In 2024, ACLU-PA and our partners have taken a different approach with our legal strategy than in past election cycles. This year, we’ve implemented a proactive strategy to make sure that voters who want to cast a ballot can do so without unnecessary hurdles.Vic Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, joins the pod to talk about it. By…

In the run up to this year’s election, we here at the ACLU knew that candidates would be talking about the two issues of immigration and public safety. Knowing that was coming, the ACLU has been engaged all year in a research project called Battleground Blueprint. We’ve deployed multiple rounds of surveys in multiple states, including Pennsylvania,…

More than 20 years ago, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to prohibit people who are living with a criminal record from voting. But misinformation about those rights persists here in Pennsylvania. In this episode, we hear from ACLU-PA executive director Mike Lee and Saleem Holbrook, executive director of Abolition…

The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently wrapped up its work on the new state budget. Elizabeth Randol, ACLU-PA’s legislative director, talks about all that has happened in this session around civil liberties. Liz dives into ACLU-PA’s priority issues, including voting rights, free speech, and decarceration, and also talks about emerging issues th…

The impact that counties have on how we vote, where we vote, and even whether our vote is counted is enormous. On this episode, we hear from Beth Gilbert of Action Together NEPA and In This Together NEPA, where she is the voting and elections manager, and Marian Schneider, senior policy counsel for voting rights at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Beth an…

Historically, America’s public schools have been spaces where debates and resistance to civil liberties have played out. From racial integration to political protests, protecting the rights of students has been central to the story of constitutional rights.The times we’re in now are no different. In this episode, we hear from three advocates who ha…

In episode 83, we’re introducing our new executive director, Mike Lee. Mike joined ACLU-PA in January after serving for six years in the administration of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. In this conversation, Mike talks about what brought him to this moment leading the ACLU of Pennsylvania, his vision for the organization, and our pri…

In February, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced that he would continue the moratorium on executions started by his predecessor, Tom Wolf. Shapiro also went a step further than Wolf, calling on the legislature to repeal the death penalty in its entirety.Marc Bookman is the executive director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representatio…

Libraries are a critical institution for supporting the freedom to read and freedom of thought. In the United States, libraries have been terribly underfunded for years, and now they’re being targeted by extremist activists for fulfilling their fundamental mission - to promote access to ideas.Library Freedom Project is challenging that and working …

Pennsylvania’s 2023 primary election is right around the corner, on May 16, and with the delivery of mail and absentee ballots, voting is already underway. So the time is right to hear from Marian Schneider, ACLU-PA’s senior policy counsel for voting rights, and Khalif Ali, formerly of Common Cause PA and now with the New Pennsylvania Project. Mari…

It's 4/20! What was once a day of counter-cultural actions has gone mainstream. But we recognize it, nonetheless, especially since there are still big issues to tackle in cannabis policy, including the fact that upwards of 20,000 people are arrested per year for marijuana possession in Pennsylvania, disproportionately Black Pennsylvanians. In this …

The police tactic of stop-and-frisk is back in the news and has become a campaign issue in the 2023 elections in Philadelphia. Some candidates for mayor and for city council have suggested that escalating its use against pedestrians in the city should be on the table as a public safety measure.For 12 years, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and co-counsel f…

People serving extreme prison sentences or who may be out of prison but find their lives complicated and harmed by a past conviction can seek relief through clemency, the process in which a sentence is commuted or a conviction is pardoned. It's a long process that involves approval from both the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons and the governor.In thi…

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its own precedents and ruled that access to abortion is not a right guaranteed by the Constitution, five justices did something that the Supreme Court has rarely done - rolled back an existing guarantee of liberty.In this emergency episode of Speaking Freely, we hear from ACLU-PA Deputy Legal Director Sara Ros…

Episode 74 is part two of our discussion about cash bail. In this episode, we hear from Alex Domingos of ACLU-PA and the Dauphin County Bail Fund and Michelle Batt of the Lancaster Bail Fund. Alex and Michelle explain what a bail fund is and what role it plays in the work to end pretrial detention. As an activist in Lancaster County, Michelle also …

There are many public policies that have fed mass incarceration in Pennsylvania and in this country, from extreme sentencing to overpolicing to duplicate offenses that criminalize a single act. One of those policy choices is the commonwealth’s overuse of cash bail. On any given day, there are more than 30,000 people in Pennsylvania’s county jails. …

Happy 4/20 to all who celebrate! Since February, committees in the state Senate have held several hearings on ending prohibition and legalizing recreational cannabis, as bipartisan support for the idea slowly builds in the state legislature.So what does legalization look like? On this episode, we hear from Alison Holcomb, political director of the …

Students around the state returned to full-time, in-person this school year, and their return revealed yet again the need for supports that help them succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. Unfortunately, in this environment, some schools continue to rely on police to handle routine discipline. In this episode, ACLU-PA Community Advocate G…

In theory, a probation sentence in the criminal legal system should be an alternative to incarceration. The problem? In practice, it feeds mass incarceration, with restrictive rules that set people up for failure.In this episode, we hear from Dolly Prabhu, staff attorney for Abolitionist Law Center, and Kate Parker and Byron Cotter from the Defende…

2021 proved that the ACLU is as relevant as ever. The fights go on. In this episode, we hear from ACLU-PA Executive Director Reggie Shuford, who talks about the year that was and the year ahead in 2022. Reggie explains the issues we're prioritizing, the ongoing threats to democracy, and our commitment to living our values as an organization.…

Like other lawmakers in a handful of states, Pennsylvania Senate Republicans have initiated a sham review of the 2020 general election. On a party-line vote, a committee of the state Senate voted to subpoena the personally identifying information of all nine million registered voters in Pennsylvania. The subpoena demands voters' names, addresses, d…

The fight around abortion access has once again made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. And around the country, abortion liberation activists are unpacking what a ruling overturning Roe v. Wade or rolling back access could mean for the landscape of abortion health care. On this episode of Speaking Freely, we are joined by Elicia Gonzales, executive dire…

In August, staff at Central York High School were issued a long list of materials that could not be used in classroom instruction, per a ban by the district's board. What all of the resources had in common was that they were by or about people of color.After the situation became public in a story by the York Dispatch, students and staff at Central …

For a decade, the ACLU-PA has been part of the team monitoring how the Philadelphia police use stops and frisks of pedestrians on city streets. The monitoring process stems from the settlement of a 2010 lawsuit brought against the city by ten Black and Latinx men who were illegally stopped on account of their race.While there's been progress in the…

For approximately two decades, Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania has had a working agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold people in detention on ICE’s behalf. Under the leadership of presidents from both major political parties, the facility has held parents and children as young as newborns. Several years ago, a coalition of…

Eighteen years ago, after receiving a courtesy ride from a Philadelphia police officer, Nizah Morris, a Black trans woman, was found hit over the head. She died shortly after. After years of asking for police transparency and answers, Nizah's murder is still unsolved, and evidence from her case remains unavailable to the public. On this episode, we…

With the state budget deadline looming on June 30, this month is the busy season - or the silly season - at the PA General Assembly. Lawmakers are debating reproductive rights, voting rights, and the continued expansion of the criminal legal system. Here to discuss it all is ACLU-PA's legislative director, Elizabeth Randol.See how your state lawmak…

As more states legalize cannabis, including New York and New Jersey, Pennsylvania is at risk of being left behind, continuing to enforce an outdated, archaic prohibition regime that mixes up more than 20,000 people in the criminal legal system every year. In this episode, Yoko Miyashita explains the economic implications of legalization, including …

Deborah Archer is a professor at New York University School of Law, where she is the co-faculty director of the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law. She's also the new president of the ACLU, the eighth in the organization's history and the first Black person to serve in the role. In this conversation, Professor Archer discusses her vision for t…

On April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in B.L. v. Mahanoy Area School District. In 2017, a Mahanoy student was kicked off the junior varsity cheerleading team after she posted a "snap" on Snapchat that said "fuck school fuck softball fuck cheer fuck everything" while hanging out with a friend at a convenience store on a Saturday. R…

It's 4/20! And arrests for marijuana possession continue apace in Pennsylvania. Chris Goldstein of NORML joins the podcast and reviews the latest arrest data, celebrates progress on ending prohibition around the country, and talks about what the legalization movement can do differently.Chris on Twitter: [at]freedomisgreenChris's writing for NORML: …

Women from the ACLU of Pennsylvania discuss women's rights and the inclusion of BIPOC women and trans women in the movement for women's rights. This conversation was recorded as a Facebook Live on March 22, 2021, in celebration of Women's History Month.For more information about the ACLU of Pennsylvania, visit https://aclupa.org.…

In normal times, women who are incarcerated face a unique set of challenges that are different from men's. The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded those challenges. Ivy Johnson, Adrian Perry, and Dr. Jill McCorkel are members of the Incarcerated Women's Working Group, a coalition of 40 public interest organizations in Philadelphia advocating for women…

A proposal before the Pennsylvania General Assembly would completely upend how voters elect judges and justices to our state appeals courts. House Bill 38 is a proposed state constitutional amendment that would create geographical judicial districts, with each judge and justice on the state Superior, Commonwealth, and Supreme Courts representing th…

The civil liberties impact of the three crises of 2020 - the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial reckoning captured in the Black Lives Matter movement, and the election - cannot be overstated. In this episode, ACLU-PA Executive Director Reggie Shuford explains how the organization managed, survived, and thrived and takes a look ahead to 2021.ACLU-PA and …

40 people incarcerated in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections have died from COVID-19. 29 of them have died since October 15. As of December 7, there are 2,000 active cases among the DOC population.Robert Saleem Holbrook of Abolitionist Law Center joins the podcast to discuss the urgency of this moment and the failure of Governor Wolf's resp…

As part of the ACLU's Centennial celebration, the writers Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon published the book Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases. The book features 40 writers with each writing a chapter about a different ACLU case. Beyond a simple rehash of the cases, the writers explore their own connections…

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court hears arguments in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a challenge to the city's enforcement of its nondiscrimination ordinance in its contracts with foster care agencies. The city was sued by Catholic Social Services, which argues that it has a First Amendment right to discriminate against same-sex couples while fulfill…

ACLU-PA's election protection work has been at full speed for months. In this episode, Sara Mullen, advocacy and policy director; Vic Walczak, legal director; and Elizabeth Randol, legislative director, talk about what election protection means, what our team has been doing, and what it means for you as a voter.Trouble with voting? Call or text 866…

Marian Schneider served as deputy secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of State under Governor Wolf and has worked as a voting rights attorney for 15 years. In this episode, Marian answers some of the most common questions we hear about voting.Know your rights when voting by visiting our website, aclupa.org/vote. And if you have trouble voting…

Election season is here, and Alexa Grant of Common Cause PA and Donnell Drinks of ACLU-PA fill us in on some of the things you need to know before you vote.Know your rights: aclupa.org/voteRegister, check your registration, find your polling place: votesPA.comCommon Cause PA online: commoncause.org/pennsylvaniaVolunteer to be a voting ambassador: a…

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that discrimination in the workplace against LGBQ&T people is a form of sex discrimination. What does the ruling mean for people in Pennsylvania? And what is the additional work that needs to be done to be sure that prohibitions on discrimination are comprehensive? For this episode, we hear from Naiymah Sanchez…

State government can have profound impacts on Pennsylvanians' lives, for better and for worse. On this episode, ACLU-PA Legislative Director Elizabeth Randol talks about her work lobbying the state Legislature on civil liberties, how probation reform turned into probation deform, and legislators' responses to the crisis in policing. She also gives …

In the last 20 years, the presence of police officers in schools has increased dramatically, to the detriment of the lives and futures of students. The harm of police in schools has particular impact on students of color, with disabilities, and of limited income. In this episode, we hear from Harold Jordan, senior policy advocate for ACLU-PA, who h…

What does it mean to divest in police? Paige Fernandez, policing policy advisor for national ACLU, joins the podcast to talk about how we change the police by shrinking their size, scope, and power and why reform didn't work.Defunding the police will actually make us saferBy Paige Fernandez, ACLUhttps://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/defundi…

The Philadelphia Bail Fund works to put itself out of business by ending the use of cash bail and pretrial punishment. Malik Neal, co-founder and director of the Philadelphia Bail Fund, explains the organization's work, how it supports people who are detained pretrial and their families, and the lessons he's learned about the criminal legal system …

The ACLU is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2020. To continue the celebration, we hear in this episode from Vic Walczak, ACLU-PA's legal director, about some of the cases that have cemented our legacy as the leading defender of civil liberties in the commonwealth.Af ACLU of Pennsylvania

Content warning: This episode includes the use of a racial slur in the context of discussing the history of race baiting by advocates for marijuana prohibition.Happy 4/20! In this episode, we hear from Patrick Nightingale, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor, and executive director of Pittsburgh NORML. Patrick discusses the state of reform…

The civil liberties implications of the current public health crisis are significant. Hear from ACLU-PA's Reggie Shuford, Vic Walczak, and Nyssa Taylor about how we've been responding.Find the latest news about ACLU-PA's responses to the pandemic at www.aclupa.org/covid-19.Take action to urge Governor Wolf to use his executive powers to release peo…

In a pandemic, it is as critical as ever to know your voting rights. In our second live podcast, we hear from Eileen Olmsted of the League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh and Sara Rose of ACLU-PA, covering a wide range of topics, including Pennsylvania's new vote-by-mail option and voting with a criminal record.Visit the Pennsylvania Departme…