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Documents Reveal U.S. Knowingly Transfers Detainees To Countries That Torture (11/18/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union and Columbia Law School's Human Rights Clinic released documents today revealing for the first time details of the U.S. government's process for transferring individuals to countries where they face a significant risk of being tortured. The documents, which were uncovered as the result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the two organizations, shed new light on the fundamentally flawed practice of "diplomatic assurances" or secret promises obtained from foreign governments that they will not torture the returned individuals.

Military And Civilian Attorneys Challenge The Military Commissions Act In Second Round Of Guantánamo Pretrial Motions For 9/11 Detainees (11/18/2008)
WASHINGTON – For the second time this month, a group of military defense lawyers and a team of civilian attorneys assembled by the American Civil Liberties Union and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) as part of the John Adams Project filed several pretrial motions in Guantánamo challenging the constitutionality of the military commission prosecutions. The defense is protesting the legality of these ad hoc tribunals, which may rely on coerced confessions and expressly preclude prisoners from invoking the Geneva Conventions. The John Adams Project is a partnership between the ACLU and the NACDL that sponsors expert civilian counsel to assist the under-resourced military defense counsel for several Guantánamo detainees.

ACLU Praises Obama's Plan To Close Guantánamo (11/17/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union strongly praises President-elect Barack Obama's promise on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday night to close down Guantánamo and its unconstitutional military commissions being used to prosecute detainees.

No Special Court System Necessary For Guantánamo Detainees, Says ACLU (11/10/2008)
NEW YORK – News reports today indicated that President-elect Barack Obama's team was preparing a plan to close the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay and possibly create an alternative court system to try some of the detainees. Obama's transition team later clarified that no decisions have yet been made about detainee prosecutions.

ACLU Calls On Obama To Close Guantánamo On Day One Of Presidency (11/10/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union launched a new campaign today calling on President-elect Barack Obama to close the Guantánamo Bay prison and end the military commissions on Day One of his presidency.

ACLU Calls on President-elect Obama to Restore America (11/07/2008)
In the wake of the presidential election, the ACLU has delivered to President-elect Obama a list of initiatives to implement during his first year in office.

Bush Administration Once Again Attempts To Block Release Of Prisoner Abuse Photos In ACLU Lawsuit (11/07/2008)
NEW YORK – The Bush administration petitioned a full appeals court late Thursday to reconsider a decision ordering the Defense Department to release photographs showing detainee abuse by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In September, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered the government to release the photos as part of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit seeking information on the abuse of prisoners held in U.S. custody overseas.

Second Unconstitutional Military Commission Trial Ends In Conviction At Guantánamo (11/03/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – After a flawed military commission trial that was boycotted by the accused, a jury of nine military officers found Ali Hamza al Bahlul guilty of crimes including conspiracy and providing material support to al Qaeda. The American Civil Liberties Union was at Guantánamo Bay observing the al Bahlul proceedings, which, like all of the military commissions, lacked the fairness and transparency found in traditional U.S. or military courts.

Military And Civilian Lawyers Petition Guantánamo Military Commission To Address Fundamental Flaws (11/03/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – A coalition of military and civilian lawyers, assembled as part of the American Civil Liberties Union's John Adams Project, filed pretrial motions in a Guantánamo military commission today requesting legal relief for some of the worst of the constitutional flaws plaguing the commission system. The ACLU's John Adams Project is a partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sponsoring expert civilian counsel to assist the under-resourced military defense counsel for several Guantánamo detainees.

Sweeping Homeland Security Investigation Of Muslims Was Unconstitutional And Discriminatory, Says ACLU (10/31/2008)
WASHINGTON – A report in today’s New York Times revealed details of a 2004 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) anti-terrorism program that, despite government claims to the contrary, used racial profiling. More than 2,000 Muslim immigrants were investigated in the lead up to the 2004 elections, and many were interrogated right before the November election. Despite the investment of considerable resources, “Operation Front Line” produced minimal results. Most of those investigated were found to have done nothing wrong.

Court Orders Justice Department To Submit NSA Wiretapping Memos For Judicial Review (10/31/2008)
WASHINGTON – A federal judge today said that he would review in chambers a set of Justice Department memos relating to the National Security Agency's (NSA) illegal warrantless wiretapping program. The judge found for the second time in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that the government had failed adequately to explain why the memos should be kept secret in their entirety.

Federal Court Allows Bush Administration To Withhold Records Detailing Torture And Abuse Of Guantánamo Prisoners (10/29/2008)
WASHINGTON – A federal judge today allowed the Bush administration to withhold unredacted transcripts in which 14 prisoners now held at Guantánamo Bay describe abuse and torture they endured in CIA custody. The decision comes in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in March to enforce a Freedom of Information Act request for records from Combatant Status Review Tribunals that determine if prisoners held by the Defense Department at Guantánamo qualify as "enemy combatants."

Guantánamo Judge Rejects Evidence Obtained Through Torture In Jawad Case (10/28/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – A military judge ruled today that the government cannot use statements made as a result of torture in the military commission case against Afghan national Mohammed Jawad. The judge held that Jawad's alleged confession to throwing a grenade at two U.S. service members and an Afghan interpreter was obtained after armed Afghan officials threatened to kill Jawad and his family. The government had previously told the judge that Jawad's alleged confession while in Afghan custody was central to the case against him.

Mainers Granted Intervenor Status in Warrantless Spying Case (10/28/2008)
PORTLAND – A California court has granted the motion of the Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation to intervene in a case involving National Security Agency wiretapping of potentially millions of Americans. Under the new ruling, James D. Cowie and twenty-one other Mainers have been given formal legal status in a consolidated case against the telephone companies for their role in the NSA warrantless surveillance program.

ACLU Releases Presidential Transition Plan To Restore Civil Liberties (10/27/2008)
WASHINGTON – In anticipation of the presidential election, the American Civil Liberties Union today released a set of detailed recommendations on steps that the new president should take to “clean house,” renew freedom, and restore the nation’s reputation.

ACLU Monitoring Unconstitutional Guantánamo Military Commission Trial This Week (10/27/2008)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba – The American Civil Liberties Union is at Guantánamo to monitor the military commission trial of Ali Hamza al-Bahlul scheduled to begin today. The ACLU has been present as an independent observer at nearly every military commission hearing since 2004 and continues to see no indication that the proceedings are fair, impartial or in accordance with constitutional principles.

Former U.S. Attorney General, Senior Justice Officials And Top Military Officers Urge Supreme Court To Review Indefinite Detention Case (10/23/2008)
WASHINGTON – Former United States Attorney General Janet Reno, Former FBI Director William Sessions, Major General Antonio M. Taguba and other former government and military officials today are joining the American Civil Liberties Union in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the president's authority to indefinitely imprison a legal resident of the U.S. without charge or trial. Several former top government and military leaders are signing on to friend-of-the-court briefs in the ACLU case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who has been detained in solitary confinement at a Navy brig in South Carolina since June 2003.