ACLU of Northern California

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 […]

Feb. 27, 2018 – Increased ICE activity has been reported throughout the Bay Area, the Central Coast, and in the Central Valley. Local rapid response hotlines have confirmed that ICE has arrested at least 37 people over the past few days in cities including Monterey, Oakland, Fresno, Napa, San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Clara, and Salinas. […]

Aug. 18, 2017 – In this time when our federal government has ordered ICE officials to aggressively pursue undocumented folks, it’s important to remind some of our most vulnerable populations about their constitutional rights. Though the Trump administration has repeatedly said that only “bad dudes” will be targeted, we’ve seen stories that prove that is […]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, July 17, 2017 – The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today sued the Madera County Board of Supervisors for violating California’s open public meetings law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, in changing immigration-related policy behind closed doors under the guise of making a personnel evaluation. The lawsuit charges that Madera […]

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. April 19, 2017— The ACLU of Northern California, the ACLU of Southern California, the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, and the law firm Covington & Burling LLP today filed a lawsuit against Dignity Health for denying care to a transgender patient. Filed on behalf of Evan Minton, the suit argues that withholding medical […]

FRESNO, Calif. March 22, 2017 – The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today filed two claims with the federal government on behalf of two sisters who were sexually assaulted by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. The sisters — one an adult and the other a minor — continue to suffer severe […]

OAKLAND, CA, Dec. 13, 2016 – According to a lawsuit filed today by civil rights groups, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is violating the constitutional rights of homeless people by confiscating and destroying their property in ongoing sweeps. On multiple occasions, Caltrans has failed to give proper notice before raiding encampments—refusing plaintiffs an opportunity […]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Nov. 17, 2016 – The ACLU of Northern California and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state statute that gives unlimited discretion over executions to the California Department of Corrections. “This law gives unelected bureaucrats too much power and it shields legislators […]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Oct. 31, 2016 – A coalition of legal aid and civil rights organizations sued the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for illegally suspending the driver’s licenses of low-income Californians. The suit was brought on behalf of drivers who have had their driver’s licenses suspended in violation of their statutory, due process, and […]

August 9, 2016 – On August 4, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the ruling in Mony Preap et al. v. Johnson. The class action successfully challenged the federal government’s practice in California of detaining certain immigrants without bond, often for many months, while they face deportation proceedings. Today’s ruling […]