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Our lawyers and advocates are among the nation's leading experts on civil liberties and constitutional freedoms. Read the latest on the ACLU of Northern California’s work. To schedule a press interview, call (415) 621-2493 or contact press@aclunc.org.
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Court of Appeal Ruling Could Invalidate Thousands of Driver’s License Suspensions
Jun 05, 2020
The California Court of Appeal ruled that the Department of Motor Vehicles cannot suspend the licenses of drivers who fail to appear in court unless the DMV receives a notification of a willful failure to appear.
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ACLU Demands Suspension of Curfews
Jun 03, 2020
Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California sent a letter to the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Napa as well as the cities of Palo Alto and San Francisco, demanding that they immediately rescind or substantially restrict the curfew orders that they imposed over the last three days. These sweeping measures, allowing police to arrest anyone outside from the early evening hou...
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ACLU Calls on Mayor Cummings to Reject Attempts to Water Down Surveillance Accountability Ordinance
Jun 03, 2020
Santa Cruz Mayor Cummings and Police Chief Mills are hosting an online community meeting to discuss police policies in the wake of national protests over the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others at the hands of the police.
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ACLU of California Statement on the Governor’s Executive Order on the November General Election
Jun 03, 2020
Today, Governor Newsom issued an executive order to ensure that Californians can exercise their right to vote in a safe, secure and accessible manner during the upcoming election.
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ACLU Calls for an End to Curfews that Can Lead to the Abuses that are Being Protested
Jun 01, 2020
The slew of hastily announced “curfews” enacted in cities across California lack clarity as to their scope and duration. This is the wrong way to handle disruptions to what have been otherwise peaceful protests, and they are far broader than necessary to address any problems that have arisen or may arise.
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Lawsuit Demands Immediate Release of Santa Rita Inmates at High Risk for a Fatal COVID-19 Infection While Living in Unsafe Conditions
May 29, 2020
Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a class action lawsuit to compel Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern to release all medically vulnerable people in custody at Santa Rita or in rare circumstances transfer them to home confinement.
Three of our plaintiffs are inmates who suffer from respiratory illnesses and hypertension – chronic medical conditions that the CDC says make t...
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California Supreme Court Rules Against the City of Hayward and its Police Department in Public Records Case
May 28, 2020
Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California prevailed in obtaining a unanimous California Supreme Court opinion that will help ensure that access to electronic records, such as police body camera footage, is not dependent on the requester’s wealth.
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Court Rejects Lawsuit to Force Governor to Halt ICE Transfers During Pandemic
May 13, 2020
The California Supreme Court today rejected a lawsuit that would have forced the governor to halt the transfer of individuals from state prisons and county jails to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers that are potential death traps due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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ACLU Condemns DAs in Stanislaus and Tulare Counties for Defying New COVID-19 Statewide Bail Directives
May 06, 2020
The ACLU denounces actions taken by Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager and Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward to keep people in jail during the COVID-19 crisis by circumventing and opposing the emergency bail schedule.
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Advocates Demand that Mayor Breed Follow the Law, Move Unhoused People into Hotels and Allow COVID-19 Tests for Shelter Residents
May 05, 2020
Attorneys for the Coalition on Homelessness demanded that Mayor Breed stop shirking her mandatory health duties, and allow COVID-19 testing of all shelter residents, as well as follow the recent City ordinance requiring that hotel rooms be made available for all unhoused people during the shelter-in-place ordinance.
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