish her; it’s the opposite," essentially the court punished Q.T. for being pregnant and HIV-positive.
When advocates, including the ACLU, got wind of the situation, they stepped in on behalf of Q.T. And on June 15, a broad-based coalition helped secure Q.T.’s release from jail on bail while she appeals her sentence. But the fight is not over, the ACLU are currently working to reverse the sentence entirely and ensure that Q.T. cannot be returned to jail simply because she is pregnant and living with HIV.
>> Learn more about the ACLU’s work to protect those living with HIV and AIDS from discrimination.
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June 25, 2009
Victory! Supreme Court Declares Strip Search of 13-Year-Old Student Unconstitutional
The Supreme Court ruled today that school officials violated the constitutional rights of Savana Redding, a 13-year-old Arizona girl who was strip searched based on a classmate's uncorroborated accusation that she previously possessed ibuprofen. This is the biggest victory for students’ rights in the last 20 years.
Cases like this depend on the brave clients who stand up for all of our rights and the support of members like you who make it happen. Please take a moment to send a message of support to Savana.
We thought you would like to hear about this case straight from Savana. Below is a post she wrote for our blog this afternoon.
Civics 101
by Savana Redding
People of all ages expect to have the right to privacy in their homes, belongings, and most importantly, their persons. But for far too long, students have been losing these rights the moment they step foot onto public school property -- a lesson I learned firsthand when I was strip-searched by school officials just because another student who was in trouble pointed the finger at me. I do not believe that school officials should be allowed to strip-search kids in school, ever. And though the U.S. Supreme Court did not go quite so far, it did rule that my constitutional rights were violated when I was strip-searched based on nothing more than a classmate’s uncorroborated accusation that I had given her ibuprofen. I’m happy for the decision and hope it helps make sure that no other kids will have to experience what I went through.
Strip searches are a traumatic intrusion of privacy. Forcing children to remove their clothes for bodily inspection is not a tool that school officials should have at their disposal. Yet, until today, the law was apparently unclear, potentially allowing for the most invasive of searches based on the least of suspicions. Every day, parents caution their children about the importance of not talking to strangers, looking both ways before crossing the street, and following directions at school. But I imagine they never think to warn them that a school official, acting on a hunch, may force them to take their clothes off in the name of safety. And now, thankfully, they won’t have to.
Our fundamental rights are only as strong as the next generation believes them to be, and I am humbled to have had a part in preserving and promoting the Fourth Amendment to the Bill of Rights.
>>Tell Savana you appreciate her courage by signing our message of support.
>>Read more about the case.
ACLU Forum Takes on Tough Issues of Torture and Accountability
For six years, the ACLU has been fighting to uncover the abuses and torture of detainees under the Bush administration. We have obtained more than 100,000 pages that show both that hundreds of prisoners were tortured in U.S. custody, and that the torture policies were devised and developed at the highest levels of the Bush administration -- yet there remains debate on whether or not the government will hold those who authorized torture accountable.
Throughout the month of June, the ACLU has been hosting a lively discussion about the importance of uncovering the truth about torture and demanding accountability. Our Online Torture Forum has included the voices of former military interrogators, international torture experts, psychologists, bloggers and others. We hope you’ll join the discussion by clicking the links below to learn more.
- Former U.S. military interrogator Matthew Alexander contributed a piece rebuking the false notion that torture has kept America safe, and advocating for accountability and a realignment of actions and policies to once again uphold the values and principles upon which our country was founded. Read more and join the conversation.
- Dr. Ghislaine Boulanger, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst who has conducted extensive research on adult-onset trauma as the result of catastrophic experiences such as torture, joined the conversation by contributing a piece condemning the role that psychologists played in the Bush administration’s detention and interrogation policies. Read more and join the conversation.
- ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero and Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld make a case for accountability. Lt. Col. Vandeveld served as a prosecutor in the Gitmo military commissions and resigned from six cases due to ethical problems with the tribunal system. Read more and join the conversation.
- ACLU President Susan Herman gave a talk at the U.S. Army War College and discussed the natural alliance of the ACLU and the military in promoting and protecting American values. ”I knew that the caricature of the ACLU as anti-military is as inapt as the caricature of the ACLU as anti-religion. After my visit, I now see far more clearly that the caricature of the military as anti-ACLU is equally false,” Herman writes. Read more and join the conversation.
As our leaders struggle to clean up the mess left by the Bush administration's torture policies, we hope one message rings loud and clear: we can't sweep the abuses of the last eight years under the rug. Accountability for those who authorized torture is a legal, political, and moral imperative.
With members and activists by our side, the ACLU will continue to fight for the disclosure of the torture files that are still secret. We will advocate for the victims of the Bush administration’s unlawful policies. We will press Congress to appoint a select committee that can investigate the roots of the torture program and recommend legislative changes to ensure that the abuses of the last eight years are not repeated. And we will advocate for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to examine issues of criminal responsibility.
Join us in this ongoing conversation and take action to take a stand and demand accountability for torture.
Restore Religious Freedom for Charitable Donors
According to a new report, Blocking Faith, Freezing Charity, released earlier this month by the ACLU, U.S. policies that purport to address terrorism financing are seriously undermining the Constitution’s fundamental rights to freedom of religion, freedom of association, and freedom from discrimination. The 164-page report is the first comprehensive report that documents the serious effects of Bush administration terrorism finance policies on Muslim communities across the nation.
The Sunday collection plate is as American as religion itself. Americans are religious and generous when it comes to charitable giving --they often go together. There are many Catholic Charities that help the needy, and Mormons famously tithe a percentage of their income. Muslims are also big givers. One of the “five pillars” of Islam is Zakat, which is a form of tithing. It is the religious duty of Muslims to help others by giving to charity. But Muslims in the U.S. are having a difficult time freely practicing this vital part of their faith.
Bush administration terrorism financing laws and policies have created a climate of fear that causes many wholly innocent American Muslim donors to give up a fundamental religious tenet. The result is that legitimate American Muslim charities, like a women’s shelter in New York City, are hurt because people are scared to donate. American Muslims fear a knock on the door from the FBI when they write a check to a legal American charity registered with the IRS.
While the charities themselves suffer, individual Muslims give up a fundamental religious tenet because of the fear. The result is a blow to all Americans who value religious freedom and the importance of charitable giving.
In recent remarks in Cairo, President Obama not only acknowledged problems with the current law, but went further by committing to change these policies and enhance protections for charitable giving. We applaud the President’s commitment and stand ready to work with him for change. Religious freedom is a fundamental American value to be protected and honored.
>>Take Action: Ask the President to follow through on his commitment to protect the religious freedom of everyone in America and make fundamental reforms to unfair and ineffective terrorism financing laws and policies.
ACLU Sues TSA for Unlawful Detention of Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty Treasurer
Last week, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over the unlawful TSA search and detention practices. The case was filed on behalf of a traveler who was illegally detained and harassed at the airport by TSA agents for carrying approximately $4,700 in cash.
On March 29, 2009, the plaintiff in the case, Steven Bierfeldt, was detained in a small room at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and interrogated by TSA officials for nearly half an hour after he passed a metal box containing cash through a security checkpoint X-ray machine. He was carrying the cash in connection to his duties as Treasurer of Ron Paul’s Campaign For Liberty. Steven’s experience is part of a troubling pattern of the TSA transforming its valid but limited search authority into a license to invade people’s constitutional right to privacy.
Steven was detained and questioned as he returned home from a Campaign for Liberty event transporting proceeds from the sale of tickets, t-shirts, stickers and campaign material. He repeatedly asked the agents to explain the scope of their authority to detain and interrogate him and received no explanation. Instead, the agents escalated the threatening tone of their questions and ultimately told him that he was being placed under arrest.
Have you been harrassed at the airport? Tell us your story.
>>Learn more about the case and hear the audio recording of Steven’s detention and interrogation here.
>>Watch Steven and ACLU attorney Larry Schwartztol talk about our new lawsuit against the DHS.
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