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.

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Case

Lyon v. ICE (Telephone Access for Immigration Detainees)

Apr 23, 2019
Approximately 34,000 immigrants are held in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s (ICE) facilities on a daily basis, with roughly 500 to 600 of these immigrants held in northern California detention facilities. These detainees are not serving criminal sentences. They are being held in civil detention as they try to obtain legal counsel or represent themselves, fighting to stay in t... Read More
two students from Chawanakee Unified School District
Case

Reeder v. Chawanakee Unified School District (LGBTQ Yearbook Quotes)

Mar 13, 2019
On January 14, 2019, Steven Madrid and Mikayla Garaffa, two Minarets High School students, had their pro-LGBTQ yearbook quotes rejected by school administrators who called the quotes “politically divisive.” After the quotes were rejected, the two students sent the district a letter from the ACLU national office to Minarets High School’s yearbook advisor and school principal, asserting their fr... Read More
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Case

Knight v. St. Joseph Health (Sex Discrimination)

Mar 12, 2019
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and the law firm Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP filed a lawsuit on March 21, 2019 on behalf of Oliver Knight, a 29-year-old transgender man who was denied health care based on the hospital’s religious views, which do not recognize gender-affirming care. On August 30, 2017, minutes before Mr. Knight was scheduled t... Read More
Students from Stockton Unified
Case

ACLU of Northern California v. Stockton Unified School District (School to Prison Pipeline)

Feb 15, 2019
In June, 2016, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California sued the Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) for violating state and federal law by refusing to release SUSD's Police Department student arrest and citation data. A Public Records Act request by the ACLU revealed that from 2012-2016, the SUSD police department filed 12,000 “incident reports." However, in response to the ACLU's request, ... Read More
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Case

Berkeleyside v. Berkeley (Police Records)

Feb 14, 2019
The ACLU of Northern California filed suit against the city of Berkeley on behalf of Berkeleyside, an online publication that was denied police records under the police transparency bill SB 1421. On Jan. 2, 2019, Berkeleyside requested records now available under the historic new law. On Jan. 18, the Berkeley City Attorney responded and refused to release any records created before Jan. 1. T... Read More
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Case

Faison v. Jones (Free Speech)

Jan 22, 2019
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed suit against Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones on behalf of Black Lives Matter leaders who were unlawfully blocked from the sheriff's official Facebook page. Tanya Faison and Sonia Lewis, co-leaders of Black Lives Matter Sacramento, have been vocal critics of the sheriff and other law enforcement officials. Both had comments deleted and were blocked... Read More
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Case

ACLU v. Visalia Unified (Discrimination at School)

Dec 03, 2018
On October 24, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of Black students in the Visalia Unified School District who have faced ongoing racial hostility. The complaint, filed with the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education, charges the district with violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by creating a racially hostile ... Read More
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Case

In re Humphrey (Bail)

Nov 14, 2018
In January 2018, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that the money bail system in California violated due process and equal protection by imprisoning defendants prior to trial solely because they could not afford to pay bail. The ruling required Superior Court judges to consider both a defendant’s ability to pay and non-monetary alternatives to money bail when setting an amount of money bail... Read More
Picture of Police Sirens
Case

Cross v. San Francisco (Racially Biased Policing)

Oct 04, 2018
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the ACLU Foundation and the law firm Durie Tangri LLP filed a lawsuit against the City and County of San Francisco for its police department’s racially discriminatory enforcement practices. Read More
person looking at computer - shutterstock
Case

Raimondo v. FBI (Internet Free Speech)

Aug 27, 2018
In 2004, the FBI conducted a “threat assessment” of long-time journalists and commentators Justin Raimondo and Eric Garris, as well as their website, Antiwar.com. In violation of the federal Privacy Act, this threat assessment compiled descriptions of the journalists’ First Amendment activities without any apparent law enforcement purpose. Attorneys at the ACLU Foundation of Northern California an... Read More
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Case

Chiu v. Secretary of State Padilla (Voting Rights)

Jul 24, 2018
The Disability Rights California (DRC) and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California sued Secretary of State Alex Padilla for failing to provide voter registration services for low-income Californians and Californians with disabilities. The lawsuit demands that California comply with state and federal laws that require public assistance offices and state-funded progra... Read More