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Photo of Suleiman Abdullah, torture survivor and plaintiff in lawsuit

ACLU Sues Psychologists Who Designed and Ran CIA Torture Program

The ACLU is representing three men who were tortured by the CIA and who are now suing the architects of the agency’s torture program.  Read More »

Photo of hands through prison bars

Lawsuit Challenges Benton County’s Modern-Day Debtors’ Prison

Oct 6, 2015
The ACLU and Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC have filed a lawsuit that says Benton County is violating the Constitution by jailing, threatening to jail, or forcing manual labor on people who are too poor to pay court-imposed debts. Read More »
 

ACLU Calls for Changing State Law on Prosecuting Police for Killings

The prosecutor has decided not to file charges against Pasco police officers who killed a man throwing rocks. The decision shows a clear need to amend our state law on use of deadly force by law enforcement, so that police can better be held accountable. Read More »
 
Photo of a man on a park bench

Groups Warn Local Officials on Laws Criminalizing Sleeping and Camping by the Homeless

Aug 19, 2015
The ACLU-WA and allies are pointing local officials statewide to an important Dept. of Justice brief. It explains that when there is insufficient shelter space, cities that prosecute homeless people for sleeping or camping in public places violate the Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Read More »
 
Image of a ballot box

Making History: Latino Voter Participation Increases under Yakima’s New District System

Yakima held its first election under the City Council district system created by an ACLU-WA lawsuit. Many people in new majority-Latino districts who didn’t vote in the last primary cast ballots this year – showing citizens will participate in elections when they have a meaningful opportunity to do so. Read More »
 
Lady Justice

Court Orders State to Stop Violating Rights of People with Mental Illness in Jail

Apr 3, 2015
A federal judge has rebuked the State of Washington and ordered it to provide competency services speedily to people with mental illness in jails. The ruling came in a suit on behalf of incarcerated pre-trial detainees who have sat for weeks and months awaiting court-ordered services. Read More »
 
Kevan Coffey and Margaret Chen

Woman Sues Public Hospital District to Ensure Access to Abortion

Feb 19, 2015
The ACLU of Washington has filed a lawsuit seeking to have Skagit Regional Health comply with Washington’s Reproductive Privacy Act (RPA).  The suit is part of a new statewide effort by the ACLU to ensure that all public hospitals are complying with the RPA. Read More »