Get Help

The Palm Beach County Chapter of the ACLU of Florida is a private, non-profit membership organization. Our mission is to preserve and protect the civil liberties and civil rights guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution, especially the principles contained in the Bill of Rights.

Among the issues we work on are freedom of speech, freedom of religion, government-sponsored religious activities, privacy, discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation or disability, police misconduct, censorship in schools or libraries, fairness in application of school discipline, workplace privacy, access to government documents, inhumane jail and prison conditions, and other issues of fair treatment by government.

In general, we do not handle cases that involve such things as evictions, landlord-tenant disputes, general disputes between employees and employers (for example, disputes centering on wages and hours), criminal prosecutions, divorce, child custody, or wills.

The ACLU is neither a government agency nor a general legal services organization, and we normally do not provide emergency services. We have limited resources and staff and are unable to pursue every case that comes to our attention. All requests for legal assistance must be submitted in writing. In-person interviews are generally not possible and we do not accept walk-ins.

In answer to the many calls we’ve received seeking legal assistance from the ACLU, please make a note of this information.

All requests for ACLU legal assistance in Palm Beach County must submitted in writing directly to the ACLU of Florida - not to the local Palm Beach County Chapter.

The ACLU of Florida handles civil liberties and civil rights matters arising in Florida only. We generally do not handle matters unless they involve action by government bodies. In addition, we generally do not provide assistance involving private employment, criminal defense, private housing discrimination, and divorce or custody disputes. Our lawyers are not available to speak with callers. If you meet these criteria and would like to have a counselor review your situation, please submit your inquiry to the ACLU of Florida.

On-line: http://www.aclufl.org/get_help/index.cfm

By mail: 4500 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 340, Miami, FL 33137

By fax: 786-363-1107

y e-mail: aclufl@aclufl.org

 If you are unable to submit a request for assistance by any of those methods, you may call the answering service toll-free number: 1-866-516-0825. The answering service will take your name and phone number and have someone on the staff call you. Because this is an answering service only, the service will not give advice or further information about the ACLU of Florida. They cannot direct calls to ACLU staff members. Nor can they check on the status of a complaint. The purpose of this service is solely to direct an individual in the filing of a request for legal assistance. The toll-free number is 866- 516-0825. The service is bilingual.

 
Ethelene C. Jones, M.D., Secretary
Palm Beach County Chapter, ACLU of Florida