News & Commentary

The ACLU of Pennsylvania saw a number of successes in the area of school policing in 2020, despite this unprecedented and unexpected year.

It was an American presidential election like no other. And of course, the drama extended far beyond Election Day.

The past four years have been a horrifying look into what can happen when we elect leaders who have nothing but animus towards people who are part of our families, communities, and this country.

Police violence is, of course, nothing new. But with the advent of cell phone cameras and social media, horrifying incidents of police violence have never been more accessible to the public.

Once it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic was a public health crisis in the United States in early March, our work quickly pivoted to decarceration efforts to prevent Pennsylvania jails and prisons from becoming COVID hotspots.

Warrantless, non-consensual entries into peoples’ homes, suspicionless vehicle stops and searches of motorists’ cars and trunks, and checkpoint stops cannot be justified under the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution or Article I, section 7 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

By all rational measurements, the 2020 election was a success. Voters turned out in numbers not seen in 100 years. They did their part and had their say, despite efforts by powerful people to make voting more difficult – efforts that were aimed particularly at people of color.

ICE’s cruelty knows no bounds: they refused to agree to even this short respite for our medically-vulnerable clients. So we were forced to seek emergency relief from the court.

Is it better to vote by mail or vote in person?