News & Commentary

Today, Chris Ahmuty announced he is retiring as the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin effective December 31, 2016.  Ahmuty, who will be 66 later this month, has served as the ACLU of Wisconsin’s executive director since he was promoted to that post in July 1992.  Overall, he has been with the ACLU for 33 years. Notable activities during his tenure include numerous lawsuits challenging government abuse of power, special attention to the rights of society’s most vulnerable, and expansion of the affiliate’s programs, especially youth development.  He intends to remain active in Milwaukee civic affairs come January. Mary Jo McBrearty, Board President, remarked, “Chris has been a wonderful leader for the ACLU of Wisconsin during challenging times.  The Board has a plan in place that will ensure a smooth and successful transition.  We will be conducting a nationwide search to find someone as knowledgeable, thoughtful, and passionate as Chris is about Civil Liberties and Civil Rights.” For more than 90 years, the ACLU has been our nation's guardian of liberty, working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. The ACLU of Wisconsin is a non-profit, non-partisan, private organization whose 7,000 members support its efforts to defend the civil rights and liberties of all Wisconsin residents. For more on the ACLU of Wisconsin, visit our website, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @ACLUofWisconsin and @ACLUMadison.

In response the Wisconsin Department of Justice declaring they will not release video footage of this weekend’s officer-involved fatal shooting, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin again called for transparency in the investigation of the underlying incident.  ACLU Executive Director Chris Ahmuty wrote the following letter to Attorney General Brad Schimel:  

By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel

DAVID WAHLBERG dwahlberg@madison.com

By Patrick Marley and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin's voter ID law was a mistake from the start; a political talking point dressed up as policy, aiming to fix a problem that doesn't exist. And although the law isn't particularly onerous for most people, there are some for whom obtaining the necessary ID is substantially difficult. So difficult that some won't — or won't be able to — go through the hassle of getting one.

Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Advocates for immigrants living in Wisconsin strongly criticized this morning’s Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in the case of State v. Salas Gayton. That decision upheld a sentence imposed on an immigrant that was far longer than sentences normally imposed for similar crimes.

By Emma Brown