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Latest Effort to Overturn Prop. 8

The ACLU, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights have filed a friend-of-the court brief in a federal lawsuit that claims Proposition 8 denies constitutional rights to same-sex couples. The ACLU strongly feels Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, and this current case is an opportunity for us to make our argument as forcefully as possible. A hearing on the case is scheduled in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, on July 2. The ACLU, Lambda Legal and NCLR led the battle in the California Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8 after the November 2008 election.

Download a pdf of the brief here.

Press Release

Laguna Beach Ends Practice of Treating Disabled Homeless Like Criminals

A team of legal organizations applauded the city of Laguna Beach for agreeing to settle a lawsuit over its treatment of disabled homeless people. The settlement agreement marks a significant shift away from the criminalization of homeless people and toward recognition of their membership in the community.

Press Release

Appellate Court: Special Order 40 Stands

On June 17, a three-judge panel upheld the Los Angeles Police Department’s use of Special Order 40 – a decades old policy prohibiting officers from using immigration status to initiate investigations.

The panel affirmed a lower court’s determination that Special Order 40 is constitutionally sound, and sided with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which fought the lifting of the policy on behalf of community groups representing domestic violence victims and day laborers.

Read more.

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This is the web site of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California.
Learn more about the distinction between these two components of the ACLU. Copyright 2007 The ACLU of Southern California.