On Monday, Bianca Vazquez Toness of WBUR did
a really interesting story that underscores the difficulty the police can face earning the trust of local communities.
One of the reasons the police "are looking to build trust in high-crime neighborhoods," as Vazquez Toness says, is for the proposed "Safe Homes" initiative, in which Boston police plan on going door-to-door in high-crime neighborhoods, asking people to open their doors to "voluntary" searches for guns.
The ACLU of Massachusetts is concerned that people won't understand they have the right to say "no" to these searches, or that anything illegal the police find in the searches (guns, drugs, etc.) can lead to arrests and criminal charges against anyone in the home, including children. This isn't like programs which simply aim to take guns out of circulation, with no questions asked.
In other words, a key danger in "Safe Homes" is the erosion of trust. People could waive their rights to help tackle gun violence, but then feel betrayed if members of their families are hauled off to jail or are suspended or expelled from school, instead of simply having to turn over a gun -- or even if no guns were found at all.
An ACLU of Massachusetts briefing paper with more information on "Safe Homes" is available here.
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
News: Mayor submits child safety zone ordinance
Joe Cohen of the New Bedford Standard-Times quotes Ann Lambert, our Legislative Counsel, in this story on a proposed ordinance to create "child safety zones" that would ban sex offenders from a variety of public places. The proposal comes in the aftermath of a sexual assault on a young boy in a New Bedford library.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Press Release: ACLU of Massachusetts calls for thorough investigation into death of second immigrant in custody
BOSTON - The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today called for a thorough investigation into yesterday's death of Maxsuel Medeiros, a 25-year-old immigrant from Brazil, who died while in Massachusetts State Police custody. As reported in today's Boston Globe, Medeiros' death is the second time since July that a Brazilian immigrant living in Massachusetts has died while in custody.
"The tragic death of a second young, Brazilian immigrant in detention raises questions that cannot be ignored," said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "Last month's death of Edmar Alves Araujo after being arrested in Rhode Island raised concerns about the adequacy of medical care for detained individuals. That matter is currently under investigation, and we need to know the facts surrounding the death of Mr. Medeiros as well."
The death of Medeiros early Tuesday following his arrest on Friday, Aug. 31, raises other questions. "Why did police check the identification of Mr. Medeiros, the passenger in the car they stopped for a traffic violation? In addition to the facts surrounding Medieros' death, we need to know why he was in custody in the first place," said Rose.
The ACLU of Massachusetts has expressed growing concern in recent months over the increase in immigration raids and individual arrests, which are carried out in the name of finding undocumented immigrants, but often are conducted in violation of constitutional and legal rights.
"The tragic death of a second young, Brazilian immigrant in detention raises questions that cannot be ignored," said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "Last month's death of Edmar Alves Araujo after being arrested in Rhode Island raised concerns about the adequacy of medical care for detained individuals. That matter is currently under investigation, and we need to know the facts surrounding the death of Mr. Medeiros as well."
The death of Medeiros early Tuesday following his arrest on Friday, Aug. 31, raises other questions. "Why did police check the identification of Mr. Medeiros, the passenger in the car they stopped for a traffic violation? In addition to the facts surrounding Medieros' death, we need to know why he was in custody in the first place," said Rose.
The ACLU of Massachusetts has expressed growing concern in recent months over the increase in immigration raids and individual arrests, which are carried out in the name of finding undocumented immigrants, but often are conducted in violation of constitutional and legal rights.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Press Release: ACLU of Massachusetts Applauds Federal Court's Affirmation of Immigrant Rights: Decision highlights issues for impending Mass. case
BOSTON - With the First Circuit Court of Appeals set to hear a Massachusetts case involving the rights of immigrants next week, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts welcomed yesterday's federal court decision in Pennsylvania affirming that key protections set forth in the U.S. Constitution apply to everyone in the country, citizens and non-citizens.
Oral arguments will be heard on Wednesday, August 1, at 9:30 a.m., in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Aguilar v. ICE, a case deciding the fate of immigrants detained in March after a raid on a New Bedford factory.
Yesterday's federal court decision in Pennsylvania declared unconstitutional a local ordinance in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, that sought to punish landlords and employers for doing business with undocumented immigrants. The landmark decision in the closely-watched challenge to Hazleton's anti-immigrant ordinance held that the ordinance cannot be enforced. More information on the case, Lozano v. Hazleton, is available online at www.aclu.org/hazleton.
Writing for the court, Judge James M. Munley said, "We cannot say clearly enough that persons who enter this country without legal authorization are not stripped immediately of all their rights because of this single act ... The United States Supreme Court has consistently interpreted [the 14th Amendment] to apply to all people present in the United States, whether they were born here, immigrated here through legal means, or violated federal law to enter the country."
"Yesterday's decision on the Hazleton ordinance helps makes it clear that citizens and non-citizens have Constitutional rights that should not be trampled or ignored by overzealous public officials," said Carol Rose, Executive Director for the ACLU of Massachusetts. "In New Bedford, the raid conducted by government officials made it impossible for people to exercise their fundamental due process rights. Instead, they were transferred across the country before most of them could speak to their families or their lawyers. From this remote detention center in Texas, we have reports that conditions are harsh and immigrants have been mistreated, misinformed and coerced into waiving their rights."
The ACLU of Massachusetts has worked since the raid with attorneys from Greater Boston Legal Services, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Catholic Social Services, and Dechert, LLP to argue that immigrants were denied their constitutional right to due process, the right to attorneys of their choice, and to fair bond hearings because government officials intentionally separated them from their families and communities, denied them access to counsel, and coerced them into waiving their rights.
Oral arguments in Aguilar v. ICE will be heard in U.S. Circuit Court on Wednesday, Aug. 1, at 9:30 a.m. at the Moakley Court House in the Court of Appeals Panel Room on the 7th floor. The argument is open to the public.
Oral arguments will be heard on Wednesday, August 1, at 9:30 a.m., in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Aguilar v. ICE, a case deciding the fate of immigrants detained in March after a raid on a New Bedford factory.
Yesterday's federal court decision in Pennsylvania declared unconstitutional a local ordinance in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, that sought to punish landlords and employers for doing business with undocumented immigrants. The landmark decision in the closely-watched challenge to Hazleton's anti-immigrant ordinance held that the ordinance cannot be enforced. More information on the case, Lozano v. Hazleton, is available online at www.aclu.org/hazleton.
Writing for the court, Judge James M. Munley said, "We cannot say clearly enough that persons who enter this country without legal authorization are not stripped immediately of all their rights because of this single act ... The United States Supreme Court has consistently interpreted [the 14th Amendment] to apply to all people present in the United States, whether they were born here, immigrated here through legal means, or violated federal law to enter the country."
"Yesterday's decision on the Hazleton ordinance helps makes it clear that citizens and non-citizens have Constitutional rights that should not be trampled or ignored by overzealous public officials," said Carol Rose, Executive Director for the ACLU of Massachusetts. "In New Bedford, the raid conducted by government officials made it impossible for people to exercise their fundamental due process rights. Instead, they were transferred across the country before most of them could speak to their families or their lawyers. From this remote detention center in Texas, we have reports that conditions are harsh and immigrants have been mistreated, misinformed and coerced into waiving their rights."
The ACLU of Massachusetts has worked since the raid with attorneys from Greater Boston Legal Services, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Catholic Social Services, and Dechert, LLP to argue that immigrants were denied their constitutional right to due process, the right to attorneys of their choice, and to fair bond hearings because government officials intentionally separated them from their families and communities, denied them access to counsel, and coerced them into waiving their rights.
Oral arguments in Aguilar v. ICE will be heard in U.S. Circuit Court on Wednesday, Aug. 1, at 9:30 a.m. at the Moakley Court House in the Court of Appeals Panel Room on the 7th floor. The argument is open to the public.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
News: Case dismissed
Bay Windows consults a variety of legal experts, including our attorney Sarah Wunsch, on the lawsuit brought by a law student who failed the Massachusetts bar exam. The suit alleges he failed the bar for refusing to answer a question about same-sex marriage. "It's practically unreadable," Wunsch says.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Press Release: ACLU of Massachusetts Salutes Adams Pro Bono Publico Award Recipients
BOSTON - The ACLU of Massachusetts salutes the recipients of the sixth annual Adams Pro Bono Publico awards, conferred on June 4th by the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services. The awards recognize outstanding commitment to providing volunteer legal services for the poor and disadvantaged in Massachusetts.
This year's recipients were Attorney Leigh-Ann Patterson Durant of Lexington, Associate General Counsel of Clinical Trials and Medical Affairs for EMD Serono, Inc. in Rockland, and formerly of Nixon Peabody LLP; Attorney Holly Sanborn Dyar of Kingston, a solo practitioner in Plymouth; and the Boston office of the law firm of Dechert, LLP.
The SJC Committee also recognized the pro bono work of approximately seventy attorneys in private practice who volunteered to represent people detained or affected by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials' raid in New Bedford on March 6, 2007. Attorneys from the ACLU of Massachusetts and Greater Boston Legal Services have also been working-within hours of the raid-to assist detainees and their families.
"The rule of law and our country's ideals of equality can be compromised when legal representation is out of financial reach," said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "We commend these attorneys for their unselfish devotion to fairness, as well as the Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services for recognizing the importance of this service."
For more information about the Adams Awards, the recipients, and their work, please see the SJC's press release:
http://www.mass.gov/courts/press/pr060507_print.html
This year's recipients were Attorney Leigh-Ann Patterson Durant of Lexington, Associate General Counsel of Clinical Trials and Medical Affairs for EMD Serono, Inc. in Rockland, and formerly of Nixon Peabody LLP; Attorney Holly Sanborn Dyar of Kingston, a solo practitioner in Plymouth; and the Boston office of the law firm of Dechert, LLP.
The SJC Committee also recognized the pro bono work of approximately seventy attorneys in private practice who volunteered to represent people detained or affected by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials' raid in New Bedford on March 6, 2007. Attorneys from the ACLU of Massachusetts and Greater Boston Legal Services have also been working-within hours of the raid-to assist detainees and their families.
"The rule of law and our country's ideals of equality can be compromised when legal representation is out of financial reach," said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "We commend these attorneys for their unselfish devotion to fairness, as well as the Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services for recognizing the importance of this service."
For more information about the Adams Awards, the recipients, and their work, please see the SJC's press release:
http://www.mass.gov/courts/press/pr060507_print.html
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