The American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware works in the courts, in the state and federal legislatures, with government officials and at the grassroots level to protect and promote freedom of speech, religious freedom, racial justice, LGBT rights, women’s rights, immigrants’ rights, students’ rights, reproductive freedom, the right of privacy, criminal justice, to improve prison [...]
Author Archives: Richard Morse
A Fair Trial Requires An Interpreter
A federal law, known as the Court Interpreter’s Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1827-28, states that the court must appoint an interpreter, paid for by the government, for anyone standing trial, such as a defendant in a criminal case, if the judge determines that the person does not speak English. ACLU-DE was recently called upon to [...]
ACLU-DE Defends Safehouses
Cooperating Attorneys Chaney Hall and Dan Wolcott of Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP and ACLU-DE are representing the operator of two shelters that provide housing and other assistance for released prisoners, including registered sex offenders. The shelters had been operating without incident when the registered offenders were told they had to find other housing because [...]
Posted in News Tagged Due Process, Fifth Amendment, Legal Cases, Reduce Incarceration, Sixth Amendment Leave a comment
High School Changes Choral Program To Respect Religious Freedom
A New Castle County high school changed its concert selections for 2011-2012 to bring them within constitutional requirements, after receiving correspondence from ACLU-DE and the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. The correspondence was sent on behalf of a high school music student who had been compelled to choose between singing a substantial [...]
Hispanics Recognized in Redistricting of Sussex Co.
Legislative redistricting has put the majority of Hispanic citizens in Sussex County in the same House of Representtives district. Before the redistricting, the Latino community near Georgetown had been split into three different districts. The change gives the Hispanic community a much stronger voice in the state legislature. The Hispanic Community Redistricting Task Force worked with House [...]
Supreme Court Overturns Carmike Theater Case
An African-American movie theater audience was subjected to demeaning treatment the theater had never applied to a white or mixed adult audience. More than 30 audience members filed claims with by the Delaware Human Relations Commission. ACLU-DE represented them at the trial, and won a ruling that the theater had treated the audience in a [...]
Fourth Amendment Rights Protected in Newark
For several years, the City of Newark used the 2006 International Property Maintenance Code as part of its housing code. In September 2010, the city gave notice that it intended to replace the 2006 Code with the 2009 International Code, with several Newark specific modifications. One of the modifications would require that every new residential [...]
Claymont Apartment House Admits Protestant Minister
At ACLU-DE’s request, management of a Claymont apartment house for the elderly changed its policy and began allowing the tenants to have a Protestant minister use a common room to conduct religious services one Sunday morning every month. ACLU-DE had been contacted by a representative of Protestant residents of the building, who were distressed because [...]
Newark Agrees to Respect Fourth Amendment
In September 2010, the City of Newark gave notice that it intended to amend its housing code. However, the Newark City Council rejected the changes to the city code that would have deprived city residents of important privacy protection after ACLU-DE objected to the proposed amendment. One modification would have forced all residential tenants to [...]
ACLU-DE Litigates Muslim Inmates’ Right to Halal Meals
ACLU-DE Cooperating Attorney Gary W. Aber recently began representing a Muslim inmate at Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution in a case seeking to compel the Department of Correction to provide Halal meat to Muslim inmates in the prison. A federal statute, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, prohibits prison authorities from imposing [...]
