News

The ACLU of Northern California and the Law Office of Mark E. Merin today charged that an ordinance adopted in May by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors banning panhandling is unconstitutional. A lawsuit filed today in U.S District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento on behalf of the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee and two individuals alleges the ordinance v... Read More

Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit today on behalf of five Americans who had their information entered into federal law enforcement databases for innocent things like taking pictures, buying computers, or standing in a train station, and were then subjected to investigation. The American Civil Liberties Union of California, the national ACLU, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus... Read More

Our immigration system is broken. The ACLU joins millions of Americans in calling on our representatives to fix it in a way that stays true to those values. Read More

Today the ACLU of Northern California filed a religious liberty lawsuit against the Fresno County Sheriff over a policy that denies people held in Fresno County jails access to food that complies with their religious dietary restrictions. Read More

In a landmark ruling, a federal judge struck down as unconstitutional the government’s procedures for people on the No Fly List to challenge their inclusion. The decision came in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit brought on behalf of 13 Americans who found themselves on the list without any notice, reasons, or meaningful way to get off it. Read More

Monday marks the 20th anniversary of the introduction of Proposition 187, the divisive initiative passed by California voters in 1994 that sought to deny many public services to undocumented immigrants. Federal courts rejected most provisions of law as unconstitutional, but the law still remains technically on the books.With scores of community, faith, labor and legal organizations, the ACLU of Ca... Read More

Community members and members of the Drive CA Coalition released recommendations at a news conference today urging the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to improve proposed regulations that will make drivers' licenses for undocumented immigrants a reality under California's AB 60, The Safe and Responsible Driver Act. The recommendations come in the lead-up to highly anticipated public hearings wh... Read More

Today the ACLU of Northern California filed a lawsuit against the Alameda County Sheriff over a policy that requires every woman in their custody younger than 60 to submit to a pregnancy test. Read More

Today the ACLU of Northern California sued the City and County of Fresno over complete bans on cultivation of medical marijuana. The bans are inconsistent with state law that allows medical marijuana to be grown. The City and County also ban all medical marijuana dispensaries. Read More

A U.S. District Court Judge granted motions for a preliminary injunction and for class certification in our lawsuit challenging the federal government’s practice in California of detaining immigrants without bond while they face deportation proceedings. Read More

CRESCENT CITY – In a unanimous 5-0 vote, the Del Norte County Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday extended a 2009 agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California resolving allegations of racial discrimination against Native American students. The agreement, which has now been extended through August 2017, provides the district with additional time to ... Read More

The Drive California Coalition, comprised of a broad range of civil and immigrants’ rights organizations, applauds members of California’s Congressional Delegation for urging U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson to approve the California driver’s license proposed by the legislature in AB 60: “The Safe and Responsible Driver Act.” The license is carefully designed to pro... Read More