Archive

On Nov. 17, 2010, the ACLU-NC filed a suit under the California Public Records Act to demand records from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) about its recent acquisition of sodium thiopental, a controlled substance used as part of California’s lethal injection protocol for executing death row inmates. Here are the documents we have received from the CDCR to dat... Read More

Today, the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) posted records handed over by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBR) on highly irregular activities by officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to speed the entry of controlled substances to be used in executions in Arizona and other states. Read More

Gov. Brown signed a bill on April 4 that would keep individuals convicted of low-level felony offenses at the county level, either on probation or in jail, for terms of 16 months, two years or three years. The ACLU of Northern California, Drug Policy Alliance and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights criticized the plan for shifting the state's corrections overcrowding and overspending problems t... Read More

California Senator Leland Yee has introduced the Reader Privacy Act of 2011 (SB 602), with backing from the California Affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The law would bring a much-needed upgrade to match Californians' reading habits. Under SB 602 the government and other third parties would need a warrant or court order for access... Read More

California Senator Leland Yee has introduced the Reader Privacy Act of 2011 (SB 602), with backing from the ACLU of California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The law would bring a much-needed upgrade to match Californians' reading habits. Read More

Today, Senator Dick Durbin is holding a Senate Judiciary Sub-committee hearing on the civil rights violations endured by American Muslims. This timely hearing comes on the heels of a report by the New York Times revealing that the FBI is using its intelligence gathering powers, which were expanded significantly during the Bush years, to investigate thousands of people and groups without any factua... Read More

Today, Senator Dick Durbin is holding a Senate Judiciary Sub-committee hearing on the civil rights violations endured by American Muslims. This timely hearing comes on the heels of a report by the New York Times revealing that the FBI is using its intelligence gathering powers, which were expanded significantly during the Bush years, to investigate thousands of people and groups without any factua... Read More

Free speech means that we all have the ability to express and hear a range of ideas. But does that extend to the world of apps? We say yes. Nearly 50 million of us carry smartphones that let us browse the marketplace of online apps – which is also a marketplace of ideas and expression. Companies like Apple, Google and RIM have the power and opportunity to make sure that their users have access to ... Read More

The ACLU today appealed a ruling that the government can collect the private records of three Twitter users as part of its investigation related to WikiLeaks. The ruling further held that the users cannot learn which other Internet companies were ordered to turn over information about them to the government. Read More

A U.S. District Court Judge ruled yesterday that the California Department of Transportation's equal opportunity program for contracting businesses can continue its mission to ensure that minority and women-owned businesses have equal ground to compete for federal stimulus funds and other federal contracts. Read More