ACLU of New Jersey

We’re thrilled to share that ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha has been recognized by ROI-NJ on their “People of Color 2024” list! Amol is a dedicated and passionate leader who works tirelessly to defend civil rights and liberties in New Jersey. Congrats, Amol!

We’re hiring! We are seeking a passionate and dedicated attorney to join our team as a Policy Counsel to support our Policy Department in its legislative program and policy advocacy efforts.

The Policy Counsel will be responsible for legislative research and analysis; defending and promoting the civil liberties policy agenda of the ACLU-NJ at the state, federal, and local levels; lobbying to advance civil rights and liberties and defeat proposed legislation that threatens to undermine those rights; and working with coalition partners and community groups to achieve our objectives.

This is a hybrid role, with two days a week working from our Newark office, an annual salary starting at $85,000, and excellent benefits. Learn more and apply:

Policy Counsel We are seeking a passionate and dedicated attorney to support the ACLU of New Jersey’s Policy Department in its legislative program and policy advocacy efforts.

Farmworkers are workers. They deserve equal protection under the law, but farmworkers in NJ are wrongfully denied equal pay and overtime protections.

That's why this week, along with Seton Hall Law School, Center for Social Justice and ACLU, we’ve filed a complaint on behalf of El Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (CATA), a grassroots organization of farmworkers advocating to improve working and living conditions. This complaint seeks to force The Garden State to see and treat farmworkers like other workers in the state — specifically by raising their minimum wage to $15 an hour and making them eligible for overtime.

“Farmworkers are explicitly carved out and it aligns with what we’ve seen about farmworkers generally, that they are — especially here in New Jersey — primarily Latinae, Spanish speakers; they are oftentimes migrant farmworkers who come here seasonally, and are not New Jersey residents so they can’t vote in the state and they don’t have access to state legislatures in the same way that industry does,” ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney Molly Linhorst told NJ Spotlight News.

Read more:

NJ farmworkers sue for minimum wage, overtime rights | Video | NJ Spotlight News By law, farmworkers are paid $12 an hour and exempt from state's $15 an hour minimum wage

We’re hiring! We are seeking a passionate and dedicated attorney to join our team as a Policy Counsel to support our Policy Department in its legislative program and policy advocacy efforts.

The Policy Counsel will be responsible for legislative research and analysis; defending and promoting the civil liberties policy agenda of the ACLU-NJ at the state, federal, and local levels; lobbying to advance civil rights and liberties and defeat proposed legislation that threatens to undermine those rights; and working with coalition partners and community groups to achieve our objectives.

This is a hybrid role, with two days a week working from our Newark office, an annual salary starting at $85,000, and excellent benefits. Learn more and apply: https://www.aclu-nj.org/en/jobs/policy-counsel

A los trabajadores agrícolas de Nueva Jersey se les niega injustamente un salario digno.

A través de su trabajo como organizador de trabajadores agrícolas y narrador, Edgar Aquino-Huerta se dedica a potenciar las voces de estos trabajadores en nuestro estado y a impulsar el cambio.

Molly Linhorst, abogada de la American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ), se reunió con Edgar para oír más sobre su trabajo. Lea la entrevista completa aquí:

Uplifting Farmworkers’ Voices: A Q&A with Storyteller & Advocate Edgar Aquino-Huerta ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney Molly Linhorst sat down with Edgar Aquino-Huerta, Farmworker Organizer at CATA, to talk more about his work as a farmworker, a filmmaker, a storyteller, and an advocate.

We’re thrilled to see ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha, Policy Director Sarah Fajardo, and Campaign Strategist Ami Kachalia named to Insider NJ’s 2024 Policy Makers Power List!

Thank you to Insider NJ for the recognition of our team’s efforts to foster meaningful relationships and advance critical legislation as we work towards a future New Jersey that is fairer and more just for all who call the Garden State home. Congratulations, Amol, Sarah, and Ami!

Farmworkers in New Jersey are unjustly denied fair pay.

Through his work as a farmworker organizer and storyteller, Edgar Aquino-Huerta is dedicating himself to uplifting the voices of farmworkers in our state and advocating for change.

ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney Molly Linhorst sat down with Edgar to hear more about his work.

Read the full interview here:

Uplifting Farmworkers’ Voices: A Q&A with Storyteller & Advocate Edgar Aquino-Huerta ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney Molly Linhorst sat down with Edgar Aquino-Huerta, Farmworker Organizer at CATA, to talk more about his work as a farmworker, a filmmaker, a storyteller, and an advocate.

Farmworkers in New Jersey are wrongfully denied equal pay and overtime protections, undermining equality & violating the state constitution.

Along with Seton Hall Law School, Center for Social Justice and ACLU, we’ve filed a complaint on behalf of El Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (CATA), a grassroots organization of farmworkers advocating to improve working and living conditions.

Far too many farmworkers across the country are wrongfully excluded from wage protections laws – including here in New Jersey where they are denied the right to overtime pay and protections that are mandated for other similarly situated workers.

New Jersey’s arbitrary exclusions of farmworkers from wage protections are discriminatory, deny farmworkers their rights, and violate the New Jersey Constitution. States across the county have grappled with the racist history of these exclusions by providing fair wage protections for farmworkers. It’s time for New Jersey to do the same.

Read more about our lawsuit: https://bit.ly/3AhvQmP

All kids have the right to education, with equal access to resources and special education services.

“We know that at-risk kids need more resources not less. Schools provide stability, education, and a way for kids to become thriving members of their community. Without those resources, their chances of reentering the criminal legal system increase,” ACLU-NJ Deputy Director Jim Sullivan told NJ Spotlight News.

Read more:

DOE finds Trenton School District did not comply with certain disability regulations | Video | NJ Spotlight News State DOE investigated failure to reenroll youth coming back from out-of-home placements

From fighting to make New Jersey primary elections more democratic to addressing systemic injustice in our criminal legal system, we’ve been working for a more fair and just Garden State.

Read what we’ve been up to in the latest issue of the Civil Liberties Reporter:

Civil Liberties Reporter: Summer 2024 From fighting to make New Jersey primary elections more democratic to addressing systemic injustice in our criminal legal system, the ACLU of New Jersey and our partners have been hard at work. See what we've been up to in the latest issue of the Civil Liberties Reporter.

Voting is a cornerstone of democracy. As voter suppression efforts continue across the country, New Jersey must be a leader in protecting and expanding the right to vote.

On July 31, join ACLU-NJ Campaign Strategist Alejandra Sorto and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights for a webinar that will examine the status of voting rights in our state and explore ways to safeguard and increase access to the ballot box.

Learn more and register here:

Tracing the Path of Voting Rights: Past, Present, and Future "Tracing the Path of Voting Rights: Past, Present, and Future" will examine the status of voting rights, including New Jersey election law and voter protections provided by the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, and explore ways to safeguard and enhance access to the polls.New Jersey Division on...

There is no proof or evidence that wearing a ski mask or balaclava means a person is about to commit a crime. Banning ski masks only serves to limit self-expression and gives the police an additional opportunity to target innocent people for their style.

“Ski masks have become fashionable for many young people in the past three or four years, which makes this resolution extremely troubling because it is easy to see how it can be used as a reason to stop and search people who have done nothing wrong. At best, this will be a meaningless law that will not be able to be enforced correctly. At worst, it will cause an increase in innocent people being stopped, searched and possibly detained,” ACLU-NJ Deputy Policy Director Jim Sullivan told TAPinto Camden.

Read more:

Camden County Commissioners Ban Ski Masks in Specific Locations Commissioners Ban Ski Masks in Certain Situations, Specific City Locations.

No one should be punished for exercising their right to a fair trial. But far too many people are serving extreme sentences because they chose to go to exercise their constitutional right to a trial instead of accepting a plea deal.

As part of his historic initiative, Governor Murphy has committed to considering people impacted by these trial penalties for clemency, an important step toward mitigating injustice in our criminal legal system.

Learn more:

Extreme Trial Penalties Are Deeply Unjust – Categorical Clemency Can Bring Justice No one should be punished for exercising their constitutional right to a fair trial. As Governor Murphy considers categories of people to grant a chance at freedom, it’s imperative to include those who are serving extreme trial penalties.

Harm reduction works. Criminalization doesn’t.

In the first half of 2024, overdose deaths declined in 17 counties in New Jersey.

To continue this downward trend, New Jersey must keep investing in public health solutions, like harm reduction programs, and end all criminal penalties for drug use.

Read more in New Jersey Monitor:

New Jersey drug deaths plummet in first half of 2024 • New Jersey Monitor Suspected drug deaths fell 26% year-over-year in the first six months of the year as an overdose antidote became more broadly available.

Incarcerated survivors of domestic violence, who have experienced deep physical, sexual, and psychological harm, often receive extreme sentences because our overly punitive and dangerously deficient criminal legal system does not assess instances of trauma while considering sentences.

Categorical clemency can provide them a second chance at freedom. Learn more:

How Categorical Clemency Can Begin to Address the Harms Faced by Incarcerated Survivors of Domestic Violence For the criminal legal system to administer justice, it’s clear that it must move away from extreme punishment and toward solutions that prioritize each individual’s experience.

We’re excited to share that Insider NJ has named Executive Director Amol Sinha, to the 2024 Legal Power List! With their dedication to reporting on legal issues and news happening in the Garden State, Insider NJ’s Legal Power List highlights the state’s top attorneys who work hard and deliver results.

Amol works tirelessly to support our organization and build a better, fairer, and more just New Jersey for all – this honor could not be more deserved. Congratulations Amol!

Decades after its start, the drug war continues to destroy lives & communities. It’s time to embrace harm reduction.

“While the drug war may have been done under the guise of public safety or public health, in practice it was really about criminalizing particular communities, particularly communities of color, low-income communities and other people that were really [pushing] for much-needed social change,” Campaign Strategist Ami Kachalia told NJ Spotlight News.

A harm reduction center in Paterson helps people with substance use disorders - NJ Spotlight News As harm reduction practices replace the “war-on-drugs” approach to the addiction crisis, what that means in Paterson, N.J.

Clemency is a powerful tool that is part of the fabric of our nation, writes Executive Director Amol Sinha in his latest op-ed.

Governors can leverage it to address grave injustices in our legal system, slash our incarcerated population, reunite families and fundamentally transform communities.

Governors Are Sitting on a Critical Tool to Reduce Incarceration and Uplift Communities New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) just issued a major executive order that gives incarcerated people a chance at freedom.

If New Jersey is committed to keeping communities healthy and safe, lawmakers must stop criminalizing addiction.

“Harm reduction work is undermined when we still continue to criminalize people, because at the end of the day, it’s almost like the state is sending two messages. On one hand, it’s ‘criminalization, criminalization, criminalization,’ and on the other hand, it’s ‘Trust us. We have public health resources that can help you,” Campaign Strategist Ami Kachalia told NJ Spotlight News.

Harm reduction or criminalization amid addiction crisis - NJ Spotlight News NJ supports harm reduction measures but advocates fear push to criminalize

A lifelong New Jerseyan, Carol Golden has supported our work for decades – and doesn’t remember a time before she knew about the ACLU’s mission.

We talked to Carol about her dedication to civil rights in New Jersey & beyond. Read more:

ACLU-NJ Member Spotlight: A Q&A with Community Leader Carol Golden on the Importance of Civil Rights Advocacy A lifelong New Jerseyan, Carol Golden has supported our work for decades – and doesn’t remember a time before she knew about the ACLU’s mission. We sat down with Carol to hear more about her point of view on the history – and future – of civil rights advocacy.

Black students in NJ were disproportionately suspended and unnecessarily reported to the police in the 2022-2023 school year.

Policy Counsel Joe Johnson told The Philadelphia Inquirer that racial bias is the driving force behind this disparity. “There is work to be done,” he said.

Read more:

Black and Hispanic students were disproportionately suspended, N.J. report shows Although Black students constitute only 15.5% of the state’s student population, they account for 29.8% of referrals from schools to law enforcement, and 28.9% of arrests in schools.

Face recognition technology frequently misidentifies people of color, leading to false arrests and undermining police investigations and accountability.

Read more and learn how this technology led to the false arrest of Nijeer Parks (and why we’re calling for a total ban on the use of this tech by law enforcement).

How Face Recognition Technology Landed One Innocent Man in New Jersey Jail for Ten Days We're calling for a total ban on law enforcement use of face recognition technology.

We launched The Clemency Project as part of our larger decarcerative vision and as a focused effort to mitigate injustice.

Survivors of domestic violence are far too often punished by our overly punitive and deficient criminal legal system, which does not assess instances of trauma and abuse during sentencing. By utilizing categorical clemency to offer incarcerated survivors a chance at freedom, we can begin to repair the harms of our criminal legal system.

Learn more in our latest by ACLU-NJ Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Uwakwe.

How Categorical Clemency Can Begin to Address the Harms Faced by Incarcerated Survivors of Domestic Violence For the criminal legal system to administer justice, it’s clear that it must move away from extreme punishment and toward solutions that prioritize each individual’s experience.

We have a crucial opportunity to make the Garden State a national leader in protecting and strengthening voting rights.

Our legislature has taken important steps in recent years to improve and expand ballot access. But far too many New Jerseyans, especially people of color, still face serious challenges when trying to vote.

We must pass the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey (NJVRA) to protect our voting rights and to increase access to the ballot for all our residents. Tell New Jersey lawmakers to pass the and protect the right to vote for all New Jersey voters!

Protect New Jerseyans' Voting Rights Now Please take action!

People facing charges should not be forced to choose between exercising their fundamental right to trial and serving a reasonable sentence.

In her work on The Clemency Project, ACLU-NJ Decarceration Attorney Rebecca Uwakwe has been meeting with people serving harsh sentences after choosing a trial over a plea deal.

“Not only do you have people that are getting double, triple, sometimes quadruple of what the prosecutors offer, you also have people that are deciding to go to trial because they are less culpable – and then their co-defendants decide to take a plea,” Uwakwe told The Star-Ledger.

Extreme trial penalties are unjust – categorical clemency can begin to repair the harm they cause.

Read more about our work on NJ.com.

New Jersey Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather Get the latest New Jersey Local News, Sports News & US breaking News. View daily NJ weather updates, watch videos and photos, join the discussion in forums. Find more news articles and stories online at NJ.com.

Criminal legal reforms must be based on research, not fear-mongering.

"There is no sign of a massive increase in burglaries that requires increases in penalties across the board,” Policy Counsel Joe Johnson told The Daily Record.

NJ Senate OKs bill to raise penalties for home burglaries, invasions. See the details The bipartisan bill comes after a surge in home burglaries in NJ, though numbers declined last year. 'We need more' tools, a prosecutor said.

Survivors of domestic violence are far too often punished by our current criminal legal system.

In many cases, survivors who have experienced deep physical, sexual, and psychological harm are imprisoned because they attempted to defend themselves against their abuser or because they were coerced into committing a crime alongside their abuser.

Our overly punitive and deficient criminal legal system does not assess instances of trauma and abuse, which means survivors of domestic violence are often charged without considering the context of their lived experience. Through categorical clemency, incarcerated survivors of domestic violence can have a second chance at freedom.

Learn more:

How Categorical Clemency Can Begin to Address the Harms Faced by Incarcerated Survivors of Domestic Violence For the criminal legal system to administer justice, it’s clear that it must move away from extreme punishment and toward solutions that prioritize each individual’s experience.

We’re thrilled to share that ACLU of New Jersey Executive Director Amol Sinha is being honored tonight at the Patriots’ Path Council of the Boy Scouts of America’s 2024 Legal Services Award Reception!

Thank you for recognizing Amol’s tireless efforts to build a more just and fair New Jersey. Congratulations, Amol!

Clemency is a powerful tool to mitigate injustice and prioritize people over punishment. A categorical approach helps to streamline the process by offering chances at freedom for broader groups of people and can be a tool to address mass incarceration

Thanks to Governor Phil Murphy’s executive order creating an advisory board to review petitions for clemency and expediting consideration for those with lived experience in certain categories, such as victims of domestic violence and those serving excessive sentences, New Jersey is more fully leveraging every tool it can to address the harms of mass incarceration.

Utilizing categorical clemency as a decarceration tool can allow governors across the country to make data-informed decisions about who should no longer be incarcerated and grant people a second chance.

Read the latest piece by ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha in The Hill to learn more about how categorical clemency can help address injustices in our criminal legal system:

Governors are sitting on a critical tool to reduce incarceration and uplift communities Granting clemency embodies much more than mercy — it’s about mitigating injustice and prioritizing people over punishment.

Today, the Budget Committe will vote on the state budget. Our budget reflects our values and priorities – this is our opportunity to prove our commitment to improving the lives of ALL who call the Garden State home.

We need a budget that prioritizes and allocates resources for health, rights, and justice for all New Jerseyans. That includes:

➡️ Supporting reproductive health care providers.

➡️ Increasing funding to provide legal representation to NJans facing eviction & deportation.

➡️ Expanding abortion care coverage for uninsured & underinsured communities.

➡️ Ensuring that cannabis revenue promised for reinvestment reaches the communities most harmed by ma*****na criminalization.

➡️ Establishing the corporate transit fee.

Tell your lawmakers to include these items (and more!) in the state budget! Take action now:

Advance Equity and Justice in the FY25 State Budget Please take action!