Ending Homelessness is Personal for John Do, ACLU NorCal Senior Attorney

John Do is the ACLU of Northern California’s lead counsel for a lawsuit challenging the city’s costly and ineffective practice of destroying unhoused individuals’ belongings, and citing, arresting, and moving them without offering shelter. For Do, who grew up poor in subsidized public housing, ending homelessness is personal. “I’ve always seen homelessness as a direct result of decades of poor policymaking and a lack of investment in affordable housing,” said Do, a senior attorney with the Racial and Economic Justice Program. “Without it, I know with one hundred percent certainty that my family would have been homeless.”

Senior attorney John Do traveled to the U.S. Supreme Court in April to hear oral arguments in Grants Pass v. Johnson,  the landmark homelessness case.

Dozens of Mentally Ill People Have Died in California Jails

Dozens of mentally ill people have died in California jails when they should have been in state hospitals receiving treatment. An ACLU lawsuit demands answers.

Markese Braxton

Reclaiming Free Speech

By Shilpi Agarwal

raised fist in forground at a protest

On Campus Protests:  Statement of the Executive Director of ACLU of Northern California, Abdi Soltani

The ACLU of Northern California is closely monitoring the campus protests and the university and law enforcement responses in our region, particularly at California Polytechnic Humboldt. We are receiving and reviewing legal intakes from campuses across the region, including Stanford University and UC Berkeley.

Protestor tents on UC Berkeley campus

Californians Fought Hard for Driver Privacy Protections. Why Are the Police Refusing to Follow Them?

Automatic license plate readers collect and store highly sensitive information that can reveal where we work, live, worship, or seek reproductive health services. Sharing any ALPR information with out-of-state or federal law enforcement agencies has been forbidden in California since 2016.

Illustrated photos of cars driving down a freeway

When it Comes to Facial Recognition, There is No Such Thing as a Magic Number

Companies and legislators are using misleading test scores to justify the expansion of facial recognition into our communities. That flawed approach understates the threat this dangerous technology poses to civil rights.

Surveillance Camera

Guide to File a Pro Se Habeas Petition for People Detained by ICE in the Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde Detention Facilities

This guide is designed to assist people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who do not have a lawyer to complete and file a “petition for writ of habeas corpus.”

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Cops Blanketed San Francisco In Geofence Warrants. Google Was Right to Protect People’s Privacy

Over the last year, the ACLU of Northern California conducted a high-level analysis of the types of places captured by law enforcement in geofence warrants across San Francisco. The study revealed a troubling violation of our right to be secure in our homes and to be free from unreasonable search without probable cause.

Screenshot of SFPD geofence

The ACLU, the NRA, and the First Amendment

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