American Civil Liberties Union

Federal Judge Kinda Likes ICE, Kinda Doesn't In Ruling Over Fullerton Factory Raid

In an October 25 ruling, a federal judge decided that Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a reasonable records search in response to a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The case follows a June 2010 ICE raid on Terra Universal factory in Fullerton where 43 undo ... More >>

Terminal Island Prisoners Win Right to In-Person Parole Hearings

A lawsuit brought on behalf of prisoners at Terminal Island, a storied federal corrections facility between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor, has been settled in favor of the inmates. The agreement reached last week was preceded by a federal judge's injunction last March protecting the right ... More >>

ACLU Lawsuit Against Anaheim Over Latino Voters Distorts City History and Whitewashes Role of Vendidos

I'm all for reminding Orange County of its nasty racist past, present, and future--hell, I do a weekly series exposing all the OC pioneers who were Klan members. What I'm not for is distorting the historical facts, especially when said distortions are used to further a nebulous lawsuit, like what th ... More >>

ACLU's Lawsuit Against Anaheim for Voter Disenfranchisment Against Mexis is Laughable, Ahistorical, and Plain Pendejo

As promised, the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) held a press conference outside Anaheim City Hall yesterday announcing they were going to sue Anaheim to create council wards in the idea that such a ploy would result in a fairer political representation of th ... More >>

Lawmakers Vote to Prohibit Anaheim Schools' 'Demoralizing' Practice of Color-Coding Student IDs Based On Test Scores

Last year, two schools in the Anaheim Union High School District tried a new academic incentive program. Students were given identification cards in colors that revealed how well they performed on standardized tests. Those with the "best" colors were given freebies and perks, like getting to stand a ... More >>

Anaheim Gets Its First Cop Block!

OWS Facebook PageIt looks like Anaheim got its very first entry on citizen vigilante website Cop Block.Not so fast though--it does not concern the Anaheim Police Department, which sees at least a half dozen people demonstrating against deadly excessive force in front of their department every S ... More >>

American Civil Liberties Union Caravan Blasting Immigration Laws Coming to Santa Ana

The American Civil Liberties Union caravan stopping in Santa Ana at high noon Monday to draw attention to the damage done by immigration laws like Arizona's is sure to include a hippie van with stickers all over it. Only some messages will be in Spanglish, and Jerry Garcia's Dead head will be replac ... More >>

Irvine Man Wants Off 'No Fly List,' Sues FBI

It's easy to complain about air travel, especially when TSA agents feel you up like it's prom night and then the guy behind you plops his flaking feet on your arm rest. But typically, the end reward is getting where you want to go in a conceivable amount of time. Not for Stephen Persaud. On May 11, ... More >>

[UPDATED with Judge's Ruling:] Justice Dept. Must Pay for Lying in Suit Against FBI by OC Muslims

​UPDATE, NOV. 18, 10:57 A.M.: "The Court must impose monetary sanctions to deter the Government from deceiving the Court again," Judge Cormac Carney of the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana writes in his Islamic Shura Council v. FBI ruling. He gave the council 14 days to come up with ... More >>

ACLU Raises Privacy Concerns Over Confiscated Student Cellphones

​"H-E-L-L-O: Students have a right to privacy in their cell phones."That's not just the lament of the empty-eyed Hot Dog on a Stick girl handing you your lunch at the mall. It's the title of a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union's Southern California office, which finds privacy rights ... More >>

[UPDATED with Long Beach Journo's Take:] ACLU Sues Sheriff's Deputies for Hassling LA and Long Beach Photographers Under Anti-Terror Policy

ACLU/SCGreggory Moore shares with the media his brushes with sheriff's deputies.​UPDATE, OCT. 28, 9:54 P.M.: The Long Beach Post's Greggory Moore has graciously agreed to share with Weekly readers his real-time coverage of moves officers from two separate police agencies made against him and colle ... More >>

ACLU Study Reveals Almost 200 Allegations Of Sexual Abuse Of Immigration Detainees, Three Cases At Santa Ana City Jail

​A recent American Civil Liberties Union report shows that sexual abuse of people in immigration detention facilities is a widespread, and likely underreported, issue in the U.S. Through Freedom of Information Act requests, the ACLU learned of almost 200 cases of alleged sexual abus ... More >>

[UPDATED with First-Hand Insight From Villagara:] OC District Attorney "Incapable" of Impartial Probe into Kelly Thomas's Police-Beating Death: ACLU

Villagara​UPDATE, AUG. 5, 4:26 P.M.: Update written by Marisa Gerber.Hector Villagara is no stranger to Orange County. Before he took on his current role as executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California, he worked in the ACLU's Orange County office.It was h ... More >>

Attorney General Eric Holder Chastised for Move to Quash Suit Against FBI for Spying on Muslims in OC

Monteilh​Attorneys for Muslims who have been spied on by the government through paid informants like Irvine's Craig Monteilh asked a federal court to reject U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's move to dismiss their lawsuit against the FBI on grounds the case exposes state secrets."It is shocking t ... More >>

ACLU Demands Data on Mobile-Phone Surveillance From Five Orange County Police Agencies

​Big Brother is not only watching you, he can answer in the affirmative, "Can you hear me now?" The American Civil Liberties Union would like to know how much he's listenening, and by "he," I mean "your local cop shop."The Communist Par . . . er, ACLU of California announced today that demands wer ... More >>

DA Obtains 9th and 10th Gang Injunctions, Against Suspected Bangers in Anaheim and Fullerton

T-Rack​On May 11, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) heralded a "major victory" against an Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA)-acquired gang injunction, which is a blanket court order against multiple people suspected of belonging to gangs instead of the usual injunctions served ... More >>

[UPDATED with ICE Suspending Deportation:] Isaura Garcia, Battered Woman Facing Deportation, Embodies Problems with ICE Program

​UPDATE, MAY 13, 5:26 P.M.: The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has informed the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) that it is dropping deportation proceedings against Isaura Garcia. Meanwhile, Joseph Huprich, the woman's pro bono attorney, says Ga ... More >>

Orange County Gang Injunction Suffers Major Defeat: ACLU

​A federal judge ruled today that the Orange County District Attorney and Orange Police Department violated due process rights by denying hearings to those the agencies suspected of being gang members, dealing what the American Civil Liberties Union called "a major victory" to those legally oppo ... More >>

Samaa Kerba and Young Son Escaped Egypt, But the Mission Viejo Residents' Nightmare Had Only Begun

​A Mission Viejo woman and her 4-year-old son were hours away from being sent back to strife-torn Egypt this past weekend before the American Civil Liberties Union intervened on their behalf.Permanent U.S. resident Samaa Kerba, 26, and her son were returning home from Cairo because of the violence ... More >>

Racist OC Register Reader Fustercluck of the Day

Headline: ACLU Suit Threatens Gang Injunctions, DA Says​Comment by SUEZ: ACLU can go to he!l. Gang banger terrorists need to be eradicated. I work in Old Town Orange and they have ruined more buildings and windows let alone shootings Oh, but they "have rights." I HATE gang bangers. They all need t ... More >>

Prop. 8 Judge Married to ACLU Leader Refuses to Disqualify Himself

​If there's one group that so-called "family values" social conservatives love to hate more than gays, it's the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU. So there's more than a little bit of karma in the fact that Stephen Reinhardt, the judge expected to rule whether Prop. 8, which would deny gay c ... More >>

ACLU Accuses Feds of Retaliatory Deportation of Whistleblower Who Sued Fullerton Company

​The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is "deeply concerned" over federal immigration agents detaining and initiating deportation proceedings against an immigrant worker who filed a federal class action lawsuit against a Fullerton-based firm in August for labor and civil rights violations. ... More >>

Orange County District Attorney on Defense as ACLU Suit Against Gang Injunction is Heard

​Tony Rackauckas is at the center of a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles this afternoon against the Orange County District Attorney's enforcement of gang injunctions. The formal name of the case is American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU) v. Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Tony Rackauc ... More >>

Fees Charged Students in Tustin and Long Beach Cited in ACLU Lawsuit Against State

​Fees charged to public school students in Tustin and Long Beach are part of the evidence the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is citing in a class action lawsuit filed today against the state of California and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.The suit contends the state is violating the Californ ... More >>

Jose Antonio Franco, Freed Mentally Retarded Immigrant, Part of ACLU Lawsuit Against Feds

​As we told you here, five days after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition in March against the federal government for locking up Jose Antonio Franco in a Santa Ana detention facility, officials released the mentally retarded immigrant who had been living in Costa Mesa ... More >>

Racist OC Register Reader Fustercluck of the Day

​Headline: ACLU Request FBI Documents Related to 'Ethnic Mapping'Comment by GETRIDOFEINGPC: the aclu when first founded had good intentions but now they are far from what they used to be. Personally they should be disbanded as they are no better than the NAACP, Nation of Islam, Black Panthers ... More >>

ACLU Seeks FBI Records on "Muslim Mapping"

​As part of a massive request for data under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today asked the FBI to turn over records related to the agency's collection and use of race and ethnicity data in Southern California communities.Th ... More >>

Woman Barred From Flying Out of Long Beach Among Those Suing For Being on "No-Fly List"

ACLUHalime Sat​A woman who was barred from flying out of the Long Beach Airport is among 10 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents the American Civil Liberties Union is representing in its constitutional challenge of the government's "no-fly list."Halime Sat joins a disabled veteran of the U ... More >>

ACLU Honors Law Firm for Helping Quash Laguna Beach's Anti-Homeless Ordinance

​Just shy of a year after Laguna Beach agreed to settle a federal lawsuit over the city's treatment of disabled homeless people, a law firm has been honored for its "outstanding pro bono work" in the case. Irell & Manella, which has offices in Newport Beach and Los Angeles, recently received ... More >>

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Reign of Terror Becomes Arizona State Policy, Thanks to State Senator Russell Pearce and Governor Jan Brewer

An Opportunity to Stand Up

Jose Antonio Franco, Mentally Retarded Immigrant Held for 5 Years, is Released

​Five days after civil rights lawyers filed a lawsuit on behalf of a mentally retarded immigrant who has been locked up for years after being judged mentally incompetent to understand the proceedings against him, federal officials announced the release of man from custody in Santa Ana.

Ramona Ripston Retires as ACLU/SC Executive Director

Ramona Ripston​Ramona Ripston, who has been executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California for 38 years, announced her retirement today."This organization has not only been my work but also my life for a long time, so a decision like this one certainly comes with m ... More >>

Racist OC Register Fustercluck of the Day

​ Headline: ACLU Sues Costa Mesa Over Day Laborer IssueComment by dinspector: In Lake Forest we have 20 to 30 day labor [sic] that use the little donut shop as their facilities. They walk around the counter and next to the donut tables all day long to get to the back. Where is the ACLU protecting ... More >>

Major Donor Pulls Funding, Leaves ACLU and Locals Scrambling

​An item the New York Times posted online Tuesday night that outed David Gelbaum as a major anonymous donor to the American Civil Liberties Union and reported the Newport Beach philanthropist was cutting off $19 million in yearly donations because of economic setbacks has left the ACLU scrambling, ... More >>

Racist OC Register Reader Fustercluck of the Week: ACFU Edition

Maybe all the hot weather of late has made the haters sluggish, but this was a particularly slow week for racist commentary in the OC Register's reader comments. For a while, it appeared that the bulk of stereotyping was directed at pitbulls, i.e., whether the breed has jaws that, unlike all other d ... More >>

UPDATED: ACLU Announces Settlement of Suit Tied to Corona del Mar High's Production of "Rent"

Photo by Matt Coker Karyl Ketchum and Mike Wiggins talk about the hell their 17-year-old daughter Hail endured at Corona del Mar High School last school year.​Three varsity football players at Corona del Mar High School posted a video on the school's Facebook page in January in which they describe ... More >>

Angry Town Hall Mobs, Past and Present: The Joel Dvorman Connection

Graphic we did on Dvorman and the FBI files that found no dirt on the man...​Got an email from a former resident of Orange County that...well, read it below. She references Orange County's original liberal martyr, Joel Dvorman, and my two articles on the Magnolia School District trustee who was re ... More >>

LGBT Groups Seek to Intervene in Prop. 8 Challenge

This just in from the ACLU, which believes the action taken today will help a judge hearing a challenge of Prop. 8 understand the unequal rights inherent in the ballot initiative . . . SAN FRANCISCO -- Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the American Civil Liberties Union ... More >>

Pat Boone Talibanizes ACLU Over LAPD Special Order 40

Pat Boone. American.The ACLU says the California Court of Appeals decision today to uphold the Los Angeles Police Department's use of Special Order 40--a decades old policy prohibiting officers from using immigration status to initiate investigations--"strikes a balance between immigrants' rights to ... More >>

ACLU Lawyer Honors: So LA. Who Needs 'Em? Oh, Wait ...

Courtesy ACLU/SCBelinda Escobosa Helzer, staff attorney for the ACLU/SC, fights for Quan Am Temple. Hey, where's her award?Normally, we'd blow off the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California's 15th annual Law Luncheon on June 19. It's on a Friday, which is when we normally catch ... More >>

ACLU Demanding That Feds Turn Over OC Mosque Spying Records

The case that erupted with ex-con man Craig Monteilh's confession that he's been spying on OC mosques for the FBI will hit local federal courts this afternoon, when the ACLU makes arguments asking for the release of all theJohn GilhooleyCraig Monteilh says he spied on the Islamic Center of Irvine fo ... More >>

ACLU Suing Newport-Mesa Schools Over "Rent" Debacle

MOVING UP AND UPDATING WITH DISTRICT REACTION, MORE BACKGROUND.Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials say they were attempting to resolve a complaint stemming from the staging, cancellation and re-staging of the musical Rent at Corona del Mar High School when they learned today the American ... More >>

ACLU Sues Laguna Beach for Giving Homeless the Boot

The ACLU filed a federal civil rights lawsuit today against the city of Laguna Beach for its "unlawful and inhumane policy of harassing and intimidating disabled homeless people." The suit alleges that the city's prolonged arrests of its small, disabled homeless population under the guise of an anti ... More >>

The Mommy Party

Harriet Miers and me

Eight Days

Dine and Dashboard

Sailor Suit

ACLU ready to sue county over Boy Scouts control of Newport real estate

Scrubbing Bubbles

RE-CREATED HOMESPUN, SALT-OF-THE-EARTH WISDOM

a.k.a. ''The World According to The Orange County Registers Letters to the Editor''*