Press Releases

State Agrees to Return Unemployment Benefits Seized from Incarcerated Workers 

The class action settlement also recognizes that incarcerated people have a constitutionally protected property interest in their prison accounts.
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform

Governor Mills Will Not Veto Amended Good Samaritan Expansion 

Recovery advocates and Governor Janet Mills have reached an agreement to expand Maine’s Good Samaritan law.
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform

Maine House Fails to Advance Bill to Promote Civil Liberties on Roadways

The Maine House has failed to advance a modest bill that would have promoted racial justice and civil liberties on Maine's roadways by decriminalizing minor traffic violations.
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform

ACLU of Maine and MSEA-SEIU Reach First Contract

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine and the Maine Service Employees Association-Service Employees Union Local 1989 (MSEA-SEIU) have reached their first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) representing ACLU employees in the state.

Report: Boston Asylum Office Violates Rights of Asylum Seekers

The report "Lives in Limbo: How the Boston Asylum Office Fails Asylum Seekers" finds the Boston Asylum Office fosters a culture of distrust toward asylum seekers, which violates their due process rights and the United States’ legal obligations.
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

ACLU of Maine and MECEP Report Calls for Drug Decriminalization in Maine

A new report by the ACLU of Maine and Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) details the enormous social and economic costs of criminalizing people who use drugs. The report's central recommendation is to decriminalize drugs.
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform

ACLU of Maine Files Lawsuit Challenging Maine’s Inadequate Indigent Defense System

The ACLU of Maine is suing the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services (MCILS) over its failure to provide constitutionally adequate legal representation to poor people accused of crimes in Maine. 
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform

Advocates Respond to Investigation about Use of Force at Long Creek

An investigation into reports of use of force at Long Creek this summer has confirmed that youth were subjected to chokeholds and prone restraints, in violation of the youth prison’s policy.

ACLU of Maine Statement on United States v. Boyd Decision

A federal district judge has suppressed evidence recovered during an illegal traffic stop in the case of United States v. Boyd, in which the ACLU of Maine filed an amicus brief.
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform