The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against the fifth largest health care system in the U.S., Dignity Health, because it denies transgender employees health insurance coverage for medically necessary treatments for gender dysphoria.

Despite marijuana usage rates being similar across racial and ethnic lines, data provided by the Los Angeles and Fresno Police Departments show that black and Latino people in those cities were issued marijuana possession citations at higher rates than white people in the years immediately following the penalty change from misdemeanor to infraction. The data also reveal that marijuana possession enforcement falls mostly on young people. In both cities, the majority of infractions were issued to persons 29 years of age and younger.

Police transparency law, SB 1286, was held in the Senate Appropriations committee today. The law would have shined light on how police departments handle confirmed instances of officer misconduct and serious uses of force. Today is a sad day for transparency, accountability, and justice in California.

Under pressure from grassroots San Franciscans former SFPD chief Greg Suhr resigned on Thursday. There is no quick fix. We must continue working for systemic change to end the deep-rooted failures of the SFPD.

Today the American Civil Liberties Union of California released a policy brief, Civil Asset Forfeiture: Profiting from California’s Most Vulnerable, examining civil asset forfeiture abuse by California law enforcement agencies, a practice that greatly impacts communities of color and low-income Californians.