Press Releases

ACLU of Connecticut lawyers and advocates are leading experts on civil rights, civil liberties, and constitutional freedoms. They are regularly sought out by leading media to provide a voice to the most important issues facing Connecticut. If you are a member of the press and wish to speak with a representative of the ACLU of Connecticut, please contact us at media@acluct.org. If you are a member of the media and wish to receive ACLU of Connecticut press releases, please send your name, the outlet for which you work, your email address, and phone number to media@acluct.org with the subject line “Press Release Distribution.”

Apr 09, 2019

New Statewide Poll Shows Majority of Connecticut Voters Support Bill to Increase Prosecutor Transparency

The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut’s campaign for Smart Justice released new public opinion polling today that shows strong support across the political spectrum for legislation to increase transparency about prosecutors’ actions.
Issue Areas: Smart Justice
Mar 29, 2019

Statement of Reginald Dwayne Betts and the ACLU-CT Smart Justice Campaign Regarding Betts’s Nomination to the Criminal Justice Commission

Reflecting a campaign trail promise that he made to the Smart Justice campaign, Governor Ned Lamont has nominated an expert committed to criminal justice reform, who has been directly impacted by the justice system, to serve on the state’s Criminal Justice Commission.
Issue Areas: Smart Justice
Mar 13, 2019

Records Reveal Eight Connecticut Law Enforcement Agencies Sharing Residents’ Location Information With ICE

Connecticut residents' information fed into mass surveillance database ICE is using to track people.
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights, Privacy
Feb 21, 2019

ACLU of Connecticut Applauds Governor Lamont’s Introduction of Prosecutorial Transparency Legislation

Governor Lamont introduced legislation to increase transparency from prosecutors in Connecticut. Gus Marks-Hamilton, Smart Justice field organizer for the ACLU of Connecticut, had the following reaction.
Issue Areas: Smart Justice
Jan 03, 2019

Reaction to Fairfield State’s Attorney’s Report on Deadly Shooting of Zoe Dowdell by New Britain Police

A prosecutor has declined to charge five New Britain police employees for shooting into a car and killing 20-year-old Zoe Dowdell. The following is a reaction from ACLU-CT legal director Dan Barrett, who represents Dowdell's father, Shawn Dowdell, in a legal case seeking transparency from police.
Court Cases: Dowdell v New Britain & Dowdell v Connecticut State Police
Nov 19, 2018

Hartford City Councilmembers, Advocates Announce Support for Proposed City Ordinance to Create Community Oversight of Police Surveillance

Hartford City Councilmembers, joined by statewide and local civil liberties organizations, immigrants’ rights organizations, youth and children’s rights organizations, and an LGBTQ rights organization, spoke out in favor of a proposed ordinance to create democratic controls to city surveillance.
Issue Areas: Privacy
Nov 07, 2018

Reaction to Connecticut Governor, Legislative, Attorney General Election Results

The results of the 2018 election are proof that Connecticut voters support smarter justice policies and reject backward-on-crime and silent-on-justice approaches.
Issue Areas: Smart Justice
Nov 06, 2018

Statement Regarding Election Day Voting Issues in New Haven

Voters and would-be voters encountered long lines and confusion in New Haven today. The following is a reaction from ACLU of Connecticut legal director Dan Barrett.
Issue Areas: Voting Rights
Nov 01, 2018

Smart Justice Reacts to Griebel Criminal Justice Platform

Sandy Lomonico, criminal justice organizer for the ACLU of Connecticut, reacts to Independent gubernatorial candidate Oz Griebel’s publication of a criminal justice reform platform.
Issue Areas: Smart Justice