News & Commentary

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.

We're working on a case that will make your hair stand on end.

We're working on a case that will make your hair stand on end.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A lawsuit filed in federal district court today charges that the city of Moreno Valley and its police force, acting in conjunction with the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, conducted a series of racially-targeted, warrantless raids on barbershops owned and patronized by African Americans under the false pretext that the searches were solely part of a health and code inspection.