ACLU

The CIA cannot refuse to search for records about U.S. drone strikes on the grounds that acknowledging the existence of the records would harm national security, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. ruled.

A New York criminal court ruled that prosecutors seeking information about a defendant’s Internet activity can subpoena third-party online service provider Twitter. The request is not a government intrusion under the Fourth Amendment, he held, but a federal law requires a search warrant for some recent information.

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the government may withhold certain records relating to the Central Intelligence Agency’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques – including waterboarding – from public disclosure under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The Illinois Eavesdropping Act, one of the broadest restrictions on audio recording nationwide, is likely unconstitutional and may not be enforced against the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois when it records conversations of police officers openly engaged in their public duties, a federal appellate court ruled today.

Journalists opposing the controversial Illinois eavesdropping statute expressed relief when a Chicago official announced that police do not plan to enforce the law when the city hosts the NATO summit in May. A state representative also introduced a bill last week to make it legal to audio record police officers in public.

A U.S. District Court judge ruled that a civil lawsuit can continue against a Louisiana police chief and four officers accused of violating a former officer's constitutional rights. The court declined to dismiss the civil rights case against the officers who arrested the police veteran for criticizing the chief in email messages to a local newspaper.

A bill in the Illinois House of Representatives that would have created an exemption from criminal liability under the state's broad eavesdropping law was defeated by a vote of 59-45. HB 3944 would have decriminalized the recording of police officers publicly engaged in their public duties.

"We always knew this would be a heavy lift, and I guess it was heavier than we thought," said state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, the chief sponsor of the bill.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a defamation suit filed by a high school basketball coach against about a dozen critics is not subject for dismissal under Illinois’ Citizen Participation Act, a statue aimed to prevent Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP).

After standing by their officers for four years, the Boston Police Department admitted officers were wrong when they arrested attorney Simon Glik for filming an arrest of a young man with his cell phone.