The California Constitutional Right to Privacy Turns 50 - Our Longtime Work to Make Rights Real

Fifty years ago a modern constitutional right to privacy was added to the state constitution. And for the last five decades, that right has helped to safeguard our homes, our families, our bodies, our thoughts, and our associations from invasion by government and corporate interests.

By Brady Hirsch

Image of the California Constitution, Article 1, Section 1. The word privacy is underline in red.

Berkeley Fails to Learn Surveillance Lessons Within 'Oppenheimer'

In Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer,’ there is a scene where government agents creep outside a gathering of UC Berkeley-affiliated activists to write down the license plates of those parked outside the event. Instead of learning from this history, the City of Berkeley has taken a step towards repeating it.

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The Indian Child Welfare Act: A Unique Law within a Flawed System

The U.S. Supreme Court's affirmation of the Indian Child Welfare Act was a landmark victory for tribal sovereignty and Native families. But despite the law's protections, Native and Black children are much more likely to be removed from their homes and placed in foster care. The government must do more to support struggling families and help them stay together.

By Faride Perez-Aucar

A photo of a young child holding her mother's hand.

The Immigration Detention Grievance System: An Illusion of Justice

By Sarah Hopkins

bird behind barbed wire

Preserving Our Cultural Rights At Graduation

My name is Job, and I am a current high school junior in Los Angeles, California. Although we have the right in California to wear our tribal, religious, or cultural regalia at graduation, some schools still try to stop Indigenous highschoolers from doing so.

By Job

Square graphic with Native student wearing tribal regalia as part of their graduation cap-and-gown. On the left is text that says In California, students have the right to wear tribal regalia at graduation.

Join the Fight to Bring Carlos Home

Carlos Sauceda has the right to live in the U.S., but ICE won't let him return. Join the fight to bring Carlos home.

By Sarah Hopkins

Childhood photo of Carlos and his mom, overlayed with map of Central America

ACLU Defends Constitutional Right to a Meaningful Criminal Defense

Sixty years after a landmark Supreme Court case guaranteed the right to a free attorney for criminal defendants who can't afford a private lawyer, millions of low-income people are still being denied this basic constitutional right.

By Tammerlin Drummond

US Supreme Court Building

The Fight Against Surveillance in San Francisco

For decades, the ACLU of Northern California has fought back against discriminatory and dangerous state surveillance in San Francisco. Read a chronicle of our movement.

By Brady Hirsch

Police surveillance

Lessons from San Francisco’s Killer Robot Debate

How could San Francisco, a purported “progressive” city, authorize deadly police robots? And how do we stop this policy, or something similar, from returning?

By Jennifer Tu, John Lindsay-Poland

Black and red graphic with a robot carrying a bomb outside of San Francisco's painted ladies