News & Commentary

Constitutional rights are only as good as their implementation. More than fifty years later, Gideon’s promise—the right to counsel for individuals who cannot afford an attorney—remains unfulfilled. So we continue the fight.

School responses to student walkouts, including the anti-ICE demonstrations, may or may not be unconstitutional, depending on the specific facts. Here’s some guidance on the legality of different types of school responses to student walkouts.

Counties must make it easier, not more difficult, for Pennsylvania voters to cast their ballot.

The freedom to openly criticize the government without penalty or punishment is the keystone of our democracy. Free and spirited debate helps inform voters and keeps our elected officials accountable to their oath of office to serve the people and defend the Constitution. 

SB 912 accomplishes nothing that a warrant couldn’t currently provide. But by erasing any meaningful distinction between those arrested and those convicted, it succeeds in undermining constitutional rights to due process, counsel, and the presumption of innocence.

Every election cycle, thousands of voters across Pennsylvania make minor mistakes when completing their mail-in ballot packet, such as forgetting to include the secrecy envelope or forgetting to sign the outer envelope declaration. These mistakes, if left uncorrected, lead to voters’ ballots not being counted. 

At the ACLU of Pennsylvania, our work in disability rights is part of a broader fight for justice that recognizes the interconnected issues of ableism, racism, and economic injustice. 

The ACLU advocates for the legality of and access to gender-affirming care because we have a 105-year track record of fighting for equality and equity for all, especially those who have been marginalized and had their rights compromised, historically and in the present moment. 

The ACLU of Pennsylvania has a long history of opposing strict, burdensome voter identification laws that disenfranchise voters. A voter ID law is a solution in search of a problem.