ACLU sues over felon voting rights law
From The Tennessean
A state law that requires convicted felons to pay court-assessed debts before their voting rights are restored is an unconstitutional "poll tax," the ACLU claims in a federal lawsuit filed Monday. The state denied Friedman's voting rights, stating that he owes $1,000 in restitution, according to the lawsuit.
Posted Under: ACLU
Official didn’t get the point: free speech
From Worcester Telegram
The chairman of the Spencer Board of Selectmen challenged a town resident to do something about it if she believed he violated her rights by ruling her out of order at a public meeting. But Vincent Cloutier, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, called the ACLU s opinion ridiculous, saying that the board isn t obligated to allow citizen input and has a right to eliminate name-calling and personal comments. Last fall, Mr. Cloutier decided to implement a three strikes rule at meetings. On Feb....
Posted Under: ACLU
Rialto Muslim woman's headscarf lawsuit allowed to move forward
From PressEnterprise
A lawsuit accusing San Bernardino County of violating a Rialto Muslim woman's rights by forcing her to remove her headscarf was allowed to proceed by a federal judge Monday. In a lawsuit filed in December, Jameelah Medina, 29, claimed that her freedom of religion was violated when she was ordered to remove her headscarf at the county's West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga in December 2005. County spokesman David Wert said the county's attorney missed the hearing because of a...
Posted Under: ACLU
At FAMU law-school forum, key players spar over gay-marriage ban
From Orlando Sentinel
Two sides of the amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Florida squared off Monday in front of students at Florida A&M's College of Law, with proponents saying that the amendment is essential and opponents saying it's unnecessary. Unlike current state law, a constitutional amendment would be more difficult to be overturned in court, said Stemberger, whose organization collected the 649,000 signatures necessary to put the amendment on the November ballot.
Posted Under: ACLU
ACLU: Lawsuit over Pa. town's sign ordinance settled
From Philadelphia Inquirer
PITTSBURGH - The American Civil Liberties Union says it has settled a federal lawsuit challenging a Pittsburgh suburb's ordinance on political signs. The ACLU says the settlement calls for the municipality to amend its laws to remove a restriction that limited the display of campaign to 30 days before and five days after an election.
Posted Under: ACLU
