Press Releases

ACLU lawyers and advocates are among the nation's leading experts on civil liberties and constitutional freedoms. They are regularly sought out by leading broadcast, print and online media to lend an essential voice to the conversation about some of the most important issues facing the nation.

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ACLU Sues Pomona Over Refusal to Implement New Police Law

LOS ANGELES — Police officers’ legal authority to kill underwent a key change in California on January 1, when a new law stated that lethal force was justifiable only “when necessary in defense of human life.” But even as officer use of deadly force has become a hugely prominent national issue, many

July 31, 2020

ACLU Letter Criticizes School District for Free Speech Violations

BAKERSFIELD — The American Civil Liberties Union Foundations of Southern and Northern California today sent a letter to the Greenfield Union School District in Bakersfield, expressing deep concern that “the district has created a hostile environment for Black students and staff in its schools by sub

July 29, 2020

Union Pacific Railroad Police Cuts Ties with ICE

LOS ANGELES — The Union Pacific Railroad Police has agreed to break off its shadowy collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that was rooted in racial profiling and other actions causing the harm that the California Values Act was enacted to prevent. The key changes in the

July 27, 2020

Massive Neglect of Black and Brown Students Alleged in San Bernardino in Precedent-Setting Administrative Complaint

LOS ANGELES – At a time when schools and their communities are facing unprecedented challenges—a pandemic, an arduous re-opening process, and elevated calls to address anti-Blackness and structural racism in schools—more than 90,000 high need students in San Bernardino are being cheated out of three

June 30, 2020

Kern County Sued Over Secret Court Proceedings

BAKERSFIELD — A cornerstone of our democracy is that court hearings and trials are not held in secret. But that's what happening in Kern County Superior Court where proceedings — including jury trials — are being held out of public view. In-person access was originally cut off because of the COVID

June 26, 2020

Assembly Constitutional Amendment 6 Passes CA Senate

SACRAMENTO, CA — Today the California State Senate passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 6, which would restore voting rights to over 50,000 Californians after release from prison. ACA 6, authored by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), passed with a 28-9 vote in the Senate, receivi

June 24, 2020