The ACLU is suing the Sheriff's Department, claiming that top commanders knew that inmates were being brutalized but failed to do anything about it. "This suit is directed at them because they have allowed deputies to go unpunished, covered up their behavior and for years made no effort to reform this broken system," said Peter Eliasberg, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California. more ›

The city council of Lancaster just approved a program that will allow a Cessna to weave through the airspace of Antelope Valley for 10 hours a day while a camera rolls. The film will be sent to the sheriff's station on the ground and reviewed in real-time for people doing hilarious shit in the privacy of their own backyards crime, according to The Los Angeles Daily News. more ›

Is there "pervasive abuse" going on inside our jails? That's the accusation levied by the American Civil Liberties Union in a new report that targets Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, and calls for his resignation. "Sheriff Baca bears ultimate responsibility for the horrific details we uncovered compiling this report and must step down," said Peter Eliasberg, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union. more ›

If you ever feel like you're being watched while you try on clothes in the department store dressing room, well, maybe you are. A CBS2 undercover op reveals that the doors of several area department stores are deliberately designed so that store employees can see in. Oh, but don't worry, it's not because they're pervy, it's because they think you're a thief. more ›

A student at Paloma Valley High in Menifee was branded a "sinner" by their teacher after the student wore a t-shirt that said "Gay is Good" to class. The teacher, whose identity has not been released, "drew an “S” on the hand of a student," to symbolize "sinner," according to CBS2, and referred to the student, whose identity is also being kept private, multiple times as such. more ›

Judge Stephen Reinhardt is refusing to step down from the three-judge panel that will hear oral arguments Monday on Proposition 8, California's controversial same-sex marriage ban, according to LA Now. Last night proponents of the prop filed a motion requesting he withdraw, citing his marriage to the ACLU's Ramona Ripston as a conflict of interest, since the organization has been supportive of same-sex marriage. In his written response, Reinhardt said: "I will be able to rule impartially on this appeal, and I will do so." more ›

Monday, December 6th is a date long-awaited by those following the ongoing legal battle over California's Proposition 8, which ostensibly banned same-sex marriage in the state back in November 2008, as that is the date when oral arguments for the appeal of the controversial prop will be heard by a three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. more ›

A famous celebrity's name is protected for 70 years after death. That's because a "deceased personality," as state law calls them, has commercial value, thus the use of their voice, signature, photograph, or likeness in products and advertising is verboten unless permission by the family is given. Those laws don't apply to regular people, even if their death made them famous -- the law only applied to those who had notoriety before death, not because of or after death. more ›

The ACLU this afternoon released their statement on the death of former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates, who often referred to Ramona Ripston, ACLU of Southern California's Executive Director, as “Ramona Ripoff." She offers some choice words: more ›

On the same day that serial killer Rodney Alcala was handed a death sentence for the murder of a pre-teen girl and four women in Orange County in the 1970's, the ACLU released a report on death penalty sentences in the United States, noting that while nationwide such sentences are on decline, in California they are, in fact, on the rise. more ›

Over the weekend, the LAPD shot and killed an unarmed man in Koreatown who was behaving suspiciously and appeared to be removing something from his waistband. The victim was 27-year-old Steven Washington, and according to his family, was autistic. The gang enforcement officers, Allan Corrales and George Diego, believed Washington was reaching for a weapon, and fired once, striking him in the head, according to an AP report. more ›

Get ready to see some dirty laundry aired. On Monday Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ordered gay marriage advocacy groups to turn over campaign materials from the election fight over Proposition 8, "a move that could prolong the legal challenge to California's ban on gay nuptials." more ›

Just one day after the Los Angeles Unified School District voted in favor of the plan to give control of struggling schools to non-profits, a lawsuit filed against the LAUSD by the ACLU is focused on layoffs at three schools--two of which are operated by Mayor Villaraigosa's non-profit "Partnership" program. more ›

The LAPD has announced the creation of new program called iWatch, something which LAPD Chief William Bratton calls the "21st century version of Neighborhood Watch." Basically, the program encourages residents to identify and report suspicious behaviors and activities that have been known to be used by terrorists. more ›

A controversial new proposal by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich would give law enforcement the okay to arrest taggers without actually seeing them tag--just the act of "hanging out" together on the street would be enough to haul them in. But those objecting include the ACLU, who call the idea "unquestionably unconstitutional," according to the LA Times. Police, too, aren't sold on the idea, and many other critics wonder if putting more youth into the criminal system--particularly without an actual crime--will do more long-term damage than good, particularly because there aren't enough programs in place to help these kids better their lives. more ›

It's not that the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California wants Lancaster officials to stop praying all together at the beginning of meetings, but to stop singling out that Jesus guy. “The City Council is clearly showing bias toward one religion by leading council and planning meetings with Christian prayers,” said Peter Eliasberg, Manheim Family Attorney for First Amendment Rights at the ACLU/SC in a statement... more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's mayor's chief ethics officer and legal advisor, Thomas A. Saenz, has been tapped to head up the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division: "'I don't think the president or attorney general could make a better selection,' said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California. 'He's a throwback to the great civil rights attorney pioneers, like Thurgood Marshall.'" (via Daily Journal per LA Observed). more ›

Last Fall, the ACLU released a study based on post-stop actions of its officers on 810,000 field data reports completed by LAPD officers nearly every time they stopped a vehicle or pedestrian between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004. They concluded that black and Hispanic residents are stopped, frisked, searched and arrested by LAPD officers far more frequently than white residents. more ›

In a weird settlement between the ACLU and the LAPD, the LA City Council approved a ban that says officers patrolling Skid Row cannot conduct unconstitutional searches of homeless individuals. While breaking the law is a given no-no for police, it all stems from a difference of opinion on the interpretation of the Constitution. In this case, a federal judge sided with the people saying the LAPD was being too aggressive in their shakedown of Skid Row residents. "We agree to disagree," Capt. Jodi Wakefield told the LA Times. "But there's nothing wrong with us going back and making sure that our officers clearly understand the Constitution, and all the laws they have to abide by. I feel confident they do." more ›

Two big news conferences are scheduled for Monday to present reports on the LAPD and not necessarily in a good light. First, at 11:00 a.m. on the steps of City Hall, City Controller Laura Chick will present her audit on the backlog of Forensic DNA rape-kits. It has been reported that their backlog is around 7,000 kits. That's thousands of chances to gather physical evidence and DNA that could help put criminals in jail. Chick's audit is expected to officially reaffirm those problems. more ›

Daily Kos writer, tenayaca, dug deep into the contributions and expenditures of Prop 11, a November proposition that will allow the redrawing of state district boundaries overseen by an independent commission after the 2010 census. Simply put, if passed, it will turn the state into a very Republican place, according to her. more ›

Today, the ACLU sent a letter to the City of Calabasas over a city policy reflected in their community service grant applications, which provides money to organizations for social service services within the city. more ›

A conglomerate of nine pro same-sex marriage groups released a memo today stating that it would hurt the gay rights movement in the long term if gay couples sued states of the federal government for their marriages to be recognized outside of California because. Such action could open the door to bad court rulings. more ›

Special Order 40 is a nearly 30-year-old law in Los Angeles that prohibits Los Angeles police officers from asking people about their immigration status. Part of the intent is to get more community cooperation when investigating a crime. Illegal immigrants who witness or know something about a crime would more likely avoid police because of their status without the order. more ›

Arthur Paul Carmona, 26, an advocate for people wrongly accused of crimes who was wrongly accused himself and incarcerated for 2 1/2 years as a teenager in Orange County was killed this weekend. His name became widely known when he was arrested when he was 16 and convicted of robbing two juice bars in Irvine and Costa Mesa:

His mother mustered support for her son and political and community outrage followed over police tactics that led to her son's arrest. Support for overturning his 12-year prison sentence came from law firms, community groups, Hollywood actors and the politically active rock band Rage Against the Machine. more ›

I probably wouldn't have pointed to Amazon.com as a champion of progressive thought and equality, but what do I know? Gaywired.com reports that Dana Rudolph, publisher of Mombian.com, was interested in entering an Amazon.com contest that offered a prize of $25,000 in college tuition. The recipient of the prize could either be the winner or the winner’s immediate family member, which the website categorized as “his or her spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents and... more ›

UCLA is policed by the UCPD who follow this taser policy: 301.24 PAIN COMPLIANCE TECHNIQUES (Metroblogging LA) "We are Big Brother. Not the government or the police; American society - LOS ANGELES - is Big Brother. And to that, I say: so be it." (LACityNerd) "The acting Chancellor of UCLA, Norman Abrams, an expert in anti-terrorist law, has, in a statement issued by the University, gone a long way towards justifying the repeated tasering... more ›