Civil Liberties Update: Spring/Summer 2016

Document Date: July 12, 2016

In 2016, the ACLU of Connecticut helped to pass new cellphone privacy, student privacy, and LGBT rights laws. On behalf of the Libertarian Party of Connecticut, we successfully sued to protect political parties' free speech rights, and we brought a successful legal challenge to require some city police departments to turn over documents regarding whether they had purchased drones or other surveillance technology. Learn more about the ACLU of Connecticut's work on privacy, racial justice, criminal justice reform, and more in our Spring/Summer 2016 newsletter.

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Quote from Woodrow Vereen, music minister who sued Bridgeport police for traffic stop, "No matter who we are, we all have rights."
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Vereen v. Ruffin and Vasquez

News & Commentary
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7 Ways Connecticut Could Become More Equal, Just & Free in 2016

The ACLU of Connecticut spoke out in support of liberty, justice, and equality during the 2016 legislative session. In the end, the legislature passed--and Governor Malloy signed--seven new bills into law. These new laws to advance civil liberties would: spearhead a study to improve police training; prevent the state from detaining juveniles for more than seven days without a hearing and require closure of two juvenile detention facilities; require the Department of Correction to create a plan to reduce negative mental health effects on youth in correctional facilities; create fair chances at employment for people with criminal records; add protections for religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression for people who serve in Connecticut's military departments, such as the National Guard; protect student privacy by preventing people from tracking students' data and limiting how school-contracted groups can collect or share students' information; and increase cellphone privacy protections.