News & Commentary

Today, the ACLU of Southern California, the California Women's Law Center, and the law firm of Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays, and Handler announced the settlement of their federal class action lawsuit, Baca v. City of Los Angeles, a suit which has drawn national attention for highlighting the institutional inequities facing girls' sports and municipal recreation programs. The lawsuit alleged that the overwhelming majority of girls have no access to city-sponsored programs, services or facilities offered by their local parks and recreation facilities.

The ACLU of Southern California today announced a landmark victory, overturning a California law allowing police to sue individuals who lodge complaints against them.

Today the ACLU called on Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan to issue an Executive Order requiring the Los Angeles Police Department to collect data on the race and ethnicity of motorists stopped by police officers. The ACLU earlier this week requested similar action from the Los Angeles Police Commission.

The ACLU condemns Governor Davis's veto of SB 78 - known as the "DWB - Driving While Black or Brown Bill," which requires law enforcement to collect data regarding the race and ethnicity of all drivers stopped by the police. The bill (formally "California Traffic Stops Statistics Act"), authored by Senator Kevin Murray, overwhelmingly passed the Assembly 61-16 and the Senate 29-0.

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.