News & Commentary

BOISE, Idaho—The ACLU of Idaho extends heartfelt congratulations to same-sex couples newly wedded today, and those who now are legally recognized as married in Idaho. It’s a beautiful day in the state as we join in celebrating this historic moment where fundamental civil rights are acknowledged for a class of individuals to whom this right was denied for so long. Idaho can now mark this October 15th, 2014 as the start of a new chapter in our history and we are all better because of it.

Dear Mayor Bieter and Council Members:

ACLU launches online interactive learning tool for school children to learn about the Constitution

Case Moves Forward to Challenge State Law That Silences Factory Farm Whistle-Blowers

Unnecessary solitary confinement of adolescent amounts to punishment before conviction, ACLU brief contendsBoise, Idaho—On Friday, July 21, 2014 the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho Foundation (ACLU) filed documents in District Court in Kootenai County in support of a petition by the County Public Defender’s office to end the solitary confinement of fifteen-year old Eldon Samuel III, who has been held in isolation in an adult jail while awaiting trial. Eldon, who recently turned fifteen, has been in isolation for more than 70 days in a makeshift child isolation cell near the Kootenai County adult jail’s booking area. The cell’s windows are covered with dark blinds, limiting his access to any natural light or viewing outside his cinderblock cell. He is allowed out only for showers, exercise on a cement slab, and religious and attorney visits.

Court of Appeals Agrees to Expedite Case over Telephone Records CollectionCOEUR D'ALENE, Idaho – The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have announced they will join Anna Smith’s legal team in her challenge of the government’s bulk collection of the telephone records of millions of innocent Americans.

ACLU of Idaho letter highlights the group’s recent First Amendment victories in federal courtBOISE, Idaho—The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho (ACLU of Idaho) joined national and state organizations in expressing serious concerns over Boise State University’s policies pertaining to events and speakers on campus. The call came in a letter from the group’s Legal Director emailed to BSU President Bob Kustra this past Friday, July 11, 2014. The letter in the wake of similar requests by the Idaho Freedom Foundation and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, asking the university to refund “security fees” charged to campus group Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) for an event featuring a pro-gun speaker earlier this year.

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