News Releases

A summary of known federal domestic surveillance programs. Part of the package on ACLU FOIA requests for local peace groups.

In June 2005 the Tacoma City Council approved by a 6-2 vote a major reform of police accountability by establishing an independent auditor and a citizen review board. The vote culminates over two years of work by the Police Accountability Working Group, created by the Tacoma Human Rights Commission to draft a proposal for citizen oversight.

Today the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that even in times of unrest, the government cannot arrest protesters simply because of their message. The ruling came in the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington's lawsuit challenging the City of Seattle's establishment and enforcement of a No Protest Zone during the meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1999.

The ACLU is suing two federal agents for unlawfully imprisoning and seeking to deport an Iraqi refugee who had broken no laws.

The ACLU has sued the state to strike down laws that ban marriage between couples of the same sex.

The Burien City Council voted 6-0 to pass a nondiscrimination ordinance that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The ACLU-WA is assisting Ian Spiers, a biracial community college student who was questioned and detained by local police and a Homeland Security agent for taking photographs at the Ballard Locks.

The American Civil Liberties Union today praised the Washington Court of Appeals for allowing a nonbiological mother the right to seek parental rights and visitation with her daughter after the mother's relationship with the biological mother ended.

The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court to let states decide for themselves whether to grant scholarship money to theology students, which the ACLU said undermines one of the core legal arguments in the President’s so-called "faith-based initiative."

From the vantage point of almost two decades of observation, and countless meetings with local officials and their staff, the single most important overriding message I would like to leave with you is the following: "stop the giveaways." By this I mean, the City should stop giving away in the collective bargaining process the public’s ability to establish a stronger and more effective police accountability system.