News & Commentary

California applies the death penalty disproportionately to people of color, especially when the victim is white. A recent, rigorous statewide study found that Black people are up to 8.7 times as likely to be sentenced to death as similarly situated non-Black defendants, Latino people are up to 6.2 times as likely to be sentenced to death, and defendants of all races are up to 8.8 times as likely to be condemned to death when at least one of the victims in the case is white.

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California has filed a lawsuit to block Sonoma County code inspectors from using drones to conduct surveillance of people's homes without a warrant.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to stay a federal district court's order that had preserved Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants. What happens next?

When Donald Trump was sworn in as president, he lost no time launching Project 2025­—a right-wing policy agenda rooted in white supremacy that he had claimed to know nothing about. The ACLU stands ready—as we have for more than a century—to defend our vision of an inclusive democracy based on fundamental principles of equality.

The ACLU has released a new video educating Californians about their rights during encounters with the police. Previous videos highlight the rights of protesters and immigrants.

"Stopping the Flood Waters: A Call to Transform California's Schools in Support of Native American Students" documents how California schools consistently fail to provide Native American students with an equitable and inclusive education. Here, two students share their educational experiences in their own words.