News & Commentary

In a landmark victory for privacy rights, the Supreme Court today handed down a unanimous decision in Riley v. California mandating that police officers obtain a search warrant before examining the contents of an arrestee’s cell phone. The case arose in part after police officers in California arrested the defendant, Riley, for driving with expired registration tags. After searching through Riley’s cell phone, the police discovered photos and other data that incriminated Riley in a prior crime. Riley claimed the search of his cell phone constituted a violation of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Supreme Court agreed.

Yesterday, the ACLU released a report on the rise of heavily armed Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams in cities and towns across America.  War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing is based on a year-long investigation into state and local law enforcement agencies, and includes the first-ever publicly-available statistical analysis of raw police data on the use of paramilitary weapons and tactics to conduct domestic policing.

The film "Obvious Child" is coming to Maine this week. Writer and director Gillian Robespierre’s  “abortion rom-com” was released in limited cities at the beginning of June. The film’s major roll out is happening at the end of this week – Friday, June 27th. Reviewers have already been praising the film, calling it hilarious, honest, and refreshing.

A shocking new study finds that people who have spent time in the juvenile justice system are more likely to die violently than their peers who have not been involved in the system.

Last weekend, I spent a substantial amount of time binge watching the new season of Orange is the New Black. While the show puts a somewhat comical spin on the issues of life inside a women’s prison, it also has been a reminder for me of the unique challenges women face while incarcerated. Women are the fastest growing prisoner population in the country. Even here in Maine, between 2001-2013 there was a 624% increase in the number of women incarcerated in Maine state prisons.

This Saturday marks the first official day of summer, and what better way to celebrate than by marching with us through the streets of Portland for the city’s annual Pride Parade? We hope you can join us to show your support, but if not, don’t fear: this won’t be the only time you can connect with us this summer.

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

Our partner profiles highlight the broad range of individuals and organizations we work with to advance and protect the rights of all people in Maine.