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| Posted: 05/05/08 |
| 5-5-08: DNA -- The State Wants It, And Can Get It |
| There has been a steady march towards collecting more and more biological data from more and more people. The Vermont Supreme Court has ratified that trend in a narrow decision that forces even non-violent offenders to give DNA samples. The samples w... |
| Posted: 12/06/07 |
| Police Fish For Prescription Drug Records |
Since the1960s, Vermont law enforcement officers have had the power to enter any Vermont pharmacy and ask to see anyone’s pharmacy records -- without a warrant or other order.
There is apparently now an attempt by police to exe... |
| Posted: 11/20/07 |
| Border Patrol Re-Institutes I-91 Checkpoints |
As the busy holiday travel season begins, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection division of the Department of Homeland Security has once again begun traffic “checkpoints” on I-91 south of White River Junction. The purpose is to prevent terro... |
| Posted: 11/01/07 |
| PSB To Press Forward With Phone Records Investigation |
The Vermont Public Service Board is reactivating an inquiry into possible violations of customer privacy by telecommunications companies Verizon and AT&T.
In an order issued Oct. 31, the board took note of new developments around the i... |
| Posted: 10/30/07 |
| Leahy Honored As Civil Libertarian Of Year |
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy was honored as Vermont civil libertarian of the year at Saturday’s annual meeting of the ACLU of Vermont.
“No one in the U.S. Congress has done more than Sen. Leahy to uphold the freedoms of the Bill of Ri... |
| Posted: 08/24/07 |
| Intelligence Chief Confirms Telecoms’ Role in NSA Spying |
The country’s national intelligence director, Mike McConnell, has confirmed that U.S. telecommunications companies assisted in the administration`s warrantless surveillance program.
“This admission virtually removes the chance ... |
| Posted: 08/17/07 |
| Property Tax Prebate Information – Public Or Private? |
| The ACLU-Vermont has received numerous inquiries about the state’s new prebate/rebate credit system. The inquiries center on whether the credit information printed on homeowners’ property tax bills is public information and must be disclosed upon req... |
| Posted: 06/29/07 |
| U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Free Speech Rights of Williamstown Student |
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the political free speech rights of a Williamstown Middle School student, putting to rest a case brought by the ACLU-Vermont three years ago.
On Friday the court announced it would not review the case ... |
| Posted: 06/08/07 |
| Drug Policy Conference A Success |
More than 100 gathered June 7 in Montpelier for the ACLU-Vermont`s drug policy conference.
Principal speakers were Windsor County State’s Attorney Robert Sand, who advocated a new approach in the “war on drugs,” and former Middlebury P... |
| Posted: 01/17/07 |
| Guantanamo – Five Years Later |
This month marks the fifth anniversary of the arrival of the first detainees at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba.
The national ACLU has put up a number of features on the ACLU Web site – ACLU Web site –... |
| Posted: 12/02/06 |
| Ferry Search Challenge Fails |
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld the dismissal of an ACLU-Vermont lawsuit challenging security searches on Lake Champlain ferries.
“We’re disappointed with the decision,” said ACLU-Vermont Executive Director ... |
| Posted: 10/03/06 |
| Federal Government Sues State Over Phone Records Investigation |
The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit in U.S. District Court Oct. 2 to block the state`s investigation into whether Verizon and AT&T provided the National Security Agency with access to customers` private phone records.
The federal... |
| Posted: 09/14/06 |
| Constitution Week Activities |
Use the recently decided student free speech case, Guiles v. Marineau, to help understand how the Constitution works to protect individual rights.
Congress requires schools to note the adoption of the U.S. Constitution on the anniversa... |
| Posted: 08/30/06 |
| 2nd Circuit Decision Upholds Free Speech Rights of Williamstown Student |
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court?s ruling and affirmed the free speech rights of a Williamstown Middle School student.
?The court?s decision is a strong statement for student free speech rights,? said... |
| Posted: 08/02/06 |
| Federal Government Tells PSB To Shut Down Investigation |
| The federal government has threatened to take the state to court if the Vermont Public Service Board doesn`t halt its investigation into whether Vermonters` phone records may have been gathered by the National Security Agency and compiled into a huge... |
| Posted: 06/27/06 |
| U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Vermont Campaign Finance Law |
By a 6-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Randall v. Sorrell that Vermont`s Act 64 violates the First Amendment, as well as the Court`s own precedent against campaign spending limits.
While the ACLU of Vermont is not opposed to c... |
| Posted: 06/20/06 |
| John Dean Coming to Vermont |
Watergate attorney John Dean will speak at an ACLU-Vermont fundraiser Friday, Oct. 6 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in South Burlington.
Dean was counsel to President Richard Nixon. At congressional hearings into w... |
| Posted: 06/15/06 |
| ACLU National Membership Conference |
| Save the date -- Oct. 15-17 in Washington, D.C. Theme: "Stop the Abuse of Power." The government`s abuses of power -- government-sponsored torture, provisions of the USA Patriot Act, an illegal domestic spying program -- disregard the Constitution an... |
| Posted: 06/01/06 |
| Rule of Law |
Is the executive branch justified in claiming broad powers, powers that may go against laws passed by Congress?
Is the president above the law?
The question seems almost rhetorical, inviting a strong ?no.? Our rule of la... |
| Posted: 04/14/06 |
| Privacy Conference -- June 13 |
"Privacy: How much is left?" is the topic of a daylong conference Tuesday, June 13 at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier.
(Note: Registration deadline is Friday, June 9.)
The conference, sponsored by the ACLU-Vermont, is fo... |
| Posted: 03/15/06 |
| Innocent -- Even After Found Guilty |
The ACLU and the Peace and Justice Center are teaming up to help present the film "After Innocence" at the Green Mountain Film Festival in Montpelier.
The film examines the lives of inmates who are exonerated -- let out of jail because... |
| Posted: 02/22/06 |
| Middlebury Reception! |
Learn about issues we`re following, initatives underway, and meet fellow civil libertarians at a reception Friday, March 10, 5-7 p.m. in Middlebury. For more information, contact us at 802-223-6304 or e-mail info@acluvt.org
... |
| Posted: 01/22/06 |
| Real ID A Nightmare |
| The Real ID Act of 2005 would turn state driver`s licenses into a genuine national identity card and impose numerous new burdens on taxpayers, citizens, immigrants, and state governments -- while doing nothing to protect against terrorism. As a resul... |
| Posted: 12/23/05 |
| Vermont Peace Groups Targeted in Pentagon Surveillance |
Vermont peace activists were the target of surveillance carried out in March 2005 under a secret Pentagon domestic spy program.
The Department of Defense surveillance is different from surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA)... |
| Posted: 12/20/05 |
| Intelligent Design Rejected |
Intelligent design is not a scientific theory and cannot be taught as part of science courses, a Pennsylvania judge has ruled in a case brought by the the ACLU and other groups.
The decision is a major victory in the effort to protect ... |
| Posted: 11/07/05 |
| Murrow Against McCarthy |
The film "Good Night, And Good Luck," is continuing at the Savoy Theater in Montpelier following a sell-out opening Nov. 4 with Casey Murrow, son of CBS broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow.
?Good Night, And Good Luck,? directed by Ge... |
| Posted: 10/25/05 |
| Two ACLU-VT Cases Before Second Circuit |
Appeals in a case involving security searches on Lake Champlain ferries, and in a case involving student free speech rights, will be argued Oct. 27 and 28, respectively, in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City.
Follow t... |
| Posted: 09/28/05 |
| The ACLU`s Challenge To Intelligent Design |
The trial of Kitzmiller v. Dover,which began Sept. 26 in a Pennsylvania courtroom, will test whether American public schools can include ?intelligent design? as a part of science education.
The school board in Dover, Pennsylvania, has ... |
| Posted: 08/29/05 |
| Students Have Right To Opt Out Of Military Recruitment Listings |
As a new school year begins, the ACLU-Vermont is reminding parents of their right to control the release of student information to military recruiters, as well as to colleges.
Personal information belongs to students and their ... |
| Posted: 08/22/05 |
| ACLU Opposes Anti-Terror Rules for Charities |
It?s recently been reported that United Ways in Vermont and around the country are requiring charities to sign anti-terrorism pledges if they want to receive United Way funds.
Each charity must complete a form certifying that t... |
| Posted: 08/12/05 |
| NYCLU Sues New York City Over Subway Bag Search Policy |
A year ago the ACLU of Vermont challenged security searches on Lake Champlain ferries. The challlenge was rooted in 4th Amendment rights -- to be free of unwarranted, suspicionless searches.
The ACLU of New York has now challenged sim... |
| Posted: 08/11/05 |
| ACLU Opposes New Involuntary Civil Commitment Proposal |
The Gov. James Douglas administration has released its plan for a new involuntary civil commitment program.
The plan includes involuntary commitment not just for certain sex offenders, but for certain "violent offenders" as well.
... |
| Posted: 07/14/05 |
| Fell Death Penalty Verdict A Disappointment |
This summer Vermont witnessed its first death penalty trial in 43 years. It resulted in a death sentence for the defendant, Donald Fell.
We appreciate the enormity of the decision the jury in this case was asked to make, and we are cer... |
