Press Releases

ACLU-D.C. lawyers and advocates are among the nation's leading experts on civil liberties and constitutional freedoms. They are regularly sought out by leading broadcast, print and online media to lend an essential voice to the conversation about some of the most important issues facing the nation and the District. For all press inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Jan 17, 2019

ACLU-DC Condemns Mayor Bowser’s Veto of Fare Evasion Decriminalization Bill

We call on the D.C. Council to quickly vote to override the Mayor’s harmful veto, and in so doing, demonstrate a commitment to ending the unnecessary and excessive criminalization of D.C. residents for low-level offenses.
Dec 19, 2018

Court Rules Trump Policies Denying Asylum Protections to People Fleeing Domestic and Gang Violence Are Illegal

A federal court has struck down Trump administration policies that sought to gut asylum protections for immigrants fleeing domestic violence and gang brutality.
Issue Areas: Women's Rights/Gender Equity, Immigrants' Rights
Court Cases: Grace v. Barr - Challenge to Trump Administration’s Narrow Interpretation of Asylum Law
Dec 06, 2018

ACLU-DC Settles Case Against D.C. Police Officer for Anal Search During Stop and Frisk

M.B. Cottingham, the 40-year-old District resident who was subjected to an unconstitutional and exceedingly invasive bodily search by Metropolitan Police Department officer Sean Lojacono in September 2017, has agreed to settle his lawsuit against the officer for an undisclosed amount.
Issue Areas: Criminal Justice Reform, Police Practices and Police Misconduct, Racial Justice
Dec 04, 2018

ACLU-DC Applauds D.C. Council for Passing Fare Evasion Decriminalization Bill

In a vote of 10 to 2, the D.C. Council tonight passed Bill 22-408, the Fare Evasion Decriminalization Amendment Act of 2018.
Oct 31, 2018

Civil Rights Groups File Brief in Support of Equal Pay Act Case Against VA Medical Center

The ACLU and 25 women’s rights organizations have filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging a federal appeals court to reconsider a legal ruling that makes it more difficult for women to fight unlawful sex-based pay disparities under the Equal Pay Act.
Issue Areas: Women's Rights/Gender Equity, Equal Protection and Discrimination, Government Employees' Rights
Court Cases: Gordon v. United States - Enforcement of the Equal Pay Act to Eliminate Sex-Based Pay Disparity
Oct 04, 2018

ACLU-DC Commends D.C. Council’s Judiciary Committee for Advancing Fare Evasion Decriminalization Bill

The ACLU of the District of Columbia applauds the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety of the D.C. Council for advancing Bill 22-408, the Fare Evasion Decriminalization Amendment Act of 2017, out of committee.
Sep 11, 2018

D.C. Attorney General Not Representing MPD Officer Sued by ACLU-DC in Anal Search Case

The Attorney General's office usually represents D.C. Police officers in lawsuits. The officer also denies most of what is portrayed in the video.
Aug 30, 2018

Elderly Deaf Woman Sues D.C. Housing Authority for Disability Discrimination

The ACLU-DC and the law firm of Arnold & Porter filed a lawsuit today against the D.C. Housing Authority for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the D.C. Human Rights Act on behalf of Evelyn Arthur, a 77-year-old deaf resident of Claridge Towers, a DCHA property.