NEWS
By Lauren Williams | May 5, 2012
The quickest way between two points is a straight line - unless, of course, you're on the no-fly list. In the case of Irvine resident Stephen Persaud, who believes he's wrongly listed on the U.S. government's anti-terrorism docket, the quickest way home from the Virgin Islands was a boat to Miami and then three train rides. Persaud, a nurse, is one of 16 plaintiffs listed in an amended civil complaint filed in federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union that claims the U.S. government gives little redress or explanation for why some people are on the list that bars them from flying over or to the United States.
NEWS
From L.A.Times and Daily Pilot reports | September 23, 2011
Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter J. Wilson said the so-called Irvine 11 students were "motivated by beliefs" when they disrupted a speech by the Israeli ambassador at UC Irvine. Wilson said he took that into consideration in sentencing the 10 students, who were found guilty of conspiring to disrupt — and then disrupting — the speech, to three years of informal probation and no jail time. Wilson said they must complete 56 hours of community service. If they complete it within a year, the informal probation will be terminated.
NEWS
By Joseph Serna | September 19, 2011
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and a Latino-rights advocacy group on Monday praised a federal appellate court ruling that will likely have implications for Costa Mesa's anti-solicitation ordinance. In a 3-1 ruling, a 9 t h Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Friday ruled that Redondo Beach's law that prohibits individuals from standing on streets or highways to solicit employment violates constitutional free speech protections. Justices stated that Redondo's ordinance was too broadly worded and could conceivably apply to everyone from Girl Scouts hawking cookies to children selling lemonade.
NEWS
By Lauren Williams, lauren.williams@latimes.com | May 26, 2011
SANTA ANA — An Orange County judge on Thursday rejected a motion by prosecutors that he unseal the transcript of a grand jury investigation into the Irvine 11 case. Eleven students stand criminally charged for allegedly disrupting a speech at UC Irvine last year by Israel's ambassador to the United States. Defense attorneys and prosecutors could not comment Thursday because Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter J. Wilson had earlier issued an order forbidding both sides from talking to the media about the case.
NEWS
By Joseph Serna, joseph.serna@latimes.com | August 4, 2010
COSTA MESA — Using a Costa Mesa man's detention as an example, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the federal government this week on grounds that it doesn't give the mentally disabled a fair chance to dispute deportation orders. Six suspected illegal immigrants, who are mentally handicapped, filed a federal suit Monday against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security with the support of the ACLU of Southern California, the Public Law Counsel in Los Angeles and the Sullivan & Cromwell LLP law firm.
NEWS
By Chuck Cassity | July 8, 2010
Did you hear that the American Civil Liberties Union issued a "travel advisory" last week? Yep, ACLU offices in two dozen states felt it necessary to warn those traveling to Arizona that they may be subject to racial profiling. This warning is no doubt in response to Arizona's new law slated to take effect later this month. This is the one specifying that if you're stopped there for another offense, and fail to come up with the requisite documentation proving you're there legally, you know, like a drivers' license or passport, they can check your immigration status so long as they don't racially profile?
LOCAL
By Joseph Serna | March 31, 2010
A mentally disabled man from Costa Mesa who was detained for more than five years by immigration authorities was released Wednesday, less than a week after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on his behalf. Jose Antonio Franco, whose last name is listed as Franco-Gonzalez in court documents, was released to his family from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention Wednesday afternoon. Franco, 29, was arrested in 2004 and convicted of throwing a rock that cut a man’s face during a fight between two gangs.
LOCAL
By Joseph Serna | March 29, 2010
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials said Monday that it is instituting changes to its detention system for mentally disabled detainees after public criticism of its procedures last week by the American Civil Liberties Union. In appeals to federal courts in Southern California, the ACLU called for detention and bail reviews for two immigrants — one of whom is from Costa Mesa, and whom ICE has detained for years without processing. Jose Antonio Franco Gonzalez, 29, has been held by ICE for five years, even though a judge determined in 2005 that he is mentally unfit to be processed by immigration enforcement.
NEWS
By Mona Shadia | March 3, 2010
The city of Costa Mesa will put a halt to enforcing its solicitation ordinance, City Atty. Kimberly Hall Barlow confirmed Tuesday night. An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union said Tuesday that the city has agreed to the moratorium until the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules on another case challenging a similar ordinance in Redondo Beach. “While we believe that our ordinance is legally enforceable, there are other considerations, and one of those is the cost of litigation,” Barlow said.