Stories from the ACLU of Washington

A U.S. District Court issued a timeline by which the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) must fix problems that have forced mentally ill defendants to languish in jails for months, waiting for the agency to provide them with mental health evaluations and treatment.

There continues to be a lack of clarity as to whether the health clinics to be opened in Washington and Oregon through a collaboration of Walgreens and Providence Health & Services will be bound by religious doctrine.

The breadth and depth of the ACLU’s work is a plus for Chicago native Madeleine Harnois, who is interested in many aspects of human rights and civil liberties.

The ACLU-WA is suing the Tacoma Police Dept. for failing to disclose records related to its use of a highly intrusive stingray surveillance device. The suit seeks information vital to holding police accountable to the public it serves.

The ACLU-WA has issued a report calling for major reforms in Pasco police policies in order to prevent unnecessary deaths and excessive use of force. (Pictured Above: ACLU-WA Deputy Director Jennifer Shaw at a press conference in Pasco)

The ACLU-WA is encouraging prosecuting attorneys around the state to exercise prosecutorial discretion when considering whether to press charges in cases involving youth and the sharing of sexually-tinged photos, known as “sexting.”

The wide range of issues the ACLU works on is a big part of its appeal for Hannah McCreary, volunteer Communications Coordinator for ACLU’s Communications department.

Alex Morkill believes everyone should have access to their Constitutional rights, regardless of their ability to afford a lawyer. That’s why volunteering at the ACLU has “a feel good-purpose to it,” he said.

Martin Mendiola is interning with the ACLU-WA Communications Department to apply what he’s learning in school.

The ACLU of Washington has filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Washington Supreme Court to strike down a Lakewood ordinance that unconstitutionally infringes on freedom of speech.