News & Commentary

ACLU/SC Pushes Anew for Release of Detained American as New Document Shows U.A.E. Cooperated in U.S. Rendition Program

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – In response to information provided at a press conference held by the El Monte Police Department today, the ACLU of Southern California is releasing the following statement from Executive Director Ramona Ripston:

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney's Office dismissed the case against five clients of the ACLU of Southern California on Thursday after a Superior Court judge refused to include them on a preliminary basis under the provisions of a sweeping gang injunction. The case against 57 other individuals named in the injunction was likewise dismissed.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The ACLU of Southern California is calling for the immediate suspension of the El Monte police officer who was caught on videotape today as he brutally kicked a suspect who was prone on the ground, and then high-fived a fellow officer. The ACLU/SC also urges the Los Angeles County District Attorney to conduct a full and swift investigation into the actions of the police officer in this incident.

Hello, my name is Ramona Ripston and I am the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. I am here to lend the support of 40,000 ACLU members to passing the Employee Free Choice Act. Our roots are in the labor movement. The ACLU of Southern California was founded by Upton Sinclair after he was arrested for participating in a longshoremen's rally.

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Superior Court judge today rejected an attempt by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to subject a 22-year-old Orange resident and three others to the provisions of an overreaching, preliminary gang injunction that criminalizes ordinary daily activities.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Seven Iranian American refugees have conditionally pled guilty

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Corona Del Mar High School officials - initial decision to cancel the musical production of “Rent: School Edition,” and their subsequent failure to address a growing atmosphere of intolerance at the school, has created a breeding ground for homophobic attitudes and has paved the way for a planned protest by a virulently anti-gay group tomorrow, ACLU/SC Staff Attorney Lori Rifkin said today.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The American Civil Liberties Union today released an expert’s report documenting how brutally overcrowded conditions cause or contribute to violence and serious mental illness in the county’s aging Men’s Central Jail, and demanded that Los Angeles County swiftly implement changes to prevent unnecessary deaths or serious injuries.