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Our lawyers and advocates are among the nation's leading experts on civil liberties and constitutional freedoms. Read the latest on the ACLU of Northern California’s work. To schedule a press interview, call (415) 621-2493 or contact press@aclunc.org.

ACLU of Northern CA
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Legal Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Proposition 8, Should It Pass

Nov 05, 2008
The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court today urging the court to invalidate Proposition 8 if it passes. The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone ... Read More
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ACLU Calls On Broadcasters To Stop Stifling Political Discourse On YouTube

Oct 20, 2008
Television networks should stop silencing political speech on the Internet, according to a letter the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Northern California and a coalition of public interest groups sent to four major television networks today. Several broadcasting companies have sent letters to YouTube demanding that they take down videos containing short clips of news coverage even when... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
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Congress Cannot Grant Wholesale Immunity to Telecoms

Oct 17, 2008
San Francisco – Congress and the Bush White House overstepped their constitutional authority and violated the rights of millions of customers when they passed and approved legislation granting sweeping immunity to telecoms that collaborated in illegal spying. That assertion is contained in a court filing today by three California affiliates and the Illinois affiliate of the American Civil Li... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
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Congress Cannot Grant Wholesale Immunity to Telecoms

Oct 17, 2008
Congress and the Bush White House overstepped their constitutional authority and violated the rights of millions of customers when they passed and approved legislation granting sweeping immunity to telecoms that collaborated in illegal spying. That assertion is contained in a court filing today by three California affiliates and the Illinois affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union and the ... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
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Legal Victory for Municipal ID Ordinance

Oct 14, 2008
This morning, the San Francisco Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit challenging San Francisco's Municipal ID Ordinance, which establishes a program to ensure that members of the San Francisco community are not denied access to police protection and other essential City services because they lack government-issued identification. Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
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Governor Signs Important Disaster Victim Protection Bill

Sep 30, 2008
A bill requiring public employees who provide evacuees with disaster-related assistance to do so without asking for information or documents not strictly necessary to determine eligibility for the services, AB 2327 (Caballero), was signed into law by the governor yesterday. Civil rights organizations that had provided assistance to victims of last year's California wildfires applauded the bill. Read More
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ACLU Sues ICE and Sonoma County Sheriff for Unlawful Detentions and Racial Profiling

Sep 05, 2008
San Francisco – For the past three years, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department has collaborated with the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its officers to stop and search people who appear to be Latino, interrogate them about their immigration status based on their perceived race, and detain them in the County jail without lawful authority. The Sheriff’s Department and... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
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Commission Report on California’s Death Penalty Points to Excessive Costs, including the Costs of Fixing the System’s Flaws

Jun 30, 2008
The first comprehensive study of California’s death penalty was released today by the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice (CCFAJ), a nonpartisan statewide advisory board. The 116 page report highlights a myriad of problems, including the failure to adequately fund defense counsel for poor people facing death sentences, a decades-long appeals process, and the risk that inno... Read More