News

The office of Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley has failed to disclose public documents on the costs of prosecuting capital cases, according to a lawsuit filed today by the ACLU of California on behalf of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School. The lawsuit is for public records on expenses related to homicide cases, and discretionary spending gen... Read More

Sacramento – In his revised 2011-12 state budget, Governor Brown today recommitted to his criminal justice realignment plan, but left out safe and simple sentencing reforms that would ensure that the plan is effective and affordable. The governor's plan keeps people convicted of minor felonies at the county level instead of in state prison. Advocates highlighted, however, that a key part of the so... Read More

Today the ACLU of California sent an open letter to Governor Jerry Brown, Senate President Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Perez asking that two key reforms targeting waste in prison spending are included in the May revised budget. These two reforms alone would save the state hundreds of millions annually: making possession of a small amount of drugs for personal use a misdemeanor inst... Read More

In April, following months of lively debate, city officials in the town of Redding, California, adopted a policy that restricts leafletting in the plaza in front of the Redding Municipal Library. On May 4, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, which challenged the policy on the ground that it violates the First Amendment and the California Constitution, obtained a temporary re... Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and The San Francisco Bay Guardian (The Guardian) filed a preliminary injunction motion today, asking the court to order the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to disclose records regarding the worldwide scramble for execution drugs by state prison officials. The ACLU of Northern California and The Guardian filed a federal laws... Read More

Download the Spring 2011 ACLU of Northern California Newsletter and read about our latest events and initiatives. Read More

Today the California Assembly Education Committee passed Seth's Law in a 7-3 vote. AB 9, also known as Seth's Law, is a comprehensive bill that addresses school bullying by providing California schools with specific tools to prevent and address the pervasive problem in order to create a safe school environment for all students. The bill is named "Seth's Law"' in memory of Seth Walsh, a 13 year-old... Read More

A new statewide poll released today finds that nearly three-quarters (72%) of California voters support reducing the penalty for possession of a small amount of illegal drugs for personal use from a felony to a misdemeanor, including a solid majority who support this reform strongly. The March 21-24 survey of 800 California general election voters was conducted by Lake Research Partners. Poll resu... Read More

Today, the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) posted records handed over by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBR) on highly irregular activities by officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to speed the entry of controlled substances to be used in executions in Arizona and other states. Read More

Gov. Brown signed a bill on April 4 that would keep individuals convicted of low-level felony offenses at the county level, either on probation or in jail, for terms of 16 months, two years or three years. The ACLU of Northern California, Drug Policy Alliance and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights criticized the plan for shifting the state's corrections overcrowding and overspending problems t... Read More

California Senator Leland Yee has introduced the Reader Privacy Act of 2011 (SB 602), with backing from the California Affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The law would bring a much-needed upgrade to match Californians' reading habits. Under SB 602 the government and other third parties would need a warrant or court order for access... Read More

California Senator Leland Yee has introduced the Reader Privacy Act of 2011 (SB 602), with backing from the ACLU of California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The law would bring a much-needed upgrade to match Californians' reading habits. Read More