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In the early hours of March 3, 1991, George Holliday stepped onto his balcony and saw police begin to beat a motorist on the street below. He then pulled out a video camera and filmed an incident that would become synonymous with police violence and misconduct: the beating of a young African American man named Rodney King by several Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers. News stations acro... Read More

Privacy & Free Speech: It’s Good for Business is your essential guide to avoiding costly privacy and free speech missteps that can destroy user trust, lead to government investigations and expensive lawsuits, and damage the bottom line. Read More

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice urged local courts nationwide to put an end to policies that penalize people simply for being poor – including the practice of suspending driver’s licenses when individuals miss payments on fines. This practice is all too common in California traffic courts, and is not prevented by amnesty policies that went into place last year.Today, a coalition of legal... Read More

Bills sponsored by the ACLU of California would help move us forward.Every year, the ACLU of California sponsors several bills in the California Legislature. What does it mean to sponsor a bill? In most cases, it means we have collaborated with other advocacy groups and the legislative author in drafting the bill and providing our input on the text. We also may lobby legislators, testify in suppor... Read More

This equation of anti-Semitism and “anti-Zionism” threatens free speech principles. In the area of free speech, clarity and specificity are essential to preserve the free flow of ideas. Read More

ACLU lawyers are used to taking on injustice and speaking out on behalf of our clients. This time the discrimination happened to us.We began the evening on a quest for a good karaoke night, and went to a bar called Brig. After waiting for more than half an hour to sing, we started to wonder when our number would be called. We planned to sing a hip hop and R&B hit from the ’90s — TLC’s Waterfal... Read More

Download the Spring 2016 ACLU of Northern California Newsletter and read about our latest events and initiatives. Read More

Surveillance is on the rise in our communities, but basic transparency, oversight, and accountability remain the exception, not the rule. This guide provides a step-by-step framework to approach surveillance proposals, properly evaluate their true costs, and develop policies that provide transparency, oversight, and accountability. Read More

One day after Fresno PD’s fourth shooting this year, the department released body cam footage of police killing Freddy Centeno last September and claimed that the shooting was justified. But why is the shooting still shrouded in secrecy? Read More

Today we sent a letter to the Department of Justice. Racist and homophobic texts by SFPD officers again demonstrate why a review of department policies alone—with no enforceability—is not enough. We need a pattern and practice investigation. Read More