Archive

Despite criticism from the ACLU and Supervisor Joe Simitian, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a sheriff’s department request to use more than $500,000 of federal grant money to purchase a Stingray cell phone tracking system.Simitian perhaps put it best when he told Sheriff Lori Smith during Tuesday’s meeting of the supervisors that, “Just to be clear, we're being ask... Read More

After a police officer is accused of a crime and the Department of Justice decides to investigate, virtually no data is available on how many officers are convicted or dismissed of these charges – or even what crimes police were charged with in the first place. Read More

Countless immigrant families have been torn apart as a result of our failed immigration system. We hope the President’s deportation relief programs can move forward soon. Read More

Insurmountable financial obstacles are key contributors to the rise in jail populations. For one, low-income defendants are often trapped by their inability to afford bail. Bail should not be used to punish people, and incarcerating people solely because they cannot pay for their release violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. Read More

The debate over cell phone surveillance comes to the heart of Silicon Valley on Feb. 24, when the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will consider a proposal to purchase a Stingray. Unfortunately, the public wasn't told about it. Read More

On Feb. 20, 2015, federal district court Judge Richard Seeborg denied a government motion to dismiss the ACLU's case challenging the U.S. government’s Suspicious Activities Reporting program, Gill v. Department of Justice. As we’ve written before, this program relies on local law enforcement, security guards, shopkeepers, and neighbors to report any "suspicious activities" they observe. Read More

I am not a distraction. I am a woman, and I shouldn't be fired for being who I am. That's why the ACLU filed a lawsuit on my behalf arguing that firing me because I am transgender is illegal sex discrimination. Read More

Former director of the ACLU of Northern California's Racial Justice Project, Michelle Alexander directed and coordinated the Project’s litigation, media, lobbying, and grassroots organizing work. Read More

Seven transgender women that we know of have been murdered in this country since 2015 started. At least five were women of color. It's a horrifying litany already, and it's only February. Read More

Less than a year after the ACLU released a pressing report on the dangerous militarization of American police, law enforcement agencies in California—including school police—continue to use military-grade equipment against the communities they are supposed to protect. Read More