News & Commentary

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today in Washington, D.C. against top U.S. officials demanding the release of a legal permanent resident of the United States who is in custody in a U.S. military jail in Iraq after being declared innocent by a military court eight weeks ago.

LOS ANGELES - In a letter to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, the ACLU of Southern California is calling on the county to guarantee early voting will be available for residents wishing to vote in a special election scheduled on the first day of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah.

Letter to the Los Angeles Police Commission

Harris v. Board of Supervisors

LOS ANGELES - In a strong ruling in favor of religious liberty, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals maintained that the California prison system's ban on long hair for male prisoners violated the religious freedom of a former inmate, who is Native American.

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California expects that the Los Angeles Police Department will expedite its investigation of the July 10 shooting death of toddler Suzie Marie Pena.

LOS ANGELES - After more than 50 days in an Iraqi detention center, Los Angeles documentary fillmmaker and Navy veteran Cyrus Kar was released with his cameraman from U.S. military custody, attorneys for the ACLU of Southern California and Kar's relatives announced Sunday.

The

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today expressed great concern that the Bush administration will replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who announced her retirement today after more than two decades on the court, with a nominee whose judicial philosophy is fundamentally opposed to the progress made in protecting individual rights over the past century.