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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland filed a lawsuit challenging the practice as an unconstitutional violation of free speech and illegal under Maryland's public transparency through "gag orders" that silence victims of police abuse as a condition of resolving their cases.

A 2014 case in which four Salisbury University students sued the city of Salisbury and one officer with the Salisbury Police Department (SPD), alleging police brutality, excessive force, illegal seizure, detention and arrest. The lawsuit also alleged that SPD personnel confiscated surveillance footage and creative fictional narratives to cover up what happened. In 2015, the court concluded that the plaintiffs sufficiently proved illegal patterns and practices by the SPD to allow the case to move forward. In 2016, the case was settled, but all details of the settlement, including the amount of the award, were withheld from the press and public.  When the ACLU of Maryland and the Real News Network filed a Maryland Public Information Act request seeking documents about the settlement, the City rebuffed the request, claiming that neither it nor the SPD had any documentation regarding the settlement. This lack of transparency has caused at least one of the student plaintiffs to question whether SPD was holding its officers accountable for their actions, though he is silenced by the gag order that governs the settlement and risks losing his award if he speaks out.

Date filed

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Court

Circuit Court for Baltimore City
Attorney(s):
Crowell and Moring LLP, the ACLU of Maryland

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Thursday, June 29, 2017 - 5:30pm

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The complaint alleges that Chief Sewell's dismissal on July 1, 2015, was motivated by his refusal to terminate Officer Savage and Officer Green, who had previously filed discrimination complaints with the EEOC. Officer Savage was fired following Chief Sewell's dismissal. In what a July 18 Washington Post story headlined "Racial turmoil in Md.'s ‘Friendliest Town'," the city's actions have attracted widespread opposition from the community's residents and extensive local and national media coverage. Members of the local community questioned the transparency and legality of Chief Sewell's termination, and held several rallies to defend his position.

The lawsuit alleges numerous causes of action on behalf of the plaintiffs due to the race-based discrimination and retaliation they endured, which are "clearly prohibited by federal and state laws as well as [the] Constitution." The asserted causes of action include those involving the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

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Date filed

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Court

United States District Court for the District of Maryland: Northern Division

Case number

Case 1:16-cv-00201-JFM
Attorney(s):
Wiley Rein LLP, Washington Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and the ACLU of Maryland

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Date

Wednesday, March 16, 2016 - 5:15pm

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Police Practices Racial Justice Civil Rights

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A federal lawsuit was filed in February 2017 challenging President Trump's Muslim ban executive order, charging it violates the Constitution - including the First Amendment's prohibition of government establishment of religion and the Fifth Amendment's guarantees of equal treatment under the law - and federal laws.

The lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Maryland, and National Immigration Law Center on behalf of HIAS and the International Refugee Assistance Project at the Urban Justice Center, along with individuals, including U.S. citizens, impacted by the ban. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

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PRESS RELEASES


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It has been 365 days since President Trump signed Executive Order 13769, his first Muslim ban. To mark the anniversary, we invited people to share how the ban affects their lives. Stories poured in from the United States and abroad; of families separated, weddings postponed, and lives uprooted. This is one of the many stories of people affected by the Muslim ban.

 

    Date filed

    Tuesday, February 7, 2017
    Attorney(s):
    The ACLU Foundation; The National Immigration Law Center; The ACLU of Maryland

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    Tuesday, February 7, 2017 - 12:00am

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    Two Muslim Women

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    Immigrants' Rights Racial Justice Due Process Religious Liberty

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