The rights guaranteed to criminal suspects, defendants, offenders and prisoners are not mere technicalities. They are fundamental political rights that protect all Americans from governmental abuse of power. These rights include the guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure, the right to reasonable bail, the right to due process of law and the right to be free from cruel and unusual treatment—and they are indispensable to a free society. Yet crime control policies all too often assume that harsher law enforcement policies and longer prison sentences can solve the problem. The ACLU works to puncture this “tough on crime” rhetoric, safeguard fundamental liberties, and advocate for sensible, evidence-based reforms of criminal legal policies.
Criminal Legal Reform
ACLU V. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE – FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT CASE REGARDING MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN FEDERAL PRISONS
March 31, 2022ESCALANTE V. U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT - SEEKING COVID-19 BOOSTER SHOTS FOR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE ICE DETAINEES (Second Case)
March 3, 2022ACLU V. U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE – SEEKING TO UNCOVER AN IMPROPER SCHEME TO OPERATE A PRIVATE DETENTION FACILITY
February 15, 2022
AAMIR SHAIKH V. U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) – SEEKING COVID-19 BOOSTER SHOTS FOR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE ICE DETAINEES
February 7, 2022AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION V. FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS (CARES Act FOIA)
November 29, 2021Hinton v. District of Columbia – Challenging Department of Corrections’ Policy of Discriminatorily Housing Transgender Individuals Based on “Anatomy” Rather Than Gender Identity
May 11, 2021
ACLU Urges BLOCKING ENACTMENT OF D.C.’s REVISED CRIMINAL CODE ACT OF 2022 DULY ENACTED BY THE D.C. COUNCIL
March 7, 2023Letter to the D.C. Council Regarding the Anti-SLAPP Amendment Act
December 5, 2022ACLU-DC Testifies at the Budget Oversight Hearing for The Metropolitan Police Department
March 30, 2022
ACLU-DC Testifies at Judiciary and Public Safety Performance Oversight Hearing for The Metropolitan Police Department
February 17, 2022ACLU-DC Testimony before the DC Council on the Strengthening Oversight and Accountability of Police Amendment Act
October 21, 2021ACLU-DC Testimony before the D.C. Council Committee on the Bias in Threat Assessments Evaluation Amendment Act and Law Enforcement Vehicular Pursuit Reform Act
May 20, 2021
The Latest

Congress, Hands Off Our Revised Criminal Code
February 17, 2023
St. Elizabeths Hospital Settles Case with Patients Who Endured...
February 14, 2023ACLU-D.C. urges Congress to respect the District’s autonomy and...
February 7, 2023ACLU-D.C. SEEKS SYSTEMATIC PREVENTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY AFTER...
February 5, 2023
ACLU-D.C. Calls on the D.C. Council to Disband the Metropolitan...
February 1, 2023
Five bills that move D.C. closer to justice and freedom (if...
January 18, 2023
ACLU-D.C. Statement on the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022
January 5, 2023