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Member Spotlight

There are many who seek to consolidate their power at the expense of others, and the ACLU helps balance the scales by defending justice, freedom and fairness.
Charles Flowers, Member since 2010
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Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, due process... even though these rights are in the Constitution, sometimes the ACLU has to remind our government that they exist.
Olivia Wilde, ACLU of Southern California board member

In this section...

  • Accountability and Abuse of Power
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  • Economic Justice
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  • Prisoners' Rights
  • Privacy and Surveillance
  • Active ACLU issues

LGBT Equality

Our mission is the creation of a society in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people enjoy the basic rights of equality, privacy, personal autonomy, freedom of belief and expression, and freedom from harassment.

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Immigrant Rights

Our nation has unquestioned authority to control its borders and to regulate immigration. We must exercise the awesome power to exclude or deport immigrants consistent with the rule of law and the requirements of the Constitution.

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Education

The ACLU supports and defends equal rights and opportunities for all students.

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Local Action Center

When freedom is under attack, an engaged populace is its first line of defense. Raise your voice to protect civil liberties.

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Know Your Rights

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Legislative Scorecard

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Nationwide Action Center

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Local Action Center

When freedom is under attack, an engaged populace is its first line of defense. Raise your voice to protect civil liberties.

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Legislative Scorecard

Visit the ACLU legislative scorecard to find out if your Congressional representatives are casting votes in support of freedom and liberty.

Local Action Center

When freedom is under attack, an engaged populace is its first line of defense. Raise your voice to protect civil liberties.

National Action Center

Visit the American Civil Liberties Union Action Center to get involved in the nationwide movement to defend civil rights.

Email Activism

Our email list coordinates tens of thousands of ACLU activists in demanding action on a range of issues from local jails reform to LGBTQ equality to privacy protection. Sign up now to add your voice.

Featured Cases...

  • Douglas v. Cooley

    is a lawsuit against the L.A. District Attorney and Sheriff's Department seeking to halt unlawful policies that suppress exculpatory evidence in criminal trials.


    Learn more
    Issue(s): Accountability and Abuse of Power, Prisoners' Rights,
  • K.L. v. City of Glendale

    is a lawsuit against Glendale Police Department and Hoover High School on behalf of 56 Latino students who were unlawfully racially profiled, detained, and searched.


    Learn more
    Issue(s): Education
  • Valentini v. Shinseki

    is a lawsuit against the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the director of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System for discriminating against homeless veterans.


    Learn more
    Issue(s): Accountability and Abuse of Power,

In this section...

  • Active cases
  • Meet our legal team
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  • Get legal help
  • Jails Project
 

Featured Cases

  • Franco v. Holder
  • Reed v. State of California
  • Rodriguez v. Robbins

Active Cases

  • ACLU v. ICE

    is a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking to reverse the government’s denial of a fee waiver to the ACLU for a request for ICE’s worksite immigration policies.

  • American Academy of Pediatrics v. Clovis

    is a lawsuit against Clovis Unified School District for its failure to provide legally required sexual health education to its high school students.

  • Asociación de Jornaleros de Costa Mesa v. Costa Mesa

    is a lawsuit aimed at overturning the city of Costa Mesa's unconstitutional anti-solicitation speech ordinance.

  • Boudlal v. Disney

    is a lawsuit against the Walt Disney Corporation for religious discrimination.

  • Casey A. v. Gundry

    is a lawsuit against the L.A. County Office of Education and Probation Department for failing to provide meaningful instruction for youth detained at the Challenger Memorial Youth Center.

  • Diouf v. Napolitano

    established that the government cannot detain noncitizens for more than six months without providing a bond hearing where it must justify such lengthy detention.

  • Doe 1 v. State of California

    is a lawsuit against the Dinuba Unified School District and the State of California for denying basic instruction in reading to 1st and 2nd grade English learners.

  • Doe v. State of California

    is a lawsuit against State of California and the Governor for charging students illegal school fees.

  • Douglas v. Cooley

    is a lawsuit against the L.A. District Attorney and Sheriff's Department seeking to halt unlawful policies that suppress exculpatory evidence in criminal trials.

  • Fazaga v. FBI

    is a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation for illegally spying on the Orange County Muslim community.

  • Fitzgerald v. Orange County

    is a lawsuit against the Orange County Board of Supervisors for violating disabled Vietnam veteran William D. Fitzgerald’s right to freedom of speech.

  • Franco v. Holder

    is a lawsuit seeking to establish the right to legal representation for hundreds of immigration detainees in California, Arizona, and Washington who suffer from severe mental disabilities.

  • Hamdan v. Department of Justice

    is a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking information about the United States’ role in the detention and torture of U.S. citizen Naji Hamdan.

  • Hamdi v. U.S.C.I.S.

    is a lawsuit against the U.S.C.I.S. for unlawfully delaying Tarek Hamdi's application for naturalization.

  • Islamic Shura Council v. FBI

    is a lawsuit seeking to force the government to reveal information about the FBI’s surveillance of several prominent, law-abiding Muslim community leaders and organizations.

  • Johnson v. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

    is a lawsuit on behalf of inmates with mobility impairments who are denied mobility devices such as wheelchairs, crutches, walkers or canes.

  • K.L. v. City of Glendale

    is a lawsuit against Glendale Police Department and Hoover High School on behalf of 56 Latino students who were unlawfully racially profiled, detained, and searched.

  • Khatib v. County of Orange

    is a lawsuit against the County for forcing a practicing Muslim woman to remove her religious headscarf when she was taken into custody at an OC holding facility.

  • LA Police Protective League v. City of LA

    is a lawsuit in which the ACLU has intervened on behalf of community groups to uphold the legality of Special Order 7 (“SO7”), an LAPD policy that limits the use of punitive 30-day vehicle impoundments for unlicensed driving violations to circumstances in which such a harsh measure is warranted.

  • Moreno v. City of Anaheim

    is a lawsuit seeking to end at-large elections in the City of Anaheim.

  • Morrow v. U.S. Parole Commission

    is a lawsuit seeking to protect the right of federal inmates to have in-person Parole Commission hearings instead of video hearings.

  • Nee v. LASD

    is a lawsuit seeking to prevent the unlawful search, detention and harassment of photographers by LASD, as well as damages on behalf of the three plaintiffs who were harassed by LASD.

  • Reed v. State of California

    is a lawsuit against the State of California and Los Angeles Unified School District seeking to halt budget-based layoffs at three L.A. middle schools because they denied students their right under the state constitution to equal educational opportunity.

  • Rodriguez v. Robbins

    is a lawsuit seeking to establish that immigrants whom the government has detained for more than six months while their cases are pending deserve the right to a hearing where they can argue for release on bond.

  • Rosas v. Baca

    is a lawsuit against Sheriff Leroy Baca for failing to take reasonable steps to stop the pattern of deputies' beating inmates in Los Angeles County jails.

  • Rosebrock v. Beiter

    is a lawsuit challenging the Veterans Administration’s practice of forbidding veteran Robert Rosebrock from hanging the flag union down in protest of the VA’s failure to use its land for the care and shelter of homeless veterans.

  • Roy v. Los Angeles County

    is a lawsuit against Los Angeles County and the L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca for denying bail on the basis of ICE holds, and for holding people in County Jail for more than 48 hours based on those ICE holds.

  • Valentini v. Shinseki

    is a lawsuit against the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the director of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System for discriminating against homeless veterans.

  • Vasquez v. Rackauckas

    is a lawsuit challenging the enforcement of a gang injunction by the OC District Attorney and the City of Orange Police Department.

  • Williams v. State of California

    is a lawsuit against the State of California for failing to provide basic educational necessities to thousands of public school students, particularly those in low-income communities and communities of color.

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