News & Commentary

The ACLU of Southern California’s Chief Counsel, Mark Rosenbaum, will testify before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on the unconstitutionality of Arizona’s AB 1070. The board is set to vote today on whether to support a boycott of Arizona in response to the new law requiring that police demand "papers" from people they stop and suspect are not authorized to be in the U.S.

School Districts Have Flexibility in Making Layoffs in Order to Provide Equal Education to All, Ruling Says

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union shows that overcrowding and unsanitary conditions that have plagued the jail for more than 30 years still persist, along with an apparent culture of violence and fear, including prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and the use of excessive force by deputies.

WASHINGTON – In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court today remanded a case concerning a Latin cross in the Mojave National Preserve back to the district court, saying that the lower court used the wrong legal standard in deciding to invalidate a transfer of the land on which the cross stands to private ownership. The American Civil Liberties Union will continue to argue that the transfer does not remedy the government’s unconstitutional endorsement of one particular religion.

Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, was the first civic leader to call for Gates to resign in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and Gates sometimes referred to her as “Ramona Ripoff.” The following is a statement from Ripston on his death:

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – On Tuesday, a majority of Lancaster voters approved a ballot measure in support of religious prayers at the invocation of city meetings. The ACLU of Southern California opposes the unlawful and divisive use of sectarian prayers at official government meetings of any kind, because the practice violates one of the most basic tenets of the Constitution: the Establishment Clause, which clearly prohibits government from showing favoritism toward any religion. A prayer in the name of Jesus or a Hindu god or any other religious deity also alienates followers of other denominations, as well as nonbelievers.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – James Gilliam, an award-winning attorney who has extensive experience working pro bono on a wide variety of civil rights, immigration, homelessness and LGBT issues, has been named deputy executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, ACLU/SC Executive Director Ramona Ripston announced today.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Five days after a team of civil rights lawyers filed lawsuits on behalf of two immigrants with mental disabilities who were locked up for years after being judged mentally incompetent to understand the proceedings against them, federal officials announced the two men would be released from custody.