News Releases

After 15 years of court-supervised monitoring, the ACLU-WA and Pierce County have agreed to a final settlement in a lawsuit over inhumane conditions at the county jail. The settlement came after county officials adopted policies that, when fully implemented, will ensure that medical care for inmates meets minimum constitutional standards.

Major Margaret Witt, a decorated flight nurse who had been dismissed under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, will be able to resume her service with the U.S. Air Force, the ACLU of Washington announced today.  Major Witt will become the first openly gay person to serve in the military due to a court order under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The ACLU-WA has represented Major Witt in a four-year-long lawsuit seeking her reinstatement. Pictured: Major Witt (far right) deployed in Oman. 

The recently released footage of an incident during which a Seattle police officer is seen repeatedly kicking an African-American youth is yet another disturbing example in a string of recent incidents in which the Seattle Police Department has engaged in unnecessarily violent confrontations with citizens, all of whom have been people of color.  These repeated incidents over the last 18 months, which have continued unchecked and without forceful intervention by the Seattle Police Department, the mayor, or Seattle’s other elected officials, leads the ACLU to call on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether there is a pattern and practice of civil rights violations by the Seattle Police Department in violation of the constitution and federal law.  The ACLU is preparing a formal request to the Department of Justice for such an investigation, according to Kathleen Taylor, Executive Director.

In a victory for privacy and free speech on the Internet, a federal court emphasized  that government officials cannot watch over our shoulders to see what we are buying and reading.

A federal court in Yakima has quashed a subpoena that demanded the medical information of 17 medical marijuana patients, citing the need to protect their privacy. The ACLU represented the medical clinic that holds the patients’ records.

It’s like something out of Dickens: Poor people being jailed for failing to pay debts they can never hope to afford. Washington is one of five states highlighted in a new report on this increasing practice and its devastating impacts on individuals.

The ACLU of Washington and Columbia Legal Services have issued a report examining the unfair burdens court-ordered debts impose on poor people in Washington. “Modern-Day Debtors’ Prisons: The Ways Court-Imposed Debts Punish People for Being Poor” exposes a counterproductive system and calls for reform.

U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton has ordered the Air Force to reinstate Major Margaret Witt, a decorated flight nurse who had been dismissed under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. After six days of trial, the Court found that Major Witt’s sexual orientation does not negatively impact unit morale or cohesion.  ACLU of Washington attorneys have directly represented Major Witt since her case began in 2006.

The landmark case of Major Margaret Witt, a decorated U.S. Air Force nurse dismissed on grounds that she engaged in homosexual conduct, went to trial on Sept. 13 in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.  The ACLU of Washington is representing Maj. Witt in challenging her discharge under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Pictured above: Major Witt (far right) deployed in Oman.

In the wake of the tragic shooting of a Native American wood carver, the ACLU-WA told Seattle leaders they must provide leadership in preventing overreactions by police. Among other changes, officers must be trained to understand that “appearing different” doesn’t make someone a threat to public safety.