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.
Lavagetto v. Calaveras County (Religious Freedom)
Mar 10, 2015
The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors violated the California Constitution’s requirement that the government remain neutral on matters of religion when it passed a resolution recognizing a local Christian ministry for, among other things, its “advocacy and education” “to enlighten and strengthen the lives of women and young women in Calaveras County by inviting them to test and see for themsel...
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Civil Rights Complaint on Behalf of Malaika Singleton Against the TSA
Jan 12, 2015
TSA employees at two different airports subjected Malaika Singleton to unreasonable, discriminatory searches of her hair within a week - because she is black.
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Haskell v. Harris (Mandatory DNA Collection)
Dec 03, 2014
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a lawsuit in federal court on Oct. 7, 2009 seeking to stop California's policy of mandating that DNA is collected from anyone arrested for a felony, whether or not they are ever charged or convicted. The policy is a result of Proposition 69, which was enacted by voters in 2004 and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2009.
Under this new law, people who a...
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Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment v. Federal Housing Finance Agency (Eminent Domain)
Sep 04, 2014
The ACLU filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act to compel the Federal Housing Finance Agency to provide details about the its relationship with the financial industry and its efforts to block municipalities from using eminent domain to prevent foreclosures.
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Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee v. County of Sacramento
Jul 17, 2014
In May 2014, the County of Sacramento adopted an ordinance making it a crime to panhandle except when soliciting donations for charitable purposes. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California sued to stop the enforcement of the new law, which prohibits free speech.
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Latif v. Holder (No Fly List)
Jun 24, 2014
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the ACLU Foundations of Oregon, Southern California, Northern California, and New Mexico have filed a legal challenge on behalf of ten U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who cannot fly to or from the United States or over U.S. airspace because they are on the "No Fly List"—a component of the government's watch list system. None ...
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De Abadia-Peixoto v. DHS (Shackling in Immigration Court)
Apr 10, 2014
A class action settlement ending the blanket policy of shackling adult detainees in immigration court, regardless of their history or capacity for disruption.
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Humboldt County Schools Litigation
Mar 17, 2014
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and NCYL have charged school officials in two Humboldt County towns with intentionally discriminating against Native American and Black students by allowing the pervasive racial and sexual harassment of these students to go unchallenged.
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Long Beach Police Officers Association v. Long Beach (Police Transparency)
Mar 06, 2014
In 2010, Long Beach officers shot and killed Douglas Zerby when they mistakenly believed the garden hose nozzle he was holding was a gun. A concerned LA Times journalist requested the names of the officers involved under the CA Public Record Act, but the requested information was not disclosed.
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Maral v. City of Live Oak
Feb 13, 2014
In 1996, the people of California passed an initiative to ensure that “seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes.” This initiative (Proposition 215), as well as a later law passed by the Legislature (S.B. 420), makes it clear that California patients and their caregivers can grow and cultivate marijuana for medical use. However, at the end of 2013 t...
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Offer-Westort v. San Francisco (Warrantless Cell Phone Search)
Mar 20, 2013
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a lawsuit against the City and County of San Francisco and San Francisco Police Chief Gregory Suhr on March 20, 2013 challenging the warrantless searches of cell phones of individuals who have been arrested. The suit was brought on behalf of a civil rights activist, Bob Offer-Westort, whose cell phone was searched by the San Francisco Police Departm...
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Mejia v. Aitken (Immigration Detention)
Mar 13, 2013
On Feb. 6, 2013 the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, along with Bertha Mejia Espinoza's immigration attorney Rosy Cho, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, seeking Ms. Mejia's release from Yuba County Jail.On the basis of minor, nonviolent offenses primarily petty theft of food items, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security (ICE) has...
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