The South Carolina National Office of the ACLU
Our State’s Guardian of Freedom

MISSION

The ACLU of South Carolina’s National Office is dedicated to preserving the civil liberties enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Through communications, lobbying and litigation, the ACLU South Carolina’s National Office works to preserve and enhance the rights of all citizens of South Carolina. Foremost among these rights are freedom of speech and religion, the right to equal treatment under law, and the right to privacy. 

EVENT: Law & Society Symposium, Charleston, SC

The 2nd Annual Law & Society Symposium, presented by Charleston Law Review and The Riley Institute at Furman, will be held February 18-19, 2010. On the 19th at 4:00 PM, Victoria Middleton, Executive Director of the ACLU South Carolina National Office will moderate a panel on Juvenile Justice: Schools as Pipelines to Prison. If you are interested in receiving more information on the Symposium, please contact us.

ACLU INVESTIGATION SUGGESTS PERSISTENCE OF PROBLEMS IN STATE JUVENILE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

January 20, 2010. An investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU South Carolina Office has revealed major problems with the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice that compromise both the well-being of juveniles and the public’s safety.

Based on department documents obtained by the ACLU in recent months under the Freedom of Information Act, the ongoing investigation raises serious concerns about current conditions at juvenile detention facilities., including staff abuse, dangerously low numbers of staff and unacceptably high levels of juvenile violence.

In a letter sent Tuesday to William R. Byars, Jr., director of the state’s juvenile justice department, the ACLU highlights a number of serious problems that call for immediate attention.

Additionally, the documents obtained by the ACLU show that over a third of the youth in juvenile detention facilities in South Carolina have been detained for low-level offenses, and that more than a half of the referrals to the juvenile justice department come under the state’s “disturbing schools” statute. Full press release.

A copy of the ACLU’s letter to William R. Byars, Jr., director of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice is available online.

ACLU URGES STATE SUPREME COURT TO AFFIRM RIGHT OF COUNSEL FOR INDIGENTS

The American Civil Liberties Union's South Carolina Office has joined other prominent national advocacy groups in filing a brief with the state Supreme Court on behalf of an Oconee County resident sentenced to one year in prison without first being given the opportunity to be represented by a lawyer. 

"Every day in South Carolina, poor defendants like Michael Turner are forced to represent themselves in Family Court on pain of imprisonment," said Susan K. Dunn, staff attorney with the ACLU South Carolina Office. "Often the courts fail to determine the defendant's ability to pay the support obligation. Indigent defendants who are locked up for nonpayment of support without court appointed counsel languish in modern-day debtors' prisons after being subjected to proceedings lacking basic due process."

Other organizations involved in the filing of today's brief are: the Brennan Center for Justice, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), and the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (SCACDL).  Click here for full text of the press release.

ACLU PROMOTES CHARLESTON HUMAN RIGHTS ORDINANCE

In November 2009, we partnered with SC Equality, the Lowcountry-based Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA), SC Log Cabin Republicans, and SC Stonewall Democrats in urging the Charleston City Council to enact a Human Rights Ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing and public accommodation. This overdue civil rights recognition passed easily, and makes Charleston the second city in South Carolina (after Columbia) to pass an HRO protecting the civil liberties of LGBT citizens. AFFA Press Release.

ACLU SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE NEWS