Press Releases

ACLU of Alaska files second lawsuit against the Alaska Department of Corrections for death in custody

Lewis Jordan, Jr. died of bacterial meningitis after symptoms and pleas for help were deliberately ignored by DOC staff in 2023.
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform

ACLU of Alaska files new lawsuit challenging Municipality of Anchorage’s abatement practices

The Municipality plans to abate an encampment despite every shelter space, including the warming center, being at capacity

State court rules Alaska Division of Elections is not required to implement a notice-and-cure system for absentee ballots

On Friday, the Alaska Superior Court denied a motion filed on behalf of the League of Women Voters, Arctic Village Council, and two individual Alaskans who asserted that the state violated the due process rights of voters.
Issue Areas: Voting Rights

ACLU of Alaska responds to election of Donald Trump

Mara Kimmel, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska, reacts to the announcement of the presidential election for Donald Trump.

Northern Justice Project, ACLU of Alaska settle banned book litigation with the Mat-Su Borough School District

Mat-Su Borough School District will pay $89,000 for unconstitutional removal of 56 book titles from district libraries.

ACLU of Alaska uncovers massive HIPAA violation by the Alaska Department of Corrections

DOC’s electronic health system training website has shared the personal health information of at least 70 currently or formerly incarcerated Alaskans.
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform

Alaska Court permanently strikes down unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers

A Superior Court in Alaska has permanently blocked a law preventing advanced practice clinicians (APCs) — such as physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives — from providing medication and aspiration abortion, even when they are within the APCs’ scope of practice.
Issue Areas: Reproductive Rights

ACLU of Alaska files motion for preliminary injunction in lawsuit over transgender bathroom rights for Mat-Su Borough students

On Wednesday, the ACLU of Alaska filed a motion for preliminary injunction in X.A. v. Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) to restore the rights of transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity while the case is ongoing.  
Issue Areas: LGBTQIA2S+ Rights

Northern Justice Project, ACLU of Alaska win preliminary injunction ordering Mat-Su Borough School District to return removed books to school libraries by August 14

On Tuesday, August 6th, Judge Gleason of the U.S. District Court of Alaska ordered that the Mat-Su Borough School District return all but 7 of the 56 books it removed in April 2023 to its shelves by August 14, 2024, a day before the start of school.  
Issue Areas: Free Speech