ACLU

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The ACLU is the American Civil Liberties Union, which was run for its first 30 years by a American citizen named Roger Baldwin, who helped found it in 1920 in response to the Espionage Act and Sedition Act. Baldwin and the ACLU purged any open communists from its ranks in 1940.

ACLU and the Establishment Clause

ACLU chapters frequently sue to compel removal of the Ten Commandments from public property. For example, in McCreary County v. ACLU, 545 U.S. 844 (2005), the ACLU of Kentucky forced two counties to remove displays of the Ten Commandments from their courthouses. In Utah, the ACLU even announced a scavenger hunt for anyone who could find a display of the Ten Commandments monument that the ACLU could demand be removed. The ACLU typically receives substantial legal fees from the government in each of these cases.

In 1994, the ACLU of New Jersey sued Jersey City, New Jersey to challenge a menorah and a Christmas tree at city hall. A federal district judge declared the display to be unconstitutional, but the appellate court, in a 2-1 opinion written by now-Justice Samuel Alito, found a modified display to be constitutional. ACLU of New Jersey v. Schundler (1999). Then-Judge Alito wrote, "government may celebrate Christmas in some manner and form, but not in a way that endorses Christian doctrine."

Occasionally an ACLU chapter does side with a Christian student. The ACLU of Michigan defended a Christian student seeking to have a Biblical passage on the student's yearbook page.[1]

ACLU and Evolution

The ACLU filed a lawsuit, Selman v. Cobb County Sch. Dist., against a school district in Cobb County Georgia, for putting stickers in biology textbooks that said, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."[2] The ACLU lawsuit was ostensibly in behalf of indignant parents, but any monetary award would be paid to the ACLU. The trial judge ruled in favor of the ACLU, but his ruling was vacated on appeal. The case was eventually settled, with the stickers being removed. An ACLU press release suggested that its motives were to "ensure that their children receive proper science education" and to stop any message that evolutionists are political outsiders.[3] But the ACLU did not mention that it also asked for huge attorney fees from the school district.

Another example of ACLU litigation was Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School Dist.[4], also known as the Intelligent design case. The ACLU prevailed in prohibiting administrators from reading a short statement that mentions Intelligent Design to students, and forbade the school board from issuing a warning that Darwin's theory has gaps.[5] In his opinion, Judge John E. Jones III heavily relied on the later-vacated ruling in Selman v. Cobb County Sch. Dist., and on ACLU briefs.[6] He also cited the Establishment test, the Lemon test, and the reasonable student standard.[7] The judge also ordered fees paid to the ACLU and its lawyers, totaling over $2,000,000.[8]

Same-sex Marriage and Gay Equality

The ACLU of New Jersey filed an amicus curiae brief in favor of same-sex marriage in Lewis v. Harris, 188 N.J. 415 (1006). The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in favor of civil unions, but by a 4-3 margin did not require same-sex marriage.

The ACLU sues schools when a student alleges encountering "anti-gay peer harassment and bullying based on his perceived sexual orientation." [9] The ACLU holds the school (and hence the taxpayers) liable for actions based on conduct by some students towards others.

Abortion

The ACLU is against any laws restricting what they see as the Right to Choose. ACLU attorneys have argued several reproductive rights cases.

Polygamy

The ACLU has defended polygamistsTemplate:Fact-political.

ACLU and Fight against Racism

Along with the NAACP, led at the time by Thurgood Marshall, the ACLU briefed and argued many influential Supreme Court opinions that led to the eradication of legal segregation.[10] They have continued to defend racial equality since.[11] Even recently, the ACLU fought to overturn prohibitions against renting buildings to immigrants[12]


References

  1. ↑ http://www.aclu.org/studentsrights/expression/12845prs20040511.html
  2. ↑ Ariel Hart, "Stickers Put in Evolution Text Are the Subject of a Federal Trial," New York Times, November 9, 2004
  3. ↑ http://www.aclu.org/religion/intelligentdesign/27745prs20061219.html
  4. ↑ 400 F.Supp.2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005) [1]
  5. ↑ Kitzmiller v. Dover Area Sch. Dist., 400 F.Supp.2d 707.
  6. ↑ 90% of the section on intelligent design was from the ACLU's briefs.[2]
  7. ↑ Kitzmiller, 400 F. Supp. 2d at 725 (coming to the conclusion reached in Selman by the Court's own reasoning), compare Selman v. Cobb County Sch. Dist, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 13005 (11th Cir. May 25, 2006) at *pincite needed*.
  8. ↑ See 42 U.S.C. s 1988 (describing relief afforded victorious plaintiff of a 1983 action as including attorney fees).
  9. ↑ http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth/28618prs20070221.html
  10. ↑ Examples: Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483
  11. ↑ http://www.aclu.org/racialjustice
  12. ↑ http://civilliberty.about.com/od/historyprofiles/ss/news082206_3.htm

External Links

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