ACLU at the Michigan Capitol – November 2, 2015

Bipartisanship is flourishing lately. Not so much among our elected officials – unsurprising given that legislative transformation traditionally lags behind public opinion -- but rather among some significant advocacy groups in some very critical areas of public policy, most notably criminal justice reform and citizen privacy in the age of high-tech digital surveillance. 

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office recently became the first in Michigan to purchase a Hailstorm device, an incredibly powerful surveillance tool typically used by the NSA and CIA which allows police to routinely spy on thousands of people without them ever knowing.

The department has actively prevented the public from learning about the tool, refusing to answer basic questions about what it does and how they use it, only raising further suspicion about their activities.

The government is tracking every citizen’s every move in a humungous, all-encompassing surveillance program behind closed doors, then a young protagonist reveals the federal government’s secrets and has to run away to foreign lands to avoid its harsh prosecutions.

This sounds like some sort of horrifying science fiction movie; however, sadly, it is real life.

In the dreams of law enforcement, police are able to check instantly DNA at a crime scene against a vast, complete catalog of individuals to solve crimes quickly and cleanly. The only problem is that kind of invasion of privacy would only happen in a science fiction movie, right?

For several years, law enforcement and legislatures have toyed with the idea of collecting and permanently storing DNA samples from Americans who have not been convicted of any crime, despite concerns about government abuse, practicality and unconstitutionality, .

LANSING, Mich. – In a comprehensive report released today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan asks the City of Lansing to remove all government surveillance cameras installed in residential neighborhoods since 2008. Citing the detrimental effects on privacy, the unjustified cost and ineffectiveness of surveillance cameras, the report, Eyes in the Sky: Lansing Residential Surveillance and its Intrusion on Privacy, urges the city to protect residents from privacy invasions and abuse.

NEW YORK – The FBI has been targeting American communities for investigation based on race, ethnicity, national origin and religion according to documents released today by the American Civil Liberties Union and its affiliates that were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The documents show that FBI analysts across the country are associating criminal behaviors with certain racial and ethnic groups and then using U.S. census data and other demographic information to map where those communities are located to investigate them.

ANN ARBOR – In a letter to Ann Arbor Public Schools today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan threatened to sue the school district unless the superintendent reversed a Pioneer High School decision denying school club status to a student group opposing the installation of surveillance cameras. Pioneer administrators have refused to afford the group the same privileges as other student clubs because it is political group that opposes a school decision.

ACLU says, "No One is Above the Law, Not Even the President"

DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan appeared in federal court today to argue that the Bush administration's warrantless spying program is unconstitutional and should be stopped. This was the first time a court heard arguments on the legality of the National Security Agency program.

DETROIT — Saying that the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping of Americans is flatly illegal and unconstitutional, the American Civil Liberties Union today asked a federal court in Detroit to block the program immediately.

The ACLU also criticized Congress for brokering a reported deal that allows the White House to bypass judicial oversight of the controversial program.

Judge Damon Keith ruling was key in establishing legal precedent

The 214th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights this past week is an appropriate time to remember that protecting constitutional freedoms lies at the heart and soul of this country.