BALLOT PETITION HITS
FIREWALL IN OKLAHOMA

In a significant blow to a national effort to curtail equal opportunity in America, backers of a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution that would end equal access and opportunity programs in the state asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court on April 4, 2008 to withdraw the measure from consideration. The move comes after supporters of the so-called Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative failed to collect a sufficient number of valid signatures needed to get the proposal on this November's ballot. (Click here to view entire story.)
 

VOTER ID BILL FAILS IN OKLAHOMA SENATE

Senate Bill 1150 failed to garner the 25 votes needed on May 14, 2008 to require Oklahomans to provide proof of identity in order to vote. SB 1150, authored by Senator John Ford, would have required Oklahomans to provide a photo ID, bank statement, government check, or pay check the next time they went to the polls.
(Click here to view entire story.)

ACLU  SUES TO PROTECT EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Oklahoma voters filed a protest on March 7, 2008 before the state Supreme Court challenging irregularities and questionable practices in the collection of signatures by the so-called Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative. The initiative is one of a series of ballot measures that California businessman Ward Connerly and his organization known as the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) have spearheaded across the country.
 
“When equal opportunity and the civil rights of our residents are at stake, it is critically important that the electoral process is fair, transparent and honest,” said Chuck Thornton, Legal Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. “We are confident that this review will confirm what has already been discovered – the signature-gathering process was riddled with errors.”  (Click here to view entire story.)
 

GOVERNOR HENRY'S VETO OF ABORTION BILL
IS VICTIM OF LEGISLATIVE OVERRIDE

Governor Brad Henry issued a veto of Senate Bill 1878,an Omnibus Anti-Abortion Bill on the evening of Wednesday April 16, 2008.  The Oklahoma State Senate voted 37-11 to override the veto on Thursday, April 17, 2008.  Less than an hour later, the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 81-15 to override.  (Click here to view entire story.)

TEN COMMANDMENTS APPEAL
ARGUED BEFORE THE TENTH CIRCUIT

The appeal of a 2006 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma to retain a Ten Commandments monument on the Haskell County Courthouse lawn was argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver, Colorado on October 4, 2007.  (Click here to view entire story.)

ACLU CASE ON BEHALF OF
UNFAIRLY DETAINED MUSLIM MAN
CURRENTLY IN SETTLEMENT TALKS

The ACLU National Office, in conjunction with the state affiliate, initiated a lawsuit last fall on behalf of a Muslim man who was unfairly detained and mistreated at the Oklahoma Federal Transfer Center during March of 2003. The lawsuit, Al-Kidd v. Sugrue, is currently in settlement talks.  This development follows a ruling favorable to the plaintiff by the federal judge in the case.
(Click here to view entire story.)

SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY AND TRAVEL
RESTRICTION CASE DISMISSED

The case of Doe v. Parish was dismissed under a mutual agreement by both plaintiffs and defendants during February of 2008.  The lawsuit had been handled by the ACLU of Oklahoma in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma since September of 2006. (Click here to view entire story.)