ACLU of Oregon Headlines

ELECTION 2008

Use Our Web Resources to Quiz Candidates on Civil Liberties

July 2008 -- The November 2008 election is around the corner, with dozens of important races at the state and federal level. While the ACLU is strictly non-partisan and never endorses candidates for elective office, we strongly encourage our members and supporters to become informed and discuss with candidates their positions on important civil liberties issues. Our website offers a variety of tools to help in that process. Read More

MEDIA SHIELD LAW

ACLU of Oregon Seeks to Quash Grand Jury Subpoena

July 15, 2008 -- The ACLU of Oregon filed a motion today in Lane County Circuit Court seeking to quash a subpoena that would force longtime Eugene activist and journalist Tim Lewis to turn over unpublished material to a grand jury. Our motion argues that the subpoena clearly violates the Oregon media shield law.

• Read the news release (PDF)
• Read the motion to quash (PDF)

UPDATE: Lane County DA withdraws subpoena in response to ACLU motion. Read the DA's response to our motion to quash (PDF)

UNLAWFUL SPYING

Senate Passes Unconstitutional Spying Bill; ACLU Will Sue

July 10, 2008 -- In a blatant assault upon civil liberties and the right to privacy, the U.S. Senate passed an unconstitutional domestic spying bill that violates the Fourth Amendment and eliminates any meaningful role for judicial oversight of government surveillance.

• Read more on the National ACLU website
• Blog: FISA Vote, or How I Lost Complete Faith in Our Legislative Branch
• Read background on the ACLU of Oregon's PUC case against warrantless wiretapping.

NEW HIRE

Chin See Ming Hired as ACLU of Oregon Legal Director

June 30, 2008 -- Chin See Ming is the ACLU of Oregon’s new Legal Director a milestone in that this is the first time in the organization’s 50-plus year history that we have a Legal Director who is an attorney. Ming brings years of experience to the job, including as a former ACLU of Oregon Board member and as member and chair of the ACLU Foundation of Oregon’s Lawyers Committee. “Ming has extensive federal and state legal experience,” said David Fidanque, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oregon. “He is very excited to get back to the type of work he has found most rewarding in the past and we’re very excited to have an attorney of his caliber as part of our team.” Read More

FREE SPEECH 

Judge Rules Against TriMet in Free Speech Case

June 3, 2008 -- Judge Henry C. Breithaupt ruled Monday that TriMet’s refusal of a "political" advertisement was unconstitutional, on both state and federal grounds. The ACLU of Oregon’s victory on behalf on the Karuk Tribe of California and the Friends of the River Foundation makes clear  that TriMet cannot violate free speech protections as it picks and chooses what ads to accept or deny. Read More 

CENSORSHIP

Booksellers, Publishers, Librarians and Others Challenge Censorship Law

Under New Law, Many Risk Charges for ‘Furnishing’ Legitimate Literature, Art and Sex Education Materials to Minors

April 28, 2008 -- Should a grandmother have to risk being charged with a crime if she gives her 7-year-old grandson a copy of “It’s Perfectly Normal,” a sex education book widely regarded as among the best available? Under a new Oregon law (ORS 167.054), that grandmother could be charged with providing materials that are “sexually explicit” to a minor. And under that and a second new law (ORS 167.057), booksellers, librarians, community-based organizations, health-care providers, parents and other family members also are at risk, potentially facing jail time and hefty fines up to $125,000. The ACLU of Oregon is challenging the new laws as unconstitutional. Read More

PATRIOT ACT

ACLU of Oregon Urges Appeals Court to Reject Patriot Act Search-and-Surveillance Provisions

March 17, 2008  -- The ACLU of Oregon filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging a federal appeals court to affirm a lower court’s decision to strike down two search-and-surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional. The case was brought by Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield against the federal government after the FBI mistakenly linked him to the Madrid train bombings in 2004. The lower court found that secret searches of Mayfield's house and office violated the Fourth Amendment's guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure.

Read the press release (Word document)

Read the amicus brief (PDF)