A Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of a challenge to misleading terms in the proposed ballot title for an initiative that would roll back state protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation. The challenge was brought by the ACLU and the Northwest Women’s Law Center and the Greater Seattle Business Association. Read More »

The ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a case that involves whether public schools must release the names of teachers who have been accused of sexual misconduct when the allegations are not substantiated. The ACLU maintained that the schools should protect the identity of those teachers, and the Washington Supreme Court agreed with that position, overturning a ruling by the Court of Appeals. Read More »

Three library users and a nonprofit organization brought suit to ensure that patrons of a library system in Eastern Washington have access to useful and lawful information on the Internet. The lawsuit challenges the library system’s rigid policy of using a very restrictive Internet filter to bar access to information on its computers and of refusing to honor requests by adult patrons to temporarily disable the filter for sessions of uncensored reading and research. Read More »

The Washington Supreme Court ruled that the state's Equal Access to Justice Act allows the awarding of attorney fees at each level of judicial review. It agreed with a friend-of-the court brief submitted by the ACLU, the Northwest Justice Project, and the Northwest Women's Law Center. The high court's ruling ensures that the Act will work as intended – to help people seeking legal redress who might otherwise be deterred by the cost of litigation. Read More »