ACLU-NJ Seeks Dismissal of Suit to Suppress Public Records

NEWARK, N.J. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey filed a motion to dismiss today in an action brought against it by the Evesham Township School District in response to the ACLU-NJ's request for public records relating to a controversy over whether the district should include as part of its curriculum a film that acknowledges gay family life.

"A public agency suing community members for exercising their right to obtain public information is antithetical to the spirit of transparent democracy and letter of the law." said Jeanne LoCicero, ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney. "Evesham School District has no business hauling us into court over a public records request; they are attempting heavy-handed tactics to avoid accountability under the state's open public records laws."

On August 30, 2007, the ACLU-NJ requested public records, including e-mails to and from Evesham Board of Education members regarding the Board's consideration of the video "That's A Family!" The Board Members use private e-mail accounts to conduct board business. The District provided some of the documents, but took the position that e-mails on private e-mail accounts are not public records and refused to turn them over.

In its papers to the court, the ACLU-NJ argues that the state's open public records law, known as "OPRA", gives the public records requestor - and not the government entity - the right to choose if and how to challenge the denial of documents.

Simultaneous with its court filing, the ACLU has filed a Denial of Access Complaint with New Jersey's Government Records Council, the administrative agency authorized by statute to hear complaints against government entities who withhold documents.

"Open government is a central principle of democracy and lawsuits like this are used to intimidate people from seeking information that they have a right to," said LoCicero. "Taxpayers in Evesham pay an additional price - resources from their school budget are being wasted with this meritless litigation."

The case is captioned Evesham Towship Board of Education v. American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Burlington County. Information about the ACLU-NJ's work on open government is available online at: http://www.aclu-nj.org/issues/opengovernment/

Thousands Gather in D.C. to Demand Due Process Rights

NEWARK, N.J. -- Dozens of members and supporters of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today traveled to Washington, D.C. for a Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice. They are joining with thousands of Americans from across the country to attend a rally and then call on Congress to restore habeas corpus, fix the Military Commissions Act, end torture and rendition, and restore our constitutional rights.

"New Jerseyans can no longer stand idly by while our constitutional rights and freedoms are stripped away," said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs. "We are taking our fight straight to Capitol Hill to hold New Jersey's representatives in Congress accountable and demand that they restore due process, defend the Constitution and protect what makes us Americans."

The ACLU has chartered buses to take participants to Washington, D.C. In New Jersey, buses left from Elizabeth and Princeton, transporting people from all over the state.

Today's action represents an overwhelming grassroots repudiation of the Military Commissions Act -- an act that denies detainees the right of habeas corpus, allows testimony coerced via torture to be used as evidence against them, ignores the Geneva Conventions and gives the president the power to declare anyone an "unlawful enemy combatant" and to detain them indefinitely.

What You Can Do

On the day after the June 26 rally in Washington, D.C., the ACLU and other social justice organizations will be organizing a national call-in day to Congress.

To reach your representatives on the June 27 national call-in, call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 (24 hours) and ask the operator to connect you.

Call both of your senators and your representative, and tell the person who answers the phone that you urge Senator or Representative to:

Restore habeas corpus and due process for all human beings.
Support the Restoring the Constitution Act of (S. 576 in the Senate and HR 1415 in the House)
End torture and secret prisons.
Stop so-called "extraordinary rendition" flights where people are secretly kidnapped and sent to countries that torture. (Support HR 1352 in the House)
Close the Guantanamo Bay detention center and provide all detainees with access to lawyers and speedy trials. (Support S. 1249 and 1469 in the Senate, and HR 2212 in the House)
Investigate wrongdoing and ensure those who broke the law are held accountable. Activists from all 50 states will deliver tens of thousands of signatures to Congress, urging for rights to be restored.

June 26 marks the first time in the ACLU's 87-year history that the organization has convened a national event of this type.

For more information on the Day of Action, visit http://www.juneaction.org

ACLU-NJ News - Open Government

ACLU-NJ Seeks Dismissal of Suit to Suppress Public Records

Thousands Gather in D.C. to Demand Due Process Rights

What You Can Do