News & Commentary

LOS ANGELES - In a press conference today, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California announced the filing of a lawsuit to enjoin the closure of Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center and the reduction of close to 100 beds at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

LOS ANGELES - In two separate rulings today, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to overturn the sentences of two non-violent repeat offenders who were sentenced to unusually long prison terms for petty theft offenses.

The ACLU of Southern California joins the Council on American-Islamic Relations in calling for a full FBI investigation of the heinous attack on Rashid Alam, an 18 year old Arab-American from Yorba Linda beaten by a mob who shouted anti-Arab and anti-Muslim epithets.

LOS ANGELES ' At a news conference held in front of the LAPD's Central Area location in the heart of skid row, the ACLU of Southern California together with Las Familias Del Pueblo, a longtime Los Angeles based advocacy group, and the Catholic Workers announced the filing of a class action lawsuit challenging the City's enforcement of a Los Angeles' ordinance that bars sleeping, sitting or lying on public sidewalks against homeless people who have no where else to go.

LOS ANGELES - In votes last night, two Southern California city councils passed resolutions upholding the human rights and civil liberties of all residents and opposing provisions of the USA-PATRIOT Act that infringe on residents' rights and liberties. The cities of Santa Monica and Claremont become the second and third localities in Southern California and thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth localities in the country to oppose portions of the USA-PATRIOT Act.

SAN FRANCISCO - In a ruling handed down today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a federal district court's ruling in the first-of-its-kind Internet political speech case. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the district court erred in dismissing certain claims and in refusing to decide other claims until a state court could determine whether California's election laws apply to these websites. The case, Porter v. Jones, goes back to the district court for further proceedings.

RIVERSIDE, CA - Documents unsealed in federal court recently charge the Old Baldy Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Inc. with fraudulently obtaining taxpayer funds to sponsor recruitment activities in the cities of Montclair and Ontario. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed suit on behalf of an area resident and ACLU/SC board member, Glenn Goodwin, in August of 2002. The lawsuit has remained under seal until just recently, to give the U.S. Department of Justice time to decide whether to intervene.

LOS ANGELES - In a unanimous vote last night, the City Council of West Hollywood passed a resolution regarding the civil liberties dangers of the USA PATRIOT Act, the first Southern California city to join a growing movement across the nation of local jurisdictions voicing dissent and exploring ways of responding locally to USA Patriot's civil liberties threats. Twenty-six other cities and counties have passed such resolutions, including Oakland, Denver, and Detroit, in part of a national movement led by the ACLU and other groups.

LOS ANGELES - On the thirtieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, over twenty-five reproductive rights and civil rights organizations in California are calling upon women's advocates in the state's Congressional delegation to ensure that the Bush Administration does not dismantle the protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade.