News

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

SACRAMENTO — Today, the California Assembly approved legislation that will help prevent wrongful convictions. Senate Bill 923, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), will ensure that law enforcement agencies throughout the state adhere to evidence-based standards that protect against mistaken eyewitness identifications. Kathy Sher, Legislative Advocate for the ACLU of California,... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today, the California Assembly voted to approve Senate Bill 1421. Introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), the historic legislation will make public information about officers who shoot, kill, or engage in serious misconduct like falsifying evidence or committing sexual assault while on the job. “Today’s vote marks a tremendous victory in the fight for police accountabilit... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Last night, a bill that would have changed the standard for when California police can use deadly force was held in the Legislature. Assembly Bill 931, introduced by Assemblymembers Weber (D-San Diego) and McCarty (D-Sacramento), would have established that police officers cannot use deadly force when they have other reasonable alternatives. In response, Alliance for Boys and Men o... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today, the California Senate voted to approve Assembly Bill 3131, a bill to increase transparency and accountability in law enforcement’s acquisition of military equipment. The bill was introduced by Assemblymembers Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) and David Chiu (D-San Francisco). Eva Brittan, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Southern California, had this to say in response: Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today the ACLU Foundation of Northern California and Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC) on behalf of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness (SRCEH), in a letter sent in partnership with the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, called on the County of Sacramento to repeal its unconstitutional ban on panhandling. The letter was part of an effort by ... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed into law Senate Bill 10, the California Bail Reform Act.  The following statement can be jointly attributed to the three Executive Directors of the California ACLU affiliates: Abdi Soltani (Northern California), Hector Villagra (Southern California), and Norma Chávez Peterson (San Diego & Imperial Counties): We are disappoint... Read More