News & Commentary
Supreme Court Won't Decide if Federal Law Pre-Empts Local Medical Pot Regulations
The state Supreme Court has dismissed review of a case centering on whether federal law pre-empts local medical marijuana regulations, pulling the plug on a proceeding that advocates and opponents once hoped would offer guidance in a wildly uncertain area of law.
By ACLU of Northern California
Incarceration vs. Education: There's an app for that!
As state legislators accept deep cuts to education and the safety net, the ACLU is challenging Californians to acquire a real-time sense of how the state's bottom line would fare if prisons and jails were placed at the center of the chopping block.
By ACLU of Northern California
Spying on Occupy?
Why is the FBI spying on Occupy protesters? The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California is determined to find out.
Stop and Frisk in San Francisco: Another Name for Racial Profiling
Mayor Ed Lee shocked the city when he suggested bringing New York's failed stop-and-frisk policy to San Francisco. The ACLU of Northern California sent a letter to Mayor Lee yesterday explaining why it's such a bad policy.
Jury Still Out on Realignment's Goal of Recidivism Reduction
This month, California quietly shed an unwanted title, going from the largest prison system in the country to the second-largest after the state of Texas.
By ACLU of Northern California
ACLU-NC Response to Report on OPD Force Against Occupy Oakland Protesters
Today Oakland released a report it commissioned from the Frazier Group that reviewed police tactics in response to Occupy Oakland demonstrations. (The ACLU of Northern California widely criticized OPD for excessive force and violence against protesters, and along with the National Lawyers Guild, sued OPD. That lawsuit is ongoing.) The report is widely critical of the Oakland Police Department's tactics.
Revising CA's Drug Penalty: Time to Treat the Problem
When we stop spending millions of dollars a year to incarcerate Californians whose only crime is addiction, we will free up funding that can be used to help more people get the treatment they need.
UC Davis Report Concludes: the Pepper-Spraying Never Should Have Happened
The long-awaited report on the infamous incident of UC Davis police pepper-spraying non-violent, seated student protesters has been released. It concludes what we all know from watching the shocking videos: "The pepperspraying incident that took place on November 18, 2011 should and could have been prevented." That's the opening to the report, which outlines the various ways that Chancellor Katehi, other Administration officials, and the UC Davis Police Department completely mismanaged the situation at every level.
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