News & Commentary

Failure to reduce jail population is the Achilles heel for the efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska is urging state leaders to improve the collection and reporting of aggregated race, ethnicity, and other demographic data of COVID-19 infections and deaths after several states revealed disturbingly dipropionate rates of death for Black individuals.

The ACLU of Alaska is attempting to work with the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) to reduce the risk of spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 in state jails and prisons. In a letter sent to Department Commissioner Nancy Dahlstrom, the ACLU of Alaska details a series of necessary steps corrections officials must take to ensure the health and safety of some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.

The Dunleavy Administration has attacked a woman’s constitutionally protected access to abortion TWICE this week. In addition to an abortion ban, he also submitted a second line-item budget veto to the Alaska Court System to continue to punish the Courts for defending a woman’s constitutionally protected right to choose.

In light of health and safety measures taken by the Alaska Court System in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the April 15 oral argument in the ACLU of Alaska’s lawsuit against Governor Michael J. Dunleavy has been vacated. Superior Court Judge Jennifer Henderson is expected to rule without holding any further hearings.

The ACLU of Alaska offered guidance to Anchorage officials, as the Municipality takes restrictive measures to help combat the spread of COVID-19. Anyone with concerns or problems regarding these new measures should contact [email protected].

ANCHORAGE —Alaska leaders should heed public health experts’ advice and immediately release individuals in detention who are at high risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19, and urgently implement a series of proactive measures to ensure the safety of those interacting with the criminal legal system during the pandemic, ACLU of Alaska Policy Director Triada Stampas wrote in a letter to Governor Michael Dunleavy and Chief Justice Joel Bolger. In order to quickly identify issues related to COVID-19, the ACLU of Alaska has launched a new hotline, [email protected], for Alaskans to report conditions in the criminal legal system that create heightened risk.

We're actively monitoring how COVID-19 and reactions to it may impact civil liberties. Every member of our team is dedicated to ensuring this work continues, we know our democracy depends on it.  

ANCHORAGE – The ACLU of Alaska has taken the next step to ensure that the integrity of the independent judiciary, and the Constitutional guarantee of the separation of powers is upheld in the State of Alaska. On February 21, 2020, the ACLU of Alaska asked the court to rule on Governor Michael Dunleavy’s unprecedented decision to reduce the FY 20 Alaska Court System funding in retaliation for an Alaska Supreme Court ruling at odds with his own personal beliefs.