News & Commentary

The first concern at the ACLU of Southern California is the safety of inmates and sheriff's deputies in the Los Angeles County jails. For years we have been monitoring the jails and lobbying for improved conditions in the seven facilities throughout the county. And, for years we have been advocating the County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Lee Baca and his department for increased staffing, better access to medical care for inmates, improved conditions for everyone inside the jail and an end to the overcrowding that plagues the jails.

LOS ANGELES - Local parents, teachers and civil rights groups filed court motions today seeking to stop an effort to halt integration programs within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

LOS ANGELES - Newly obtained documents reveal that California state officials are concerned that federal legislation called the Real ID Act will require extensive changes to existing practices at the California Department of Motor Vehicles, and will carry heavy expenses that will have to be absorbed by California taxpayers and license applicants.

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that it will oppose the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the United States Supreme Court.

LOS ANGELES - Only one day after widespread reports that the FBI is monitoring and infiltrating political organizations, the three California affiliates of the ACLU are seeking information about the intelligence gathering efforts of law enforcement agencies in this state.

ORANGE, Calif. - Dozens of concerned community members filled a Santa Ana forum Thursday night in opposition to Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona's proposal to enter into an agreement with the federal government to enforce immigration laws.

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU and Public Advocates released a report today detailing new ways parents, students and educators are improving public schools one year after important changes in education law went into effect.

LOS ANGELES - Twenty-five years after John Lennon's murder, the FBI has declared it will appeal a recent federal court decision ordering the release of the last ten pages of the Lennon FBI file.

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge has ruled that an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed on behalf of Charlene Nguon, an Orange County high school senior, and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network can proceed, rejecting the school's motion that it was within its rights to reveal the student's sexual orientation without her permission.