Archive

Can the State of California retroactively enforce Prop 83's residency restrictions against sex offenders who committed their offenses before the law went into effect? Read More

This case brings to light some of the ACLU Foundation of Northern California's concerns about a state law that makes it unlawful for a registered sex offender to live within 2,000 feet of a school or park. We argue that by applying the law to people who committed their crimes before the law went into effect, the state of California is advancing an overbroad interpretation that violates the state C... Read More

Over 12,000 individuals, from California and across the country, have submitted comments objecting to the new execution plan recently released by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The revised plan, released for public comment on January 4, 2010, is part of the CDCR's efforts to kick-start executions which have been on hold in California for four years. Read More

San Francisco – A lawsuit filed today by the ACLU of Northern California seeks to stop California's policy of mandating that DNA is collected from anyone arrested for a felony, whether or not they are ever charged or convicted. The ACLU opposes this law because it violates constitutional guarantees of privacy and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, and because of the rmful impact on comm... Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California submitted an amicus brief in The People of the State of California vs. Norteño, urging the Solano County Superior Court to limit the overly broad scope of a gang injunction proposed by the City of Fairfield. The ACLU of Northern California brief expressed concerns with several aspects of the injunction, including the potential for racial profiling an... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California has filed a friend of the court brief with the Solano County Superior Court urging it to limit the overly broad scope of a proposed gang injunction in the City of Fairfield. The ACLU-NC is concerned with several aspects of the injunction, including the ability of the police to serve the injunction on an individual without presenting clear and convincing evidence of ... Read More

On March 18 2009, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed a bill ending the death penalty in his state, replacing it with permanent imprisonment. Gov. Richardson’s courageous act makes New Mexico the third state – following New Jersey and New York in 2007 – to end the death penalty in favor of an alternative that better supports the needs of victims and the public safety concerns for all New Me... Read More

ACLU of Northern California released a new report revealing that California continues to spend more money on the death penalty, even while fewer counties actually send anyone to death row. Read More

We all want to live in safe communities, where we have an equal opportunity to succeed. To effectively build safe and healthy communities, we need to solve more violent crimes—especially murders—and we need to prevent more violence by investing in our children. But we don’t have the resources needed for these vital programs because the death penalty is draining millions of dollars every year from ... Read More

Losing a loved one to homicide is a devastating and life-changing event. In Oakland alone, 148 residents were murdered in 2006, leaving behind hundreds of family members and loved ones whose lives were forever changed. Read More