For Immediate Release: May 26, 2009
Media Contact: press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493
ACLU of Northern CA
Today, in a 6 to 1 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the ballot measure that eliminated the right of same sex couples to marry. In the ruling authored by Chief Justice Ronald George, the Court stated "We emphasize only that among the various constitutional protections recognized in the Marriage Cases as available to same-sex couples, it is only the designation of marriage - albeit significant - that has been removed by this initiative measure." At the same time, the court unanimously ruled that the more than 18,000 marriages that took place between June 16 and November 4, 2008 continue to be fully valid and recognized by the state of California. The decision reaffirmed the Court's prior holding that sexual orientation is subject to the highest level of protection under the California Constitution.
May 21, 2009

A Federal judge approved an historic $2.35 million class action settlement to hundreds of Fresno's homeless residents. United States District Judge Oliver W. Wanger had previously ordered that the City and the California Department of Transportation had violated homeless residents' constitutional rights in the practice of immediately seizing and destroying personal property. Throughout a two-year period City employees had conducted a number of raids in areas where homeless people live, indiscriminately seizing and immediately destroying clothing, medication, tents and blankets, as well as irreplaceable personal possessions such as family photographs.

May 19, 2009

For Rochelle Hamilton, starting high school was the beginning of relentless harassment from teachers and school staff because she's openly gay. One teacher told her, "You're going to hell. This is a sin." Another said, "What's wrong with you? What are you, a man or a woman?" After months of asking the school and the district to intervene – to no avail – Rochelle and her mom reached out to the ACLU for help. Together, we took on the school district – and won.

For Immediate Release: May 18, 2009
Media Contact: press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493
Rochelle Hamilton at SF Pride 2009 - Photo by Michael Woolsey
The ACLU of Northern California announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with the Vallejo City Unified School District on behalf of a high school student who faced anti-gay harassment and discrimination from teachers and school staff and was required to participate in a school-sponsored "counseling" group designed to discourage students from being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The settlement is designed to combat harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity at all the district's schools, and includes district-wide anti-harassment training for students and staff.
May 18, 2009
In February 2009, a Fresno television newscast aired a video of a police officer repeatedly punching Glen Beaty, a homeless man, as two officers took him into custody. In the video, Beaty does not appear to be struggling, resisting, or doing anything else that could warrant this level of force: he is lying on the ground as one officer holds his arm and the other punches him in the head. His arms are behind his back when the officer delivers a final blow to the back of his head.
For Immediate Release: May 06, 2009
Media Contact: press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493
ACLU of Northern CA
Join the math club, take a drug test. That was the rule in the Shasta Union High School District until today, when a California Superior Court judge put a stop to the district's policy of requiring students to consent to random drug testing in order to participate in school-sponsored activities like marching band and math club. The court granted a preliminary injunction, voiding the district's drug testing program and allowing students who did not consent to testing to resume their co-curricular activities. The ruling is a promising victory for the three students and their families who took a stand against the district's policy.
Apr 23, 2009

A big thumbs up to the San José City Council for standing up for free speech and against censorship on Tuesday night and voting against the installation of internet blocking software on library computers.

After 18 months of hard work by the ACLU, coalition partners, and concerned individuals like you who contacted Council members to support open access, free speech prevailed in San José. The City Council voted 7-3 to say no to a restrictive, new policy that would have put important Internet resources behind the curtain of digital censorship.

For Immediate Release: Apr 21, 2009
Media Contact: press@aclunc.org, (415) 621-2493
ACLU of Northern CA
A federal appeals court today ruled that a landmark ACLU lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen DataPlan Inc. for its role in the Bush administration's unlawful extraordinary rendition program can go forward. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court dismissal of the lawsuit, brought on behalf of five men who were kidnapped, forcibly disappeared and secretly transferred to U.S.-run prisons or foreign intelligence agencies overseas where they were interrogated under torture. The government had intervened, improperly asserting the "state secrets" privilege to have the case thrown out.
Apr 17, 2009

On Tuesday, April 21, at 7pm, the San José City Council will consider a proposal that would limit public access to important information by imposing filtering on the Internet terminals in public libraries. If you live or work in San José, please attend this meeting and join us in opposing this proposal.

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