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For years, we at the ACLU have been warning that the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative – a vast information sharing program that encourages the collection and sharing of “suspicious activity” among private parties and local, state and federal law enforcement – would lead to violations of our privacy, racial and religious profiling, and interference with constitutionally... Read More

By all accounts Kyle Thompson is a typical kid from Michigan, but after a misunderstanding with his teacher, Kyle was led from school in handcuffs, was expelled and had to spend the year under house arrest. Read More

The facts prove that life in prison without the possibility of parole (LWOP) is swift, severe, and certain punishment. The reality is that people sentenced to LWOP have been condemned to die in prison and that’s what happens: They die in prison of natural causes, just like the majority of people sentenced to death. The differences: Sentencing people to death by execution is three times more expens... Read More

Students in all of California’s public schools deserve at least these basic necessities for educational opportunity. The plaintiffs in the historic Williams v. California lawsuit fought for this principle, and on September 29, 2004, when legislation implementing the settlement agreement was signed into law, they helped to usher in a new era for public education in California. Read More

Today marks the 37th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, which in 1976 stripped poor women of Medicaid coverage for abortion, turning a legal right into something that is out of reach for many. Read More

Comedian and actor David Moss fell into hard times with a drug addiction that immediately became a struggle he couldn’t overcome. Addiction had landed him in a cycle of arrests – not just one or two times, but a whopping 14 times for the same charge: being under the influence of a narcotic. Read More

Today, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 60: The Safe and Responsible Driver Act. Starting in January 2015, California residents who learn the rules of the road and pass a driving test will be eligible to obtain a driver's license regardless of immigration status. The Safe and Responsible Driver Act is an important step forward for over one million undocumented drivers who live in California... Read More

The ACLU of California applauds Governor Brown for signing AB 4, the TRUST Act, a bill authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano. The TRUST Act creates a clear standard for when local law enforcement will respond to federal immigration detainer requests that result from the Secure Communities program (S-Comm). S-Comm requires local law enforcement to share the fingerprints of anyone they arrest with ... Read More

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation on Oct. 9, 2013 that would increase access to safe, early abortion for California women. The bill, AB 154 was authored by Assembly member Toni Atkins (D-San Diego). AB 154 improves access by authorizing trained and qualified nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physicians assistants to perform early abortions. Read More

Yesterday, Governor Brown signed AB 154 to expand access to abortion in California. The legislation addresses a current shortage in the state—52% of California counties don’t have an accessible abortion provider—and allows women to receive care in their own communities from providers they already know and trust. At a time when reproductive health, rights, and justice are under attack in so much of... Read More