People of the State of California vs. Norteno

On June 29, 2009 ACLU Foundation of Northern California submitted an amicus brief in The People of the State of California vs. Norteño, urging the Solano County Superior Court to limit the overly broad scope of a gang injunction proposed by the City of Fairfield. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California brief expressed concerns with several aspects of the injunction, including the potential for racial profiling and the ability of the police to serve the injunction on an individual without presenting clear and convincing evidence of gang membership and without court approval. On July 24, 2009, a preliminary injunction was granted, and a number of ACLU Foundation of Northern California's recommendations were adopted.

The injunction encompasses a four square mile area, which covers all of central Fairfield, including the homes of many of those served with the injunction and the city's main financial and shopping areas. Twenty-eight individuals are named in the proposed injunction, but it allows for police to serve anyone they believe to be affiliated with the Norteño gang. Two Fairfield residents are seeking to have their names removed from the injunction after the City mistakenly identified them as gang members.

The terms of the Fairfield gang injunction also infringe on one's ability to conduct their daily lives, causing them to risk arrest for participating in family events, being outside of their homes after 10 p.m., and engaging in other positive and lawful activities. ACLU Foundation of Northern California successfully negotiated for curfew and association restrictions to have exemptions for attending school, work, religious services, social services and government support programs.

Once a gang injunction is granted it usually lasts indefinitely and imposes ongoing restrictions against those served with the order. These injunctions effectively function like parole or probation, but with no conviction of any criminal offense and with no definite termination date.

On September 4, 2009, a case management conference was held in court, during which the judge ordered that each person served with the injunction be afforded with notice of the next conference before the court so that they may have an opportunity to appear and object to their classification as gang members. The next conference is scheduled for October 23, 2009.

Learn more:

ACLU Foundation of Northern California Amicus Brief in Opposition to the Proposed Preliminary Injunction (June 29, 2009)

Audio Commentary: Civil Liberties and Gang Injunctions (Sep. 22, 2009)