# ACLU of Minnesota *Minnesota civil-liberties organization.* The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota (ACLU of Minnesota, ACLU-MN) is a civil-liberties organization in [[Minnesota]]. This record documents it in three matters. The first is a 2020 Ramsey County working group on ending cash bail, in which it took part and whose risk-assessment tools it publicly criticized.[^1] The second is a 2025 suit it brought against the [[Carver County Sheriff's Office]] over detention on an immigration detainer.[^2] The third is a published statement on the suspension of [[Mary Moriarty]].[^3] In the Ramsey County matter, the organization was a member of the coalition. It wrote that the algorithmic threat assessments in the county's proposal "replicated racist and classist outcomes."[^1] In the Carver County matter, the complaint alleges Fourth Amendment and Minnesota constitutional violations arising from continued detention on a detainer request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rather than a judicial warrant.[^2] CBS News Minnesota reported that the case settled on June 26, 2026, with terms not made public.[^4] ## Who The organization's partners in the Ramsey County working group were the county and Arnold Ventures, a private philanthropy.[^1] In *Suarez Varela v. Carver County Sheriff's Office*, the plaintiff was represented by the ACLU of Minnesota and attorney John Sear. The complaint names Carver County [[sheriff]] Jason Kamerud.[^2] The bail that preceded the contested detention was posted by the [[Minnesota Freedom Fund]].[^2] ## What **Bail working group.** Ramsey County announced a working group with a private philanthropy "to create a model in Ramsey County for a future without cash bail."[^1] The ACLU of Minnesota participated. Its published account objected that the proposal's algorithmic threat assessments "replicated racist and classist outcomes."[^1] **Carver County detainer suit.** The organization's release describes the claims as arising under the Fourth Amendment and the Minnesota Constitution. According to the complaint's allegations, the plaintiff remained in custody after $10,000 bail was posted, held on an ICE detainer request rather than a judicial warrant.[^2] These are allegations in a complaint. The record carries no court finding on them.[^2][^4] **Moriarty statement.** The organization issued a press release titled *Statement on the Suspension of Mary Moriarty*.[^3] The record carries the title of that statement but not its date or text.[^3] ## When - 2020: Ramsey County announced the cash-bail working group, with the ACLU of Minnesota participating.[^1] - February 13, 2025: the Minnesota Freedom Fund posted $10,000 bail in the Carver County matter.[^2] - March 5, 2025: *Suarez Varela v. Carver County Sheriff's Office* was filed.[^2] - June 26, 2026: CBS News Minnesota reported the settlement of the Carver County suit.[^4] ## How much The amount of the Carver County settlement was not made public, according to CBS News Minnesota's report. Neither were its other terms or any required policy changes.[^4] The bail posted before the contested detention was $10,000.[^2] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record (pair 84, Tier V) concerns the Ramsey County bail-reform working group. On one side is the county's stated aim. It announced a working group with a private funder "to create a model in Ramsey County for a future without cash bail."[^1] On the other side is the published objection of a participant in that coalition. The ACLU of Minnesota warned that the proposal's algorithmic threat assessments "replicated racist and classist outcomes."[^1] The county's general equity commitments supply a second self-description to set beside that objection. In its strategic plan, Ramsey County commits to "remove unfair differences in services and outcomes" and names six communities.[^5] The project's review of the plan's priority page found no measurable target, numerical goal or baseline metric on that page.[^5] The record documents the announcement and the objection. It does not establish how the working group weighed the objection or what became of the assessment instrument.[^1] The at-issue catalogue anchors the pair to a White House presidential action. It characterizes the episode as "an outcome-based tool objected to on outcome-based grounds by its own coalition."[^6] ## In the Minnesota record ### Where - Ramsey County, Minnesota: the 2020 cash-bail working group.[^1] - Carver County, Minnesota: the 2025 detainer suit against the sheriff's office.[^2] ### How In Ramsey County, the organization sat in a coalition with the county and Arnold Ventures. At the same time it published its objection to the coalition's algorithmic tool.[^1] In Carver County, it acted as counsel in a civil suit. The suit challenged detention resting on an administrative ICE detainer request instead of a judicial warrant, and it ended in a settlement whose terms were not disclosed.[^2][^4] ## Notes [^1]: American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, *Ramsey County Plans to Virtually End Cash Bail* (2020) — establishes the county working group with Arnold Ventures and ACLU-MN's published objection that algorithmic threat assessments "replicated racist and classist outcomes." https://www.aclu-mn.org/en/news/ramsey-county-plans-virtually-end-cash-bail [^2]: American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, press release on *Suarez Varela v. Carver County Sheriff's Office* (complaint filed March 5, 2025) — establishes the parties, counsel, constitutional claims, ICE detainer, and $10,000 bail posted February 13, 2025 (complaint allegations). https://www.aclu-mn.org/press-releases/carver-ice/ [^3]: American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, *Statement on the Suspension of Mary Moriarty* (press release; date not in record) — establishes that the organization issued the statement. https://www.aclu-mn.org/press-releases/statement-suspension-mary-moriarty/ [^4]: CBS News Minnesota, report on the Carver County ICE lawsuit settlement (2026) — reports settlement on June 26, 2026, with terms, amount and any policy changes not made public. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/carver-county-ice-lawsuit-unlawful-settlement/ [^5]: Ramsey County, *Strategic plan* priority page on racial and health equity and shared community power (undated) — establishes the commitment to "remove unfair differences in services and outcomes" and the six named communities; the page carries no measurable target, numerical goal or baseline metric. https://www.ramseycountymn.gov/your-government/projects-initiatives/strategic-plan/racial-health-equity-shared-community-power [^6]: The White House, presidential action (2025) — the anchor cited by the project's at-issue pair 84. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/restoring-equality-of-opportunity-and-meritocracy/