News & Commentary

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.

Last Friday, Governor Paul LePage and Public Safety Commissioner John Morris held two Drug Awareness Summits with local law enforcement. These summits were in response to recent data showing rising drug abuse rates in Maine and were closed to both the media and the public. A New York Times article published this past summer highlighted the increased use and availability of heroin throughout New England. Last year in Maine, 21 people died from heroin overdoes  - up from 7 in 2011. In his subsequent comments to the press, Governor LePage expressed concern over the “personal and economic costs associated with drug and alcohol abuse” citing his administration’s estimate that substance abuse in Maine costs the state 1.4 billion annually – or $1,000 per resident.

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.

Last Thursday U.S Attorney General Eric Holder made the much awaited announcement that the Department of Justice would allow laws legalizing the use of marijuana for adults in Colorado and Washington to go into effect. Though contingent on the states’ abilities to “implement strong and effective and regulatory enforcement systems,” this directive marks a significant shift in federal thinking on marijuana policy reform. 

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Last night I had dinner with friends of mine -- a biracial couple with two beautiful biracial children.  We started discussing racism in Maine and across the country.  We agreed that in fifty years since the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, we've made tremendous progress toward the goals of racial equality and justice.  The presidency of Barack Obama sends a powerful message to every black child that someday he could be President too.  At the same time, the death of Trayvon Martin sends an equally powerful message to mothers and fathers of black children that their sons could be one of the many black youth who are statistically more likely to be victims of violence than white children.  We still encounter racism in our communities and our systems.  Structural  inequalities persist including racial profiling and the terrible problem of over-incarceration.  Mass incarceration is the new Jim Crow as our country locks up more people in total and per capita than any other country, and one in three black men are likely to spend time in prison or jail at some point.  Even in Maine, the least racially diverse state in the country, blacks are twice as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites, even though marijuana usage rates are the same. 

August 28th marks the 50th Anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedoms. This week we are honoring some of the people who made the dream a reality in images and quotes. 

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation. 

In response to Federal Judge Shira Scheindin’s August 12th ruling finding the NYPD’s use of stop-and-frisk unconstitutional, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post. In the article, he accused Judge Scheindlin of “brazen activism” and claimed that stop-and-frisk was an invaluable crime fighting tool that had significantly contributed to New York City’s recent drop in crime.