News

The California Court of Appeal has ruled that the state’s prolonged detention of people who have been declared incompetent to stand trial due to psychiatric or intellectual disability violates their right to due process. This has profound implications for the thousands of people who languish in county jails every year because they cannot stand trial or pursue their defense without adequate treatme... Read More

The demand letter contends that civil assessments violate due process, equal protection rights, and California statutes, by denying a fair hearing and imposing costs without regard to people’s ability to pay. Read More

Today, a San Francisco Court denied the motion for a preliminary civil injunction filed by the San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera that would have banned four people from the Tenderloin District: a 50-square block area abundant with services, businesses, and other opportunities that support marginalized communities. Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California is calling on state officials to ensure that its equity-focused COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan won’t leave some of California’s most vulnerable communities behind. Read More

Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California asks the court to deny the motions for preliminary civil injunctions filed by the San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera that would ban four people from a 50-square-block area of the Tenderloin who are alleged to have engaged in drug dealing. Read More

Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California sent a letter to the Chico City Council expressing concern for the City’s treatment of unhoused people and recent violations of the Brown Act, a law that requires advance notice of Council meetings, follows a set agenda, and provides for public comment. Read More

The National ACLU today called upon Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas to close 39 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities nationwide. The Yuba County Jail and the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Kern County are among six detention facilities in California identified by the ACLU for closure. Read More

“Today, for the first time in state history, a white police officer has been held accountable for killing a Black man. Now, we can finally say George Floyd’s name and make it synonymous not only with grief, anger, and loss over his brutal murder, but with a moment of justice. But to be clear, true justice would mean George Floyd was alive today, with his fiancée, his daughter, and his family. Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California sent a letter to the Lemoore Union Elementary School District expressing deep concern for the District’s failure to provide all students with a distance learning option during the Covid-19 pandemic. The letter urges the District to immediately comply with public health guidance and the law to provide a high-quality distance learning option to all students... Read More

The law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, representing the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, filed suit against the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office for its failure to comply with a public record request seeking information regarding use of force, discharge of firearms, sexual assault, and dishonesty by its officers. The complaint seeks immediate disclosure of all of the requested public records. Read More

Pacifica's RV parking ban is a blatant attempt by Pacifica to banish those who rely on RVs for housing and mobility, and therefore violates the U.S. Constitution, the California Constitution, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read More

The ACLU and four local community organizations are seeking a court order to block unlawful efforts by three district attorneys to undo an agreement between the state and people on death row that followed Governor Newsom’s moratorium on executions. Read More