Latest From ACLU of Washington

Skamania County Superior Court Judge E. Thompson Reynolds today sentenced a seriously ill medical marijuana patient to 60 days of electronic home detention, despite the fact that she had her doctor’s written recommendation for medical marijuana. The sentence for Sharon Tracy came after the Washington Supreme Court in November 2006 had rejected her doctor’s written recommendation for medical marijuana because the doctor was licensed in another state. Tracy, who is on public assistance, was also ordered to pay $3,000 in appeal costs plus the costs of her home detention.

Gov. Chris Gregoire today signed into law the "Fair Play" bill (SB 5967) to prohibit sex discrimination in public community sports programs. The ACLU-WA worked for its passage as part of a partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation to promote equal treatment for women and girls in sports.

The Pierce County Council voted unanimously on Aug. 9 to repeal a rule that barred speakers at public meetings from attacking or questioning the motives of council members. The action followed a letter by the ACLU objecting to the policy.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington announced today that it is offering free legal representation to anyone in the state who is approached by the FBI during its latest round of "dragnet" interviews of Arabs and Muslims.

The Islamic Education Center of Seattle (IECS) will be able to use a residential property to gather and worship, following arguments by the ACLU that the city did not have a compelling interest to deny the group a permit.

A Thurston County Superior Court judge has ordered the removal of misleading language in the ballot title for I-963, an initiative that would roll back state protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation. The challenge of the ballot title was filed by the ACLU and the Northwest Women’s Law Center.