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home > legal work
Legal Advocacy
The ACLU of Utah seeks to address civil liberties problems without having
to rely on litigation. Below are letters we have written on a variety
of issues in which we attempted to resolve reported grievances outside
of the courtroom.
3/21/08: The ACLU of Utah advocates on behalf of pregnant inmate subjected to remote control taser device.
10/10/07: ACLU of Utah urges Congressman Matheson to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
8/27/07: ACLU of Utah advises Eastmont Middle School of
inappropriate religious material in its school yearbook; and
applauds principal’s positive response
6/27/07: ACLU of Utah advocates for Jordan High School student’s due process rights
10/11/06: ACLU of Utah asks the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to clarify whether it gives religious preferences in hiring
9/20/06: In a letter to UDOT, the ACLU of Utah outlines veteran’s First Amendment right to solicit support for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq by walking the length of U.S. 89 (Read UDOT’s response)
9/6/06: Sandy City ordinance revised to protect First Amendment rights
6/8/06: ACLU of Utah writes Kanab mayor about the lack of Fourth Amendment protections in the city’s new animal control ordinance
12/14/05:
Uintah School District agrees
student dress code policies cannot rely on outdated gender stereotypes
(Read our letter to Uintah High
School)
12/8/05:
ACLU of Utah advocates on behalf
of a high school student who was turned away from her homecoming dance
because she wasn't wearing a dress, despite the fact that she was wearing
formal attire. (Read Uintah
School District’s response.)
10/20/05:
ACLU of Utah writes a letter on
behalf of Utah high school student who was told to change gay-friendly
t-shirt.
7/19/05: The Utah State Tax Commission approves personalized license plates with gay-positive messages. (Read the ACLU of Utah’s April appeal of the Tax Commission’s initial decision to deny these plates.)
4/15/05:
Letter to Provo High School regarding
the right of same-sex couples to participate in annual prom and promenade.
4/14/05: Open
letter to a Utah State University professor in which the ACLU of Utah
maintains that Amendment 3 should not be interpreted to prohibit benefits
to dependents of gay and lesbian faculty and staff.
4/5/05: ACLU
of Utah appeals the Utah State Tax Commission’s denial of personalized
license plates expressing gay-positive viewpoints. (Read the Tax
Commission’s July decision to approve the plates.)
4/4/05:
ACLU of Utah requests information
from the Davis Metro Narcotics Strike Force about that agency’s
January 21 “knock and talk.”
2/17/05: In
an open letter to a state employee, the ACLU of Utah outlines her rights
to hang a DRAC flag in her office space and the unconstitutionality of
Utah’s Abuse of Flag statute.
12/20/04:
Letter to the U.S. Army Recruiting
Office regarding a sign at an army recruiting booth implying the army
will pay for religious missions. On February 7, 2005, we were contacted
by the attorney at the army recruiting office in Fort Knox, Kentucky who
had been assigned to investigate the situation. He determined that the
sign was not appropriate and assured us that the army would stop using
it.
12/7/04:
Letter
to Copper Hills High School regarding its school dances policy.
11/8/04:
Letter to Spanish Fork regarding
its discriminatory rule prohibiting females from wrestling males in
an upcoming tournament.
9/24/04: Letter
to Provo City regarding its “Time-Off to Vote” policy.
We received a call from a Provo city employee concerned that he would
be denied his statutory right to time off from work to cast his vote on
Election Day. Our letter to a Provo City attorney received a tepid response,
and we passed the matter over to the Assistant Attorney General who works
on election issues. As a result, Provo is now re-examining its policy.
8/24/04:
Letters to Orem City, Riverdale,
Roy City, and Weber
County regarding their unconstitutional campaign sign ordinances.
7/21/04:
Letter to the
Lehi Police Department regarding its record release policy. In denying
Ronnie Sorensen’s request for the initial police contact report involving
her son, the Lehi Police Department did not follow the requirements
outlined in Utah’s open records law. Within a week of receiving the
ACLU of Utah’s letter, the police department contacted Ms. Sorensen
and provided her with a copy of the requested records.
5/11/04:
Letter to Hillcrest High School and the
Jordan School District regarding the school’s disciplinary actions against
a group of students who wore t-shirts proclaiming “Queers Kick
Ash” to school (the names of the students have been removed
to protect their identities).
3/11/04: Letter
to Murray High School regarding its actions prohibiting a lesbian student
couple from joining other couples in the “grand promenade”
at their Junior Prom. After the ACLU of Utah wrote the letter, the
district relented and opened the promenade to all couples.
3/7/04: Letter
to Salem City regarding the use of government resources to sponsor and
promote LDS Church activities.
2/20/04: Letter
to the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center regarding the detention of minors
without parental notification.
11/18/03:
Formal request pursuant
to the Utah Government Records and Management Act (GRAMA) to allow inspection
and copying of the public records held by the Utah Department of Public
Safety regarding the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange
(MATRIX).
10/3/03:
Letter
to Judge Kevin Christensen regarding Trent M. Brown and unpaid fine
for citations including illegal dumping, parking a trailer, and a violation
of UDOT right of way.
9/30/03:
Letter to Rick Dinse,
Salt Lake City Chief of Police regarding the appeal of a Governmental
Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) request.
8/18/03:
Letter to Midway
Elementary School regarding the harassment of a student with disabilities
resulting from brain tumor surgery.
9/11/03: Letter
to the Salt Lake City Police Department regarding a request under the
Governmental Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA).
6/20/03:
Letter to Logan High School regarding
its student Gay/Straight Alliance.
6/3/03:
Letter to the Salt Lake City Council regarding
the mayor’s proposal to abandon the public’s rights on the
Main Street Plaza.
5/12/03: Letter
to Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard regarding vehicle checkpoints
and the recently decided case Utah v. Abell.
3/11/03:
Letter to Virgin City Mayor regarding
the appeal of its denial of a GRAMA request.
2/3/03: Letter
to Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control regarding the Government Records
Access and Management Act (GRAMA).
12/17/02:
ACLU comments on Mayor Anderson’s proposed restrictions
for the Main Street plaza.
11/6/02: The
ACLU of Utah challenges fees for speaking at Virgin town council meetings.
10/18/02:
The ACLU of Utah writes Salt Lake City officials
about Main Street Plaza restrictions.
10/15/02:
The ACLU of Utah objects to Mayor Anderson’s closed-door
meeting to discuss the future of the Main Street Plaza easement.
7/1/02: In
a letter to the Utah Supreme Court, the ACLU of Utah outlines the effects
of Alabama v. Shelton.
6/10/02: ACLU
of Utah sends a letter to Governor Leavitt and GRAMA requests to the 8th
District Drug Court and Uintah County Jail in order to address due process
concerns posed by the drug court’s testing facilities.
5/28/02: ACLU
of Utah Asks Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Department About Memorial Day
Checkpoints.
4/4/02: ACLU
of Utah Sends Public Records Request to Get Copies of Videotapes of Olympic
Legal Observers.
4/3/02: ACLU
of Utah Asks Davis County to Address Searches of Legal Observers.
3/5/02: ACLU
of Utah Claims LaVerkin Referendum Petition is Insufficient.
1/9/02: ACLU
of Utah Writes Salt Lake City Police Department and UOPSC About Legal
Observers During the Winter Olympic Games.
12/5/01: ACLU
of Utah Contacts the Airport Hilton Hotel on Behalf of Guest Who Experienced
Racial Discrimination During Her Stay.
11/30/01:
ACLU of Utah Responds to Summit County.
11/29/01:
ACLU of Utah Asks Salt Lake City to Clarify the
Scope of the "Rules of Conduct" at Gateway.
10/12/01:
ACLU of Utah Asks Summit County to Clarify Its
Free Speech Plans.
8/10/01: Letter
to Mayor Ross Anderson Asking for Clarification of Salt Lake City’s Proposal
to Accommodate Free Speech Activities During the Olympic Games.
7/17/01: ACLU
of Utah Asks the LaVerkin City Council to Repeal the United Nations Free
Zone Ordinance.
10/16/00:
Letter to the University of Utah Requesting Information
Regarding their Permit Process.
5/26/99: The
ACLU of Utah Sends a Second Letter to City Attorney Roger Cutler, Salt
Lake Mayor Corradini, and Council Members Outlining the Legal Problems
with the Main Street Reservation of Easement.
5/5/99: The
ACLU of Utah Sends a Letter to Salt Lake Mayor Corradini and Council Members
about Unconstitutional Restrictions in the Main Street Redevelopment Plan.
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