News & Commentary

June marks the end of the legislative session in Maine, and there are still several bills that the ACLU of Maine lobby team is actively working to defeat.  Here are some of our top priorities for defeat:Attacks on Legal Abortion:  There are three anti-abortion bills pending in the legislature, and the Judiciary Committee votes against the bills were very close, meaning we have work to do to defeat the bills on the House and Senate floor.LD 760 -- This biased scripting bill would replace Maine's informed consent law with a specific script for doctors to read to women, the purpose being to shame a woman into thinking twice about having an abortion.LD 1339 -- This bill would replace Maine's adult involvement law, which is working well, with a strict parental consent requirement.  The only way to bypass parental consent in the bill would be for the teen to report one of her parents as an abuser in a signed statement or going to court.LD 1193 -- This bill seeks to create separate legal status for the fetus, giving the fetus rights of "heirs and an estate."  Maine already has laws on the books that allow a woman and her family to sue if the woman suffers harm to her pregnancy, but this law would provide legal rights to the fetus, independent from the mother.Attack on Voting:LD 573 -- This bill would amend the Maine Constitution to take away voting rights for certain felons.  Maine's Constitution protects the right to vote for all people in Maine, and it's concerning that some in the legislature seek to amend the Constitution to take away rights.  LD 573 targets people who are in prison in Maine for ten years or more and seeks to prohibit them from voting during their incarceration.  Restricting voting rights does nothing to prevent crime or compensate victims.  Rather, disenfranchisement is harmful to the successful integration of prisoners back into society over the long-term.  Moreover, felon disenfranchisement policies across the country have had a disproportionate impact on people of color.Constituent contact can make or break a vote, and we've seen issues come down to a single Senate vote in the past.  So take time now, and contact your legislators.  Here's a link where you can find your legislator.  Let them know that you support the Constitution and that means supporting a woman's right to choose and voting rights for all people.  And thank you!

June marks the end of the legislative session in Maine, and there are still several bills that the ACLU of Maine lobby team is actively working to defeat.  Here are some of our top priorities for defeat: Attacks on Legal Abortion:  There are three anti-abortion bills pending in the legislature, and the Judiciary Committee votes against the bills were very close, meaning we have work to do to defeat the bills on the House and Senate floor. LD 760 -- This biased scripting bill would replace Maine's informed consent law with a specific script for doctors to read to women, the purpose being to shame a woman into thinking twice about having an abortion. LD 1339 -- This bill would replace Maine's adult involvement law, which is working well, with a strict parental consent requirement.  The only way to bypass parental consent in the bill would be for the teen to report one of her parents as an abuser in a signed statement or going to court. LD 1193 -- This bill seeks to create separate legal status for the fetus, giving the fetus rights of "heirs and an estate."  Maine already has laws on the books that allow a woman and her family to sue if the woman suffers harm to her pregnancy, but this law would provide legal rights to the fetus, independent from the mother. Attack on Voting: LD 573 -- This bill would amend the Maine Constitution to take away voting rights for certain felons.  Maine's Constitution protects the right to vote for all people in Maine, and it's concerning that some in the legislature seek to amend the Constitution to take away rights.  LD 573 targets people who are in prison in Maine for ten years or more and seeks to prohibit them from voting during their incarceration.  Restricting voting rights does nothing to prevent crime or compensate victims.  Rather, disenfranchisement is harmful to the successful integration of prisoners back into society over the long-term.  Moreover, felon disenfranchisement policies across the country have had a disproportionate impact on people of color. Constituent contact can make or break a vote, and we've seen issues come down to a single Senate vote in the past.  So take time now, and contact your legislators.  Here's a link where you can find your legislator.  Let them know that you support the Constitution and that means supporting a woman's right to choose and voting rights for all people.  And thank you!

This weekend I spoke at a rally in Portland sponsored by CODEPINK to bring awareness to the case of Bradley Manning, the young American soldier who is accused of leaking government documents to WikiLeaks. The rally was set to coincide with Manning’s court-martial, which begins today, more than three years after he was arrested and charged with “aiding the enemy” for allegedly releasing large amounts of classified data to WikiLeaks.   Regardless of your stance on Manning, the conditions of his confinement have been nothing short of cruel and unusual. After his arrest, Manning was held for nine months in a windowless cell in Virginia, for 23 hours a day, while awaiting trial. In addition to being held in pre-trial solitary confinement, 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 indeed “excessive” and “more rigorous than necessary.” As a result, Manning will have 112 days taken off his sentence, if he is convicted.)   Bradley Manning’s case raises many other civil liberties questions. In addition to the charges that he leaked sensitive documents to people unauthorized to receive them, the government is alleging that Manning “aided the enemy,” a much more serious charge that is actually punishable by death (although in Manning’s case that has been taken off the table). Ben Wizner, who directs the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, wrote an excellent piece last year on the dangers of this charge given the circumstances and the unexpected consequences that it could lead to.   Manning’s case is a complex one, but no matter what you feel about the charges against him, there is no doubt that the conditions he was held in are unacceptable. Manning’s trial is expected to last for several weeks, so this likely won’t be the last you’ll hear about his case. We’ll be following it as well, and we’ll keep you informed if more civil liberties issues arise.

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: "Make no mistake about it: because of today's decision, your DNA can be taken and entered into a national database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason. This will solve some extra crimes, to be sure. But so would taking your DNA when you fly on an airplane – surely the TSA must know the `identity' of the flying public. For that matter, so would taking your children's DNA when they start public school." Indeed. These days, we are asked more and more to surrender our personal liberty in the name of some idea of safety and security. But we have to ask ourselves - do we really want to live in a world where a police officer can swab the inside of your cheek, take your cells and run them through a database where you will be kept on file forever - when you haven't even been convicted of a crime? Where does it end? Once we surrender our liberties, it's very hard to get them back. The proverbial inch becomes a mile. That's why here at the ACLU of Maine, we're working to put much-needed privacy protections in place before it's too late.

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. The girl and her family recently received support from the Maine chapter of the American Association of Pediatricians, which filed an amici curiae brief with other state and national organizations in support of their claim. In the brief, the doctors and other organizations argued that girls who are transgender should be treated like any other girl. To do otherwise is to subject them to harmful discrimination that is also contrary to the established medical standard of care. The Court will decide whether such discrimination is illegal as well. The ACLU of Maine and the ACLU LGBT & AIDS Project also filed an amicus curiae brief in the case, which argues for the importance of protecting minorities from discrimination in contexts where there is public controversy or antipathy. The family is represented by the Maine Human Rights Commission and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.

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.  We all want law enforcement to be able to do their jobs - to be able to track someone who is missing in order to find them and to be able to track someone who may be the reason that person is missing. But we want them to have a warrant - with exceptions for emergencies and delayed notifications.  You can listen in live right now and join me on the edge of my seat as I hope that the Maine House upholds important privacy protections in this day of technological advancements: http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/h_audio.htm UPDATE: VICTORY! The Maine House voted 113-28 in favor of LD 415. It now goes back to the Senate for enactment.

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.  We all want law enforcement to be able to do their jobs - to be able to track someone who is missing in order to find them and to be able to track someone who may be the reason that person is missing. But we want them to have a warrant - with exceptions for emergencies and delayed notifications.  You can listen in live right now and join me on the edge of my seat as I hope that the Maine House upholds important privacy protections in this day of technological advancements: http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/h_audio.htm UPDATE: VICTORY! The Maine House voted 113-28 in favor of LD 415. It now goes back to the Senate for enactment.

“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. I was particularly touched by this moment at last year’s conference because it humanized a group of people who are too often dehumanized. Rarely do we get the chance to hear from prisoners directly, and certainly not as part of an all-day conference that puts a microscope on their rehabilitation and on the good work they are doing behind bars.At America's Expense The Maine Hospice Council runs a program at the State Prison that gives inmates the chance to provide end-of-life hospice care to fellow prisoners. These volunteers shared some fascinating insights into the experience during a panel discussion, while other presenters – who ranged from academics to politicians to corrections officials – spoke about the challenges of an aging prison population.   Last year’s event was such a success that it’s been doubled this year! Now a two-day conference – on June 25th and 26th – this year we’ll go even deeper into issues such as end-of-life care for inmates, overpopulation of prisons, and how the United States compares to Canada in terms of aging prisoners.   The ACLU of Maine co-sponsored last year’s conference and we’re excited to be doing the same this year. In addition, Shenna will be delivering an hour-long presentation on mass incarceration and the need for sentencing reform. Some of the themes she’ll talk about were addressed in a comprehensive report issued by the ACLU last year, which you can find here.   If you’d like to attend, follow this link to register. You can come for one day or for both, and as an ACLU member you’ll get to sign-up at the reduced rate offered to Hospice Council members. One thing to keep in mind: Even though the conference is on June 25th and 26th, the registration deadline is June 15th due to security requirements at the prison. So don’t wait to sign-up!

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation. National Security President Obama gave a speech yesterday about two important civil liberties concerns, closing Guantanamo and the drone program. The president announced two key steps to closing Guantanamo. A few weeks ago we asked him to 1) appoint a senior person to lead on closing Guantanamo; and 2) start transferring detainees who have been cleared for transfer.   On targeted killings, there’s still more opportunity to make our voices heard. Click here to tell President Obama to put an end to the unlawful killing program.   Privacy & Surveillance   If the government knows where you are, they know who you are. That’s why we’ve been supporting a bill in the Maine legislature that requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before accessing location information from your cell phones or your GPS. Last night, the Maine Senate voted in favor of warrants for cell phone tracking. Now the bill heads to the House.   Also of interest to civil libertarians concerned about surveillance, Justin Peters at Slate magazine wrote this article about traffic cameras.