Archive

Citing the continued widespread criminalization of young people of color through marijuana enforcement, the American Civil Liberties Union of California today announced it has endorsed the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (“AUMA”) to control, regulate, and tax adult use, sale and cultivation of marijuana in California. The measure is expected to qualify for the November state ballot. Read More

California voters will be asked to legalize marijuana in November – and we couldn’t be happier that our state might finally end this chapter of the failed war on drugs. Read More

In a first of its kind class action settlement, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) has agreed to change its policies in four Northern California detention centers. Read More

After years of tireless work to see one of California’s most discriminatory laws repealed, today women and families across the state are rejoicing in news that Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon agreed to include funds to repeal CalWORKs Maximum Family Grant (MFG) rule in the state's 2016 Budget Act. Read More

The human cost of detention and deportation has thousands of faces. Children, grandparents, parents, coworkers and neighbors, the majority of whom have endured the grave consequences of deportation proceedings without legal counsel.In California alone, two out of three detained immigrants go unrepresented in our immigration courts each year.Our broken immigration system continues to systematically... Read More

In response to recent sweeps, in which the City and its agents have taken, discarded and/or destroyed property belonging to homeless individuals, a coalition of legal groups today delivered a demand letter to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee charging that these practices are unlawful. Read More

Santa Clara County has passed a landmark law to stop secret and discriminatory surveillance. The passage of this new law comes on the heels of San Jose's secret acquisition of a drone, the Santa Clara Sheriff's attempt to quietly buy an invasive cell phone tracking device, and revelations that Fresno and Bay Area police departments have been using social networking software that monitors Black Liv... Read More

The ACLU of California is monitoring possible voter intimidation in Siskiyou County. The sheriff and other county officials have possibly been engaged in a targeted voter intimidation campaign resulting in widespread fear of voting and unlawful and retaliatory arrest. Read More

In a vote this morning, the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors made Santa Clara the first county in the nation to institute consistent transparency, accountability and oversight measures for all surveillance decisions with a groundbreaking ordinance. Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against the fifth largest health care system in the U.S., Dignity Health, because it denies transgender employees health insurance coverage for medically necessary treatments for gender dysphoria. Read More