ACLU

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Denver Can 'Corral' Convention Protesters: Court

Judge rules security concerns take priority over free speech

(Newser) - A federal judge has ruled that protesters can be confined to a fenced-in zone at the Democratic National Convention because security concerns outweigh activists' right to free speech, Reuters reports. The ACLU and a coalition of protest groups had brought a lawsuit against Denver and the Secret Service over plans...

Secret Justice Memo Bares CIA Torture Defense

Agents would be safe from prosecution if they acted in good faith

(Newser) - The Bush administration advised the CIA in 2002 that its agents would not be prosecuted on anti-torture legislation as long as they professed an "honest belief" that their actions would not cause severe pain and anguish, CNN reports. The memo is one of three made public by the ACLU,...

US Terror Watch List Tops 400K
US Terror Watch List Tops 400K
Jul 14, 2008 5:53 PM CDT

US Terror Watch List Tops 400K

As ledger exceeds 1M records, ACLU calls it 'unfair,' feds call it 'effective'

(Newser) - Washington's terror suspect list has topped the 1-million milestone, Reuters reports. That adds up to 400,000 people, including duplicates, about 50,000 of whom are tagged with “no-fly” status. The American Civil Liberties Union slammed the list as poorly managed and too long to be effective. The ACLU...

Big Brother Sees Washington
 Big Brother Sees Washington 
Jun 16, 2008 1:55 PM CDT

Big Brother Sees Washington

City develops extensive CCTV surveillance network

(Newser) - If you plan to go outdoors in Washington, DC, comb your hair first, because someone's probably going to see you. The capital is ramping up a video surveillance system that puts most others in the entire world to shame, the LA Times reports. Unsurprisingly, the 5,625-camera network has captured...

How the Left Wing Brought Me Down
How the Left Wing Brought Me Down
OPINION
May 20, 2008 4:30 PM CDT

How the Left Wing Brought Me Down

Ex-election watchdog nominee details 'poisonous tactics'

(Newser) - Controversial civil-rights lawyer Hans von Spakovsky, who last week withdrew from consideration for appointment to the Federal Election Commission, pens a post-mortem of his own candidacy in the Wall Street Journal. Asserting that “character assassination … has become the norm” for conservatives in confirmation battles, von Spakovsky says calling...

Judge Orders CIA to Release 'Torture' Memo

Key document said to outline waterboarding techniques

(Newser) - A federal judge has ordered the CIA to release a 2002 memo believed to outline interrogation methods that may amount to torture. The ACLU, which brought the suit sparking the order, claims that the memo details harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, and calls it "one of the most important...

LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans
LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans
Apr 18, 2008 9:59 AM CDT

LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans

'Total body imaging' devices look under clothes for weapons

(Newser) - New technology will allow screeners at Los Angeles International Airport to scan passengers with a device that effectively looks beneath their clothes, the LA Times reports. The “whole body imaging” machines are drawing mixed reviews—a TSA spokesman praised the "brand-new security tool," but an ACLU rep...

US Plans to Widen DNA Database
US Plans to Widen DNA Database
Apr 16, 2008 9:27 PM CDT

US Plans to Widen DNA Database

Will take samples from illegal immigrants, felony arrestees

(Newser) - The US plans to significantly widen its law-enforcement database by taking DNA samples from illegal immigrants picked up by federal authorities and from all people arrested for federal offenses, the Washington Post reports. The feds currently collect genetic information only from those convicted of federal crimes. The expanded policy follows...

Wikileaks Judge Reverses His Own Injunction

In 'oops!' moment, jurist says original ruling was likely unconstitutional

(Newser) - The judge who (tried to) shut down Wikileaks by issuing an injunction against the whistleblowing site has changed his mind and lifted the order, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Judge Jeffrey White said his original order, designed to protect a Swiss Bank's information, raised "serious questions of prior restraint...

Wikileaks.org Closing Doesn't Secure Bank's Client Info

Privacy groups file to intervene in case

(Newser) - Legal action resulting in the closing of whistleblower site Wikileaks.org has backfired for the Swiss bank that sought to protect confidential information about their clients, the AP reports. Popular outrage over the closing of the site over its posting of documents from Bank Julius Baer has cause the widespread...

Supreme Court Won't Hear Wiretapping Case

Panel dismisses ACLU's legal challenge with one-line order

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has dismissed the ACLU's legal challenge of President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, reports the Los Angeles Times. The ACLU had said that by issuing a secret order that allowed wiretapping without abiding by a 1978 law, the president was directly disobeying US law. The court today issued...

Judge Blocks Terror Kidnap Suit Against Boeing

Rendition case declared too secret to be tried

(Newser) - A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that charged a flight-planning company owned by Boeing with helping the CIA fly terror suspects to secret overseas dungeons. He ruled such a case could reveal state secrets, and that "proceeding would jeopardize national security and foreign relations," reports the...

CIA 'Gulled' Court on Torture Tapes, Says Judge

May quiz officials himself

(Newser) - A federal judge said he suspects the CIA lied to his court about tapes showing the harsh interrogations of two al-Qaeda leaders, the New York Times reports. The CIA claims no records exist concerning the tapes, which were destroyed in 2005. But the judge, currently deciding a Freedom of Information...

New Fed ID Law Puts States in Costly Bind

Homeland Security pushes back deadline for revamped licenses

(Newser) - A new federal ID law has 17 states in an uproar over the cost of new driver's licenses and a rushed timetable, the AP reports. Michael Chertoff laid out final details of the REAL ID program today, including an extended timetable with one short deadline: Residents of states that don't...

Want to Make Your Flight? Chill Out
Want to Make Your Flight? Chill Out
Dec 18, 2007 1:05 PM CST

Want to Make Your Flight? Chill Out

40 airports single out nervous, twitchy travelers for searches

(Newser) - Nervous fliers, beware: Some 600 security guards at 40 US airports are scanning crowds for passengers who exhibit unusual stress or fear. The federal program aims to create “a new layer of unpredictability” at checkpoints, says the TSA administrator, but has civil rights advocates crying foul and security experts...

Supreme Court Returns for a Big Session

Right-moving bench will rule on lethal injection, Gitmo prisoner rights

(Newser) - The Supreme Court enters its second session with Bush appointees John Roberts and Samuel Alito tomorrow, which means it will likely resume last session’s rightward slant, Reuters says. Before the court will be big cases on Guantanamo inmates’ right to habeas corpus, the legality of the lethal injection death...

Judge: Parts of Patriot Act Unconstitutional

Revised legislation violates separation of powers, 1st Amendment

(Newser) - The Patriot Act violates the Constitution by allowing unreasonable searches and seizures, violating separation of powers, and denying free speech, a federal judge ruled today in striking down parts of the revised legislation. Judge Victor Marrero said investigators must obtain court approval before ordering ISPs and phone companies to turn...

ACLU's Alter Ego Invites God Into Courtroom

Center scores wins for religious right with free speech arguments

(Newser) - A legal center that champions the Christian right is scoring victories and becoming “a very, very significant player in constitutional law,” one analyst says. The American Center for Law and Justice has made waves in the legal world by defending prayer at high school football games and supporting...

Activists, Washington Cross Swords over Terror List

Raises new concerns over privacy

(Newser) - Activists are battling Washington over a list that tagged some 20,000 people as suspected terrorists last year, the Washington Post reports. Yet only a fraction of them were arrested, prompting critics to doubt the list’s value. Cases of a civil rights activist held for hours and a Cleveland...

Letting It All Hang Out? Bill Would Put It All Back In

Atlanta proposal calls saggy pants "major concern;" ACLU claims "racial profiling"

(Newser) - Young men will want to hike up their sagging pants, and women cover up bra straps and exposed thongs if Atlanta’s City Council adopts a proposal to amend the city’s indecency laws, the Journal-Constitution reports. The measure, which would fine violators for exposing boxer shorts, thongs and bras,...

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