Latest From ACLU of Washington

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

Title IX and Lessons for Life

Published: 
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
From her career as an athlete came some important lessons: “Don’t fear a challenge, welcome it.” “The game ain’t over till it’s over – there are many quarters, many innings, and you have to play every one hard.” “You’ll never know the true joy of victory unless you have known defeat. Be humble in both.” Maj. Margaret Witt found these maxims from the world of sports stood her in good stead during her years of service in the military – and during her long legal battle with the government over her dismissal from the military under the now-repealed “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.  
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ACLU Seeks Information on Government Mobile Phone Tracking

News Release, Published: 
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
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.
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Liberty Link: Twilight for Immigrants on the Olympic Peninsula

Published: 
Friday, July 29, 2011
A dynamite cover story in the latest Seattle Weekly – “Twilight for Immigrants” by Nina Shapiro – details the havoc being wreaked on lives and a community’s fabric by the U.S. Border Patrol’s heavy-handed tactics on Olympic Peninsula. The article is full of disturbing incidents which challenge the Border Patrol’s bland assertion that it does not engage in racial profiling.
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Settlement Ends "Postcard-Only" Policy at Spokane Jail

News Release, Published: 
Monday, July 25, 2011
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.
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More Common Sense Instead of the War on Drugs

Published: 
Friday, July 22, 2011
Congratulations to our drug reform allies in New York for passing the nation’s fourth 911 Good Samaritan Law. The law aims to save lives by encouraging people to call for emergency services when they witness overdoses. New York becomes the largest state to enact such a much-needed measure.
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State Supreme Court Rules Medical Marijuana Law Does Not Protect Employees from Being Fired

News Release, Published: 
Thursday, July 21, 2011
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.
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Police Chief Sends a Message

Published: 
Monday, July 18, 2011
Last May we were stunned to see video of a Seattle police officer yelling racial slurs at a Latino man lying prone on the ground and kicking him in the head while another officer stomped on his legs.  This incident was one of many that led the ACLU and 34 other organizations to ask the Department of Justice to investigate the Seattle Police Department for racially biased policing. 
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An Intern-Eye’s View of the Legislative Process

Published: 
Friday, July 15, 2011
Having studied political science in college, I have learned much about the process of drafting, introducing, and passing bills. But it is one thing to read about it in textbooks and listen to lectures. It is certainly another to be an active participant in the process. I had exactly that opportunity in my internship with the ACLU of Washington.
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Suit Challenges Religious Discrimination Against Muslims in Pierce County Jail Muslims Denied Rights To Practice Their Religion

News Release, Published: 
Friday, July 15, 2011
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. 
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Liberty Link: Police Guild Has Spokane Ombudsman Where It Wants Him

Published: 
Thursday, July 14, 2011
An arbitrator this week revoked a law that strengthened Spokane’s police ombudsman powers to investigate allegations of officer misconduct independently of the police. Spokane’s Police Guild had challenged the new powers as a change in working conditions that must be negotiated with the Guild as part of its contract with the city, and the arbitrator agreed.  
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Book Ban Reversed: Sherman Alexie Novel Back in Richland Classrooms

Published: 
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
On July 11, the Richland School Board voted 4-1 to bring Sherman Alexie’s young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian back to all its high school classrooms. This welcome action reversed the board’s vote in June to exclude the novel from all high school classrooms after it was piloted for the 9th-grade curriculum.
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Seattle Gets Rid of “Incumbent-Protection” Clause for Voters’ Guide

Published: 
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Candidates for elected office in Seattle now will be able to discuss their opponents in statements published in the pamphlet that voters receive in election season.  The ACLU-WA began working for this common-sense policy change a decade ago.
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Federal v. State Marijuana Law Conflict – More Contentious Than Ever

Published: 
Friday, July 8, 2011
As Connecticut becomes the fourteenth state in the U.S. to decriminalize adult possession of marijuana, it’s clear that many states want to take a different approach towards marijuana; despite the federal government’s continued blustering on state medical marijuana laws.
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