Archive

Sheriff Lee Baca stunned the public this week by announcing that he will immediately retire as the head of Los Angeles County jails. His announcement marks another milestone in the ACLU's campaign to end the culture of rampant deputy-on-prisoner violence that has plagued the Los Angeles County jails for years. Read More

Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday unveiled his proposed budget for 2014-2015, a budget that contains some elements that would actually move California in the direction of criminal justice reform that remains so urgently needed.Expanding medical and elderly parole will continue to reduce the state prison population. The presumption of split sentencing will help ensure people are able to successfully tra... Read More

The Department of Education and Department of Justice today released federal guidance to assist schools in administering discipline in a nondiscriminatory way and to provide alternatives to overly punitive school discipline practices. Read More

Transgender students, and their parents, educators and friends today are both relieved and concerned that while the California School Success and Opportunity Act (AB 1266), which helps schools better understand how to provide a fair opportunity for transgender students to participate and succeed, failed to qualify for a referendum based on a random count of signatures but may still qualify dependi... Read More

Transgender students and their families are celebrating California’s new School Success and Opportunity Act, which ensures that schools across the state understand their obligation to provide a fair opportunity for transgender students to participate in all school programs and to graduate with their peers. The law went into effect on January 1st. Read More

Are you giving - or, better yet, hoping to get - a new Xbox One this holiday season? With the recent news that the NSA is spying on gaming networks, we put together some important privacy information and tips to help you better protect yourself. Read More

Audley Barrington Lyon, Jr. is currently in immigration detention while he fights deportation to Jamaica. A “U visa” is a beacon of hope for Mr. Lyon, who was an innocent bystander when he was seriously injured in shooting. A U visa—available to crime victims who cooperate with criminal investigations—would give him the opportunity to stay in the country with his U.S. citizen wife. Unfortunately, ... Read More

On Thursday, December 19th President Obama commuted the sentences of eight people who have been imprisoned more than 15 years on crack-cocaine charges, a move in line with his administration's attempts to ease some of the harsher drug-sentencing decisions of the past two decades. Read More

We took the fight for civil liberties into the corporate boardroom and today we mark an important victory. Verizon is finally going to break its silence and publish a transparency report about government demands for information. Last month, we filed shareholder proposals with AT&T and Verizon, calling on both companies to reveal what customer information they hand over to U.S. or foreign governmen... Read More

Class action lawsuit challenges inadequate telephone access for individuals in immigration detention, a violation of the right to a full and fair hearing under the U.S. Constitution. Read More