Archive

In the midst of a national conversation about police transparency and accountability, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Law Offices of Amitai Schwartz filed a lawsuit today against the City of Hayward and its Police Department (Hayward PD) for charging the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) unlawful and excessive costs as the price of disclosing body worn camera footage r... Read More

With a growing chorus of voices demanding systemic police reform, California is poised to pass AB 953: The Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, the first-of-its-kind bill to collect basic information on police stops in order to combat racial and identity profiling. The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), was approved by the California Senate today and will return ... Read More

SB 249 would allow the DMV to issue driver’s licenses that include a tiny RFID chip that broadcasts your personally identifying information. Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California is asking Del Norte, Fresno, Mendocino, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Tulare, Madera, and Shasta counties to reverse their policies of requiring payment in advance of traffic court dates, or face possible legal action. These counties are currently withholding the right to contest a traffic citation until the fines and fees for the citation are paid in full. This pr... Read More

Nearly 800 faith leaders, victims of police misconduct, family members of people killed by law enforcement, and other community members staged a sit-in outside of Governor Brown’s office on Wednesday following a march and rally for police reform. Chants echoed through the halls as participants called on Governor Brown to affirm his support for a bill to combat racial and identity profiling by law ... Read More

Since Michael Brown’s death, unarmed black men have been killed by law enforcement at alarmingly disproportionate rates. Specifically, reports indicate that black men account for 40% of 60 unarmed deaths at the hands of police this year, and are seven times more likely than white men to be shot to death by police while unarmed. At the state level, California holds the ominous record for the highes... Read More

Much of the recent outcry over policing reflects the concern that when cops violate the law, or shoot someone, the public doesn’t get the full story. Read More

On Sep. 2, 2015, there will be a March on the Capitol and Rally for Justice to call on the state legislature and Gov. Brown to take a stand against biased policing by passing and signing AB 953: The Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015. Read More

Imagine you’re on your way to buy a used car and a police officer pulls you over. After asking you a few questions, the officer asks to search your car. Knowing you’ve done nothing wrong, you agree. The next thing you know, the officer is telling you that he’s suspicious that you have $2,500 in cash – and he takes it. You explain that you’re on your way to buy a car. He doesn’t believe you and tel... Read More

After three years of litigation, we’ve finally settled a portion of one of our long-running Freedom of Information Act suits against the federal government for information about its location tracking practices.  A person’s digital location information reveals detailed, private information that the government should only be able to get through a warrant based on probable cause.  As part o... Read More