Archive

Download the Summer 2014 ACLU of Northern California Newsletter and read about our latest events and initiatives. Read More

SB 1094, a bill that would strengthen the California Attorney General’s oversight of hospital mergers, will be voted on by the Assembly this Monday, August 18. Please look up and email your Assemblymember to urge them to vote YES on SB 1094. Read More

A coalition of advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, sent a letter this week to the San Jose City Council demanding that it have the necessary public debate of whether a drone should ever be used in San Jose well before it starts to consider how it could be used. Read More

Facing its final vote in the Assembly, the California Fair Sentencing Act (SB 1010) authored by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) won strong approval on a bi-partisan vote today. SB 1010 now returns to the Senate for a final procedural vote before being sent to the Governor. Read More

Today the ACLU of California and the American Friends Service Committee released a report confirming the Latino community’s experience of being targeted for suspected unlicensed driving by California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers in Fresno County, with two officers being largely responsible for the racially disparate impact. Read More

Even though we live in a state where Medi-Cal dollars can be used for pregnancy care, including abortion, many people cannot take time off work to seek abortion care. That’s because 39% of the US workforce, including seven million Californians, earn no paid sick leave whatsoever. AB 1522 by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez addresses this problem in California. Read More

Abdi Soltani writes about the enduring power of the Bill of Rights, while on vacation in the Yellowstone and Grand Tetons national parks. Read More

It’s Time for a Public Debate and a New Vote Over San Jose Police Purchase of DroneThe San Jose Police Department (SJPD) is clearly getting ahead of itself. Despite there not having been any sort of public debate about whether or not to use a drone at all, the department today issued a statement saying it will develop policies and procedures for its deployment. With the history of police abus... Read More

If implemented, SB 1053 (Mitchell), would help protect women’s health by building on existing federal and California state law to eliminate remaining restrictions on access to contraception. Read More

This year the California Legislature can take another step toward ending a shameful chapter in the state’s history—coerced sterilization of its most vulnerable residents. Read More