ACLU sues Pawtucket so candidates can post their yard signs now

A yard sign with an american flag and your name on it.

The ACLU is suing Pawtucket over sign restrictions and asking for a restraining order in court today. Seeking to vindicate the free speech rights of political candidates and their supporters, ACLU of Rhode Island cooperating attorney Richard A. Sinapi filed a federal lawsuit late yesterday challenging a Pawtucket ordinance that bans the posting of political signs on…

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Working while pregnant – ACLU case highlights employment discrimination

A pregnant woman sitting on a yoga mat.

Photo, above, is a public stock image CLEANING SERVICE COMPANY SUED FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST PREGNANT JOB APPLICANT   In a case that highlights the difficulties and discrimination that women continue to face in the workplace, the ACLU of Rhode Island charged today that a professional cleaning service terminated an employee who had just been hired immediately…

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Rhode Island violated rights of English language learners in Providence schools

A young girl sitting in an empty classroom.

Ruling in a case filed two years ago by Rhode Island Legal Services and the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, a Superior Court judge has found that the Council of Elementary and Secondary Education (“Council”) and the state Department of Education violated the rights of students who were English Language Learners (EL) by providing them…

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Cranston case upholds 4th Amendment’s protection of privacy rights in the home

The 4th amendment poster.

ACLU, CRANSTON SETTLE MAJOR “SEARCH AND SEIZURE” CASE THAT WENT TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT The question before the court: Whether the Fourth Amendment precludes government officials, who reasonably believe that a potentially mentally unstable person presents an impending threat of harming himself or others with a firearm, from a warrantless seizure of his person…

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Open government groups’ urgent call to keep remote meetings access and participation

A group of people sitting at a table in a courtroom.

Calling it “a matter of great urgency,” ACCESS/RI, a coalition of open government organizations, has called on Governor Daniel McKee to reinstate an executive order that had been in effect throughout the Covid pandemic until this past June, allowing for remote meetings of public bodies while requiring livestreaming and remote public participation.  In a letter sent…

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Title IX. Appeals Court approves plan to restore equal opportunities for women in Brown University athletics

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APPEALS COURT APPROVES SETTLEMENT RESTORING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN BROWN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS In an important victory for female student athletes, a federal appeals court today unanimously affirmed approval of a settlement agreement between Brown University and a class of women student-athletes at Brown which resolved a class-action court challenge to Brown’s decision in June 2020 to cut women’s…

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SCOTUS unanimously protects privacy in major Rhode Island “Search & Seizure” case

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U.S. Supreme Court unanimously protects privacy in major “Search and Seizure” Case from Rhode Island. In an important victory for privacy rights, the U.S Supreme Court today unanimously rejected police arguments that engaging in a non-criminal “community caretaking” function allows them to search a person’s home without a warrant. The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island…

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ACLU-RI: Zooming in on Students – RI gets an “F” for Privacy

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ACLU of RI Report shows school-loaned computers have alarming lack of security REPORT SHOWS ALARMING LACK OF PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR STUDENTS ON SCHOOL-LOANED COMPUTERS  The ACLU of Rhode Island released a report today which highlights the alarming lack of privacy protections given to students who use school-loaned laptop computers. Though all schools in Rhode Island rapidly transitioned to…

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