News & Commentary

Important legislation to measure discrimination in traffic stops was vetoed by Governor Wilson. The “California Traffic Stops Statistics Act,” also known as the “Driving While Black or Brown” (DWB) bill, would have made it possible to keep tabs on racial bias, by requiring law enforcement to collect and report statistical information for a three-year period on the race of motorists pulled over by police.

The ACLU of Southern California, on Sept. 29, sent the City of Banning a letter threatening to enter a lawsuit on behalf of petitioners who exercised their First Amendment rights to petition the city after the Banning City Council sued them for gathering signatures opposing a merger of the Banning Fire Department with the Riverside County California Department of Forestry.

Today, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Anderson vs Roe, California’s challenge to the January 28 Ninth Circuit Court decision upholding the June 4, 1997 District Court ruling blocking California from reducing the public benefits of eligible new state residents. The January Ninth Circuit ruling was the first Circuit Court decision stopping a state from using the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act to cut the benefits of new residents.

Calling the ruling a major victory for disabled and elderly bus riders who rely on lifts and equipment to let them travel on MTA buses, the ACLU of Southern California hailed the ruling received today from U.S. District Court Judge Consuelo Marshall granting a preliminary injunction in Beauchamp vs Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority [98-0402 CBM (BQRx)].

Today plaintiffs in Valley VOTE vs City of Los Angeles announced settlement of the lawsuit filed against the City of Los Angeles for violation of the First Amendment rights of signature gatherers by city employees at the city-run Van Nuys Airport last June.

The ACLU of Southern California today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Pasadena on behalf of several community activists challenging a new ordinance restricting the distribution of handbills, leaflets, fliers and other written material to businesses and residences.

The ACLU of Southern California today announced its intention to file an amended complaint in its federal class action lawsuit [Kaitlyn Baca vs City of Los Angeles 98-2865 R(RCx)] against the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Recreation and Parks to include all girls who wish to participate in City-sponsored softball and other athletic programs run by the City. The ACLU claims that the overwhelming majority of girls in Los Angeles do not have equal access to either City-sponsored softball leagues or to the many athletic programs paid for and run by the City currently available to boys.

The ACLU of Southern California today won a significant victory in its federal lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) on behalf of disabled bus riders in Los Angeles County. Judge Consuelo Marshall granted plaintiffs’ motion to certify the lawsuit as a class action, thus the litigation will now represent disabled riders throughout Los Angeles County.

The ACLU of Southern California today filed a federal lawsuit [Valley Vote vs City of Los Angeles] against the City of Los Angeles and the manager of the city-owned Van Nuys airport for discrimination against a San Fernando Valley group seeking signatures for a petition to initiate a study on the creation of an independent city in the San Fernando Valley. Plaintiffs, Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment (VOTE) charge that city employees impeded group efforts to collect signatures at several locations including a well-attended air show.