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.

various religious symbols
Case

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... Read More
Elizabeth Haskell
Case

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... Read More
airplane
Case

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 ... Read More
Loleta, CA
Case

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. Read More
People marching
Case

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... Read More
Bob Offer-Westort photo by Emory Jones
Case

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... Read More
Case

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... Read More