Archive

The Court administers this additional fee known as the civil assessment without judicial review, adequate notice, or consideration for a person’s circumstances. The $300 charge is often six to eight times greater than the base fine for a traffic infraction in California. Read More

Sacramento County is an important jurisdiction for reform of the laws and policies that produce mass incarceration. The county incarcerates roughly 10,000 people between county jails and state prisons. The DA, Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department, and courts consume 64 percent of the County General Fund, yet the county’s crime rate — though slightly higher than the state and federal average ... Read More

California and the United States as a whole incarcerate more people than anywhere else in the world, in both absolute and per capita terms1 District attorneys (DAs) in California can have a powerful role in curbing mass incarceration and hold tremendous discretion within the criminal legal system, but they have historically been subject to limited accountability. This report outlines the practices... Read More

California District Attorneys (DAs) have historically used their legal discretion to prioritize aggressive “tough-on-crime” prosecution, which has caused incarceration rates to skyrocket and destroyed lives Even though they are elected officials, DAs are often not held accountable for these practices, in part, because their role is not well understood, and much of their work is hidden from the pub... Read More

California district attorneys (DAs) have historically played a central role in driving incarceration. Although they are elected officials, DAs have not typically been held accountable by the public for policies and practices that perpetuate racial disparities and criminalize poverty, mental illness, and other social issues. This 2021 report outlines the policies and practices of the Orange County ... Read More

Our year-long investigation uncovered records that show California Highway Patrol (CHP) spying on protesters for racial justice in cities up and down the state Read More

Rap lyrics are protected free speech under the First Amendment. But all too often in trial after trial of Black men, prosecutors introduce this form of artistic expression to secure convictions for serious crimes carrying long prison sentences. Simply put, rap is unfairly seen in the courts, not as an art form, but as inherently incriminating evidence. Read More

A disturbing trend has emerged in California—police officers are stationed in schools and are replacing educators as disciplinarians for minor offenses and student behavior issues. Further, on-campus policing often results in over-criminalizing students—mostly low-income students of color—and pushes affected students out of the educational environment and into the school-to-prison pipeline. This i... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California and our legal partners filed a lawsuit against the state of California and Pittsburg Unified School District for allegedly maintaining an illegal educational system where Black students, children of color with disabilities and English learners have been segregated in substandard learning environments, excluded from classrooms altogether through the use of unwarrante... Read More

Two students, two parents of former students, and a current teacher, filed a claim in Contra Costa County Superior Court, against the State Board of Education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the State of California, and Pittsburg Unified School District. The complaint alleges the state and district’s unlawful practices harm thousands of its most marginalized students, pr... Read More