CIVIL LIBERTY NEWS ROUNDUP

Hat tip to, and more at STOP The ACLU. (Click links in item titles for their commentary, except first item)

Indiana Dems and ACLU lose on voter ID requirements

A federal judge ruled in favor of Indiana's photo ID requirement for voting, rejecting a challenge from the Indiana Democratic Party, the ACLU, and other groups. While the Indiana Democratic Party claimed that almost a million registered voters did not have a photo ID, not one was produced in court.

An excerpt from the ruling: "It is a testament to the law's minimal burden and narrow crafting that plaintiffs have been unable to uncover anyone who can attest to the fact that he/she will be prevented from voting despite the concerted efforts of the political party and numerous interested groups." The Dems promise to appeal.

Minutemen Survive ACLU Challenge

From Tucson today comes the news that the ACLU is not going to be able to kick the Minutemen Corps. off of public trust land. Ranch owners who lease public trust land in Arizona may use Minutemen as volunteers on their ranches, according to deputy state Land Commissioner Richard Hubbard. The ACLU may take legal action.

ACLU Challenges Ohio Terrorist Questionnaire

An article in The Plain Dealer of Cleveland says that the ACLU is challenging part of a new Ohio state law requiring applicants under final consideration for a government job, contract or license to complete and sign questionnaires to determine if they have supported organizations on a federal list of terrorists.

The ACLU argues that the legislature cannot make laws regarding individuals employed by the judicial branch, in this case lawyers who recieve court-appointed cases.

School Changes Dress Code, After Both Sides Enter the Debate

A school district has changed it's dress code, after allowing one group of students wear a shirt critical of the Supt. of the district. When another group of students wore shirts supporting the Supt, the dress code was changed, and the students were punished.

The ACLU has stepped in on behalf of the punished students, and STOP The ACLU supports them on their blog.

Like a broken clock, the ACLU is right about 2 minutes out of every 1440, and these are those two minutes.

NYC Schools to Get Random Metal Detection Teams

The mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg has announced that police, equipped with metal detectors, will be making unannounced sweeps of students at schools throughout the city this month. This will be done as students arrive in the morning at secondary schools that do not have permanent metal detectors. The city will post notices outside schools alerting students that they can be searched on entry.

"Our reasons for doing this couldn’t be clearer or more compelling: we have zero tolerance for weapons of any kind in city schools," said the mayor.

"We intend to ask the Department of Education a series of questions to clarify exactly what this program entails and what measures are in place to minimize the intrusions on student privacy," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

--Of course they do.

An extra hat tip to kender, Gribbit, and Bob, whose words I've lifted here. Much of this is edited straight off of STOP The ACLU.

Crossposted from LEAVWORLD