News & Commentary

Recent detainees at Los Angeles County's Men's Central Jail tell horror stories.

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Statement of Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California:

LOS ANGELES - Michael Tocher was a peaceful man with a megaphone and a message of protest when Santa Barbara police arrested him on Veteran's Day in 2004. Today the ACLU/SC announced a settlement of its lawsuit against the city over his wrongful arrest.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In a brief filed today with the California Supreme Court, attorneys representing same-sex couples, Equality California and Our Family Coalition urged the court to strike down as unconstitutional a law that bars same-sex couples from marriage. The couples and organizations are represented by lead counsel the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Heller Ehrman LLP, and the Law Office of David C. Codell.

LAKE FOREST - Nearly three weeks after the ACLU of Southern California filed a lawsuit to protect the free speech of day laborers in Lake Forest, the City Council voted to repeal the unconstitutional law. The ordinance prohibited people from soliciting employment while standing on sidewalks in the city.