Scales of Justice in Courtroom

Legal Docket

For decades, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California has used the courts to protect and expand the rights of all Californians. From fighting against the internment of Japanese Americans, to suing California Highway Patrol for targeting Black and Latinx drivers, the ACLU is building a more just state one lawsuit at a time.

computer with cell phone
Case

City of San Jose v. Superior Court (Government Transparency)

Mar 02, 2017
The City of San Jose claims that that electronic messages dealing with official business that its employees send to one another are not public records if the employees send them using their personal accounts or devices. The ACLU Foundations of California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are asking the California Supreme Court to grant review in the interest of an open and transparent governm... Read More
Sign in a crowd protesting the ban at SFO airport reads, "We stand with Muslim travelers"
Case

Roe 1 v. Trump (Muslim Ban)

Feb 02, 2017
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California sued President Donald J. Trump, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for establishing and enforcing an unconstitutional and discriminatory Muslim ban. Read More
Four portraits of clients in Sanchez v. Caltrans
Case

Sanchez v. California Department of Transportation

Dec 08, 2016

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is violating the constitutional rights of homeless people by confiscating and destroying their property in ongoing sweeps. The class-action suit seeks a permanent injunction to stop this illegal practice throughout California. 

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Client in Gill v. DOJ case speaking at press conference
Case

Gill v. DOJ (Challenge to Federal Suspicious Activity Reporting)

Dec 08, 2016
The ACLU Foundations of California filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s Suspicious Activity Reporting program - a vast expansion of the federal government’s domestic intelligence network. The SAR program targets First Amendment-protected activity, encourages racial and religious profiling, and violates federal law. The plaintiffs are five U.S. citizens whose information has been en... Read More
ballot selfie
Case

ACLU Foundations of California v. Alex Padilla (Ballot Selfies)

Oct 31, 2016
The ACLU Foundations of California filed suit against Secretary of State Alex Padilla challenging two statutes that prohibit voters from sharing ballot selfies. The suit asks for a temporary restraining order to prohibit the state from enforcing the ban for the November presidential election. Read More
Person looking at a phone
Case

In re Ricardo P. (Electronic Search)

Oct 27, 2016
This case arises from the decision by a California trial court to impose an expansive “electronics search condition” on a young probationer that required him to submit his electronic devices and online account passwords for a search as a condition of probation. Read More
youth looking at a cell phone
Case

Hassell v. Bird (Yelp Free Speech)

Sep 21, 2016
The CA Supreme Court has agreed to review a case that could have allowed people to censor online speech without even giving the website’s owner an opportunity to come to court to defend itself. Read More
files
Case

ACLU v. CDCR (JLWOP Records Request)

Sep 15, 2016
On June 7, 2016, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a suit under the California Public Records Act demanding that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) release information about people serving life sentences for crimes committed as juveniles. Read More