Subject:

American Civil Liberties Union

  • Blogs

    November 8, 2012

    Judge Temporarily Blocks Proposition 35, Sex Trafficking Law

    Election Day has passed, and you know what that means: Now the lawsuits begin.Today a judge granted a temporary stay to block part of Proposition 35, the measure passed on Tuesday that says those convicted of sex trafficking should be restricted on the Internet. The measure also increases prison sen ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 22, 2012

    Ross Mirkarimi Gets Prisoners to Vote

    We got a little glimpse of what Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has been doing now that he's back on the job: registering inmates to vote. And why shouldn't he want this, considering it was San Francisco prisoners who vociferously backed the embattled sheriff during his domestic violence drama that nearly co ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 15, 2012

    Alameda County Sheriff Just Might Employ Unmanned Drones to Catch Criminals

    It's like something out of sci-fi: The bad guy, dressed in black, runs from police officers and manages to shimmy up a drainpipe and hide on a deserted roof. But then from behind him rises a small computerized helicopter that tracks his every move.Well, for Bay Area folks, that scenario might not be ... More >>

  • News

    August 8, 2012

    Free Porn: SFPL Tries to Shield Patrons' Screens from Public Eyes

    It's like something out of sci-fi: The bad guy, dressed in black, runs from police officers and manages to shimmy up a drainpipe and hide on a deserted roof. But then from behind him rises a small computerized helicopter that tracks his every move.Well, for Bay Area folks, that scenario might not be ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 8, 2012

    Facebook: Should 'Like' Button Be Protected as Free Speech?

    We've all seen the Facebook profiles supporting political candidates, the pages for protest, and the mass events that have been organized through this giant social network. Facebook has certainly made its mark on the political scene. Now, the Bay Area-based company wants a constitutional voice.Faceb ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 10, 2012

    Mayor Ed Lee's Stop & Frisk Policy Is Giving San Franciscans Something to Protest

    Not surprisingly, the news that Mayor Ed Lee was considering implementing a Stop & Frisk policy in this liberal bastion sent plenty of San Franciscans reeling. The impetus behind the mayor's idea is to put a clamp on the never-ending gun violence on the street. But community members here are hop ... More >>

  • News

    May 30, 2012

    The Gay Selma: Schools Ignore Gay Bullying at Their Own Peril

    Not surprisingly, the news that Mayor Ed Lee was considering implementing a Stop & Frisk policy in this liberal bastion sent plenty of San Franciscans reeling. The impetus behind the mayor's idea is to put a clamp on the never-ending gun violence on the street. But community members here are hop ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 26, 2012

    Gary Stein, Marine Who Called Obama an "Enemy" on Facebook, Discharged

    Gary Stein, the 27-year-old Marine who spewed anti-Obama rhetoric on his "Armed Forces Tea Party" Facebook page, was discharged yesterday, for popping off his political views. Pentagon policy, military prosecutors noted, limits military members' political speech while in uniform. But beyond handboo ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 12, 2012

    Even Siri Pisses Off the ACLU

    ​As mouthy as the saucy Siri can be, it's no wonder Apple's latest gadget has gotten herself into trouble with the notoriously offended American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU of Northern California penned a very pointed press release today detailing all the ways in which Siri is more nefarious t ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 30, 2011

    SFPD's Ugly History with Pepper Spray

    ​When San Francisco Police came calling in June of 1995, 37-year-old Aaron Williams probably didn't think it would be his last day on Earth. But as the pet-store-burglary suspect emerged from his house, a dozen officers piled on him. Police pepper-sprayed him, restrained him, and placed him face-d ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 26, 2011

    Another Student Suspended for Dissing Teacher on Facebook

    ​We've seen a few times over the past year that the casual contact facilitated by Facebook is proving to be a sticky wicket for teachers and their students. Now a Louisiana high-school senior is arguing in federal court that he's the latest victim of unfair policing of online social space.The stud ... More >>

  • Music

    October 12, 2011

    Bouncer Spies the Clipboard Peeps at House of Shields

    ​We've seen a few times over the past year that the casual contact facilitated by Facebook is proving to be a sticky wicket for teachers and their students. Now a Louisiana high-school senior is arguing in federal court that he's the latest victim of unfair policing of online social space.The stud ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 12, 2011

    Bouncer Visits House of Shields, a Beer Cave for the Clipboard Peeps

    ​From this week's Bouncer column: I found it ironic that I was walking to the House of Shields one afternoon when I found myself bombarded with people in bright pink T-shirts from Planned Parenthood. I, like most Tea Party Patriots, associate the organization with birth control, or "shields" ... More >>

  • News

    September 28, 2011

    Gross Profit: Money Given to Clipboard Kids Rarely Makes It to Nonprofits

    ​From this week's Bouncer column: I found it ironic that I was walking to the House of Shields one afternoon when I found myself bombarded with people in bright pink T-shirts from Planned Parenthood. I, like most Tea Party Patriots, associate the organization with birth control, or "shields" ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 15, 2011

    ACLU Joins the Fight Against the Circumcision Ban

    Cock fight ​As expected, we can now add the ACLU to the list of people officially against the proposed circumcision ban in San Francisco. Today, the organization's Northern California branch joined the Jewish Community Relations Council by filing an amicus curiae brief that urges the California S ... More >>

  • News

    July 13, 2011

    This Is Your City: Housing Authority Bans San Franciscans from Public Housing

    Cock fight ​As expected, we can now add the ACLU to the list of people officially against the proposed circumcision ban in San Francisco. Today, the organization's Northern California branch joined the Jewish Community Relations Council by filing an amicus curiae brief that urges the California S ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 7, 2011

    California Death Sentences at 33-Year Low

    ​Fewer death sentences were handed down by California courts during the first half of 2011 than during any six-month period since 1978, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.Just three defendants were sentenced to death from January to June of this ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 9, 2011

    New Questions Raised About State's Imported Lethal Injection Drugs

    ​Newly released documents raise questions about the quality of drugs imported from abroad by state corrections officials to carry out lethal injections, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.The documents, obtained by the ACLU through Freedom of Information Act (FO ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 31, 2011

    ACLU Defends Student Who Called Teacher 'Douche Bag' on Facebook

    Give me liberty or give me death, douche bags!​From the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights comes the latest tale of First Amendment issues in the digital age -- this one sparked by a high school sophomore who was suspended for calling his biology teacher a "douche bag" on Facebook.As California W ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 11, 2010

    Tracking Device Found On Santa Clara College Student's Car -- FBI Wants it Back

    Hey! The college kid's getting some pizza!​Yasir Afifi, a 20-year-old college student from Santa Clara, was surprised to discover a GPS tracking device on his car a week ago during an oil change. We can bet he was even more surprised when, after a friend posted photos of the device on Reddit.com, ... More >>

  • Articles

    May 5, 2010

    A Report from Juarez, the Bleeding Front Line of the War on Drugs

    Hey! The college kid's getting some pizza!​Yasir Afifi, a 20-year-old college student from Santa Clara, was surprised to discover a GPS tracking device on his car a week ago during an oil change. We can bet he was even more surprised when, after a friend posted photos of the device on Reddit.com, ... More >>

  • News

    May 5, 2010

    An Opportunity to Stand Up

    Hey! The college kid's getting some pizza!​Yasir Afifi, a 20-year-old college student from Santa Clara, was surprised to discover a GPS tracking device on his car a week ago during an oil change. We can bet he was even more surprised when, after a friend posted photos of the device on Reddit.com, ... More >>

  • News

    May 5, 2010

    Amongst Us

    Sheriff Joe Arpaio's reign of terror becomes Arizona policy, thanks to state Senator Russell Pearce and Governor Jan Brewer

  • Blogs

    April 28, 2010

    Prop. 8 Trial -- Constipated No More

    Justice delayed is justice ... wait, what were we talking about?​Remember the Prop. 8 trial that started in San Francisco in January starring Judge Vaughn Walker (gay) and featuring David Bois (liberal) and Ted Olson (conservative)? The trial that has been on hiatus longer than the presentation of ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 31, 2010

    It Ain't 'Brave New World' Yet: Federal Court Strikes Down Human Gene Patents

    ​The Center for Genetics and Society, a Berkeley-based nonprofit that watchdogs bioethics issues nationwide, is trumpeting a ruling from a New York-based federal court that squashed a biotech company's efforts to patent human genes ... YOURS!Just kidding. Well, sort of -- central to the arguments ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 23, 2010

    ACLU: Keep Your Hands Off Our Prop. 8 E-Mails!

    ​Yesterday, federal judge Vaughn Walker lowered the boom on the ACLU and Equality California, and insisted the organizations turn over their internal e-mails and memos even though they aren't actually part of the ongoing legal challenge to Proposition 8.Today, the ACLU employed the vaunted oh hell ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 18, 2009

    ACLU Launches Internet Privacy Campaign

    Do you know your dotRights?Dot what?A portal to the soul​The American Civil Liberties Union's San Francisco-based Northern California office is launching a campaign to beef up Internet privacy. In a statement released today, the ACLU seeks to "spotlight the need to upgrade laws protecting consumer ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 6, 2009

    Police Change Policy: Will Cease Towing and Impounding Cars of Unlicensed Drivers -- Sort Of

    Still always good to have...​San Francisco is about to get a lot more friendly to unlicensed drivers. After a series of meetings over the last year with immigrants' rights groups and the ACLU, the police are halting their mandatory policy of towing off and impounding cars driven by unlicensed mot ... More >>

  • News

    August 19, 2009

    Activists say the SFPD is unfairly impounding and selling cars owned by illegal aliens

    Still always good to have...​San Francisco is about to get a lot more friendly to unlicensed drivers. After a series of meetings over the last year with immigrants' rights groups and the ACLU, the police are halting their mandatory policy of towing off and impounding cars driven by unlicensed mot ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 4, 2009

    Chronic City: Marijuana Moratorium -- How To Ignore The Voters And The Law

    Dispensary moratorium: Latest political fad?​One by one, across California, the lights are winking out.In city after city, town after town, patients who had dared hope they would at last have safe access to the medicine recommended by their physicians are having those hopes dashed  by politic ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 11, 2009

    Chronic City: What If They Banned Zoloft Or Something Else Instead?

    igougo.comIf you're a medical marijuana patient, Oceanside may decide on Wednesday that it doesn't want your business. Or your crime, or your noise. Wait, what?Oceanside, like 110 or so other cities in California, may impose a (temporary, they say) ban on medical marijuana dispensaries until the cit ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 4, 2008

    Polling Place in Mission Experiencing Technical Difficulties

    igougo.comIf you're a medical marijuana patient, Oceanside may decide on Wednesday that it doesn't want your business. Or your crime, or your noise. Wait, what?Oceanside, like 110 or so other cities in California, may impose a (temporary, they say) ban on medical marijuana dispensaries until the cit ... More >>

  • Calendar

    October 15, 2008

    Classified Information

    igougo.comIf you're a medical marijuana patient, Oceanside may decide on Wednesday that it doesn't want your business. Or your crime, or your noise. Wait, what?Oceanside, like 110 or so other cities in California, may impose a (temporary, they say) ban on medical marijuana dispensaries until the cit ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 8, 2008

    Internet Archive, EFF Smack Down FBI

    igougo.comIf you're a medical marijuana patient, Oceanside may decide on Wednesday that it doesn't want your business. Or your crime, or your noise. Wait, what?Oceanside, like 110 or so other cities in California, may impose a (temporary, they say) ban on medical marijuana dispensaries until the cit ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 27, 2008

    EFF, ACLU Go to Bat for Wikileaks

    igougo.comIf you're a medical marijuana patient, Oceanside may decide on Wednesday that it doesn't want your business. Or your crime, or your noise. Wait, what?Oceanside, like 110 or so other cities in California, may impose a (temporary, they say) ban on medical marijuana dispensaries until the cit ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 25, 2008

    Court Ruling Could Wipe Slate for SFPD Accused of Misconduct

    igougo.comIf you're a medical marijuana patient, Oceanside may decide on Wednesday that it doesn't want your business. Or your crime, or your noise. Wait, what?Oceanside, like 110 or so other cities in California, may impose a (temporary, they say) ban on medical marijuana dispensaries until the cit ... More >>

  • Calendar

    December 5, 2007

    Harry Belafonte, Patriot

    igougo.comIf you're a medical marijuana patient, Oceanside may decide on Wednesday that it doesn't want your business. Or your crime, or your noise. Wait, what?Oceanside, like 110 or so other cities in California, may impose a (temporary, they say) ban on medical marijuana dispensaries until the cit ... More >>

  • News

    January 10, 2007

    Prying Eyes

    igougo.comIf you're a medical marijuana patient, Oceanside may decide on Wednesday that it doesn't want your business. Or your crime, or your noise. Wait, what?Oceanside, like 110 or so other cities in California, may impose a (temporary, they say) ban on medical marijuana dispensaries until the cit ... More >>

  • News

    September 28, 2005

    What Part of "Wait Until Marriage" Don't You Understand!

    Infiltrator goes to a teen abstinence educators' conference -- and gets laid!

  • News

    June 22, 2005

    The Minuteman's 15 Minutes of Fame (Minute 14.5)

    At the Arizona border, Infiltrator checks in with Americans who help the government look for illegal aliens

  • News

    November 12, 2003

    Toothless Wonder

    Why S.F.'s police watchdog agency has never been effective - and why Prop. H won't change that

  • News

    May 28, 2003

    Big Doctor Is Watching

    As of April 14, the national security police can monitor your medical records without your knowledge. So can the local police.

  • Music

    July 3, 2002

    The War on Raves

    Forget terrorists; let's fight the dancers

  • News

    October 11, 2000

    Hard Lessons

    Students without textbooks. Crumbling facilities. Rats. Spending time at Balboa High School can be a real education.

  • News

    May 17, 2000

    Babes in Toyland

    Two hackers piss off Mattel and spawn an Internet legal imbroglio

  • Calendar

    August 13, 1997

    Unspun

    Two hackers piss off Mattel and spawn an Internet legal imbroglio

  • News

    April 23, 1997

    Fewer Pen Pals

    As more prisons move to ban skin mags, California prisoners' rights lawyers turn a deaf ear to inmates' howls

  • News

    August 28, 1996

    Totems Are Taboo

    But if the court's crucifixation is overblown, let a thousand icons bloom

  • News

    May 15, 1996

    Dead Heat

    Despite the deaths of Aaron Williams and Mark Garcia, the SFPD continues to use pepper spray on suspects who stand a good chance of dying in custody.

  • News

    August 2, 1995

    Letters

    Despite the deaths of Aaron Williams and Mark Garcia, the SFPD continues to use pepper spray on suspects who stand a good chance of dying in custody.

  • More >>
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