Blog

Get a warrant -- that’s what I would say if the police showed up at my door asking to look around. Why? Because it’s my right. It’s one of the core principles that this country was founded on: the government, including local police, can’t come into my home unless they prove to a judge that they have a real reason to invade my privacy.If police want to search your house, they need to get a warrant.... Read More

AB 2350 would prohibit universities from requiring a graduate student to take a leave of absence, withdraw from the graduate program, or limit his or her graduate studies solely due to pregnancy or pregnancy-related issues. 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

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

My family and I left Iran when I was 8 years old and eventually made our way to the United States. Today there are thousands of children who have fled from some of the most dangerous places in the world and are now detained throughout the country. Some have made the treacherous journey here alone. Read More

The San Jose City Council has approved a police request to acquire a drone – without public debate and with no policy overseeing its use. Read More

When the government demands that your cell phone carrier reveal information about where you’ve been, or where you’re going to go, they should get a warrant. Location information is exactly the kind of sensitive information that the Fourth Amendment is supposed to protect. Read More