Friend –

This summer, we've been working hard to protect and expand civil rights and liberties in the District, while also enjoying the fun D.C. has to offer. We hope you're also finding time to enjoy the summer, and we invite you to keep building a more just and free D.C. with us.

Here are highlights of our recent work and ways that you can get involved.

Monday, September 16: Membership Meeting

6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
National Press Club
529 14th St NW, 13th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20045

Join us for our annual Membership Meeting, where we'll recap our work over the past year, preview our upcoming work, announce the 2024-25 Board of Directors, and discuss a soon-to-be-released D.C. Police Stop and Frisk Report. The event is free and open to the public. Register today.

Victory: Court Issues Ruling Against Abuse of Power by Police

On August 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that police officers cannot retain the property they seize—such as cell phones, cameras, or vehicles—for an unreasonable amount of time. This important decision stems from ACLU-D.C. cases where our clients argued that the Metropolitan Police Department wrongly held the cell phones and other personal possessions of racial justice protesters and journalists for months or even years after they had been arrested and released without charges.

Take Action: End Solitary Confinement in the D.C. Jail

On any given day, people held in the D.C. Jail can find themselves locked in a small cell, isolated and without natural light for 22 to 24 hours a day. After such solitary confinement, people's mental health can deteriorate, and the trauma of isolation can contribute to increased violence in the jail and re-offending when released. No one wins when people experience horrific conditions at the D.C. Jail, and there is a better way. Tell D.C. Councilmembers to end solitary confinement in the D.C. Jail.

Blog: How the First Amendment does – and does not – protect your speech

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects our fundamental rights to express ourselves, to gather with other people, and to protest our government, among other rights. But who has to abide by the First Amendment? Which speech is protected? Which speech is not? Check out our newest blog, which details five ways the First Amendment protects your speech, and three ways it does not.

Thanks for sticking with us,

ACLU of the District of Columbia