News & Commentary

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today filed a federal lawsuit Jose Sanchez vs Frank J. De Santis, Jr. [98-0768 DT (CWx)] on behalf of tenants of a HUD-subsidized housing unit in the Pico Union area challenging the actions of a landlord who had two tenant organizers arrested who were invited by residents to a meeting held at the apartment complex.

BAKERSFIELD Responding to a warning from the American Civil Liberties Union that mandatory use of Internet filtering software may result in a lawsuit, libraries in Kern County, California, were sent this directive late Tuesday: "Please unfilter your terminals immediately!"

In the first Circuit Court decision stopping a state from using the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act to reduce public benefits to new residents, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the June 4 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge David Levi blocking California's attempt to reduce public assistance benefits to eligible new state residents.

BAKERSFIELD - In a letter sent today to city officials in Kern County, California, the American Civil Liberties Union said it may take legal action if officials do not remove Internet filtering software from public library computers within 10 days.

The ACLU of Southern California today filed a federal lawsuit (Beauchamp vs Los Angeles County MTA) against the Metropolitan Transit Authority and a bus company, Ryder/ATE, Inc., on behalf of five disabled bus riders in Los Angeles County charging that these transportation agencies do not adequately serve disabled riders. The lawsuit charges that the MTA and Ryder/ATE are violating the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1974 Rehabilitation Act by discriminating against riders with mobility impairments.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today announced a partial victory in Bacus vs Palo Verde Unified School District [EDCV 981 RT (VAPx)], a federal lawsuit filed January 6 on behalf of three teachers with the Palo Verde Unified School District in Blythe, California.

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Today, Alliance Housing Management, Inc., defendant in Des Verney vs Alliance Housing Management, sent the ACLU of Southern California a letter saying it will withdraw its requirement that residents of its government-subsidized properties located in Venice, California sign a lease agreement which would hold them responsible for crimes committed by visitors, even if those crimes occur as far as three blocks from the residence. On November 22, the ACLU filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of three low-income tenants of a U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) subsidized development in Venice. The tenants faced imminent eviction because they refused to sign the unconstitutional lease agreement. Plaintiffs are residents of Holiday Venice Properties, which include 256 units in fifteen buildings in Venice, California.