News & Commentary

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The ACLU of Southern California today sued the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and officials of Corona del Mar High School for permitting and sanctioning an atmosphere that is hostile to female, lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender students in general, and has led to despicable threats of violence against one student in particular.

SAN FRANCISCO'A California Appellate Court ruled today that Berkeley Unified School District's plan to voluntarily desegregate its schools does not violate Proposition 209. The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights are among the legal advocacy groups that represented parents in support of the district's efforts to ensure desegregated schools and classrooms. Other groups representing the parents include the ACLU of Southern California, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The District is represented by attorneys at Keker & Van Nest.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The ACLU of Southern California is troubled by the Orange County District Attorney’s recent determination not to criminally charge an Anaheim police officer who tragically shot and killed Julian Alexander, an innocent 20-year-old resident, during a pursuit.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The ACLU of Southern California commends the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for approving a study by the Vera Institute of Justice on how to effectively reduce the county's overcrowded and inefficient jail system while saving taxpayers millions of dollars. Preliminary work on the new study will get under way this week.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The ACLU of Southern California filed a lawsuit today against the city of Santa Barbara for intentionally violating the constitutional rights of disabled homeless people by criminalizing them through enforcement of its 'anti-sleeping ordinance,' while giving them no reasonable alternative to sleeping on the streets. The lawsuit - on behalf of certain homeless residents --was filed in federal district court in Los Angeles.

(San Francisco, CA, March 5, 2009) Attorneys for same-sex couples, civil rights organizations and the state Attorney General's Office appeared before the California Supreme Court today to urge the court to strike down Proposition 8, which took away the right of same-sex couples the right to marry. At issue in the case is whether the ballot initiative process can be used to take away a fundamental right only for one group of Californians based on a trait - in this case sexual orientation - that has no relevance to the group's ability to participate in or contribute to society. Because the case has serious implications for the constitutional rights of all Californians, it has generated unprecedented support from many national and state civil rights groups as well as California legislators, local governments, bar associations, business interests, labor unions, and religious groups. The California Supreme Court, which has struck down several other initiatives in the past, is expected to issue a decision within 90 days.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The ACLU of Southern California today applauded the Laguna Beach City Council for repealing an anti-sleeping ordinance that criminalized individuals for being chronically homeless. The City Council action came three months after the ACLU/SC, the law firm of Irell & Manella LLP, and Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine law school, sued the affluent city for its unconstitutional harassment and intimidation of disabled homeless residents.

WASHINGTON - In the wake of three immigration detainee deaths over the last six months, Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) introduced legislation today to adopt humane and legally enforceable standards for immigration detention facilities. The need for Congress to pass such legislation is underscored by recent deaths of immigration detainees in Monroe, Louisiana, Farmville, Virginia and Central Falls, Rhode Island. This bill, H.R. 1215, Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act of 2009, provides basic protections for immigration detainees including access to medical care, phones, legal materials, and law libraries. It also ensures protections for unaccompanied children, sexual abuse victims, survivors of torture, families with children and other vulnerable populations.

SAN DIEGO 'In response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and other groups, the Department of Homeland Security agreed to release an HIV-positive torture victim from Mexico who was detained by immigration officials for nearly two years despite a judge having granted her relief.