Court Cases

The ACLU of Northern California filed a lawsuit to compel the city of Vallejo to release public records that contain information about officers in the Vallejo Police Department who allegedly bent their badges after on-duty shootings as a badge of honor. Following litigation, the City of Vallejo was forced to release a long-suppressed third-party investigation into the allegations.

The Coalition on Homelessness and several individual plaintiffs sued San Francisco over its punitive practice of seizing and destroying unhoused residents’ belongings during encampment sweeps in violation of the Fourth Amendment and the city’s own policies.

For years, Siskiyou County officials and the Siskiyou Sheriff’s Department have threatened, targeted, and intimidated Hmong American and other Asian American community members in an effort to isolate them and drive them out of the region. A new class action lawsuit led by four Asian American community members details how county officials have waged a systematic campaign of racist hostility and persecution, including restricting Asian Americans’ right to water and executing unlawful traffic stops, search and seizure practices, and property liens that are blatantly aimed at Asian Americans.

Two students, two parents of former students, and a current teacher, filed a claim in Contra Costa County Superior Court, against the State Board of Education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the State of California, and Pittsburg Unified School District. The complaint alleges the state and district’s unlawful practices harm thousands of its most marginalized students, primarily children of color.

Foothills Park is a 1,400-acre public green space located in the city of Palo Alto. For decades, the city has kept the park exclusive to Palo Alto residents under an ordinance that threatens non-residents who enter the park with jail time and a hefty fine unless they enter as guests of a city resident. This ordinance is a vestige of Palo Alto's history of racial discrimination. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and co-counsel Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP filed suit to compel the city to remove its unjust and unconstitutional residents-only restriction.

In a historic settlement, the County of Riverside agreed to stop referring students to an abusive probation program.

The ACLU sued Fresno County's top election official in dispute over Church Black Lives Matter banners.