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

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
Client Faygo Clark with his sign
Case

SRCEH v. Sacramento (Anti-Panhandling Ordinance)

Jul 19, 2018
In April 2018, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California and Legal Services of Northern California filed suit in federal district court against the City of Sacramento to halt enforcement of an unconstitutional "anti-solicitation" ordinance adopted by the Sacramento City Council. The suit was filed on behalf of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, the Sacramento Homeless Org... Read More
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Case

ACLU Foundation of Northern California v. ICE (Detainee Transport)

Jul 09, 2018
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on July 10, 2018 demanding records related to the treatment of immigration detainees by ICE, particularly transportation by contractor G4S Secure Solutions. In regions throughout the country, ICE subcontracts with G4S to transport immigration detainees. G4S is a private contrac... Read More
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Case

Hakimi et al v. Pompeo (Muslim Ban)

Jul 05, 2018
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed suit against Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on July 5, 2018, demanding that the State Department issue a decision on an Iranian family’s application to immigrate to the United States. Presidential Proclamation 9645 -- commonly known as the Muslim Ban -- along with other federal law, requires State Department officials to issue decisions on vi... Read More
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Case

ACLU Prompts State Hospitals to Halt Forced Medication of Patients

Jun 08, 2018
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and Protection and Advocacy, Inc. issued a letter to the California Department of Mental Health stating our concern that the state hospital system was forcibly drugging patients who have been tried for crimes and were found not guilty by reason of insanity. Read More
Cars
Case

ACLU of Northern California v. ICE (License Plate Readers)

May 16, 2018
The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on May 23, 2018 demanding records of ICE’s relationship with private companies to access vast troves of information about drivers through Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) databases. Earlier in 2018, it was revealed that ICE purchased access to two private databases of ALPR data for p... Read More
San Quentin
Case

Masters v. CDCR (Death Penalty)

May 16, 2018

Jarvis Jay Masters, a death-sentenced inmate, and Witness to Innocence, a nonprofit organization composed of and led by exonerated death row inmates and their family members, is challenging California’s new lethal injection regulations. 

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Case

Asian Americans Advancing Justice v. Padilla (Language Assistance)

Apr 17, 2018
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles filed suit against Secretary of State Alex Padilla demanding increased access to language assistance for limited English proficient voters in California. Secretary Padilla provided a directive to county election official... Read More
ACLU of Northern CA
Case

Visalia Unified School District PRA (Education Equity)

Apr 11, 2018
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California submitted a Public Records Act Request on April 10, 2018 seeking information about racial discrimination and harassment at Visalia Unified School District.The request seeks records relating to how the District responds to racial hostility and harassment, discipline policies and procedures, and the presence of law enforcement officers at all high scho... Read More
People waiting in line for security screening at an airport
Case

ACLU Foundation of Northern California v. TSA (Electronic Searches)

Mar 12, 2018
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on March 12, 2018 demanding government documents about Transportation Security Administration (TSA) searches of electronic devices belonging to people traveling on domestic flights.The federal government’s policies on searching the phones, laptops, and tablets of domesti... Read More
vote by mail
Case

La Follette v. Padilla (CA Vote-By-Mail Signature Match)

Mar 05, 2018
45,000 ballots were discarded - without notice - in California's November 2016 election. This ACLU Foundation of Northern California lawsuit asks that future voters be given an opportunity to fix any signature match problems before their votes are thrown away. Read More