There are stark racial disparities in low-level marijuana arrests in counties across New York State, according to a New York Civil Liberties Union analysis released today of federal crime reporting data from 2010.

The New York Civil Liberties Union today released an analysis of the NYPD’s 2012 stop-and-frisk data showing that the stop-and-frisk program’s stark racial disparities and ineffectiveness in recovering illegal guns continued last year despite a decline in the overall number of stops. The analysis includes new information on how the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program contributes to the city’s soaring arrest rates for marijuana possession.

In response to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s announcement that she will not support the anti-profiling bill before the City Council as part of the Community Safety Act, the leadership of the New York Civil Liberties Union issued the following statement, attributable to NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman.

The NYPD is set to record its 5 millionth stop-and-frisk encounter under Mayor Bloomberg today, according to an analysis by the New York Civil Liberties Union based on an extrapolation of Police Department data. About 4.4 million of the stop-and-frisk encounters, or 88 percent, were of innocent people as they did not result in an arrest or summons. More than 86 percent of people stopped were black or Latino.

The New York Civil Liberties Union and the Immigration Justice Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law today filed a complaint challenging the unlawful, racially motivated arrest of an American citizen by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in New York’s North Country.

In a court filing today, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the law firm of Morrison & Foerster took steps to obtain class-action status in a federal lawsuit challenging New York prison officials’ policies and practices that result in the arbitrary, inhumane and unconstitutional use of solitary confinement in state prisons.

The New York Civil Liberties Union today released an iPhone version of Stop and Frisk Watch – a free smart-phone app that allows bystanders to document NYPD stop-and-frisk encounters and alert community members when a street stop is in progress.

The New York Civil Liberties Union – joined by more than three dozen representatives from human rights, civil rights, mental health and faith-based organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture – today submitted a letter to the United Nations requesting an investigation into the use of solitary confinement in New York State prisons.

In response to Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address, the New York Civil Liberties Union released the following statement, attributable to NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman: “We’re pleased that the governor’s priorities for the coming session include a vigorous agenda for women’s equality that would make major strides in closing loopholes in New York’s existing protections for women. We particularly applaud his commitment to pay equity, extending protections against sexual harassment to all workers in New York, and protecting women’s fundamental right to choose.

The NYPD has a pattern and practice of illegally stopping innocent people in public areas outside thousands of private apartment buildings in the Bronx and must immediately end this unconstitutional practice, a U.S. District Court judge ruled this morning.