Latest From ACLU of Washington

The latest content and updates from the ACLU of Washington website.

Ruling Spurs Counties to Stop Holding Immigrants for Feds

Published: 
Monday, June 30, 2014
A federal court ruling has spurred Washington counties to stop holding immigrants in jail past the time they are eligible for release. The ACLU-WA and the NW Immigrant Rights Project are urging all counties and cities to follow suit.
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Insurance Commissioner Makes It Clear: Transgender Discrimination Is Illegal

Published: 
Friday, June 27, 2014
The ACLU of Washington applauds WA Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler for his recent action supporting the rights of transgender people. Kreidler wrote to health insurance companies on Wednesday to make clear that it is illegal to discriminate against transgender policyholders under state and federal law.
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Greenwald Speaks: Snowden and Demonizing Dissent

Published: 
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
In June of 2013, NSA contractor Edward Snowden famously leaked knowledge of systematic government spying to journalist Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian. Over the next year, Greenwald assembled his insights about government spying and Snowden into a book titled No Place to Hide. On a book tour, he recently spoke to a packed house at Seattle’s Town Hall.
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Liberty Link: Guess Where Seattle’s Police Drones Ended Up?

Published: 
Friday, June 20, 2014
Have you wondered where Seattle’s police drones are? How about … Los Angeles? In an aptly named article “Game of Drones” in the LA Weekly, Seattle journalist Rick Anderson chronicles how the Los Angeles Police Department acquired the two 3.5 Draganflyer X6 drones as a gift from the Seattle Police Department.
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Focus Cop Cams on Police Accountability

Published: 
Thursday, June 19, 2014
When people hear that their police department is considering equipping officers with body cameras, their initial reaction is likely to be “Good!”  Many instances of police misconduct have come to light over the years because someone recorded the incident with a mobile camera. So having a camera attached to each officer seems like a great way to ensure accountability.
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Liberty Link: Yes, America, we have returned to debtor's prisons

Published: 
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Alexes Harris, UW sociology professor and ACLU-WA board member, dissects the phenomenon of modern-day debtor’s prisons in an insightful op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times. Harris describes a surprisingly common and disturbing system: “The people least likely to earn a steady wage — the homeless, unemployed and the physically and mentally limited — are routinely labeled "willful" non-payers and sentenced to jail for not fulfilling their sentences.”
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A Landmark Case on Indigent Defense: Infographic

Published: 
Friday, June 13, 2014
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Michael Marchesini: A Holistic Approach to Social Change

Published: 
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Legal intern Michael Marchesini is excited to be working on criminal justice and voting rights for the ACLU in his home state. He is proud of Washington for its recent advances in civil liberties, including marriage equality and marijuana legalization, as well as the Governor’s moratorium on the death penalty and the ACLU’s work against debtors’ prisons.
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