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]

Mar 23, 2022

D.C. Jail Agrees To Improve Transgender Housing Policies To Settle Lawsuit of Trans Woman Housed in Men’s Unit

“No one should face what I had to face at the D.C. Jail. DOC put my safety and mental health at risk, and I’m glad that other trans people at the Jail will be treated with more dignity."
Issue Areas: Equal Protection and Discrimination, LGBTQ+ Rights, Women's Rights/Gender Equity, Criminal Justice Reform
Feb 03, 2022

ACLU-DC Statement on the Metropolitan Police Department Watchlist

“MPD’s blacklist practice is part of a broader pattern of resistance to transparency and public accountability."
Issue Areas: Criminal Justice Reform
Jan 07, 2022

ACLU-DC Statement on the Department of Corrections Change in Leadership

“Director Booth leaves behind a shameful legacy of neglect and mistreatment of incarcerated individuals and DOC staff...We call on Mayor Bowser to conduct a transparent and inclusive process in the selection of the next permanent DOC director."
Issue Areas: Criminal Justice Reform, Government Employees' Rights, LGBTQ+ Rights
Nov 01, 2021

ACLU Statement on Mayor Bowser’s Encampment Evictions Affecting Unhoused People in the District

The ACLU-DC calls on Mayor Bowser to suspend the encampment evictions and permanent closures that are being carried out as part of the Administration’s CARE pilot program, and for the D.C. Council to pass emergency legislation to stop further encampment clearings and closings.
Issue Areas: Police Practices and Police Misconduct, Due Process/Procedural Rights, Criminal Justice Reform, Racial Justice
Sep 30, 2021

Court Denies Preliminary Relief and Class Status in D.C. Jail Trans Housing Case But Allows Case to Continue

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia denied a preliminary injunction and class certification in Hinton v. District of Columbia, a case brought on behalf of Sunday Hinton, a trans woman who was housed in the men’s unit of the D.C. Jail for more than two weeks.
Issue Areas: LGBTQ+ Rights, Criminal Justice Reform, Equal Protection and Discrimination, Women's Rights/Gender Equity
May 11, 2021

ACLU-DC, Public Defender Service File Discrimination Case Against D.C. Jail for Housing Trans Woman in Men’s Unit

The ACLU-DC and Public Defender Service filed a lawsuit against the D.C. government to stop the Department of Corrections from housing a trans woman in the men's unit at the D.C. Jail.
Issue Areas: Equal Protection and Discrimination, LGBTQ+ Rights, Criminal Justice Reform