ACLU Names Inside-the-Beltway 'Best and Worst' for Civil Liberties in 2007

Topping the "worst" list was allowing illegal NSA spying to continue and allowing Guantanamo Bay to remain open. Topping the "best" list were the recent strides to reduce the disparities in sentencing for crack offenses and cocaine offenses. This year, the U.S. Sentencing Commission changed its guidelines to make sentencing for crack offenses fairer and applied them retroactively, and the Supreme Court decided just weeks ago in Kimbrough v. U.S. that judges could depart from the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s guidelines to give shorter sentences.

The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

"For the past six years, our rights have been on the chopping block. If 2007 was the year we didn’t get our freedom back, 2008 will be the year we demand it. Our holiday wish list is simple: We want our Constitution back. It doesn’t even need a ribbon. This New Year, we resolve to hold our leaders accountable. We hope they will resolve to follow the law."

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