News

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

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After years of tireless work to see one of California’s most discriminatory laws repealed, today women and families across the state are rejoicing in news that Gov.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

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

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

Despite marijuana usage rates being similar across racial and ethnic lines, data provided by the Los Angeles and Fresno Police Departments show that black and Latino people in those cities were issued marijuana possession citations at higher rates than white people in the years immediately following the penalty change from misdemeanor to infraction. The data also reveal that marijuana possession e... Read More

Police transparency law, SB 1286, was held in the Senate Appropriations committee today. The law would have shined light on how police departments handle confirmed instances of officer misconduct and serious uses of force. Today is a sad day for transparency, accountability, and justice in California. Read More

Under pressure from grassroots San Franciscans former SFPD chief Greg Suhr resigned on Thursday. There is no quick fix. We must continue working for systemic change to end the deep-rooted failures of the SFPD. Read More

Today the American Civil Liberties Union of California released a policy brief, Civil Asset Forfeiture: Profiting from California’s Most Vulnerable, examining civil asset forfeiture abuse by California law enforcement agencies, a practice that greatly impacts communities of color and low-income Californians. Read More

On May 13, 2016 Gov. Jerry Brown released the May Revision to his proposed 2016-17 state budget. Read More