News & Commentary

(With apologies to The Beatles and with gratitude to my students at Vermont Law School for inspiring and informing these reflections) 

Pledge to vote yes.

The Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee has now held two hearings on S.254, a bill that would end qualified immunity in Vermont. Qualified immunity is a court doctrine that prevents people who are victims of police misconduct from having their cases heard when their rights have been violated. Here’s a quick rundown of what the committee has heard so far:

As the Vermont legislature begins their 2022 session, the ACLU of Vermont is excited to work with legislators to advance and defend the civil liberties of everyone that calls our state home.

Vermonters agree that when police violate someone’s civil rights, they should be held accountable for their actions and victims should get the justice they deserve. Qualified immunity prevents those things from happening.

This year showed us that we are still at a critical juncture in this country, as we continue to face unprecedented attacks on our rights and our values. With your support, the ACLU is still holding the line and working towards a better tomorrow.

We've made progress towards reducing our overreliance on incarceration -- but we cannot afford to go backwards now.

The ACLU of Vermont sent a letter to Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger today calling on him and other Burlington leaders to provide the public with complete and accurate information about public safety and policing in the Queen City.

Reproductive liberty is central to our freedom and dignity, and everyone should have the right to determine their own life course. On September 1, the Supreme Court allowed Texas' radical ban on abortion to stand, effectively blocking people in Texas from accessing constitutionally protected health care. This is a full-scale assault on patients and health care providers and the ACLU won't stop fighting until this blatantly unconstitutional law is blocked.