Whoever Becomes President, D.C. Must Be Ready to Defend Our Right to Protest
History has taught us that D.C. residents must be ready to protect our fundamental right to protest, regardless of whom voters elect president.
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Five ways the First Amendment protects your speech – and three ways it does not
D.C. has long been a critical venue for people to express their views, as a place with 700,000 local residents and as the site of the federal government. Here's what to know about our First Amendment rights in...
D.C. Has a Police Abuse Problem
Police abuse in the District causes significant harm, costs millions of dollars, and undermines the whole justice system. It’s clearly time for District leaders to invest in police accountability solutions.
Latest Press Releases
ACLU-D.C. Responds to MPD Statement About Stop and Frisk Data
"District leaders need to rethink how stop-and-frisk practices impact community trust and public safety. It's time to adopt a policing approach that effectively serves all residents.”
New ACLU Report on D.C. Stop-and-Frisk Data Reveals Racial Disparities Consistent with Racial Bias
“Instead of leaning into harmful and ineffective policing, the District should build a public safety system that protects us from bias, increases trust in government, and keeps all our communities safe.”
Lawsuit Challenging Armed Police Response to Mental Health Emergencies in Washington, D.C. to Proceed
“This ruling moves us one step closer to bringing essential, life-saving emergency mental health care to D.C. communities."
D.C. Statehood Now
ACLU-D.C. has been working to make D.C. statehood a reality. As proponents of civil rights and civil liberties, statehood is a key issue for us because 700,000 people living in D.C. – most of whom are Black and brown – are denied basic rights without statehood.
In the Courts
One of the main ways ACLU-D.C. works to protect civil liberties and civil rights is through litigation.
We litigate in the federal courts and in the local courts, and at every level: from D.C. Superior Court to the Supreme Court of the United States. Sometimes we’re able to solve a problem by just writing a letter.
Bread for the City v. District of Columbia – Challenging Discrimination in Mental Health Emergency Response Services
When people in D.C. call 911 for a mental health emergency, it’s generally a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who responds. The District’s reliance on police as its default first responders for mental health emergencies is not only unfair and unsafe but also unlawful.
Bread for the City v. District of Columbia – Challenging Discrimination in Mental Health Emergency Response Services 
