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

Minton v. Dignity Health (Sex Discrimination)

Sep 26, 2017
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, and the law firm Covington & Burling LLP filed a lawsuit against Dignity Health for withholding medical care because of a patient’s gender identity, amounting to sex discrimination in violation of California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Evan Minton, 35, is a transg... Read More
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Case

Saravia v. Sessions (Due Process for Immigrant Youth)

Sep 01, 2017
Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement A settlement has been reached in this case. Please see below for important information about the settlement. The settlement class includes: All noncitizen minors who were once detained in U.S. government custody by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (“ORR”), released to parents or other sponsors in the United States, and then re-arrested by the gove... Read More
Transparency, Democracy, Truth
Case

ACLU Foundation of Northern California v. Madera County Board of Supervisors

Jul 17, 2017
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed suit in July of 2017 against the Madera County Board of Supervisors for violating California's open public meetings law, the Ralph M. Brown Act. On March 7, 2017, the Madera County Board of Supervisors, held a secret, closed doors session in which they adopted policies that significantly changed how ICE would interface with their county’s ... Read More
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Case

ACLU of Hawai'i Foundation v. US Dept. of Homeland Security (Trump's Muslim Ban)

Apr 12, 2017
American Civil Liberties Union Foundations across the country filed 13 coordinated Freedom of Information Act lawsuits demanding government documents about the on-the-ground implementation of President Trump’s Muslim bans. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the ACLU of Hawai’i Foundation, and the ACLU Foundation of Utah jointly filed a FOIA lawsuit on April 10, 2017. Davis Wright Tremaine... Read More
CBP wikimedia commons
Case

J.I. v. United States (Sexual Assault)

Mar 22, 2017
On March 22, 2017, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed two claims with the federal government on behalf of two teenage sisters who were assaulted by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. In July 2016, the sisters — then 19 and 17— lost their way while traveling to the United States from Guatemala, and encountered CBP officers after crossing the Texas-Chihuahua, Mexico, bord... Read More
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Case

People ex rel. Pierson v. Superior Court (Grand Juries)

Mar 14, 2017
In 2015, the California Legislature enacted SB 227 to try to ensure that prosecutors use a public process when deciding whether to criminally charge police officers accused in shootings or other uses of excessive force, as opposed to using secret grand-jury proceedings. The Court of Appeal held that the law is unconstitutional because it conflicts the constitutional role of the grand jury. The ACL... Read More
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Case

City of San Jose v. Superior Court (Government Transparency)

Mar 02, 2017
The City of San Jose claims that that electronic messages dealing with official business that its employees send to one another are not public records if the employees send them using their personal accounts or devices. The ACLU Foundations of California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are asking the California Supreme Court to grant review in the interest of an open and transparent governm... Read More
Sign in a crowd protesting the ban at SFO airport reads, "We stand with Muslim travelers"
Case

Roe 1 v. Trump (Muslim Ban)

Feb 02, 2017
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California sued President Donald J. Trump, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for establishing and enforcing an unconstitutional and discriminatory Muslim ban. Read More
Four portraits of clients in Sanchez v. Caltrans
Case

Sanchez v. California Department of Transportation

Dec 08, 2016

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is violating the constitutional rights of homeless people by confiscating and destroying their property in ongoing sweeps. The class-action suit seeks a permanent injunction to stop this illegal practice throughout California. 

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Client in Gill v. DOJ case speaking at press conference
Case

Gill v. DOJ (Challenge to Federal Suspicious Activity Reporting)

Dec 08, 2016
The ACLU Foundations of California filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s Suspicious Activity Reporting program - a vast expansion of the federal government’s domestic intelligence network. The SAR program targets First Amendment-protected activity, encourages racial and religious profiling, and violates federal law. The plaintiffs are five U.S. citizens whose information has been en... Read More