ACLU of Northern California

SAN FRANCISCO, November 7, 2020 – After a record number of popular votes cast– more than 140 million – Joe Biden has been elected the 46th president of the United States.  We at the ACLU of Northern California applaud all of those who stood up, to make their voices heard in the most critical election […]

SAN FRANCISCO, September 15, 2020 – The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and co-counsel Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP filed a lawsuit today to compel the city of Palo Alto to remove an unconstitutional residents-only restriction at Foothills Park—a legacy of the city’s history of racial discrimination. The suit was brought on behalf of the […]

May 6, 2020 – The ACLU Foundation of Northern California denounces actions taken by Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager and Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward to keep people in jail during the COVID-19 crisis by circumventing and opposing the emergency bail schedule established by the Judicial Council of California on April 6. Both of […]

Nov. 14, 2019 – There is a story we tell ourselves about being American. Much of it is a lie. Two dates that students throughout the country are required to memorize to inform an American identity are 1492, when Columbus supposedly “discovered” America, and 1776, when the United States claimed sovereignty from England and through […]

SACRAMENTO September 12, 2019 – Today, the California Legislature approved SB 72, legislation by State Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) that will allow all eligible Californians to register to vote and cast a ballot at polling sites on Election Day. SB 72 now heads to Governor Newsom for his signature. If signed by the […]

MADERA, June 28, 2019 — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a complaint Wednesday with Madera County for illegally re-detaining and transferring former resident Ivan Santos Cuevas to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which then deported him to Mexico. The Madera County Jail deputies’ actions were a flagrant violation of the California Values Act. […]

SAN FRANCISCO May 14, 2019 – Today, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance, a historic law that brings accountability and oversight to surveillance technology and makes San Francisco the first city in the United States to prohibit government use of face surveillance systems.  The law was authored by Supervisor […]

EUREKA, March 21, 2019 — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and the law firm Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP today filed a lawsuit against St. Joseph Health Northern California for denying care to a transgender patient. Filed on behalf of Oliver Knight, the suit argues that withholding medical care from a patient […]

March 13, 2019 – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is using mass location surveillance to target immigrants. And local governments like Merced and Union City, California, are helping — feeding their residents’ personal information to ICE, even when it violates local privacy laws or sanctuary policies. Today, the ACLU is urging an immediate end to […]

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, a bail-bond-industry-funded campaign turned in signatures in an effort to qualify a referendum for the November 2020 ballot asking voters to overturn Senate Bill 10, the recent bail reform legislation that would end commercial bail in California. In response, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California Executive Director Abdi Soltani issued […]

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24, 2018 – The ACLU Foundation of Northern California today filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of Black students in the Visalia Unified School District who have faced ongoing racial hostility. The complaint, filed with the Office of Civil Rights within the Department of Education, charges the district with violating Title VI […]

Sacramento, Sept. 30, 2018   – Today, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1421 (Skinner) and Assembly Bill 748 (Ting), historic police reform legislation sponsored by the ACLU of California. Peter Bibring, Director of Police Practices for the ACLU of California, responded with the following statement: We, as a society, confer on law enforcement the […]

Aug. 23, 2018 – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and its sister agencies, have long targeted immigrants and communities of color using data collected at the state and local level. The California Values Act (Senate Bill 54) offers California the opportunity to advance important privacy protections that curtail the flow of sensitive personal information about […]

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. April 23, 2018 – The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati today filed suit against Secretary of State Alex Padilla demanding increased access to language assistance for limited English […]

FRESNO, April 19, 2018 — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and the Pacific Institute today released a report detailing the lack of access to sanitation faced by many communities in California, despite the state’s recognition of a right to water for sanitary purposes. The report, titled “A Survey of Efforts to Achieve Universal Access to […]

FRESNO, April 19, 2018 — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and the Pacific Institute today released a report detailing the lack of access to sanitation faced by many communities in California, despite the state’s recognition of a right to water for sanitary purposes. The report, titled “A Survey of Efforts to Achieve Universal Access to […]

San Francisco, CA March 6, 2018 – A San Francisco judge has held that California elections officials must notify voters before rejecting their mail-in ballots over signature concerns. State law was allowing elections officials — who may not be handwriting experts — to reject vote-by-mail ballots if they felt the signature on the ballot envelope […]