ACLU Foundation of Northern California

ACLU Foundation of Northern California advances left-of-center policies on criminal justice, liberal expansionist immigration, social-liberal interpretations of gender and sexuality, and support for the advancement of abortion. ¹

The Foundation works in concert with the ACLU of Northern California; ACLU Foundation of Northern California conducts activities allowed under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code and accepts foundation and individual tax-deductible contributions.

Background

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California was founded in 1972.² The ACLU Foundation of Northern California maintains a docket of over 50 legal cases and a number of ongoing policy initiatives including: technology and civil liberties, criminal justice and drug policy, education, immigration, voting rights, and reproductive issues.³

Litigation

Public Order

In 2020, the City of San Francisco voted to ban four persons charged with drug dealing from the Tenderloin area of the city citing a public nuisance.⁴ The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed suit on behalf of the individuals arguing the city’s ban was too broad and violated individual rights.⁵

After 72 people were arrested in June 2020 for violating a temporary curfew in the City of Sacramento, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California with Black Lives Matter and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights sent a demand letter that all charges be dropped against the individuals arrested and any fines be waived. The curfew was issued in response to civil unrest and citizens had been told they would be arrested if they violated the curfew.⁶

Immigration

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California sued California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on behalf of individuals in prison who were turned over the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to immigration status.⁷ The Foundation has also filed administrative complaints and lawsuits in multiple counties over prison officials releasing detainees to ICE.⁸⁹¹⁰

In 2020, ACLU Northern California and ACLU Southern California petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of 13 illegal immigrants being held in a California detention center. Advocates say the detainees are more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic because of their advanced age and underlying medical conditions. ¹¹ At the time of petition, the 13 detainees were being held at Mesa Verde Detention Center in Bakersfield, California and Yuba County Jail in Marysville, California. The petition was filed on March 24, 2020 and, on April 8, 2020, was granted partial favor with four of the thirteen detainees ordered to be released. ¹²

COVID-19

In 2020, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a lawsuit against the sheriff of Tulare County seeking the release of as many jail inmates as possible due to COVID-19 citing a gross indifference to prisoners’ health and safety.¹³ Subsequently, in 2021 the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed another suit against the sheriff claiming prisoners’ cell confinement policy caused physical and psychological harm to inmates.¹³

Election Administration

In 2019, a suit was filed by the ACLU Foundation of Northern California over the moving of a polling location due to perceived political messaging.  In 2018, the Unitarian Universalist Church in Fresno was designated as a voting location for the election. The church had a large “Black Lives Matter” banner hanging outside the entrance and was asked to remove or cover up the banner on election day as it was seen as a political message. The church refused and the polling location was moved to a nearby church. The ACLU Foundation subsequently sued the Fresno County registrar.¹⁴

Social Liberalism in Religiously Affiliated Health Care Settings

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed multiple lawsuits on behalf of transgender individuals who were refused hysterectomies due to the religious beliefs of hospitals.^{15 16}

Finances

In 2019, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California reported $14,347,707 in revenue and $14,526,579 in expenses.³ The previous year, the Foundation raised $13,757,331 in revenue and reported $12,674,998 in expenses.¹⁷

Leadership

Abdi Soltani has worked as the executive director of the ACLU of Northern California since 2009.¹⁸ . After graduating college, Soltani joined and subsequently became executive director of Californians for Justice. The center was established after the passage of California Proposition 187, which would have effectively prohibited illegal immigrants from using state benefits such as non-emergency health care education benefits. ¹⁹ The law was challenged through the courts and ultimately withdrawn after Governor Gray Davis (D) was elected and intervened. Soltani has since opposed numerous legislative initiatives aimed at requiring citizenship for voting. In an interview with Monterey County Now, Soltani said that there is a concerted effort to pass so-called “voter suppression” laws across the country and that the ACLU will work to challenge the laws before or after passage. ²⁰

Kevin Baker is the legislative director for ACLU Northern California. In this capacity, Baker manages the agenda for which the group will attempt to influence legislation at the state level in California. Prior to joining the ACLU, Baker was deputy chief council for the California Assembly’s Committee on the Judiciary. His areas of policy focused on civil rights, immigration, privacy, and constitutional law. ^{21 22} Baker is also a visiting lecturer at the University of California, Davis School of Law. ²³