News & Commentary

We've written before about Pfc. Bradley Manning, the young American soldier accused of leaking government documents to WikiLeaks. Manning was held for nine months in a windowless cell in Virginia, for 23 hours a day, while awaiting trial. He had his glasses taken away so that he could not read, he was subjected to sleep deprivation through repeated physical inspections at night, and he was repeatedly forced to strip naked. Earlier this year, a military court ruled that Manning’s treatment was excessively harsh. As a result, Manning would have 112 days taken off his sentence if convicted of a crime. Today, the verdict was handed down - Manning was found "not guilty" of the most serious charge against him, "aiding the enemy." However, he was found guilty of another 19 charges, including 5 counts of espionage. Below is the ACLU comment on the verdict:

We've written before about Pfc. Bradley Manning, the young American soldier accused of leaking government documents to WikiLeaks. Manning was held for nine months in a windowless cell in Virginia, for 23 hours a day, while awaiting trial. He had his glasses taken away so that he could not read, he was subjected to sleep deprivation through repeated physical inspections at night, and he was repeatedly forced to strip naked.  Earlier this year, a military court ruled that Manning’s treatment was excessively harsh. As a result, Manning would have 112 days taken off his sentence if convicted of a crime. Today, the verdict was handed down - Manning was found "not guilty" of the most serious charge against him, "aiding the enemy." However, he was found guilty of another 19 charges, including 5 counts of espionage.  Below is the ACLU comment on the verdict:

Automated license plate recognition (ALPR) systems are automatic cameras that are mounted either over a street or in a police cruiser. More information available here They take pictures of the license plates of passing cars, convert these images into computer readable data, and store the information in large databases. Use of these ALPRs is on the rise nationally.  Increasingly, police and law enforcement agencies (as well as businesses and other private organizations) are employing these systems to spy on innocent Americans.  In most places, whether an individual is suspected of a crime is irrelevant. Their identity and location are sucked up just like everyone else's and can be used to paint a very accurate picture of everywhere they have been. In many cases this data is stored indefinitely with no meaningful oversight about what it can be used for. Often this data is used for discriminatory targeting of minorities as in the case of the NYPD reportedly driving unmarked cars by mosques and using ALPRs to record the license plates of attendees. Likewise, these can reveal whether a person is a regular church goer, a heavy drinker, a member of specific political or activist groups, and so much more. The indiscriminate and incredibly intrusive tracking of innocent Americans which is enabled by this technology is especially chilling in light of last month's revelations about the NSA's vacuuming up of our digital communications.  There seems to be less and less concern on the part of government about who they track.  Now instead of investigating individuals for truly suspicious behavior, everyone is seen as potential suspect of crimes which may not have even taken place.There is very little oversight regarding how this data is used.  In most states, there are no laws which place any restrictions on what law enforcement agencies can do with it, how long they can save it, or even who is allowed to use ALPR systems.  In fact, there are only two states with positive laws on the books governing ALPR use - including Maine, where the ACLU of Maine and our partners lobbied hard to pass a law limiting their use. The other is our next door neighbor New Hampshire.  In Maine, the data collected may only be used for protecting public safety and transportation infrastructure, commercial motor vehicle screening and inspection, or active criminal investigations based on articulable facts which suggest probable cause that criminal activity is taking place.  Additionally, almost all data collected may only be stored for twenty-one days.  New Hampshire has, with only a few exceptions, a general ban on the use of ALPR technology! During a recent trip that I took to Pennsylvania, I decided to try to count the number of license plate readers that I passed on the highway.  I was quite disturbed when I wound up losing count in part due to the innocuous nature of the cameras. Often it is hard to even tell if a device suspended over the highway is even a camera at all!  It makes me all the more proud to say that Maine is leading the way when it comes to protecting peoples privacy from overly intrusive use of technology by the government for the purposes of spying on innocent citizens. As some readers may be aware, we recently passed two laws (LD 1377 and LD 1040) which ensure that law enforcement must get a warrant based on probable cause before accessing an individual’s cell phone records or placing a camera on an individual's property.  I for one am proud of Maine's commitment to privacy, but that being said, we must remain vigilant.  In this climate in which government surveillance has become commonplace, our hard earned protections are only as strong as those who continue to defend them.

Automated license plate recognition (ALPR) systems are automatic cameras that are mounted either over a street or in a police cruiser. More information available here They take pictures of the license plates of passing cars, convert these images into computer readable data, and store the information in large databases.  Use of these ALPRs is on the rise nationally.  Increasingly, police and law enforcement agencies (as well as businesses and other private organizations) are employing these systems to spy on innocent Americans.  In most places, whether an individual is suspected of a crime is irrelevant. Their identity and location are sucked up just like everyone else's and can be used to paint a very accurate picture of everywhere they have been. In many cases this data is stored indefinitely with no meaningful oversight about what it can be used for.  Often this data is used for discriminatory targeting of minorities as in the case of the NYPD reportedly driving unmarked cars by mosques and using ALPRs to record the license plates of attendees. Likewise, these can reveal whether a person is a regular church goer, a heavy drinker, a member of specific political or activist groups, and so much more. The indiscriminate and incredibly intrusive tracking of innocent Americans which is enabled by this technology is especially chilling in light of last month's revelations about the NSA's vacuuming up of our digital communications.  There seems to be less and less concern on the part of government about who they track.  Now instead of investigating individuals for truly suspicious behavior, everyone is seen as potential suspect of crimes which may not have even taken place. There is very little oversight regarding how this data is used.  In most states, there are no laws which place any restrictions on what law enforcement agencies can do with it, how long they can save it, or even who is allowed to use ALPR systems.  In fact, there are only two states with positive laws on the books governing ALPR use. One is Maine, and the other is our next door neighbor New Hampshire.  In Maine, for example, the data collected may only be used for protecting public safety and transportation infrastructure, commercial motor vehicle screening and inspection, or active criminal investigations based on articulable facts which suggest probable cause that criminal activity is taking place.  Additionally, almost all data collected may only be stored for twenty-one days.  New Hampshire has, with only a few exceptions, a general ban on the use of ALPR technology!  During a recent trip that I took to Pennsylvania, I decided to try to count the number of license plate readers that I passed on the highway.  I was quite disturbed when I wound up losing count in part due to the innocuous nature of the cameras. Often it is hard to even tell if a device suspended over the highway is even a camera at all!  It makes me all the more proud to say that Maine is leading the way when it comes to protecting peoples privacy from overly intrusive use of technology by the government for the purposes of spying on innocent citizens.  As some readers may be aware, we recently passed two laws (LD 1377 and LD 1040) which ensure that law enforcement must get a warrant based on probable cause before accessing an individual’s cell phone records or placing a camera on an individual's property.  I for one am proud of Maine's commitment to privacy, but that being said, we must remain vigilant.  In this climate in which government surveillance has become commonplace, our hard earned protections are only as strong as those who continue to defend them.

Yesterday, the House narrowly voted down an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill that would have addressed recent NSA privacy abuses. As we all found out a few months ago, the NSA has been using Section 215 of the Patriot Act to indiscriminately amass cell phone data in bulk with meaningless oversight. The amendment, offered by Representative Amash, would have set limits on metadata collection - stating that Section 215 orders can only be used to collect information on those who are actually the subject of an investigation.While the measure was defeated, we're proud that Congressman Michaud and Congresswoman Pingree both voted for the Amash Amendment. We are hopeful that Senator King will also stand up for privacy and work to reform the Patriot Act when the Senate is back in session in September.

Yesterday, the House narrowly voted down an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill that would have addressed recent NSA privacy abuses. As we all found out a few months ago, the NSA has been using Section 215 of the Patriot Act to indiscriminately amass cell phone data in bulk with meaningless oversight. The amendment, offered by Representative Amash, would have set limits on metadata collection - stating that Section 215 orders can only be used to collect information on those who are actually the subject of an investigation. While the measure was defeated, we're proud that Congressman Michaud and Congresswoman Pingree both voted for the Amash Amendment. We are hopeful that Senator King will also stand up for privacy and work to reform the Patriot Act when the Senate is back in session in September.

I made the following remarks at a rally today, organized by the NAACP in Portland to remember and honor Trayvon Martin but also to call all of us to action to work toward racial equality and against violence.  The work we do at the ACLU of Maine is grounded in the principles of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  That is our mission.  But our defense of these principles impacts real people everyday -- people we love.  So the conversation around Trayvon Martin's death is not just a conversation about what the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution means or whether Congress can finally pass the End Racial Profiling Act but also a conversation about how we treat our neighbors and our friends.  So here are my remarks:When I heard the news, I went to a place many of us go to find community – online on Facebook.  There, as I read the reactions of friends and family members, there was one status update from my friend Kate Knox that was so powerful.  Kate wrote, “I do not know if George Zimmerman is guilty - but I do know that black boys are never given the benefit of the doubt. They grow up being looked upon as scary, devious and suspicious. All I know is my exquisite black child at 20 months loving bugs, pretzels and his mama.”  My friend Kate posted this on Facebook in reference to her adorable son, Edson. My friend and mentor, Laura Murphy, wrote a powerful blog about how this makes her feel.  (A Mother's Rules for Being Young, Black and Male.)  She said, “I've done my best to protect my son, a young man who is 23 and about to enter law school, by teaching him to anticipate prejudice and understand that for some, his skin color is an invitation to scorn and mistreatment. But one heartbreaking lesson to take from this tragedy is that there is essentially nothing that parents can tell their Black children—especially young men—about how to survive in this world that will protect them from violence, and that must change.”The CDC recently released statistics, publicized in the USA Today, on the numbers of black and white young men who are killed each year at the hands of another.  In 2010 there were 2.1 homicides for every 100,000 white youths.  Meanwhile, there were 28.8 homicides for every 100,000 black youths.  In other words, our nation’s black sons are almost 15 times more likely to be victims of murder than our nation’s white sons. Regardless of our politics and our view of the verdict, we can all share compassion for the parents of Trayvon who lost a son and the parents of black children everywhere who are statistically more likely to fall victim to violence. We can share compassion for all mothers of black children, for Kate and for Laura, who fear for their sons’ safety.The conversation of race and the criminal justice system is not an easy one.  But we cannot afford to be colorblind.  To be colorblind as a society is dangerous, it threatens the safety of our young people. The mission of the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maine, is defense of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  We believe in the promise of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees all people equal protection under the law.  And we must act now to realize that promise, to work toward racial equality and justice for all.

I made the following remarks at a rally today, organized by the NAACP in Portland to remember and honor Trayvon Martin but also to call all of us to action to work toward racial equality and against violence.  The work we do at the ACLU of Maine is grounded in the principles of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  That is our mission.  But our defense of these principles impacts real people everyday -- people we love.  So the conversation around Trayvon Martin's death is not just a conversation about what the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution means or whether Congress can finally pass the End Racial Profiling Act but also a conversation about how we treat our neighbors and our friends.  So here are my remarks: When I heard the news, I went to a place many of us go to find community – online on Facebook.  There, as I read the reactions of friends and family members, there was one status update from my friend Kate Knox that was so powerful.  Kate wrote, “I do not know if George Zimmerman is guilty - but I do know that black boys are never given the benefit of the doubt. They grow up being looked upon as scary, devious and suspicious. All I know is my exquisite black child at 20 months loving bugs, pretzels and his mama.”  My friend Kate posted this on Facebook in reference to her adorable son, Edson.  My friend and mentor, Laura Murphy, wrote a powerful blog about how this makes her feel.  (A Mother's Rules for Being Young, Black and Male.)  She said, “I've done my best to protect my son, a young man who is 23 and about to enter law school, by teaching him to anticipate prejudice and understand that for some, his skin color is an invitation to scorn and mistreatment. But one heartbreaking lesson to take from this tragedy is that there is essentially nothing that parents can tell their Black children—especially young men—about how to survive in this world that will protect them from violence, and that must change.” The CDC recently released statistics, publicized in the USA Today, on the numbers of black and white young men who are killed each year at the hands of another.  In 2010 there were 2.1 homicides for every 100,000 white youths.  Meanwhile, there were 28.8 homicides for every 100,000 black youths.  In other words, our nation’s black sons are almost 15 times more likely to be victims of murder than our nation’s white sons.  Regardless of our politics and our view of the verdict, we can all share compassion for the parents of Trayvon who lost a son and the parents of black children everywhere who are statistically more likely to fall victim to violence. We can share compassion for all mothers of black children, for Kate and for Laura, who fear for their sons’ safety. The conversation of race and the criminal justice system is not an easy one.  But we cannot afford to be colorblind.  To be colorblind as a society is dangerous, it threatens the safety of our young people.  The mission of the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maine, is defense of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  We believe in the promise of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees all people equal protection under the law.  And we must act now to realize that promise, to work toward racial equality and justice for all.

Late last week, the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives blocked a floor vote on the Student Non-Discrimination Act, a bill that would create a comprehensive prohibition against discrimination of LGBT students in our public schools. That such an important piece of legislation would not even be allowed to go to the floor for a vote is very disappointing. As frustrating as this latest development is, however, it’s not the end of the Student Non-Discrimination Act. We will be back, and in time LGBT students will get the equality that they so deserve. Every student deserves the opportunity to benefit equally from a quality public education that is free of discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. While the leadership of the House succeeded in blocking a floor vote this time, they weren’t able to stop representatives from speaking out on the House floor to express their own personal disappointment. It was heartening to see that so many members of Congress would be willing to stand up for LGBT students in this way, and it further adds to our confidence that the bill will one day become law. The need for this legislation remains as vital as ever, not just nationwide but here in Maine too. A recent report by GLSEN found that 8 in 10 LGBT students in Maine experienced verbal harassment in school, 3 in 10 were physically harassed based on their sexual orientation, and nearly 9 in 10 regularly heard other students in their school make negative remarks about how someone expressed their gender. These numbers are unacceptable and they demand action. Once the new school year begins, we’ll be traveling around the state to educate students about their rights here in Maine under the new anti-bullying law. Thankfully there are laws in place to protect students who are bullied or harassed at school, but they don’t go far enough. The Student Non-Discrimination Act is the single most important step Congress could take to improve the lives of LGBT students, and we won’t stop pressuring them until they pass it – no matter how many setbacks there are along the way.