Archive

San Francisco - The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) is pleased to announce that Free Speech for Equal Justice awardees from UC Berkeley have been selected. Awards amounting to $17,000 will be distributed to eleven student groups to bring a diverse range of speakers to campus to discuss racial justice, immigrant rights, LGBTQ inclusion, environmental justice, and other equal justice issues. ... Read More

Is law enforcement in your area demanding personal info from social media companies? Here's how to find out.

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F.E., a 17-year-old from Brentwood, New York, has returned home to his family after being detained for five months in jail-like facilities run by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Read More

The teenagers must be given notice of the reasons for their arrests, access to the evidence being offered against them, and a prompt hearing in front of a judge, in which the government would have the burden to justify continued detention.

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“These baseless threats are the latest in the Trump Administration’s campaign to coerce local police and sheriffs into serving as de facto immigration agents,” said Julia Harumi Mass, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of California. “Withholding federal money from cities and counties based on these reasonable local policies is both unlawful and unwise. Courts have already upheld the legality of ... Read More

On Nov. 6, the ACLU of Northern California sent a letter to Taylor Swift’s attorney refuting  meritless legal defamation and copyright threats against local blogger Meghan Herning. The ACLU’s letter requested a response by Nov. 13. Today Senior Staff Attorney Michael Risher, issued this statement:The deadline has passed and we have not heard from Ms. Swift or her attorney. Their failure ... Read More

The ACLU Campaign for Smart Justice released new public opinion polling today that shows consensus support for criminal justice reform across the ideological and political spectrum.

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For more than four decades, the ACLU of Northern California has hosted Bill of Rights Day to honor leaders who’ve made great contributions to civil liberties and individual freedom. It started in 1973 when we recognized Anthony Amsterdam, a Stanford law professor who argued Furman v. Georgia in front of the US Supreme Court. In a landmark decision, the court held that capital punishment const... Read More

These days, it seems like almost every city is launching “smart initiatives” that promise to turn data about the city into improved public services, a vibrant business community, or a new approach to challenges like public health. But it's not smart to assume that any given “smart city” technology will actually benefit the public. These technologies can cause real harm to people. They ha... Read More

This report recommends a hierarchy of reforms based on their financial feasibility. Policy updates and improvements would require no new resources and would help to improve degraded police-community relationships. Read More