News & Commentary

This morning, the ACLU of Alaska, the ACLU's Racial Justice Program, and Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman, LLP filed suit against the City of Nome, Alaska and the former law enforcement officials who, in a display of systemic bias against Alaska Native women, failed to investigate hundreds of sexual assaults reported to the Nome Police Department, including Clarice "Bun" Hardy's.

The 31st Legislative Session is underway in Alaska's coastal capital and tension is already building, as pressure to solve Alaska's fiscal crisis increases with a proposed budget from Governor Michael Dunleavy that drains Alaska's savings and has divided lawmakers, some of whom are looking at earnings from the permanent fund to help reduce the deficit.

Currently, thousands of families are living in the same state of uncertainly and with the fear that they’ll never been reunited with the ones they love. Detainees are most often housed in for-profit detention centers, and forced to live in brutal, inhumane conditions of confinement.

This morning, the ACLU of Alaska sent a demand letter to Governor Michael J. Dunleavy, on behalf of former Alaska State Council on the Arts Visual and Literary Arts Program Director, Keren Lowell. Ms. Lowell lost her job after the governor eliminated the Council as part of a series of unprecedented budget cuts. When funding was restored weeks later, Ms. Lowell was denied rehire in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment rights.

The complaint was filed against Gov. Dunleavy following his unprecedented attempt to strongarm the independent judiciary by vetoing $334,700 from the Alaska Court System. Governor Dunleavy issued his veto to punish the Alaska Supreme Court for its February ruling that low-income women have the c

The ACLU of Alaska is teaming up with a few brilliant local artists to honor Transgender Awareness Month, and to stand in solidarity in the fight for equality. On Sunday, Nov. 24, Anchorage’s own Quinn Christopherson will headline the celebration at 49th State Brewing Company.

The Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) partially fulfilled the ACLU of Alaska’s Oct. 24 public records request. The records provided show that several DOC facilities have been exceeding emergency capacity standards, compromising safety, sanitation, and rehabilitation. The information provided in the Nov. 5 response included the daily count of inmates, by facility and sentencing status, between Sept. 1, 2018 and Oct. 15, 2019.

The ACLU of Alaska will be back in court on Tuesday fighting against Governor Michael Dunleavy’s unconstitutional court system vetoes. The Nov. 5, 2019 oral arguments are the next step in our fight to protect the Alaska Constitution and the integrity of the state’s independent judiciary.

Today, the ACLU of Alaska sent a letter to the state Department of Corrections (DOC) expressing our profound concerns regarding critical levels of overcrowding in state institutions. As a result, we’re also seeking public records documenting prison population by facility and written documentation about plans to open the gutted former prison, the Palmer Correctional Center (PCC).