Archive

Today the ACLU of Northern California announced plans to file a federal class-action lawsuit against the City of Berkeley for its ban on roosters within city limits. The ACLU pointed to a series of constitutional concerns that threaten us all.“The ACLU has always stood up for those who are voiceless, or in this case, too loud,” said Abdi Soltani, ACLU-NC Executive Director and Berkeley resident, w... Read More

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

It is no secret: California continues to waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money locking up far too many people for far too long who don’t need to be behind bars to keep the public safe. Read More

In a victory for voting rights, the state of California has agreed to mail voter registration cards to nearly 4 million Californians who have signed up for health insurance through the state health exchange, Covered California, and to ensure that Californians who apply for health benefits through the exchange going forward are provided voter registration opportunities. The action is the result of ... Read More

Stand up and be counted. Join us April 5-7, in Sacramento for the ACLU of California’s annual Conference & Lobby Day. Read More

Earlier this week, more than two dozen parent, student, policy, and legal advocacy organizations urged the California Board of Education to strengthen the rules that will govern the new Local Control Funding Formula to ensure that school districts spend the additional funding they will receive on the students it was intended to help. Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and NCYL have charged school officials in two Humboldt County towns with intentionally discriminating against Native American and Black students by allowing the pervasive racial and sexual harassment of these students to go unchallenged. Read More

Local law enforcement agencies across the Bay Area have so-called stingray devices, a powerful cellphone surveillance tool, and more are planning to acquire the technology, according to public records recently obtained by Sacramento News10. The devices are highly intrusive and completely unregulated. Read More

In the strongest language yet used by any elected official in California, Newsom boldly offered a blistering critique of the criminal justice system and the willingness of too many in California to simply abide by the status quo, arguing that needlessly harsh sentences for low level, non-violent crimes have ravaged entire communities – particularly communities of color – and cost state taxpayers b... Read More

In 2010, Long Beach officers shot and killed Douglas Zerby when they mistakenly believed the garden hose nozzle he was holding was a gun. A concerned LA Times journalist requested the names of the officers involved under the CA Public Record Act, but the requested information was not disclosed. Read More