Tag: ACLU
Rascovar: 2015’s ‘Dumb and Dumber Award’
Before we get too far into the New Year, let’s dispense with the Maryland political maneuver deemed as the low point of 2015: Civil rights advocacy groups waited till the very end of the year to file the worst and most counter-productive legal complaint that’s been filed in a long, long time. The groups, including the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union, are essentially suing Gov. Larry Hogan administratively for daring to kill the $2.9 billion Red Line rapid rail route through Baltimore. Their reasoning: Hogan made a racially discriminatory decision that harms African Americans in Baltimore City. Not only is the complaint historically inaccurate, it is pointless and damaging to their cause.
Read MoreMarijuana paraphernalia a sticky issue under new bill
The recent move to remove criminal penalties for 10 grams of marijuana or less has been heralded by its supporters as radical reform that would save state money, and alleviate a significant portion of drug-related arrests, which are racially imbalanced.
But a hole in that legislation — one that remains unaddressed — is that drug paraphernalia remains criminal.
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Dueling bills aim to help illegal immigrants or to punish them
State lawmakers are considering bills that would decide whether local police should help the federal government detain suspected illegal immigrants for deportation. Two delegates from opposite parties are advocating two completely different approaches to address how extensively local law enforcement agencies should cooperate with a federal program that identifies people for deportation as soon as they are arrested.
Read MoreHigh incarceration rates punish taxpayers as well, panelists say
Law enforcement, policymakers and justice advocates said Monday that excessive incarceration of blacks and other people of color is not only a moral injustice but doesn’t make economic sense for taxpayers. The Maryland State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights met in Annapolis to hear testimony on the disproportionate number of blacks incarcerated in Maryland and across the nation and its associated costs.
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