
News
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.
ACLU of Northern California, NCLR, Equality California, and Lambda Legal File Amicus Brief in Federal Challenge to Proposition 8 Asking Court to Lift Stay
Mar 02, 2011
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Equality California, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and Lambda Legal jointly filed an amicus brief on March 1 in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asking the court to lift the temporary stay in the federal court challenge to Proposition 8.
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ACLU of Northern California & Amnesty International USA to San Francisco Police Commission: "Table the Taser Debate"
Feb 23, 2011
The ACLU of Northern California and Amnesty International USA will urge the San Francisco Police Commission at its meeting tonight to prioritize implementation of a new crisis intervention program instead of acquiring Tasers. Both groups point to the Commission's recent adoption of the "Memphis Model" of crisis intervention training for the police force as a crucial step that should be fully imple...
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Renters Deserve Free Speech Rights, Too
Feb 16, 2011
Tenants will have the right to display political signs on any part of the premises of their rented homes or apartments if a bill, SB 337, introduced yesterday by Senator Christine Kehoe and backed by the ACLU passes in the California legislature and is signed by Governor Jerry Brown.
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ACLU to Sheriffs: Immigration-Based Policing Too Costly
Feb 16, 2011
In a letter to sheriffs, the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) called on sheriffs across California to cease costly and harmful practices that target immigrant communities. The call accompanies a report highlighting personal stories, cost data and proposals to protect public safety while reducing the fiscal and human costs of local enforcement practices that target immigrants.
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Add Water and Kill?
Feb 08, 2011
Today, the ACLU of Northern California posted new records handed over by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on its global "secret mission" to acquire lethal injection drugs, as well as additional records provided by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These new records come to light as Federal Judge Jeremy Fogel tours San Quentin's new execution chamber, built a...
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Privacy Groups Announce Developer Challenge for Mobile Apps
Feb 04, 2011
Today four groups announced the 2011 Develop for Privacy Challenge (www.develop4privacy.org), a new competition for mobile application developers to address privacy concerns surrounding mobile phones and other portable devices. Sponsoring the challenge are the ACLU of Northern California, the ACLU of Washington, and the Tor Project, with the assistance of the Ontario Information and Privacy Commis...
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School Suspends Student for Facebook Posting
Jan 28, 2011
In December, 2010, officials at a Sacramento-area high school suspended a student for posting to Facebook a message describing one of his teachers as a "fat ass who should stop eating fast food, and is a douche bag." But this week, officials at the school moved quickly to expunge the suspension after a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California put forth this civics less...
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School Officials Retract Punishment of Student Suspended for Facebook Posting
Jan 28, 2011
In December, officials at a Sacramento-area high school suspended a student for posting to Facebook a message describing one of his teachers as a “fat ass who should stop eating fast food, and is a douche bag.” But this week, officials at the school moved quickly to expunge the suspension after a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California put forth this civics lesson: th...
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New Documents Show Wide-ranging Search for Execution Drugs by CA Reached Military Hospitals, FDA
Jan 04, 2011
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) released 192 pages of records to the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) in compliance with a Dec. 14, 2010 California Superior Court order. The documents, delivered on Jan. 4, reveal more damaging details about the Department's "secret mission" to acquire sodium thiopental, a controlled substance used a...
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ACLU California Affiliates Announce Major Settlement in School Fees Case
Dec 09, 2010
The California affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union announced a settlement today with the State of California that will establish a comprehensive monitoring and enforcement system to ensure school districts do not unlawfully charge fees to students for educational activities.
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Court Orders CDCR to Produce Lethal Injection Records
Nov 30, 2010
A California state court ordered the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Tuesday to produce records relating to its acquisition of sodium thiopental, a controlled substance used as part of California's lethal injection protocol for executing death row inmates.
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ACLU Advises Holiday Travelers of Privacy Rights During TSA Screenings
Nov 23, 2010
The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) is alerting travelers to their rights amid the uproar about new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening procedures. Some travelers are unaware that full-body virtual strip-search machines are already in place in several major California airports including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland. In this environment,...
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