Scales of Justice in Courtroom

Legal Docket

For decades, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California has used the courts to protect and expand the rights of all Californians. From fighting against the internment of Japanese Americans, to suing California Highway Patrol for targeting Black and Latinx drivers, the ACLU is building a more just state one lawsuit at a time.

ACLU of Northern CA
Case

ACLU Foundation of Northern California to School District: Students Have First Amendment Right to Wear U.S. Flag

May 10, 2010
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California has written the attached letter to Morgan Hill Unified School District in response to media reports regarding students at Live Oak High School being prohibited from wearing American flag t-shirts to school on May 5, 2010. The letter criticizes the school's censorship of the students' patriotic expression in light of student speech rights under the First A... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Case

People v. Gallego

May 05, 2010

Should the police be able to follow you around and collect and analyze your DNA from something you discard, without a warrant or even a reason to believe you have committed a crime? 

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Case

ACLU Foundation of Northern California Calls on UC Berkeley to Respect Constitutional Rights in Student Disciplinary Process

Apr 06, 2010
On April 6, 2010, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California sent a letter to U.C. Berkeley, criticizing its handling of discipline against students involved in on-campus protests on December 11, 2009.Students were issued overbroad suspensions that limited even their off-campus communications with members of the University community, in violation of the rights to free association and speech, and t... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Case

People v. Milligan

Feb 01, 2010
This case brings to light some of the ACLU Foundation of Northern California's concerns about a state law that makes it unlawful for a registered sex offender to live within 2,000 feet of a school or park. We argue that by applying the law to people who committed their crimes before the law went into effect, the state of California is advancing an overbroad interpretation that violates the state C... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Case

Darensburg v. MTC

Jan 25, 2010
On November 23, 2009, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California and civil rights allies filed an amicus brief in Darensburg v. Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Plaintiffs argued that MTC, the planning body for all twenty-six independent transit operators in the Bay Area, consistently under-funded AC Transit, a bus line with high minority ridership, in comparison to other transit systems li... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Case

People of the State of California vs. Norteno

Sep 22, 2009
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California submitted an amicus brief in The People of the State of California vs. Norteño, urging the Solano County Superior Court to limit the overly broad scope of a gang injunction proposed by the City of Fairfield. The ACLU of Northern California brief expressed concerns with several aspects of the injunction, including the potential for racial profiling an... Read More
default statue of liberty torch
Case

International Society of Krishna Consciousness of California v. City of Los Angeles

Aug 29, 2009
Should the California Supreme Court apply the federal forum doctrine or the "incompatible use" test to evaluate solicitation restrictions at the Los Angeles International Airport under the California Constitution's Liberty of Speech Clause? In 1997, the International Society of Krishna Consciousness ("ISKCON") filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, challen... Read More
default statue of liberty torch
Case

Strauss v. Horton

Aug 20, 2009
On Nov. 5, 2008, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal, filed a writ petition in the California Supreme Court challenging the validity of Proposition 8. Proposition 8, passed by a narrow majority of California voters in the November 2008 election, purports to amend California's Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex ... Read More
Case

AFL-CIO v. Chertoff (Challenge to DHS "No-Match" Rule)

Jul 08, 2009
In August 2007, the AFL-CIO and other groups filed suit to stop government officials from implementing a Department of Homeland Security regulation that created widespread concern about anti-immigrant discrimination in employment and unnecessary and unjust terminations. Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Case

Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.

Jul 06, 2009
In a historic decision on April 21, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated our landmark lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen DataPlan Inc. for its role in the Bush administration's unlawful extraordinary rendition program. The court ruled that cases like this one may not be dismissed on the grounds that "the very subject matter" of the lawsuit is a state s... Read More
Rochelle Hamilton at SF Pride 2009 - Photo by Michael Woolsey
Case

Rochelle Hamilton v. Vallejo City USD (LGBTQ Student Harassment)

Jun 30, 2009
On May 18, 2009, ACLU Foundation of Northern California announced a settlement with the Vallejo City Unified School District on behalf of Rochelle Hamilton, a high school student who faced anti-gay harassment from teachers and school staff. The settlement is designed to combat harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity at all the district's schools, and includes ... Read More