In response to the unlawful, overnight eviction of Occupy Buffalo demonstrators from Niagara Square, the New York Civil Liberties Union today issued the following statement attributable to NYCLU Western Regional Office Director John A. Curr III:

The New York Civil Liberties Union has helped broker an agreement reached today between the City of Buffalo and the Occupy Buffalo movement that will allow demonstrators to continue camping in Niagara Square. “This agreement is a win-win. It shows that cities can both accommodate free speech and protect public safety,” said John A. Curr III, director of the NYCLU’s Western Regional Office. “We’re gratified that the city and the protestors were willing to come to the table and negotiate this reasonable deal.”

New York Supreme Court Justice Eugene Devine today upheld New York’s law ending prison-based gerrymandering in the Little v. LATFOR lawsuit. His decision squarely rejects the plaintiffs’ claim that the New York law violated various provisions of the New York State Constitution. The New York Civil Liberties Union was among seven civil rights organizations representing 15 voters from around New York State who joined the suit as intervenor-defendants.

The U.S. Border Patrol is using aggressive policing tactics far from the border in upstate New York to increase arrest rates with little regard to New Yorkers’ constitutional rights and freedoms, according to a report released today by the NYU Immigrant Rights Clinic, the New York Civil Liberties Union and Families for Freedom.

As the Occupy Wall Street movement spreads, the New York Civil Liberties Union is working in towns and cities throughout New York State to protect the right to protest. “The right to peaceful protest is a core constitutional principle,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “As the demonstrations spread across the state, the NYCLU is standing alongside the protestors to defend their right to speak their minds.”

The New York Civil Liberties Union today released a briefing paper examining the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment and anti-mosque activities throughout New York State. The briefing paper, Religious Freedom Under Attack: the Rise of Anti-Mosque Activities in New York State, explores the legal and cultural background against which mosque controversies have unfolded across the state over the past year. It calls on public officials to promote intercultural understanding of Muslim New Yorkers while respecting the First Amendment rights of those who oppose mosque projects.

A New York Supreme Court judge has cleared the way for civil rights organizations representing 15 voters from across New York State to join the Attorney General in defending New York’s law ending “prison-based gerrymandering,” a practice that had distorted representation across New York State.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced that all new insurance plans under the health reform law provide women contraception without co-pays, deductibles or other out-of-pocket expenses. The new measure will ensure that millions of women in New York State and nationwide have greater access to a broad range contraception and preventative health services. A panel of experts at the Institute of Medicine had recommended the policy.

The New York Civil Liberties Union today filed a motion in federal court to quash subpoenas that Erie County served to three local nonprofit organizations to compel them to turn over a wide range of documents and correspondence concerning their advocacy for better conditions at the county’s jails.

In an important step forward for women’s health, the Institute of Medicine has recommended to the federal government that new insurance plans under the health reform law provide contraception without co-pays, deductibles or other out-of-pocket expenses.