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News

ACLU Strongly Opposes Mayor Breed’s Tilting of the Scales in the San Francisco DA Race

Oct 04, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO — Today in an unforeseen move, Mayor London Breed appointed her favored candidate, Suzy Loftus, to be the interim San Francisco District Attorney following the premature resignation yesterday of DA George Gascón who is not seeking a third term. Gascón will leave his post on Oct. 18th, just weeks before what would have been the first open District Attorney race in San Francisco in 100... Read More
Raul Macias Voting rights victory quote, strengthening voting rights in California
News

California to Allow Voters to Register to Vote at Every Polling Site on Election Day

Oct 08, 2019
SACRAMENTO – Today, California Governor Newsom signed SB 72, legislation introduced by State Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) to allow all eligible Californians to register to vote and cast a ballot at all polling sites on Election Day. California now joins 13 other states and the District of Columbia in making Election Day registration available at polling sites to voters. In response, R... Read More
Matt Cagle "With this law, California has acted boldly to protect civil rights and civil liberties from the threats posed by an unprecedented surveillance technology."
News

California Governor Signs Landmark Bill Halting Facial Recognition on Police Body Cams

Oct 08, 2019
SACRAMENTO — Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed landmark legislation making California the largest state in the country to block law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition and other biometric tracking technology in connection with officer body cameras. Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) introduced AB 1215: The Body Camera Accountability Act earlier this year in l... Read More
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News

California to Become First State to Stop Charging Copays in Jails and Prisons After Governor Signs New Law

Oct 08, 2019
SACRAMENTO — California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed historic legislation to permanently bar county jails and state prisons from charging incarcerated Californians copays and other fees for medical and dental services. AB 45, state legislation introduced by Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay), goes into effect January 1, 2020, making California the first state in the country to abolis... Read More
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News

Advocates Celebrate Governor Newsom’s Signature on SB 136, Dismantling a Cruel, Ineffective Sentence Enhancement

Oct 09, 2019
SACRAMENTO — Today, the Repeal Ineffective Sentence Enhancements (RISE) Coalition celebrated Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature on SB 136: The RISE Act. The legislation, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), dismantles a cruel, expensive, and ineffective sentence enhancement that adds an extra year to an individual’s base sentence for each prior prison or felony jail term they already... Read More
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Signed

The Body Camera Accountability Act (AB 1215)

Body cameras were promised as a way to hold police accountable not as surveillance systems to be used against the public. Unfortunately, body cameras are now at risk of being paired with face surveillance technology - despite the fact that face recognition algorithms routinely misidentify people of color and women. Read More
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News

ACLU Files Complaint on Behalf of Black Students at Fresno Unified Bullied and Harassed by Blackface Video

Oct 10, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a discrimination complaint under the Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP), on behalf of two black Bullard High School students in the Fresno Unified District, for failure to comply with the California Education Code and Fresno Unified School Board’s requirements pertaining to racially hostile environments and bullying. The UCP c... Read More
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Case

Fresno Unified District Complaint (Racial Harassment)

Oct 10, 2019
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a discrimination complaint under the Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP), on behalf of two black Bullard High School students in the Fresno Unified District, for failure to comply with the California Education Code and Fresno Unified School Board’s requirements pertaining to racially hostile environments and bullying. The UCP covers alleged violation... Read More
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Blog

California Just Blocked Police Body Cam Use of Face Recognition

Oct 11, 2019
The state of California just made it clear: Face recognition surveillance isn’t inevitable. We can — and should — fight hard to protect our communities from this dystopian technology. Building on San Francisco’s first-of-its-kind ban on government face recognition, California this week enacted a landmark law that blocks police from using body cameras for spying on the public. The state-wide law... Read More
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News

Governor Newsom Signs Groundbreaking Abortion Access Bill

Oct 11, 2019
SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 24 (Leyva), groundbreaking legislation that will require student health centers at all 34 California public universities to offer medication abortion. The bill, also known as the College Student Right to Access Act, is the first of its kind in the nation, and has widespread support across the state. At the signing ceremony, Governor News... Read More