Archive

Encounters with the law can be stressful or scary. People have various experiences with law enforcement, some of which are not always fair or legal. This guide provides practical information that could help you avoid more trouble or potentially harmful situations. Read More

The ACLU Foundations of Southern and Northern California and co-counsel Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Martínez Aguilasocho Law, Inc. filed a lawsuit today against Kern County and Kern County Superior Court for systematically denying poor misdemeanor defendants their constitutional rights to counsel and due process. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of UFW Foundation and three Kern County resident... Read More

The lawsuit filed in 2022 challenged the legality of civil assessments imposed on low-income Californians. The courts used the unlawful late fees to raise revenue to fund operations. Read More

The Sikh Coalition and the ACLU Foundation of Northern California sent a letter urging the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to revise its discriminatory policy prohibiting full beards to accommodate staff who are either unable to shave due to a medical condition or who must maintain facial hair for religious reasons. Read More

Today, the Board on Geographic Names (BGN) voted to officially rename Sq___ Valley, California, to Yokuts Valley. “Yokuts” means “the people,” and honors the land's first inhabitants, its present community, and welcomes future visitors and residents.  Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights on behalf of the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria regarding repeated acts of discrimination against Native American students and students with disabilities in Loleta Union School District. The complaint reveals troubling patterns of racial hostilit... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California has filed a lawsuit to compel the city of Vallejo to release public records that contain information about officers in the Vallejo Police Department who allegedly bent their badges after on-duty shootings as a badge of honor. Read More

The Supreme Court is preparing to hear oral arguments this upcoming Wednesday, Nov. 9th in Brackeen v. Haaland, a case that could gut the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) — a law which establishes basic requirements to protect Native American children from continued forced removal from their families, tribes, and tribal culture.  Read More

The ACLU of Northern California releases the third episode of Gold Chains, our podcast about California’s hidden history of slavery. It connects the dots between an early California law that allowed white settlers to enslave Indigenous children and a current U.S. Supreme Court case Read More

On September 27, 2022, the Coalition on Homelessness and seven individual plaintiffs filed suit against the City and County of San Francisco and Mayor London Breed for their efforts to criminalize homelessness through an array of brutal policing practices that violate the constitutional rights of unhoused San Franciscans. Plaintiffs are also seeking a preliminary injunction to stop these practices... Read More