The American Civil Liberties Union

"any" is not the right word, i suspect. they choose their cases, as they cannot fight EVERY civil rights issue.my family actually applied for the aclu to help us in a case, regarding a right protected in the fifth amendment:

quote:

---

No person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ...

---

my little brother acted up in school, and ran out of his classroom and on to the playground. from their a police officer was called, who then decided to baker act him, "for his own safety." now, i'm sure school playground equipment is dangerous, but that's not the intention of the baker act, which allows private citizens to recommend people they know for a forced psychological examination, if they have suspicion they are going to intentionally harm themselves or others (as in suicide or homicide). this is markedly different from a school child on a playground or acting up in school.since the local children's health center has closed due to funding problems (thanks jeb!) he was shipped off about an hour north, in an ambulance, to a psychological health center and was detained for three days. our parents were not allowed to retreive him.now, a school acts as a governmental representative. and a schoolchild, as crash pointed out, does not give up their rights on school ground. essentially, the government detained my brother for a period of three days, without a warrant, under a misuse of the baker act. they did this solely as punishment, and threatened to do it again. this is not the sort of punishment that schools should be doling out, there are lots of other options which would be preferable to detaining a child against his and his parents' wills for three days: suspension, explusion, phoning the parents, sending the kid to office. hell, even taking the kid to the police station until his parents can pick him up.we petitioned the aclu to take our case against the school system, as we could not afford legal representation. they basically told us that we'd need a lawyer first, and then they would help. didn't seem right to me.

---

אָרַח

I thank you for this post, and it's no surprise to me that you've quoted Scalia a lot in these rulings. He's almost single-handedly (along with his lackey Thomas) led the effort to tear down civil rights in this country; for individuals, at least.

i don't really like it either, usually. in this case, even if he DOES have a point, it still doesn't apply to the situation originally being discussed: the school was WAY out of bounds.

---

אָרַח

I got into an argument with a friend of mine over the ACLU and the cases they handle regarding religious freedoms. I know there are a a bunch of cases where they strictly defended Christian freedom of religion but I can't find a good reference that lists all the cases on the web anywhere.Anytime I type "aclu religious cases" all I get is a couple thousands hits all about the stupid 10 commandment issue. The main ACLU site dosen't seem to have an easily accessible list of historical cases. Can someone point me in the direction of a good list of their cases in particular the ones regard religious freedoms.The sooner the better. I want to call my buddy on his BS.

---

FOX has a pretty good system they have cooked up. 10 mil people watch the show on the network, FOX. Then 5 mil, different people, tune into FOX News to get outraged by it. I just hope that those good, God fearing people at FOX continue to battle those morally bankrupt people at FOX.
-- Lewis Black, The Daily Show

I don't have a comprehensive list by any means but here are a few of the Pro-Christian cases. Following Threat of ACLU of Virginia Lawsuit, Officials to Agree Not to Ban Baptisms in Public Parks (06/03/2004)After ACLU Intervention on Behalf of Christian Valedictorian, Michigan High School Agrees to Stop Censoring Religious Yearbook Entries (05/11/2004)Following ACLU Lawsuit, Town Officials Settle Lawsuit Over Denial of Zoning Permit to Pittsburgh Area Church (04/19/2004)Pennsylvania Superior Court Rules: Amish Can Stick With Reflective Tape on Buggies (10/21/2003)In Win for Rev. Falwell (and the ACLU), Judge Rules VA Must Allow Churches to Incorporate (04/17/2002)Nevada Officials Drop Plan to License and Fingerprint Clergy (12/29/2000)ACLU Hails Plans to Sign Religious Freedom Bill into Law (09/22/2000)ACLU and 18 Texas Families Sue to Stop 'Prove Your Religion' School Uniform Policy (03/16/2000)

---

Aslan is not a Tame Lion

DDuupplliiccaatt ppoossttThis message has been edited by jar, 05-20-2005 09:54 PM

---

Aslan is not a Tame Lion