News & Commentary
Santa Clara Board Votes to Proceed with Controversial Surveillance Tech
Despite criticism from the ACLU and Supervisor Joe Simitian, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a sheriff’s department request to use more than $500,000 of federal grant money to purchase a Stingray cell phone tracking system.
How Does the Federal Government Handle Prosecutions of Police Officers?
After a police officer is accused of a crime and the Department of Justice decides to investigate, virtually no data is available on how many officers are convicted or dismissed of these charges – or even what crimes police were charged with in the first place.
The Overincarceration of America's Poor
Insurmountable financial obstacles are key contributors to the rise in jail populations. For one, low-income defendants are often trapped by their inability to afford bail. Bail should not be used to punish people, and incarcerating people solely because they cannot pay for their release violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.
ACLU to Santa Clara Sheriff: Don’t Sneak this Stingray by the Public
The debate over cell phone surveillance comes to the heart of Silicon Valley on Feb. 24, when the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will consider a proposal to purchase a Stingray. Unfortunately, the public wasn't told about it.
Black History Month: Honoring Michelle Alexander
Former director of the ACLU of Northern California's Racial Justice Project, Michelle Alexander directed and coordinated the Project’s litigation, media, lobbying, and grassroots organizing work.
Demilitarize California Schools: Students, Not Suspects
Less than a year after the ACLU released a pressing report on the dangerous militarization of American police, law enforcement agencies in California—including school police—continue to use military-grade equipment against the communities they are supposed to protect.
Alex Nieto, Black and Brown Lives, and the Need for Policing Reform
The killing of Alex Nieto, and other black and brown males, such as Tamir Rice and Ezell Ford, seems all too familiar. But would Nieto and others of color still be alive if they were white?
Public Defender's Arrest Shows that “Black Lives Matter” Needs to Be Heard in SF
In San Francisco, yet another example of police abuse came to light when Jami Tillotson was arrested outside a courtroom in the Hall of Justice while attempting to protect her clients’ right to counsel.
An Alabama Porch Lesson: Sober Celebration on MLK Day
When I moved into a sleepy Southern home in Montgomery, Alabama, that was so redolent with history, I imagined it to be the perfect place for inspiration. But I found living in a house where key civil rights leaders had once gathered to be far more sobering than inspiring.
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