News & Commentary

I object to so-called "religious freedom" laws because they are actually an affront to our tradition of religious freedom. Religious freedom in our country means that we can each practice the religion of our choice (or no religion if we choose).

For more than 20 years, California has maintained a policy of denying financial support to babies born while their families are receiving CalWORKs basic needs grants for older siblings. This policy is known as the Maximum Family Grant (MFG) rule. The only exceptions are for reported rape and incest, and the failure of certain invasive, long-acting contraceptives.

Black women like Solange Knowles and lesser known individuals like Malaika Singleton, Ashanté Reese - and even myself - have been targeted wrongly by the TSA. Why? Because of our hair.

Today the California Senate’s Committee on Public Safety approved the CA Electronic Privacy Act. CalECPA would require police to get a warrant before searching devices or digital data.

Today, a federal judge issued an important ruling for government transparency and accountability. Now the FBI must disclose details about its surveillance of Muslim communities under the Freedom of Information Act according to the ruling.

Recent news of racist and homophobic text messages exchanged by four SFPD officers is troubling, but what's worse is that we don't have a clear picture of how these prejudices actually play out on our streets.

We are very pleased to announce that California Lawyer magazine has honored our own Julia Harumi Mass with a 2015 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) award!

I was born and raised in LA, but sheriffs detained me because they didn’t believe I was an American. I've sued the LA Sheriff’s Department for detaining and harassing me for more than 14 hours after they should have released me.

Today the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to repeal a resolution that promoted one particular religious belief over all others. The vote is a victory for the religious freedom of all Calaveras County residents.