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]

May 08, 2018

Civil Rights Groups Seek Court Order Against D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for Long-Delayed Stop-and-Frisk Data

Today civil rights groups asked a Court to order Mayor Muriel Bowser and two other top D.C. officials to require police to collect comprehensive data on all stops and frisks in the District.
Issue Areas: Police Practices and Police Misconduct, Criminal Justice Reform, Racial Justice
Court Cases: Black Lives Matter-DC v. Bowser - Enforcing D.C. Law’s Stop-And-Frisk Data Collection Requirement that D.C. Police Had Refused to Implement
Mar 30, 2018

Federal Judge Issues Temporary Nationwide Order Granting Abortion Access for Immigrant Teens in Federal Custody

A federal judge has temporarily ruled the Office of Refugee Resettlement can no longer prevent women in its custody from receiving abortion care.
Feb 08, 2018

Fair Budget Coalition Report Addresses D.C.’s Most Pressing Needs

The ACLU-DC commends today’s release of the Fair Budget Coalition’s annual budget report, which urges District leaders to make strategic investments in policies that will remove barriers to justice and address systemic social, racial, and economic inequality in our communities.
Jan 30, 2018

ACLU-DC Sues U.S. Marshals for Abusive Conduct During Home Eviction

In what should have been a routine eviction, the marshals stormed into the apartment shouting and with guns drawn: an entrance more akin to a SWAT-team raid than an eviction.
Jan 18, 2018

ACLU-DC Welcomes Dropping of 129 Inauguration Day Protestor Charges

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has dropped all charges against 129 people facing felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with the Inauguration Day 2017 protest. Charges against 59 defendants remain pending in D.C. Superior Court.
Jan 09, 2018

ACLU-DC Commends Passage of Fair Elections Act

For too long, access to money, not public support or policy positions, has often determined who can run for office and who is elected.
Issue Areas: Voting Rights
Jan 03, 2018

ACLU-DC Names 27 D.C. Police Officers and Adds 10-Year-Old Boy as Plaintiff in Inauguration Day Lawsuit

The amended complaint names 27 D.C. police officer defendants and adds two plaintiffs: a 10-year-old boy from North Carolina and his mother, who were peacefully demonstrating when he was knocked down and they were both exposed to pepper spray by D.C. officers.
Issue Areas: Criminal Justice Reform, Police Practices and Police Misconduct, Freedom of Speech and Association
Court Cases: Horse v. District of Columbia - Challenging Mass Arrests, Excessive Force, and Unconstitutional Detention Conditions as to Anti-Inaguration Demonstrators
Dec 21, 2017

ACLU-DC Applauds Jury Verdict in Inauguration Day Protestor Criminal Trials

A jury has found all six defendants in the criminal trials against Inauguration Day protestors in D.C. Superior Court not guilty on all counts.