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U.N. Torture Expert Should Investigate Brutal Force-Feeding Of Connecticut Inmate, Says ACLU (10/27/2008)
HARTFORD, Conn. – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture (UNSR) should review the force-feeding of inmate Bill Coleman by the Connecticut Department of Corrections (DOC), according to a letter filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union under the U.N. Urgent Appeal procedure.

Lesbian And Gay Couples Win Freedom To Marry In Connecticut (10/10/2008)
HARTFORD, CT – The Connecticut Supreme Court today ruled that barring same-sex couples from marriage violates that state's constitution. The American Civil Liberties Union, which was co-counsel in the case along with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, applauded the decision.

Court Rules Connecticut Social Club Can’t Ban Women (02/27/2008)
MYSTIC, CT – In a victory for gender equality, a Connecticut Superior Court ruled that a local social club can no longer ban women from membership. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Connecticut on behalf of Sam Corcoran, who was denied membership in the German Social Society Frohsinn, Inc. because she is a woman. The court upheld an appellate court’s ruling that the social club was a public accommodation - not a private club - and subject to Connecticut’s civil rights laws banning discrimination.

ACLU and Civil Rights Lawyers Renew Effort to Desegregate Hartford Schools (11/06/2007)
HARTFORD – Before a Connecticut Superior Court today, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Connecticut and cooperating attorneys will argue that the state of Connecticut must honor its legal obligations to desegregate Hartford’s public schools.

ACLU to Honor Connecticut Librarians & John Doe During Seattle Conference (06/15/2007)
SEATTLE – In a ceremony tonight, the American Civil Liberties Union will present the Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty awards to four Connecticut librarians and the president of a New York Internet Service Provider (ISP) who stood up against the Patriot Act and refused to violate the privacy of their patrons and clients.

Court Rules in Favor of Woman Who Was Denied Membership in All Male Club (02/28/2007)
HARTFORD, CT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut today hailed an important victory in a lawsuit brought by a woman who was denied membership in the German Social Society because of her gender. The Connecticut Court of Appeals ruled that the lower court committed a legal error when it incorrectly applied a narrow federal standard to the club’s requirement to be open to the public rather than the broader state standard.

ACLU Urges Connecticut Officials to End Use of Attack Dogs to Control Prisoners (11/17/2006)
HARTFORD, CT -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and the ACLU's National Prison Project is urging Governor M. Jodi Rell to end the use of canines to control prisoners, a barbaric practice that calls to mind the notorious photos of snarling dogs used against prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

Voters Seek Stronger Role for Congress in Checking President's Actions, Poll Shows (10/10/2006)
NEW YORK- Voters in four key states want to see Congress take a stronger role in providing checks and balances to the President's actions in fighting terrorism, and voice a strong preference for House and Senate candidates who will oppose the President's policies on the treatment of Guantánamo detainees, the use of torture and extraordinary rendition of detainees as well as secret searches of the private records of Americans.

ACLU Wins Expanded Protections for Needle Exchange Participants (06/01/2006)
BRIDGEPORT, CT – The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed a ruling by a federal court expanding protections to needle exchange program participants. The court expanded the scope of a previous order, which prohibited the Bridgeport Police Department from harassing or arresting individuals who possess needles, ruling that other forms of injection equipment are protected as well.

ACLU Launches Nationwide Action Against NSA Snooping on Americans’ Phone Calls (05/24/2006)
NEW YORK -- Responding to reports that phone companies are turning over private details about Americans’ telephone calls to the National Security Agency, the American Civil Liberties Union today launched a nationwide initiative to end illegal government spying.

Ruling in ACLU Cases, Federal Judge Says Patriot Act “Gag” Provision is Undemocratic (05/24/2006)
NEW YORK -- A federal appeals court ruled yesterday on two constitutional challenges filed by the ACLU to the Patriot Act’s National Security Letter (NSL) provision, saying in one of the cases that a district court should consider the constitutionality of the provision in light of recent amendments made by Congress.

With Patriot Act Debate Over, Government Drops Fight to Gag Librarians From Discussing Objections to Controversial Law (04/12/2006)
NEW YORK – Less than six weeks after the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, the government has given up its legal battle over a gag order on Connecticut librarians affected by a controversial provision of the law, which will allow them to speak publicly for the first time about their objections to secret FBI demands for patrons’ library and e-mail records, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today.

30,000 National Security Letters Issued Annually Demanding Information about Americans: Patriot Act Removed Need for FBI to Connect Records to Suspected Terrorists (11/07/2005)
NEW YORK - New information in recent news reports shows that 30,000 National Security Letters are issued by the government per year, a hundred-fold annual increase since the 2001 Patriot Act relaxed requirements on the FBI's use of the power. Clients of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is challenging the federal statute in court, are gagged forever from speaking about their experiences. The ACLU has called on courts to strike down the provision and lift the gag orders, and has called on Congress to reform the Patriot Act to protect the personal records of ordinary Americans.

ACLU Urges Federal Appeals Court to Uphold Two Rulings Blocking FBI's Use of Patriot Surveillance Power (11/02/2005)
NEW YORK - In the first federal appeals court argument addressing a surveillance provision of the Patriot Act, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged a three-judge panel to uphold two separate rulings: one which found the National Security Letter (NSL) authority of the Patriot Act unconstitutional and another that struck down a gag imposed under the same statute. The controversial NSL provision authorizes the FBI to demand a range of personal records without court approval, including records of Web site visits, e-mail addresses and library records.

ACLU and GLAD File Lawsuit to End Connecticut's Exclusion of Lesbian and Gay Couples from Marriage Rights (08/25/2004)
HARTFORD -- Seven gay and lesbian couples from across Connecticut who were recently denied marriage licenses filed a lawsuit today in New Haven Superior Court challenging the state's discriminatory denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Sheff Plaintiffs Return to Court to Declare the State of Connecticut in Violation of Agreement to Reduce Racial, Ethnic and Economic Segregation in Hartford Region Schools (08/03/2004)
HARTFORD, CT - Elizabeth Horton Sheff and a coalition of parents, students and legal experts announced today that they were returning to court to force the state of Connecticut to comply with an historic January 2003 agreement aimed at reducing the racial and ethnic isolation in Hartford public schools.

ACLU Files Lawsuit to Protect Free Speech Rights of Connecticut Dentist (11/12/2003)
HARTFORD -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut today filed a federal lawsuit to prevent the state Department of Public Heath from disciplining an Orange dentist, Dr. Mark Breiner, for publishing an op-ed article in the Connecticut Post.

Federal Judge Upholds Police Misconduct Claim Against Connecticut Police Officers in Case of Mistaken Identity (10/08/2003)
HARTFORD-A federal judge today upheld a police misconduct claim filed by the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a man who was mistakenly identified as a suspect and then kicked and beaten by city police officers.

ACLU Files Challenge to Religion-Themed Post Office in Connecticut Town (10/03/2003)
HARTFORD -- The Connecticut Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Postal Service, saying that a contract postal unit in the town of Manchester is replete with Christian religious symbols, messages and images.

ACLU of Connecticut Wins Release Of Illegally Detained Immigrants (07/14/2003)
HARTFORD, CT-The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut today welcomed the release of two immigrant men who were being held here by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE, formerly the INS) for extensive periods of time. The ACLU said it will file additional petitions challenging the government's detention of others.

Federal Appeals Court Overturns Juvenile Nighttime Curfew Ordinance in Connecticut Town (06/03/2003)
VERNON, CT-Saying that a juvenile curfew ordinance in place here unjustly interferes with young peoples' freedom of movement, a federal appeals court today reversed a Connecticut trial court and declared the ordinance unconstitutional in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut.

ACLU of Connecticut Offers Testimony Against Bill That Would Infringe on Privacy (05/13/2003)
HARTFORD--The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut today testified before the state's General Assembly urging lawmakers to reject a bill currently under consideration that would give the state prosecutor's office the right to issue investigative subpoenas without reasonable cause for suspicion.

CT Town's Denial of Zoning Permit Discriminated Against Persons with Disabilities, Court Rules (01/24/2003)
NEW LONDON, CT -- In a case brought by the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union, a federal district court today ruled that city officials had intentionally discriminated against a non-profit agency that serves persons with psychiatric disabilities when it denied the group a zoning permit to move to a new location.

CT Town Joins Growing List of Municipalities that Oppose Anti-Civil Liberties Provisions of USA PATRIOT Act (01/14/2003)
HARTFORD--The Connecticut Civil Liberties Union today applauded the town of Mansfield for unanimously passing a resolution that urges local workers such as police officers and librarians not to cooperate with federal initiatives that infringe on civil liberties.

Pregnancy Discrimination Case Comes Before State Supreme Court (02/11/2002)
HARTFORD-The Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union today filed a friend-of the-court brief in a case that examines the grounds for wrongful dismissal in a private employment setting. The Connecticut Supreme Court today will hear arguments on whether protections against pregnancy discrimination should be extended to employees of small companies with fewer than three employees. 

U.S. Court of Appeals Affirms Unconstitutionality of Connecticut's Sex Offender Website Law (10/19/2001)
HARTFORD -- The Connecticut Civil Liberties Union today applauded an appeals court decision saying that the state's sex offender registry law "fails to accommodate the constitutional rights" of persons formerly convicted of a wide range of sexual offenses because they had not been given the chance to show they were not a threat to the community.

Connecticut's Highest Court Rules in Favor of Public Beach Access for Non-Residents (07/26/2001)
HARTFORD, CT - - Relying in part on free speech arguments raised by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Connecticut Supreme Court today unanimously issued a strong ruling affirming the right of non-residents to use town parks and beaches throughout the state. 

Bowing to ACLU Lawsuit, CT Officials Will Move Prisoners Out of Notorious Virginia "Supermax" (07/24/2001)
HARTFORD, CT--In a victory for prisoners' rights, state officials said today they will move inmates under their care out of a notorious "Supermax" prison in rural Virginia where two Connecticut prisoners have died in the last 18 months. 

Connecticut Veteran Sues For Right to Commemorate Fallen War Hero on his Property (07/11/2001)
HARTFORD, CT - - The Connecticut Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal complaint on behalf of a Franklin man who was told by town officials that zoning requirements bar him from placing a commemorative war veteran sign on his front lawn.

Connecticut Supreme Court Puts Teeth Back into State's Affordable Housing Law (07/09/2001)
HARTFORD, CT -- The Connecticut Civil Liberties Union today hailed a unanimous State Supreme Court decision that restores the state's affordable housing law to its original intent and strength and clarifies the role of judges who review local denials of proposals to develop affordable housing. 

ACLU Files Lawsuit on Behalf of Connecticut Prisoner Seeking Family Visitation Rights (06/29/2001)
HARTFORD, CT--The Connecticut Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against the state Department of Corrections (DOC) for terminating the visitation rights of a prisoner's wife and infant son. 

Connecticut's Sex Offender Website Registry Violates Rights, Court Rules (04/02/2001)
HARTFORD--A Connecticut law unfairly stigmatizes those who are forced to register as dangerous sex offenders without being allowed to show that they are not a threat to the community, a federal court here ruled today. 

CT Court is First in Nation to Protect Needle Exchange Program from Police Harassment (01/19/2001)
BRIDGEPORT, CT--In a national test case challenging the illegal harassment and arrest of participants in a Needle Exchange Program, a federal court in Connecticut has ruled that police may not interfere with a public health initiative that effectively combats disease through education and prevention.

Conn. City Celebrates M.L.K. Day by Banning Racial Profiling (01/18/2000)
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT - According to the Associated Press, Stamford is the first community in Connecticut to formally ban racial profiling, a practice in which minorities are targeted by law enforcement because of their race.

Settlement Reached in ACLU's Class-Action Lawsuit Alleging Inadequacy of CT Public Defender System (07/07/1999)
HARTFORD -- The American Civil Liberties Union and its Connecticut affiliate today announced the resolution of its class-action lawsuit against the State of Connecticut for failing to provide the public defender system with sufficient funding.