Archive

A lawsuit was filed today against Solano County Superior Court, challenging the court’s practice of suspending the driver’s licenses of people who are too poor to pay exorbitant traffic fines. In 2015, over 11,000 driver’s licenses were suspended in Solano County for failure to pay alone. Read More

This piece originally appeared at The Huffington Post. When he was 10 years old, Audley Lyon moved from Jamaica to the United States. He grew up here, fell in love, married a U.S. citizen, and served honorably in the U.S. Air Force. Then Immigration and Customs Enforcement locked him up. It should have been simple for Mr. Lyon to obtain the certifications he needed to begin to fight the ... Read More

In a first of its kind class action settlement, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) has agreed to change its policies in four Northern California detention centers. Read More

After years of tireless work to see one of California’s most discriminatory laws repealed, today women and families across the state are rejoicing in news that Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon agreed to include funds to repeal CalWORKs Maximum Family Grant (MFG) rule in the state's 2016 Budget Act. Read More

In response to recent sweeps, in which the City and its agents have taken, discarded and/or destroyed property belonging to homeless individuals, a coalition of legal groups today delivered a demand letter to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee charging that these practices are unlawful. Read More

The slum housing crisis in Fresno is a crisis of poverty and racism. Yet today, the Fresno City Council will vote on an overly broad and vague "nuisance" ordinance that will only open the door to more discrimination. Read More

Did you know that in 2014 police took more property from people in the U.S. than burglars did? Frightening, but absolutely legal. A new ACLU of California report finds that, although this tactic of policing for profit can impact all types of innocent people, folks of color and poor people bear the heaviest burden. Read More

Today the American Civil Liberties Union of California released a policy brief, Civil Asset Forfeiture: Profiting from California’s Most Vulnerable, examining civil asset forfeiture abuse by California law enforcement agencies, a practice that greatly impacts communities of color and low-income Californians. Read More

A Fresno judge has ruled against the state of California in its effort to avoid responsibility for ensuring that people who can’t afford to hire their own lawyers are provided with effective counsel.The lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Northern California, the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, and Paul Hastings LLP against the state and Fresno County for violating defendants’ right to counsel, due p... Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California has filed a a lawsuit challenging the failure to provide adequate legal representation to criminal defendants throughout Fresno County who are unable to afford an attorney. Read More