Archive

During a hearing on the federal preliminary injunction prohibiting San Francisco from citing and arresting unhoused people who have no access to shelter, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals appeared to reject the city's argument that the injunction prevents San Francisco from maintaining a safe and healthy environment on the streets. The lawsuit, Coalition on Homelessness v. ... Read More

As a public school teacher in California, you have free speech rights inside and outside of the classroom. In this Know Your Rights guide, you can learn more about these rights and how to protect them.” Read More

The ACLU of Northern California and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area sent a letter to San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu asking him to discuss settlement terms that would prioritize developing affordable housing, expanding access to temporary shelter, and providing services to help unhoused San Franciscans get off the streets and back on their feet. Read More

For years, ACLU of Northern California has built momentum to ban the use of face surveillance by law enforcement. That’s why we put all our muscle behind a campaign to defeat AB 642, a bill that would have normalized real-time, mass surveillance. Read More

Fifty years ago a modern constitutional right to privacy was added to the state constitution. And for the last five decades, that right has helped to safeguard our homes, our families, our bodies, our thoughts, and our associations from invasion by government and corporate interests. Read More

In Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer,’ there is a scene where government agents creep outside a gathering of UC Berkeley-affiliated activists to write down the license plates of those parked outside the event. Instead of learning from this history, the City of Berkeley has taken a step towards repeating it.  Read More

In Santa Clara County, people who want to voluntarily appear in court to address an outstanding arrest warrant must first go to jail if they are too poor to post bail. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and Criminal Defense Clinic at Stanford Law School have sued Santa Clara County Superior Court over this unconstitutional policy that results in an unequal system of justice. Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and our legal partner sued Santa Clara County Superior Court over its unfair policy requiring people who want to voluntarily address an outstanding arrest warrant to first go to jail if they are too poor to post bail. Read More

The ACLU of Northern California, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and Latham & Watkins LLP filed a brief in federal court asking a judge to appoint a special master to oversee the city of San Francisco's compliance with a December 2022 injunction barring the city from forcibly displacing unhoused people and destroying their belongings. Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court's affirmation of the Indian Child Welfare Act was a landmark victory for tribal sovereignty and Native families. But despite the law's protections, Native and Black children are much more likely to be removed from their homes and placed in foster care. The government must do more to support struggling families and help them stay together. Read More