Court Cases

A habeas petition based on claims brought under the Racial Justice Act, in which our client is challenging his conviction and death sentence. We subsequently filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging four unfounded disciplinary infractions.

In June of 2024, we filed a motion to unseal court records and preserve public access to hearings in the class action lawsuit that survivors of sexual assault at Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin brought against the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Action against the City of Fresno for its failure to provide records about police canine use of force, as required by the state’s Public Records Act.

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California sued the California Department of State Hospitals for refusing to provide public records about severely mentally ill individuals who died in jail, while waiting to get treatment at a state facility. At least 35 people died in one five year period alone. DSH claimed it did not keep track of the in-custody deaths of people on its waitlist.

Original writ petition challenging California’s death-penalty system under the state constitution’s equal protection provisions.

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and our legal partner sued Santa Clara County Superior Court over its unfair policy requiring people who want to voluntarily address an outstanding arrest warrant to first go to jail if they are too poor to post bail.