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• ACLU sues over NSA phone records program

  June 11, 2013 3:24 PM

  NEW YORK - Two prominent civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit against the National Security Agency over its program that reportedly collects the telephone records of millions of American customers of Verizon. The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union say in a lawsuit filed... more »

• Denham settles 'middle finger' display suit

  March 1, 2013 9:53 PM

  DENHAM SPRINGS- The city of Denham Springs will pay $15,000 to settle a lawsuit over Christmas lights that displayed a middle finger. The payout will cover court costs connected to the lawsuit, which was backed by the ACLU on behalf of resident Sarah Childs. Childs built the display... more »

• ACLU's suit over Super Bowl "clean zone" settled

  January 28, 2013 2:02 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans have agreed to a settlement resolving the group's lawsuit over the city's plans to enforce a "clean zone" where the use of banners, signs and flags would be restricted during Super Bowl week. The... more »

• Judge puts a hold on Super Bowl "Clean Zone"

  January 24, 2013 4:33 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - The ACLU said a federal court put a temporary restraining order in place to keep part of the Super Bowl's "Clean Zone" from being put into effect in New Orleans. The zone would restrict the use of banners, signs and flags during the Super Bowl celebrations... more »

• ALCU sues to block Super Bowl "clean zone" in N.O.

  January 24, 2013 3:12 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana is suing to block the city of New Orleans from maintaining a so-called "clean zone" where the use of banners, signs and flags will be restricted during Super Bowl festivities. The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of... more »

• Ville Platte, ACLU agree on dropping curfew suit

  January 18, 2013 2:26 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The city of Ville Platte and the American Civil Liberties Union have signed an agreement ending the ACLU's lawsuit against a pedestrians-only curfew. The city has agreed that any future curfew will be the least restrictive needed to meet a "compelling need." It did not admit... more »

• Ville Platte, ACLU agree on dropping curfew suit

  January 17, 2013 5:04 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - The city of Ville Platte and the American Civil Liberties Union have signed an agreement ending the ACLU's lawsuit against a pedestrians-only curfew. The city has agreed that any future curfew will be the least restrictive needed to meet a "compelling need." It did not admit liability... more »

• ACLU sues to get women in combat

  November 27, 2012 7:43 PM

  The ACLU sued today on behalf of four female members of the military to challenge the long-standing policy that doesn't allow women in combat. The women argue the rule prevents them from seeking some leadership positions and makes it harder for them to do their jobs. The ACLU contends women... more »

• Settlement with man who flipped-off cop

  November 15, 2012 7:29 PM

  There's a settlement in a lawsuit where the ACLU says a man's constitutional rights were violated when a police officer pulled him over for giving the cop the middle finger in Orem, Utah. The ACLU sued on behalf of Seth Dame, who flipped off the officer. The officer pulled over... more »

• Report: School to change pregnancy policy after criticism

  August 7, 2012 2:30 PM

  DELHI, La. - A private charter school in northeast Louisiana says it plans to change a policy about pregnancy testing for students the ACLU called discriminatory and illegal. The policy at the Delhi Charter School in Richland Parish states if a teacher suspects a student is pregnant the school... more »

• Court takes another look at N.O. gun rights suit

  May 22, 2012 4:10 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - In a gun-rights case backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, a federal appeals court is ordering New Orleans law-enforcement authorities to explain why they're holding onto a handgun seized from a painting contractor nearly four years ago during an arrest on drug and weapons charges that... more »

• ACLU to sue over Colorado breastfeeding teacher

  August 16, 2011 11:29 AM

  EVERGREEN, Colo. - The American Civil Liberties Union intends to sue a Denver-area charter school for allegedly getting rid of a teacher who pumped breast milk on the job. The ACLU of Colorado filed a notice of claim on Monday against the Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen, a precursor... more »

• ACLU challenges state law for sex offenders

  August 15, 2011 5:53 PM

  BATON ROUGE - As of today, sex offenders are no longer allowed to access social media website like Facebook, but the ACLU is suing the state claiming the law violates the First Amendment rights of sex offenders. In a statement the ACLU said, "For the government to ban access... more »

• ACLU sues over limits on sex offenders' Web access

  August 15, 2011 3:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana is suing to block enforcement of a new state law that limits sex offenders' access to social networking websites and other online forums. The federal suit filed Monday in Baton Rouge claims the law is overly broad and violates... more »

• ACLU sues Livingston Parish school over hair suspension

  March 31, 2011 10:56 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A lawsuit has been filed against the Livingston Parish School Board and other officials, accusing them of violating a student's freedom of religion when they suspended him because of his long hair. The suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana on behalf... more »

• Native American student claims discrimination

  March 18, 2011 10:42 AM

  Baton Rouge - It's a dispute that could wind up in the courts. Juban Parc Junior High School student Seth Chaisson is a Native American and says his long hair is a cultural and religious practice particular to his tribe, the United Houma Nation. However, the Livingston Parish... more »

• ACLU sues Tangipahoa jail for paranoid inmate

  January 25, 2011 2:07 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - The American Civil Liberties Union says deputies at the Tangipahoa Parish Jail held a paranoid schizophrenic for months without giving him psychiatric medicine or treating injuries inflicted by other inmates and himself. A federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges that when 52-year-old Roger Mason was moved to a... more »

• ACLU: Suspension over Facebook message went too far

  January 12, 2011 2:48 PM

  BATON ROUGE – A student suspended after posting a message on Facebook which said he hated his teacher has had the suspension reversed, according to the ACLU of Louisiana. According to a press release from the ACLU, the East Baton Rouge Parish School System removed the suspension from the student's... more »

• ACLU calls on jail to remove disabled prisoner

  January 8, 2011 10:39 AM

  NEW IBERIA - The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana claims the Iberia Parish jail is holding a prisoner with muscular dystrophy in inhumane conditions. In a letter Friday to the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office, the ACLU says 31-year-old Reginald Peters has been sleeping on a cell floor for weeks... more »

• Livingston Parish deals with Halloween hassle

  October 25, 2010 6:28 PM

  Kids in Livingston Parish could rack up on candy this Halloween, after confusion on when the parish will celebrate the holiday. In 2004, the parish council voted to celebrate Halloween on the following Monday if it fell on a Sunday. Council members didn't want to interfere with high school... more »

• LPSO: People can't be punished for trick-or-treating

  October 25, 2010 3:31 PM

  Officials with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office said today there’s nothing outlawing residents of the parish from trick-or-treating on Halloween this Sunday. However, if they want to take advantage of increased patrols to keep them and their children safe, they’ll have to go out the night before. This comes during... more »

• ACLU asking for NOPD records

  October 6, 2010 12:04 PM

  The ACLU of Louisiana says complaints from residents spurred a request for New Orleans Police Department records on a practice of stopping and getting identification from people not accused of doing anything wrong. A news release Wednesday says the ACLU has been told that police stop people, ask for identification,... more »

• Central schools change drug testing procedure

  September 13, 2010 6:15 PM

  The Central school system wants to cut down on drug use by students by cutting hair. Central changed its drug testing procedure from collecting urine to collecting hair. "There was some concern that some of the students were using products that maybe would cover up the reliability of... more »

• Saggy pants resolution to be introduced

  September 8, 2010 4:59 PM

  "Low Pants, No Chance" is the name of a new public awareness campaign by a Metro councilwoman. C. Denise Marcelle is introducing a resolution tonight asking the entire council to back a plan designed to convince young people to stop wearing baggy pants resulting in their underwear being shown.... more »

• Police give update on 'No Refusal' weekend

  September 7, 2010 5:45 PM

  Louisiana State Police called the "No Refusal" weekend a success. Troopers said they worked zero fatalities during the Labor Day holiday weekend. Five people died in alcohol-related accidents last year. More than 50 law enforcement agencies took part in a program to crackdown on DWI's. The "No Refusal" campaign... more »

• American Taliban wants Group Prayer at Prison

  September 1, 2010 7:49 PM

  American-born Taliban John Walker Lindh wants a federal judge to overturn a ban on group prayer at a maxium security federal prison in Indiana. The ACLU made the request on behalf of Lindh and another muslin prisoner Enaam Arnaout. The prisoners contend having to pray alone in their cells once... more »

• ACLU's appeal set on single-sex classes

  August 25, 2010 6:34 AM

  The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals set oral arguments for Oct. 5 to consider the ACLU's appeal of a federal district judge's decision to allow single gender classes to continue at a Kaplan middle school. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Vermilion Parish School Board... more »

• No Prom Lawsuit Settlement

  July 20, 2010 8:32 PM

  A school district in Mississippi that canceled its prom rather than allow a lesbian student to attend with her girlfriend settled a lawsuit filed by the ACLU. The district will pay 18 year old Constance McMillen $35,000 and agreed to follow a non-discriminatory policy, though it argued that policy was... more »

• ACLU: Prisoners confined in "squirrel cages"

  July 8, 2010 11:45 AM

  A civil liberties group claims a Louisiana jail routinely humiliates suicidal prisoners and confines them in tiny cages for weeks at a time. In an open letter Thursday to St. Tammany Parish officials, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana says it is unconstitutional for the parish jail to... more »

• Lesbian student seeks damages for humilitation

  April 21, 2010 8:18 PM

  A lesbian teenager from Mississippi and the American Civil Liberties Union have now sued her school district saying she was humiliated when her prom was cancelled after she wanted to wear a tuxedo and take her female girlfriend as her date. Constance McMillen is a senior at Itawamba Agricultural High... more »

• Suit claims police harass journalists, bystanders

  March 15, 2010 12:48 PM

  A federal jury is hearing testimony about allegations that New Orleans police officers have engaged in a pattern of unlawfully arresting or harassing journalists and bystanders who tape or photograph them in public. Seven jurors heard opening statements Monday in the trial for a lawsuit, backed by the American... more »

• ACLU back Hammond web site in giraffe satire

  March 11, 2010 2:34 PM

  A satirical Web site forced to take down a fictional story about a giraffe attack posted after a killer whale trainer died in Florida, is now getting support from the American Civil Liberties Union. In a brief filed Thursday in state court in Amite, the ACLU says the U.S.... more »