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ACLU Marks 60th Anniversary Of Landmark Human Rights Document (12/10/2008)
NEW YORK – On the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the American Civil Liberties Union is calling on the incoming Obama administration to recommit to the rights and principles laid out in the document and use it as a guidepost for setting policy at home and abroad. The UDHR was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 to codify the basic human rights of all people, and is widely considered to be the founding document of the modern human rights movement.

Lawsuit Challenging Denial Of Bail Rights For Immigrants Can Continue, Says Federal Court (12/10/2008)
PHOENIX – A federal court ruled that a civil rights coalition can continue to challenge an Arizona state law that bars judges from considering bail for criminal defendants suspected of being undocumented immigrants. Defendants, which include Maricopa County, had asked the court to dismiss the case but the ruling permits the litigation to proceed. The court also granted the lawsuit class action status.

ACLU Announces Poster Design Contest (12/08/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties has issued a call for poster design submissions that depict the transformation of America into a country that holds its leaders accountable, strives to restore civil liberties and works to fix unconstitutional policies. The winning designer will be awarded $500 and the poster will be used as part of the ACLU's national campaign to renew America's commitment to the Constitution.

9/11 Detainees Postpone Guilty Pleas At Guantánamo (12/08/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – After expressing their desire to plead guilty at a Guantánamo military commission hearing earlier today, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other detainees charged with crimes related to the 9/11 attacks said they would postpone entering pleas until the competency of two additional co-defendants is determined. Outstanding questions remain about whether the death penalty can be imposed if the defendants plead guilty.

Federal Court Rules Bush Administration Must Justify Scholar's Visa Denial (12/08/2008)
BOSTON – A federal court today ruled that it has the power to review whether the Bush administration has a valid reason for denying a visa to respected South African scholar Adam Habib. The decision comes in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Massachusetts challenging the State Department's refusal to grant Professor Habib a visa based on unsubstantiated national security claims. Habib remains banned from the country and unable to attend speaking engagements in the United States.

Video Produced By ACLU And Brave New Films Reveals Flaws In Guantánamo Military Commissions (12/08/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union is pleased to announce a new video available online today featuring three military officials who enumerate the egregious flaws in the Guantánamo military commissions. The video features Navy Lt. Commander Brian Mizer, who served as commission defense counsel for convicted Guantánamo detainee Salim Hamdan and has been serving as defense counsel for Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, one of the Guantánamo detainees charged with crimes related to the 9/11 attacks who offered to plead guilty today before a military commission; Air Force Major David J.R. Frakt, who is the commission defense counsel for Mohammed Jawad; and Lt. Colonel Darrel John Vandeveld, who was a senior military commission prosecutor before resigning in protest.

ACLU At Guantánamo This Week For 9/11 Hearings (12/08/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – The American Civil Liberties Union is at Guantánamo this week for hearings in the 9/11-related military commission cases. The ACLU's John Adams Project, a partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NADCL), has sponsored expert civilian counsel who are assisting the under-resourced military defense counsel for several Guantánamo detainees.

Guantánamo Detainees Charged With 9/11 Crimes Offer To Plead Guilty (12/08/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – The Guantánamo detainees charged with crimes related to the 9/11 attacks offered to plead guilty today before a military commission. The American Civil Liberties Union's John Adams Project, a partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NADCL), has sponsored expert civilian counsel who are assisting the under-resourced military defense counsel for these detainees.

ACLU Challenges Government Suppression Of Torture Testimony At Guantánamo (12/05/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – The American Civil Liberties Union filed a legal challenge today to prohibit the government from censoring prisoners' testimony about torture and abuse in their military commission proceedings. Currently, the government cuts off the audio feed whenever a detainee testifies about CIA abuse so that observers cannot hear descriptions of brutal interrogations. In its motion, filed with the judge overseeing the prosecution of five defendants charged with involvement in the 9/11 attacks, the ACLU also seeks the immediate release of all transcripts of past proceedings in which the audio was turned off.

Federal Court Rejects Bush Administration's Attempt To Deport Torture Victim Without Due Process (12/05/2008)
PHILADELPHIA – Rebuffing the Bush administration's efforts to deport Egyptian torture victim Sameh Khouzam, a federal appeals court today upheld his right to challenge Egypt's "diplomatic assurances" that it will not torture Khouzam upon his return. This is the latest development in an ongoing American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit on behalf of Khouzam.

Supreme Court Agrees To Review ACLU's Landmark Indefinite Detention Case (12/05/2008)
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court today agreed to review the Bush administration's claim that it can indefinitely imprison a legal resident of the United States without charge or trial. The case was filed on behalf of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who has been detained in solitary confinement at a Navy brig in South Carolina since June 2003. Al-Marri asked the Court to reverse a federal appeals court decision that gave the president sweeping power to deprive individuals in the United States of their most basic constitutional rights by designating them as "enemy combatants."

ACLU Applauds Rep. Bobby Scott’s Youth Violence Summit (12/03/2008)
WASHINGTON – Today, as part of a youth violence summit hosted by Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), ACLU Legislative Counsel Jennifer Bellamy moderated a panel “Law Enforcement/Judicial Perspective on the Need for Prevention.” The purpose of the half-day issues forum, entitled “Empowering Communities to Combat Gang Crime: The Youth PROMISE Act,” is to address the need for evidence-based strategies for juvenile justice prevention and intervention.

ACLU Briefs Key House Committee on Privacy (12/03/2008)
WASHINGTON – The House Homeland Security Committee hosted a series of roundtable discussions today to consider the future of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties at the Department of Homeland Security. Chairman Bennie Thompson invited scholars and experts from across the country, including the American Civil Liberties Union, to participate. The ACLU offered guidance on policies such as federal watch lists, border security, and increased information sharing among law enforcement – including the use of fusion centers.

ACLU Files Federal Lawsuit To Protect Religious Liberty Of New Jersey Prisoner (12/03/2008)
TRENTON, NJ – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of New Jersey today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a New Jersey prisoner, an ordained Pentecostal minister, who is asking the state to respect his religious freedom by restoring his right to preach.

ACLU Says No Room For Compromise On Banning Torture (12/03/2008)
NEW YORK – News reports indicate that some members of Congress may be considering compromising over whether to completely end the Bush administration's disastrous policies of torture and detainee abuse.

ACLU Helps Secure Substantial Settlement For Family Of Quadriplegic Left To Die In D.C. Jail (12/02/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union has helped to secure a substantial settlement from District of Columbia officials and Greater Southeast Community Hospital on behalf of the family of a quadriplegic man who died while in custody at the Central Detention Facility.

ACLU Challenges Government's Authority To Designate Charities As Terrorists Without Due Process Or Court Oversight (11/21/2008)
TOLEDO, OH – A federal court should block the government from blacklisting an Ohio-based charity without providing it due process and should lift a freeze on the organization's assets, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and several civil rights lawyers argued today. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze the funds of KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. more than 33 months ago without notice or a hearing, based simply on the assertion that the charity was "under investigation." OFAC then threatened to designate KindHearts as a "specially designated global terrorist" (SDGT) based on classified evidence, again without providing it with a reason or meaningful opportunity to defend itself.

ACLU Secures Religious Freedom For Muslim Prisoners At Wyoming State Penitentiary (11/20/2008)
RAWLINS, WY – The American Civil Liberties Union has struck an agreement with officials at the Wyoming State Penitentiary that will allow Muslim prisoners to maintain their religious practices and beliefs while still being able to eat daily meals.

Federal Judge Orders Release Of Five Guantánamo Detainees Held Without Charges (11/20/2008)
WASHINGTON – A federal judge today ordered the release of five Algerian detainees who have been held at Guantánamo for nearly seven years without charges. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon also ruled that the government may continue to hold a sixth Algerian indefinitely. These cases are the first contested challenges to the indefinite detention of Guantánamo prisoners since the Supreme Court's landmark decision upholding the right of habeas corpus last June in Boumediene v Bush.

Guantánamo Judge Throws Out More Evidence Obtained Through Torture In Jawad Case (11/20/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – Less than a month after throwing out an alleged confession obtained through torture, a judge late Wednesday rejected more evidence gathered through coercive interrogations in the military commission case against Afghan national Mohammed Jawad. Army judge Col. Stephen Henley held that evidence collected while Jawad was in U.S. custody cannot be admitted in his trial. Previously, the government had told the judge that Jawad's alleged confessions were the centerpiece of its case against him.