ACLU of Northern California

The court has ended oversight in Stiavetti v. Clendenin. But we are proud that this lawsuit led to major reforms that protect mentally ill people in pretrial detention. The monitoring period stemmed from a lawsuit that the ACLU filed in 2015 to challenge the state’s inhumane treatment of mentally ill people awaiting trial. Our 11-year lawsuit led to sweeping changes in how the California Department of State Hospitals and Department of Developmental Services treat people with severe mental illness and developmental disabilities who are in pretrial detention. Read our press release here: https://lnkd.in/gwit3257

We're raising a glass to our Director of Appellate Advocacy, Neil K. Sawhney, who has been named one of the Daily Journal's Top 40 Under 40 rising lawyers in California.   As the federal courts become a more challenging forum for advancing civil rights, Neil and his team are at the forefront of a growing movement of public-interest lawyers litigating constitutional questions in state supreme courts. One example is our challenge to the California death penalty on the basis that racial bias so deeply pervades the system that it violates the state constitution's equal protection clause.   Neil is also a core member of the team challenging the Trump administration's mass immigration arrests and detention practices, including arrests at immigration courts.   Congratulations, Neil!

ACLU NorCal was pleased to select Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP as the recipient of our organization's inaugural Constitutional Guardian Award. We created this annual award to recognize a law firm partner who demonstrated exceptional partnership and resource commitment — at a time when upholding the values of the Constitution are both costly and crucial. We are so grateful for the incredible contributions that KVP has made in partnering with us on significant and resource-intensive matters — and look forward to continuing this work in the future.

ACLU NorCal is excited to announce that we have launched a hiring process for new Staff Attorneys / Senior Staff Attorneys and Legal Fellows to join our team. These attorneys will help develop and carry out litigation and policy advocacy to advance our legal team’s strategic plans and to protect and defend civil rights and civil liberties for all Californians. For more information, please visit the full job postings: ·      Staff Attorney / Senior Staff Attorney Posting (https://lnkd.in/gM8KiSW4) ·      Legal Fellow Posting (https://lnkd.in/gx63gwJF)

We've all seen the footage over the last year: people getting arrested at immigration courthouses and torn from their families just for showing up at their hearings. This week, in our case challenging the Trump Administration's courthouse arrest policies, a federal judge struck them down — nationwide. The policies created an impossible bind. Go to court and risk arrest, or skip it and get a deportation order. In finding these policies unlawful, the judge didn't mince words. He found no valid rationale for the policy, calling it not just "unreasoned decision making but a complete lack of decisionmaking." This now means that ICE is barred from arresting anyone at any immigration courthouse in the country, absent rare and exceptional circumstances. This win would not be possible without our brave clients, who were willing to stand up to the federal government to defend immigrants' rights and the rule of law. And we are grateful to the many partners who built this case with us — local rapid response networks, individual habeas attorneys, and especially our amazing co-counsel at Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, CARECEN, and Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP. Our press release and the judge's order are in the comments.

Today, ACLU of Northern California sued the federal government to stop Google from handing over personal information on a Canadian citizen who criticized Trump online. Social media platforms have received hundreds of similar demands from Trump's immigration authorities. This is the fourth case we've filed to stop efforts to target people the administration disagrees with from speaking out online. I'm very proud to contribute to these cases in collaboration with many colleagues from ACLU affiliates around the country. https://lnkd.in/gqGTEXUX

The ACLU NorCal team turned out today at the Supreme Court to #ProtectTPS! Read more about today's rally and oral arguments on behalf of Temporary Protected Status at https://lnkd.in/gPcgx2tH.

The ACLU NorCal team turned out today at the Supreme Court to #ProtectTPS! Read more about today's rally and oral arguments on behalf of Temporary Protected Status at https://lnkd.in/gPcgx2tH.

This Wednesday, April 29, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Mullin v. Dahlia Doe, a case that may decide the future of 1.3 million immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is designed to provide humanitarian protection for many immigrants who cannot return home safely due to war, natural disasters, or other crises. What’s at stake is not only the future of Haitian and Syrian TPS holders, whose specific lawsuits will be heard, but the future of the entire TPS program. That’s because the Trump administration is asking SCOTUS to make virtually all TPS decisions unreviewable by the court system. It is an unprecedented power grab that would invite further lawlessness and abuses. Stripping TPS holders’ legal status would be the largest “de-documentation” effort in U.S. history. It would separate mixed-status families, destabilize entire communities, and cause widespread economic harm. Read more about this case at https://lnkd.in/gHK_Ry-g #ProtectTPS

Remember when Border Patrol swarmed a Sacramento Home Depot parking lot last year and arrested day laborers? A federal judge ruled that the raid violated the court order in our Kern County immigration lawsuit that prohibits stops without reasonable suspicion. Score one for the Constitution. https://lnkd.in/gkHqQRTj