Archive

The landmark case Clement v. California Department of Corrections was brought on behalf of Pelican Bay prisoner Frank Clement by the ACLU Foundation of Northern California and the Prison Law Office. Clement filed a federal court challenge to the California Department of Corrections policy prohibiting inmates at the prison from receiving any mail that contains material printed from the Internet. A ... Read More

The recent indictments of high-ranking officers in the San Francisco Police Department have brought into the spotlight both the Department as a whole and the mechanisms that exist for holding police accountable for misconduct. The media, elected officials, and members of the public have not only focused on the merits of the charges against the individual officers involved, but have begun to exa... Read More

Racial profiling by law enforcement has long plagued communities of color. The 2003 settlement in our racial profiling case established a moratorium on California Highway Patrol consent searches.

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Racial profiling by law enforcement has long plagued communities of color, yet until recently was virtually ignored by the media, courts, and public officials. In the last few years, the issue seized the attention of the public as never before, due in no small part to the data first released in New Jersey and Maryland showing extreme racial profiling problems within the state police departments... Read More

Racial profiling by law enforcement has long plagued communities of color, yet until recently was virtually ignored by the media, courts and public officials. This report tells the story of the struggle to bring an end to racial profiling in California. Read More

Upholding the First Amendment right to witness California's executions, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled on February 28, 1997 that public witnesses - including the media - have a constitutionally protected right to observe executions."The Court has sent a loud and clear message that the California authorities cannot pull the curtain on executions. The public has a right to have repres... Read More

Physicians and patients file a class action suit in response to Prop 215’s threat to punish doctors if they are found to be recommending medical marijuana to their patients. Read More

The State of California is prohibited from using the gas chamber to execute condemned prisoners. Read More