News Releases

The ACLU –WA and other privacy advocates have announced that Gibberbot, a secure instant messaging and chat app, is the winner of the 2011 Develop for Privacy Challenge. The Challenge co-sponsors made the announcement in a celebratory event at the DEFCON security conference.

The ACLU-WA is seeking to learn when, why and how local law enforcement agencies are using cellphone location data to track Americans.  We’ve started with public records requests today to the cities of Bellevue, Tacoma, Yakima, and Spokane.

Personal mail to inmates at Spokane County Jail will no longer be limited to postcards, under terms of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the publication Prison Legal News. The ACLU-WA filed a brief in the suit, explaining that the restrictive policy violated the rights of both inmates and individuals who correspond with them.

The Washington Supreme Court ruled against an authorized patient who was fired for using medical marijuana, even though there was no evidence that its use interfered with her job performance. In a disappointing 8-1 opinion, the Court found that the Washington Medical Use of Marijuana Act does not protect employees who are discharged for exercising their right to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Pierce County Jail inmates filed a class action lawsuit on September 20, 2010 challenging jail officials’ illegal treatment of Muslim inmates. As the suit alleges, jail officials routinely treat Muslim prisoners worse than others when it comes to accommodating religious dietary needs, allowing for group prayer, and providing access to religious resources.  The jail also operates a special unit known as the “God Pod,” where Christian inmates enjoy housing and programming privileges that are denied to prisoners of other faiths. 

Reversing an appeals court ruling, the Washington Supreme Court today found that a child has no right to counsel under the due process clause of the state or federal constitutions at initial truancy hearings. The ACLU of Washington submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case (Bellevue v. E.S.) supporting the right to counsel at such hearings. The brief said that the child’s liberty, privacy, and education were all at stake, and that the risks of error – even in initial truancy proceedings – warranted the child’s right to be represented by counsel.

The ACLU of Washington and National Voting Rights Advocacy Initiative are urging the Washington Redistricting Commission to establish a majority-minority state legislative district in Yakima County.  In a letter submitted to the commission, the groups said the district is needed as a matter of democratic governance and in order to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Major Margaret Witt has reached a final settlement in her landmark lawsuit challenging her dismissal under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Major Witt attended the signing ceremony for the repeal of DADT in December and now will retire with full benefits, the ACLU-WA announced.  Pictured:Maj. Witt (right) with her partner Laurie McChesney.

The ACLU of Washington has filed a brief in support of a medical marijuana patient convicted of possession and cultivation of marijuana, even though she had a written medical recommendation to use it as medicine.The ACLU of Washington has filed a brief in support of a medical marijuana patient convicted of possession and cultivation of marijuana, even though she had a written medical recommendation to use it as medicine. The Washington Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on June 8.

The final settlement of a lawsuit in which the ACLU intervened will protect the privacy of what customers read, view, and listen to via their purchases on Amazon.com.