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.

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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default statue of liberty
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
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
default statue of liberty torch
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
default statue of liberty torch
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
airplane stock photo
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
police car lights
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
computer with cell phone
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