News & Commentary

Today the ACLU of Southern California called on Mayor Riordan to establish immediately an independent body empowered with broad investigative and subpoena powers to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Today the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California called on Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti to name a special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute those involved in unlawful activities at LAPD's Rampart Division.

The ACLU applauds the swift decision by the District Attorney's office to halt implementation of the 18th Street gang injunction. The injunction, based on false affidavits by members of the now-infamous Rampart CRASH unit, could not possibly have withstood a court challenge in light of recent evidence of perjury and corruption in the unit.

As a parting shot against women's health and despite public objections, including the opposition of more than 75,000 ACLU members, the Bush Administration pushed through the Health Care Denial Rule, which undermines the ability of American women to obtain basic reproductive health care, including birth control and information about abortion.

The ACLU today applauded Governor Davis for signing into law a bill that reverses the California Supreme Court's June 1, 1999 decision in Regents of the University of California v. Superior Court (Molloy). The ACLU's of Southern and Northern California, along with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, the First Amendment Project, and Equal Rights Advocates, represented the UC Santa Barbara Daily Nexus and one of its student reporters, Tim Molloy, in this case.

"The uncovering of a pattern of deception, perjury and evidence planting by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department is shocking, but sadly not surprising. In the same manner in which the videotaped beating of Rodney King shed light on police brutality, this investigation is certain to illuminate a terrible, but not so secret fact; that the LAPD cannot be trusted to investigate itself.

'Mr. Pratt's fight for justice will continue' In an important development in the civil rights suit brought by former Black Panther party leader Elmer 'Geronimo' Pratt, a federal district judge said today that she would permit the case to proceed, and that she was rejecting efforts by the defendants to have the case thrown out. Judge Christine Snyder said that it would be 'improvident' to dismiss the case at this point.

The

Today the ACLU of Southern California filed suit in federal court against the Belridge School District, a public school district near Bakersfield, in Kern County, California, challenging the constitutionality of the use of textbooks that convey a particular religious perspective on a wide range of classroom subjects, and that are replete with verbatim biblical passages and prayers for students to read. The suit also challenges the display of a banner on the walls of the Belridge School cafeteria that sets forth a Psalm.