News & Commentary

In South Portland, the police want to deploy a car mounted surveillance system on all their cruisers to allow them to scan all license plates within a 360 degree range.  Linked to a database, the system alerts the officer of "suspect" vehicles. 

In my research on solitary confinement, I found this video by the American Friends Service Committee that highlights what solitary confinement is like for inmates in America: 

The South Portland Police Department wants to deploy a new surveillance system, mounted on the tops of police cruisers, that will allow them to scan license plates, map the car locations, and compile this data to create a database of where people travel throughout the day.  The Portland Press Herald has a story on it today, and my colleague Alysia summed up our objection perfectly: this turns the presumption of innocence on its head.  The Constitution strikes a balance between the police interest in catching criminals and the right to be left alone, which Justice Brandeis once characterized as "the most comprehensive of rights."  Surveillance changes the way people behave.  We want to live in a world where people act as if they are free citizens, not as if they are always being watched.  That is why the ACLU of MAINE will continue to speak out against new surveilance technology and why we will be supporting Sen. Damon's bill to ban such surveilance technology (the Maine Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a related ban into law this past session, but perhaps South Portland did not get the message).  We hope you are concerned about police surveillance technology too and will help us.

Today I spent the afternoon in Augusta with the Right to Know Advisory Committee.  I serve on Maine’s Right to Know Advisory Committee, a committee established by the legislature to review exceptions to Maine’s right to know laws.  Each year our committee reviews dozens of exceptions to Maine’s right to know laws.  Some seem to make little sense.   (Should the marketing plans of the lobster promotion council really be secret?)

Yesterday, the people of Switzerland decided voted to institute a constitutional ban against minarets, the tower of a mosque.

I had lunch today with my 97 year old grandmother, and with the current goings on in Congress, I found myself reflecting on her life, including her choice to have an abortion despite the fact that it was both illegal and incredibly risky.  

As the U.S. Senate takes up health care reform, we are doing everything we can to make sure that this important legislation does not leave women (particularly poor women) out in the cold.  What is true about health care generally is also true about reproductive health care—wealthy people will alwa

This week, I spent much of my work hours in Augusta, talking with legislators, prisoners’ rights advocates and other interested parties about Representative Jim Schatz’s solitary confinement bill which legislators will consider in the upcoming session.  

Concerned about how much personal information you're giving up on-line?  Ever wondered how the ads on your FaceBook page seem linked to items you've searched on Google or other websites you've visited?