SENATE RESOLUTION 15

(By Senator Lindsay)

[Introduced January 23, 2020]

Recognizing the Contributions of the American Civil Liberties Union to American jurisprudence and West Virginia on its centennial anniversary.

Whereas, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was formed in 1920, and has successfully litigated hundreds of cases at the United States Supreme Court, as well as federal and state courts; and

Whereas, The ACLU’s litigation has resulted in numerous landmark cases, defining a broad array of rights.  These cases include: Gitlow v. New York—incorporating the protections of the 1st Amendment to the states; Patterson v. Alabama—holding that excluding African-Americans from a jury denied defendants of a fair trial; Brown v. Board of Education—ending segregation in the schools; Gideon v. Wainwright—establishing the right to a state-appointed attorney for indigent defendants; New York Times v. Sullivan—protecting the press from defamation suits;  Miranda v. Arizona—establishing that criminal defendants must be notified of their right against self-incrimination and to counsel before being interrogated; Brandenburg v. Ohio—confirming the right to political advocacy unless there is a direct incitement to lawless activity; In re: Gault—establishing due process rights for juveniles; Loving v. Virginia—ending the bans on interracial marriage; Reed v. Reed—one of the first decisions prohibiting sex-based discrimination under the equal protection clause; O’Connor v. Donaldson—prohibiting involuntary commitment of nondangerous people who can survive safely with the help of family or friends; McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission—affirming the right to anonymous political speech; Citizens United v. FEC—affirming the rights of political speech; and Obergeffel v. Hodges—ending prohibitions on same-sex marriage, among many others; and

Whereas, The ACLU has over 1.8 million members nationwide and over 2,100 dues-paying members in West Virginia, and one of the first actions of the ACLU in 1920 and 1921 was to help organize and protect the right to freely associate of West Virginia miners.  A West Virginia affiliate of the ACLU was founded, and has been in operation, since 1971; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate:

That the Senate recognizes the contributions of the American Civil Liberties Union to American jurisprudence and to West Virginia on its centennial anniversary; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the appropriate representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union.