Latest From ACLU of Washington

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington hails enactment of a law that removes unnecessary barriers to help for needy families. Governor Christine Gregoire today is signing SB 5213 that will provide fair access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and its related Work First programs to people who have been barred from receiving help because of prior convictions for drug offenses.

The ACLU-WA challenge of a Seattle police rescission of a parade permit will go to trial on May 1.

The Washington Supreme Court found unanimously that requiring students to undergo drug testing without suspicion of wrongdoing violates the state constitution.

Seeking to protect free speech rights on Seattle streets, the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle challenging the City of Seattle’s Parade and Special Events Ordinances. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the October 22 Coalition, a protest group officially granted a parade permit by the City who was nonetheless barred by the Seattle Police Department from marching on the street. The ACLU says Seattle’s regulations are confusing, burdensome, and so vague that they wrongly give police unfettered discretion to alter or revoke parade permits.

In the first legal action of its kind in Washington, two sets of parents of Wahkiakum High School students filed a lawsuit on Dec. 17, 1999 challenging Wahkiakum School District’s policy of suspicionless urine testing for students who participate in extracurricular athletic activities.

The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit on behalf of an Issaquah mother and her son challenging a recently passed Issaquah ordinance that imposes highly restrictive limits on housing for people with past convictions for sex offenses.

The Washington Supreme Court today rejected a seriously ill woman’s plea to use medical marijuana to alleviate chronic pain, even though she had a doctor’s written recommendation. The 6-3 ruling points to the need to clarify the state’s medical marijuana law to ensure that patients are able to exercise their rights under the law.