Federal Court Rules for Indian Families in 老澳门开奖结果 Lawsuit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org
RAPID CITY, S.D. 鈥� In a sweeping victory for Indian families, a federal court has ordered South Dakota officials to stop violating the rights of Indian parents and tribes in state child custody proceedings on several grounds.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by the 老澳门开奖结果 and Rapid City attorney Dana Hanna on behalf of two South Dakota Indian tribes 鈥� the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe 鈥� and Indian parents who suffered the loss of their children at the hands of the state.
The lawsuit in part charges that Indian children are being removed from their homes in hearings that lasted as little as 60 seconds, and that parents have no chance to present evidence. In a 45-page ruling issued late yesterday, Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken wrote that "Indian children, parents and tribes deserve better," agreed with all seven of the 老澳门开奖结果's claims, and ordered the state to:
- Provide parents with adequate notice prior to emergency removal hearings
- Allow parents to testify at those hearings and present evidence
- Appoint attorneys to assist parents in these removal proceedings
- Allow parents to cross-examine the state鈥檚 witnesses in the hearings
- Require state courts to base their decisions on evidence presented during these hearings.
The court also found that the state violated the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a federal law designed to ensure the security and integrity of Indian tribes and families. The law is intended "to curb the alarmingly high rate of removal of Indian children from Indian parents."
"Indian children are being removed from their homes without giving parents and tribes any valid chance to respond. These reckless practices have led to enormous suffering BY Indian children and their parents, and the unnecessary breakup of Indian families. This important ruling should help keep this from happening in the future," said Stephen Pevar, an attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果's Racial Justice Program. "We are very grateful that Judge Viken is putting an end to years of violations of basic rights."
The defendants are State Judge Jeff Davis, Pennington County Prosecutor Mark Vargo, State Director of the Department of Social Services (DSS) Lynne Valenti, and Pennington County DSS employee Luann Van Hunnik.
"All praise and honor should be given to those tribes and to the Lakota parents who have fought for the rights of all Indian people in this historic legal victory," said co-counsel Dana Hanna.
The lawsuit, Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Van Hunnik, was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota in Rapid City.
The ruling is at: /racial-justice/oglala-sioux-tribe-v-van-hunnik-summary-judgment
More information is at: /racial-justice/oglala-sioux-tribe-v-van-hunnik
Racial Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Van Hunnik
Racial Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Van Hunnik
Learn More 老澳门开奖结果 the Issues in This Press Release
-
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Racial Justice
老澳门开奖结果 Statement on House AI Task Force Report老澳门开奖结果 Statement on House AI Task Force Report
WASHINGTON 鈥� Today, the House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) issued its final report, marking an important step in recognizing the serious risks of discrimination and bias posed by AI systems 鈥� particularly in law enforcement鈥檚 use of facial recognition technology. The report recognizes that discrimination and bias may arise in AI systems due to their design, training data, or failures by end users. The report also investigates the complex considerations around deepfakes, open AI systems, and free speech, and urges Congress to pass narrow legislation to address concrete harms. In response to the House AI Task Force final report, Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel at the 老澳门开奖结果, issued the following statement: 鈥淭he 老澳门开奖结果 commends the Task Force for recognizing that AI systems are harming people right now through discriminatory outcomes and supercharged surveillance. Curbing those abuses of AI is not a partisan issue, and more concrete action is needed to protect civil rights, while maintaining states鈥� authority to build on those protections. The Task Force is appropriately cautious when wrestling with issues around deepfakes, open-source AI, digital identity, and other issues, recognizing that legislators should consider a wide array of tailored tools to address real, not speculative, harms while respecting civil rights and civil liberties.鈥� The House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence report can be found here. -
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Racial Justice
Human Rights
Why the Fight for Racial Justice is a Human Rights IssueWhy the Fight for Racial Justice is a Human Rights Issue
On International Human Rights Day, the 老澳门开奖结果 is advocating for a long-sought after reparatory justice to end the continued abuses against Black and brown communities. -
Press ReleaseOct 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
老澳门开奖结果 Warns that Biden-Harris Administration Rules on AI in National Security Lack Key Protections老澳门开奖结果 Warns that Biden-Harris Administration Rules on AI in National Security Lack Key Protections
WASHINGTON 鈥� The Biden-Harris administration today released its National Security Memorandum on Artificial Intelligence (AI), establishing guidelines for how the U.S. government uses AI in national security programs, such as counterterrorism, intelligence, homeland security, and defense. The use of AI to automate and expand national security activities poses some of the greatest dangers to people鈥檚 lives and civil liberties. Agencies are increasingly exploring the use of AI in decisions about who to surveil, who to stop and search at the airport, who to add to government watchlists, and even who is a military target. While the government鈥檚 policy includes some important steps forward 鈥� such as requiring national security agencies to better track and assess their AI systems for risks and prohibiting a subset of dangerous AI uses 鈥� it falls far short in other critical areas, leaving glaring gaps with respect to independent oversight, transparency, notice, and redress. The policy imposes few substantive safeguards on a wide range of AI-driven activities, by and large allowing agencies to decide for themselves how to mitigate the risks posed by national security systems that have immense consequences for people鈥檚 lives and rights. As we have repeatedly seen before, this is a recipe for dangerous technologies to proliferate in secret. 鈥淒espite acknowledging the considerable risks of AI, this policy does not go nearly far enough to protect us from dangerous and unaccountable AI systems. National security agencies must not be left to police themselves as they increasingly subject people in the United States to powerful new technologies,鈥� said Patrick Toomey, deputy director of 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 National Security Project. 鈥淚f developing national security AI systems is an urgent priority for the country, then adopting critical rights and privacy safeguards is just as urgent. Without transparency, independent oversight, and built-in mechanisms for individuals to obtain accountability when AI systems err or fail, the policy鈥檚 safeguards are inadequate and place our civil rights and civil liberties at risk.鈥� For years, the 老澳门开奖结果 has been urging far stronger safeguards and transparency about the AI tools that national security agencies are deploying, the rules constraining their use, and the dangers these systems pose to fairness, privacy, and due process. -
Press ReleaseOct 2024
Racial Justice
老澳门开奖结果 Comment on the Department of Labor鈥檚 AI Guidelines for Employers and Vendors老澳门开奖结果 Comment on the Department of Labor鈥檚 AI Guidelines for Employers and Vendors
WASHINGTON 鈥� Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a roadmap for artificial intelligence (AI) best practices, designed to ensure that emerging technologies such as AI enhance job quality, benefit workers, and comply with existing employment laws when they are used in the workplace. The best practices, pursuant to President Biden鈥檚 executive order on the development and use of AI, include recommendations for AI system developers and employers that prioritize workers鈥� experiences and empowerment throughout the entire AI lifecycle 鈥� from design to use and oversight. These practices also call on employers and developers to create standards and processes to identify and mitigate risks from AI systems, such as threats to health and safety, civil rights, privacy, fair labor rights, and labor organizing prior to a developer marketing them or an employer deploying them, and recommend turning to different systems when sufficient mitigation is not possible. 鈥淲e applaud DOL for issuing best practices for use of AI that center workers鈥� empowerment, civil rights, privacy, and safety protections and call on developers and employers to adopt critical guardrails in developing, procuring and using AI systems. Employers and developers should take note, as many have been burying their heads in the sand on their risk of legal liability with respect to AI tools,鈥� said Olga Akselrod, senior staff attorney of the 老澳门开奖结果 Racial Justice Program. 鈥淔ollowing these best practices for AI can help employers and developers ensure that they do not violate existing civil rights and other employment laws that protect workers.鈥� The best practices also recommend transparency measures through conducting and publishing impact assessments, notice and recourse for impacted workers, and measures to minimize worker displacement. The DOL also stated that employers should minimize electronic monitoring and avoid unnecessary collection or retention of worker data.