The Supreme Court struck a terrifying blow to the 4th Amendment today when it ruled that the police can take DNA samples from arrested people - people who have not yet been convicted of any crime - without a warrant. 

We don't often get a chance to quote Justice Scalia on this blog, but there's a first time for everything, and today he was extremely on point. In siding with dissenting Justices Ginsburg, Kagan and Sotomayor, Scalia said:
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In June, the Maine Law Court will hear arguments in an important case about the rights of students to be free from discrimination. The case involves a girl who was denied access to the girl's bathroom at her elementary school because she is transgender. | continue reading

I'm sitting in the gallery of the Maine House of Representatives, listening to a lively debate about privacy.

LD 415, An Act To Require a Warrant To Obtain the Location Information of a Cell Phone or Other Electronic Device, would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant in order to track your location information via your cell phone. 
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“We belong together, with the rainbows and the butterflies.”
 
Last year, an inmate at Maine State Prison sang those sweet words as part of the closing ceremonies of the Maine Hospice Council’s conference on aging prisoners. It was a moving song, and before playing it in front of the large audience he explained that he had written it behind bars for his young daughter. With several years left on his sentence, he was destined to miss her childhood.
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Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.

National Security
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This week, the Portland City Council wisely rejected a number of proposals that would have severely restricted the First Amendment rights of artists in the city's downtown area. The ACLU of Maine expressed substantial concern with the proposals, and we were gratified to see their demise. | continue reading

An immigration reform bill introduced in April 2013 in the Senate has the potential to be a historic advance for the civil rights and liberties of immigrants and all Americans. If passed, it will put millions of immigrants who contribute every day to the vitality of our country on a road to citizenship.

Go here to learn more and follow along. 

Some hugely important votes could take place in the Maine legislature any day that will have a direct impact on Mainers' privacy.  We really need your help to ensure that privacy prevails.  Click here to find your legislator and call or email them right now.  In a hurry?  Use our action alert system here.  The issue at hand is whether law enforcement should have to get a warrant based upon probable cause before spyi | continue reading