Please read this information carefully to find out the kinds of cases we accept and how to have the ACLU consider your problem.
Click Here for our Secure Intake E-Mail Form
Our office handles civil liberties and civil rights matters arising in the Southern California region – including San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties. We also monitor conditions in the L.A. County jails (but not state prisons or jails in other counties). If your issue arises elsewhere, you should contact the ACLU office in that area. To find the address for the appropriate affiliate, please go to the National ACLU website at www.aclu.org and click on States.
There are several ways in which you may contact the ACLU of Southern California for legal assistance:
You may write a letter to us at:
ACLU/SC Legal Intake
1313 West Eighth St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
You may leave a voice mail message on our Intake Line (213-977-5253) giving your name, daytime telephone number, and a brief description of the issue you wish to discuss. Your call will be returned by one of our volunteer pre-screeners; they are not lawyers and cannot give legal advice to you. Nor can they refer you to individual private attorneys. They can mail you appropriate referrals to other agencies which may be of help, and present certain information on your cases to their supervisor for review.
Walk-ins are not seen; they are asked to call the Intake Line or write to us.
If we need more information, we will contact you. We will let you know as soon as possible whether or not we can accept your case, although, because of limited resources, there may be a delay in getting back to you. Please be sure to read the information about deadlines.
What Does It Cost?
Attorneys represent ACLU clients free of charge. Our cases are handled by staff counsel, sometimes working together with attorneys in private practice who volunteer their time for ACLU cases.
What Are Civil Liberties and Civil Rights?
Civil liberties include freedom of speech, press, religion, and association; due process; equal protection; and privacy. Civil rights include, for example, voting rights; discrimination based on disability, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion or national origin; police reform; and workers’ rights.
How Do We Choose Cases?
The ACLU generally files cases that affect the civil liberties or civil rights of large numbers of people, rather than those involving a dispute between individual parties. The basic questions we ask when reviewing a potential case are: (1) Is this a significant civil liberties or civil rights issue? (2) What effect will this case have on people in addition to our client? (3) Do we have the necessary resources to take this case?
What Cases Affect Others?
Lawsuits can affect a large number of people in two ways. First, we sometimes challenge a policy or practice that directly impacts many people. For instance, if the state cut Medi-Cal funding for abortions from the annual budget, thousands of poor women would be affected. Second, a lawsuit brought on behalf of one person can have a larger impact on others when it establishes or expands legal protections. For example, a lawsuit challenging the denial of health care at a clinic to one HIV+ person, if successful, could set a precedent for thousands of patients in the future.
We Prefer Cases Without Serious Factual Disputes
We tend to take cases that do not involve complicated disputes of fact, and prefer cases that involve questions of law only. An example of a factual dispute is an employment discrimination case in which the employer claims he fired the employee because of poor job performance and has credible evidence to support that claim, but the employee disputes the evidence.
We often decide not to accept cases involving factual disputes because: (1) if a court resolves the facts against the client, it may never reach the civil liberties or civil rights issues; (2) if the decision rests upon the specific facts of a case, the case is less likely to have broad impact on many people; and (3) we have so few staff attorneys that it is difficult for us to devote attorney time to resolving factual disputes.
Types Of Cases the ACLU Generally Does Not Accept:
- A person has been fired from a job without a good reason or just cause;
- A person is being denied benefits, such as workers’ compensation or unemployment benefits;
- Criminal cases, or complaints about a person’s attorney in a criminal case. We consider accepting criminal cases only in limited instances, such as, for example, when a person is being prosecuted for engaging in activity protected by the Constitution – such as participating in a political demonstration.
Why the ACLU Turns Down Cases Which Fall Within Our Guidelines
There are many cases of unfairness and injustice that the ACLU is simply unable to handle. We receive thousands of requests for help each year at this office alone. Therefore, we cannot accept many of the cases that fall within the guidelines discussed above.
Can the ACLU Advise Me About My Case?
If we do not accept your case, the ACLU is unable to give you advice about your case, answer questions, or provide other types of assistance – for example, reviewing papers or conducting legal research to assist you. This policy allows us to direct the necessary resources to those cases we do accept.
Important Note About Deadlines
All legal claims have time deadlines. The deadlines may be different depending on who violated your rights and which rights were violated. For some kinds of violations, you may need to file a claim with a government agency before you can sue, and these agencies have their own time deadlines. If you do not comply with the applicable statute of limitations, you may be legally barred from pursuing your claim in court. Contacting the ACLU to describe your problem does not mean that the ACLU represents you, and will not stop the statute of limitations from running.
The ACLU cannot give you advice about the deadlines that apply to your case. To protect your rights, please consult an attorney promptly to find out what deadline may apply in your case.
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3 comments
Stephanie Starrr says:
October 1, 2011 at 8:13 am (UTC -7 )
I’m trying to anyone at the ACLU my husband is Dion Starr we are so happy that finally they have sheriff baca by his balls literally. This man is well aware of jail conditions he’s a crook with a badge. My husband was stabbed 23 times in his jail in 2005 they did nothing to help him even after he attempted to make several complaints on the deputies an to higher staffing they did nothing. We just won against him in the 9 circuit court, now he can be sued Are so happy that finally someone can get this criminal that calls himself sheriff. He needs to give his badge up an QUIT. I really would like to talk to someone from ACLU
Amy Jasper says:
October 3, 2011 at 9:36 am (UTC -7 )
Please go through our legal intake system here: https://secure.aclu.org/site/SPageNavigator/CS_Survey_LegalIntake
lourdes Padron says:
October 3, 2011 at 11:54 pm (UTC -7 )
I’m contacting the ACLU on behalf of my family and especially on befalfe of my mother Celida Padron. She is a 74 year old woman that is being taken care of by her family. well this last friday my mom didn’t eat and I thought she may be dehydrated and I was worried so I called 911 and decided to allow her to be transported to Daniel Freedmen in Marina Del Rey. I sat in the waiting Room for about 2 hours and they keep telling me you could see your mother in 10 min.then when I heard my mother scream in pain I walked to the attendant and asked to see my mother again He said they not quite done. I told him that I heard my mother scream he said “what scream”. at that point I lost it , I told him I want to see my mother now. they still made me wait then when I saw her She started to cry and complain to me about what happend earlier. So then they want to transport her 30 miles away because she has medical, I told them that I wanted to call around and see if there was a room in a closer hospital. well I had some prominent leads on beds but Maria hospital continued to tell me that she was going to be transported to Los Angeles Community Hospital 2081Olympic In East Los Angeles. so I sat next to my mom for about 2 hourd and was falling asleep. I asked the Male nurse for the paper work and he didnt bring it so I decided to takea nap. When I got up I saw messages so I called the hospital and they told me that if I signed the release forms for the transportation that they would not charge me for elderly abuse. So I signed under corhorsion. so mu mother was transported to the new hospital. At 12:30 my daughter called to tell me that grandma was already sitting for 2 hours no I.V. was presnt on the 74 yearold dehydrated woman. my daughter Tabitha asked for water and she was told that they had none and she would order some, then Tabitha asked for the A.C. to be put on they told her it was broken. At about 3:30 P.M. the heat was so bad my brother George said he asked for a fan to be placed in the room, they told him that they are sorry but can’t do anything for him. I arived at about 5:30 ish I took 5 steps into the room and I felt the sweat beads accumulating and rolling down my spine , the was so stagnent that it was difficult for me to breath. I became very emotional and began to demand some remedy for the unhumain condition my mother and brother were subjegated to. It was so Hot george told me on sunday that he couldn’t breathe well and that when he blue his nose it bleed.today I could hear that it affected my mother also. They both sat in that room for 8 hours. When I called the Sherifs I found out hat I was inded charged according to this hospital but no one has contacted me and they won’t release any information to me They keep giving our family the runaround and no answers.They only tell us that she has all these exames to take and she only came in for aUTI and dehydration She has a family Dr. I believe they are milking the Medical system. I keep giving them her medical information 3 times and today they said that I told them “I don’t know.” My mother was responding to questions today. yet they showed me where they decided that my mother cannot make her own choices when I asked the doctor if a family member was present the director became upset with me and said I’m disturbing his hospital and I should leave. also, she told me she wanted to go home. I signed a release form infront of the sharifs I called on the hospital. I have pictures of the nurses and my moms head stuck in between the bar in the bed. My daughter brought a fan for my mother from home to help her bear the heat in that room. Today the nurse was trying to take my mothers bloood pressure and was hurting my mom and I asked her please don’t hold her hand right on the center of the bruise, she got mad and said let someone else do it. both her hands are bruised and today she was cring to me and telling me it hurts. Miy family and I havenever been treated like this, this whole event is bad enough but the lack of compation at this hospital is sad. my daughter and I are treated as if we don’t have the best interest out for my mom. oh and the pictures I took on Sat . My brother and i were sitting on the other side of the curtain when the nurses began screaming I was charging my phone and decided to take pictures because the screaming out of the nurses sared me . I’m tired so I will send this thank you I also called There is a lot more to tell