Archive

Ruling requires policies to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in juvenile correction facility. Read More

Police use of Taser stun guns to subdue suspects in California and around the nation has increased dramatically in recent years. Billed by their manufacturer, Taser International, as a non-lethal alternative to deadly force, Tasers have been purchased and deployed by a growing number of law enforcement agencies. However, while the Taser is less deadly than a traditional firearm, it is hardly ... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California today filed a motion asking the Yolo County Superior Court to set aside a sweeping permanent injunction issued against alleged members of West Sacramento’s “Broderick Boys” gang on February 3, 2005. The motion was filed on behalf of residents who were never given any notice that the District Attorney was seeking to impose on them this permanent injunction during the... Read More

In July, 2005 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that there may no be any reason to bar the media from witnessing executions. Judge Hawkins writes, in his opinion for the en banc court, "We agree that executions are unquestionably matters 'of great public importance.' Pell, 417 U.S. at 830 n.7. Moreover, we believe that more information leads to a better informed public." While it had previo... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California filed a class action lawsuit today challenging the unlawful round up of approximately 60 students at James Logan High School in Union City on February 22, 2002. The students were illegally rounded up, detained for up to two hours, searched, interrogated and photographed by Union City police officers and school officials. The information gathered from the students ap... Read More

A groundbreaking settlement has been reached as a result of a federal lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Northern California on behalf of three high school students whose civil rights were violated when they were rounded up for a so-called “gang intervention” meeting. Read More

Does compulsory testing and maintenance of DNA from persons who are arrested for felony offenses and persons with past convictions who are no longer supervised by the criminal justice system violate the Fourth Amendment and federal privacy rights? Read More

For nearly 25 years, the California Department of Corrections (CDC) held an unwritten policy of segregating prisoners by race for, upon entry to a new facility. However, in February, 2005 the Supreme Court, in a 5-3 decision, declared this policy was not up to constitutional standards. The CDC implemented this policy in order to curb interracial violence. Upon entry to a new facility each... Read More

Should a criminal defendant have the burden of proving that a prosecutor's peremptory challenges to all of the Native American jurors in the jury pool were "predominantly" based on race or is it enough to show that one of the reasons for the challenges was based on racial stereotypes? Read More

An appeal was filed to halt the execution of Donald Beardslee, arguing that one of the drugs used in the procedure, Pavulon, would paralyze and leave him unable to signal if he was in pain, violating Beardslee's Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and Death Penalty Focus filed an amicus brief arguing that the paralyzing dr... Read More