Stories from the ACLU of Washington

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Fairness for Pregnant and Parenting Students Gets a Boost from the Feds

Published: 
Monday, July 29, 2013
The fight for fairness in education for pregnant and parenting girls recently got a big boost – from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Education took action to make sure these girls are given the same access to education and opportunities as other students.
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State Supreme Court Protects Immigrants

Published: 
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
According to a new note to a Rule of Professional Conduct approved by the Washington Supreme Court recently, attorneys cannot use a person’s immigration status to intimidate, coerce or obstruct that person for reasons unrelated to a civil case.
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ACLU Brief Says Conviction and Capital Sentence Should Be Overturned Because of Racial Bias

Published: 
Thursday, July 18, 2013
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees every person the right to a fair trial.  However, if the prosecution is making racist remarks and presenting racially-charged evidence throughout the trial, this right is violated.
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"You Are Being Tracked": ACLU Report Finds the Government Knows Where You Are Driving

Published: 
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
A national ACLU report on license plate tracking by law enforcement confirms that the problems we identified locally are reflected in communities throughout the U.S. Our study found that few police departments in Washington place any substantial restrictions on how the location information may be used.
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The ACLU Shows Its Pride!

Published: 
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The ACLU of Washington staff, volunteers and supporters marched for LGBT rights at the 2013 Trans Pride and Seattle Pride celebrations.  On the heels of the US Supreme Court ruling that overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and a few months after the passage of marriage equality in our state, it should come as no surprise that jubilation filled the air and supporters filled the streets at these events.
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U.S. State Department Gets a Lesson

Published: 
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Last month, Seattle Metro buses were running a disturbing ad.  Funded by the U.S. State Department, the ad featured pictures of 16 men wanted around the globe for terrorist activities.  The pictures of the men, all appearing to be Muslim with turbans, beards, and brown skin, were right below the large, bold message “FACES OF GLOBAL TERRORISM.”
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A Great Day for American Values

Published: 
Friday, June 28, 2013
Today is a great day in America – for loving couples and their families, and for Americans who treasure our country’s basic values of freedom and fairness.   If America is be true to its values, they must be applied equally to everyone.  And that’s what the highest court in the land said today.
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Why the NSA’s gathering of metadata matters

Published: 
Monday, June 17, 2013
Goverment power that operates unchecked behind closed doors is inevitably abused. The recent disclosures about the secret NSA surveillance programs prove this maxim.
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Victory! Seattle Bans the Box

Published: 
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
The Seattle City Council voted unanimously to enact a law that would prevent employers from automatically rejecting any applicant with a criminal record.  The goal of the bill, sponsored by Councilmember Bruce Harrell, is to reduce the long-term effects of a criminal record by allowing applicants to be considered on their merits before being denied simply because of a record.
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Sentenced to Jail for Being Poor: Modern-day Debtor’s Prisons

Published: 
Friday, May 31, 2013
When people are convicted of a crime, they expect to be sentenced to jail time or probation.  But there are other long-lasting consequences – and these can be unfair and counter-productive.
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A victory for online privacy!

Published: 
Thursday, May 23, 2013
On Tuesday, the state legislature gave Washingtonians something to celebrate.  Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law new privacy protections for social media account passwords.  
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ALPR: The Surveillance Tool You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Published: 
Monday, May 20, 2013
If networks of surveillance cameras and drones have you concerned, you should meet their less known but equally dangerous cousin: automated license plate recognition (or ALPR). ALPR systems track and store location data on millions of vehicles and are in regular use throughout the state of Washington.
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