News

Please attribute the following statement to the ACLU of California affiliates in regards to recent campaign ads opposing Tony Thurmond for California Superintendent of Public Instruction: The ads prominently feature the name of the ACLU in a way that can be misconstrued as an endorsement. The ACLU of California affiliates neither endorse nor oppose candidates for office. The ACLU did not create... Read More

UPDATE, Nov. 28, 2018: The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed an amended complaint with the Office for Civil Rights. The stories of five more students were added as well as information from current and past district staff. The additional information shows that Visalia Unified is creating a hostile environment for Black students as early as elementary school.  SAN FRANCISCO — The ACLU ... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, and the law firm Durie Tangri LLP, filed a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco for its police department’s racially discriminatory enforcement practices. In violation of the Constitution, the SFPD, which has a long and sordid history of racial discrimination, targeted Black people for arrest becau... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California joins the National ACLU in opposing the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. As a matter of organizational policy, the ACLU does not support or oppose candidates for political or judicial office, but credible allegations of sexual assault have been lodged against Judge Kavanaugh. The standard for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court shou... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — The American Civil Liberties Union, co-counsel Cooley LLP and Holly S. Cooper, co-director of the UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic, have prevailed in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of immigrant teenagers whom the Trump Administration had arrested and jailed for “gang affiliation,” despite there being no evidence of gang crimes. In an opinion issued on Oct... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1421 (Skinner) and Assembly Bill 748 (Ting), historic police reform legislation sponsored by the ACLU of California. Peter Bibring, Director of Police Practices for the ACLU of California, responded with the following statement: We, as a society, confer on law enforcement the unparalleled powers to stop, arrest and use force on peop... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — On Tuesday, September 25, nine temporary protected status (TPS) holders and five U.S. citizen children of TPS holders will make the case in federal court for a temporary injunction of the Trump administration’s termination of the program for people from four countries - Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador. The lives of hundreds of thousands of people who have lived here lawful... Read More

OAKLAND — The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, in partnership with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, East Bay Community Law Center, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and King & Spalding LLP, today filed a complaint in United States District Court, Northern District of California, challenging the constitutionality of the Oakland Public Housing loite... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California, the ACLU of Southern California, and the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties announced their endorsement of Proposition 10 that would restore the power of local governments to limit rent increases. If passed, the November 6 ballot initiative will give local municipalities the authority to regulate rent in... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO —  Today, the BART Board of Directors passed a surveillance oversight ordinance that requires public notice and debate prior to seeking funding, acquiring equipment, or otherwise moving forward with surveillance technology proposals. BART joins Palo Alto, Davis, Oakland, Berkeley, and Santa Clara County by passing legislation that puts communities in control of police surveillance. ... Read More

Tomorrow, ACLU of Northern California staff and members will attend the BART Board of Directors meeting to urge the passage of a comprehensive surveillance oversight ordinance. The surveillance technology ordinance, long advocated for by the ACLU and community partners such as Oakland Privacy, would require surveillance proposals to undergo public scrutiny prior to approval. For technologies th... Read More

The Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District’s (KTJUSD) School Board meets this Tuesday (Sept. 11) to vote on their 2018-19 amended Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). On June 25, 2018 the ACLU Foundation of California, the Yurok Tribal Council, and the Hoopa Valley Tribal Council sent a letter to Superintendent Jon Ray of KTJUSD to address compliance issues with the Local Control Fu... Read More