Compelling projects Those who speak, read and write Spanish fluently would be especially helpful, but any second language can be useful. In 2020-21, she was an NYU Fellow with the Racial Justice Program, working primarily on the criminalization of poverty and algorithmic bias dockets. The role that racial inequity has played and continues to play in our society. or intends to take the California bar exam during the Fellowship. Her recent work includes representing plaintiffs in Kenny v. Wilson, challenging a vague South Carolina law making it a crime to disturb a school. In Los Angeles, we are campaigning to hold Los Angeles County Sheriff Villanueva accountable to his constituents. Legal interns also will assist in public education, community engagement, advocacy, and legislative efforts. Our office works closely with community partners to conduct impactful advocacy and litigation on several criminal legal system issues in California. Interns will be assigned to a specific project/subject area. Olga Akselrod (she/her) is a Senior Staff Attorney in the Racial Justice Program. Applications delivered by e-mail to internship@aclusocal.org are strongly preferred. She completed her J.D. Founded in 1923, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) has been at the forefront of many major efforts to protect civil liberties, civil rights, and equal justice in California. Abdi Soltani has served as the executive director of the ACLU of Northern California since 2009. No legal advice is given through intake, but appropriate cases are referred to the ACLU SoCal's legal staff via a chain of supervisory reviews. In Hernandez v. Lynch, we seek to require the government to consider immigrants' ability to pay a bond and non-monetary alternatives in setting conditions of release. Prior to law school, she taught high school in Atlanta, Georgia through Teach for America. He obtained his J.D. Previously, she served as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos in the Southern District of New York. : A Guide for Law Enforcement Engagement with Students of Color. Request Legal Assistance. Undergrads, law school students, and students in other academic programs are encouraged to apply; however, you need not be enrolled in a higher education program. ACLU SoCal welcomes interns/externs in the fall, winter, and spring semesters. Please also attach your resume, list of three references, a writing sample, and school transcript to our online recruitment portal: https://secure.onehcm.com/ta/ACLUSC.careers?ShowJob=469925213. Full-time, Exempt; Term Limited, One-year position. February 17, 2021 - 10:30am. In 2022, ACLU SoCal continued to fight for the rights of Southern Californians. Alejandro clerked for Judges Christine M. Arguello and William J. Martnez of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and Magistrate Judge Justo Arenas of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. from Harvard Law School. Here are some of our highlights. aclu socal fellowship. In the past, we have sponsored fellowship candidates to conduct litigation, research, and/or advocacy on a wide range of issues. A true ACLU alum, she also previously interned for the ACLU's Criminal Law Reform Project, as well as LatinoJustice PRLDEF, working on a range of issues including asylum law, policing, and employment discrimination. Prior to joining the ACLU in 2020, he worked with the Innocence Projects Strategic Litigation Department, focusing on eyewitness identification evidence, false confessions, and racial bias in the criminal legal system. ACLU of Northern California. ACLU SoCal 2 years 10 months Senior Staff Attorney Apr 2022 - Present11 months Staff Attorney May 2020 - Apr 20222 years Staff Attorney MALDEF Jan 2016 - May 20204 years 5 months Los Angeles,. More rain and snow are predicted for Northern California for this weekend, with more storms possible soon. at the University of Cambridge, and her B.A. The Institute identifies and accelerates promising education talent of color to enhance their expertise and aptitude, empowering them to transform the education ecosystem. Rachel was lead counsel onTurkmen v. Ashcroft,a class action lawsuit against high-level federal officials for the post-9/11 detention and abuse of Muslim non-citizens, which she argued before the Supreme Court in 2017. Leaders in California and International Human Rights Litigation: Our attorneys' work has had a major impact on the evolution of California and U.S. employment law, and also on civil and financial remedies for people harmed by rights violations. The ACLU also relies on state constitutional provisions and federal and state laws that further these and similar rights. The Fellow is expected to model professional behavior and standards, and clearly and enthusiastically demonstrate guiding principles of integrity, respect, accountability, compassion, and leadership. The ACLU of Southern California is seeking an Individual Giving Manager who will manage a portfolio of c3 (Foundation) and c4 (Union) donors and prospects giving $10,000+. ACLU of Southern California is committed to developing a culture of diversity, equity, respect, and inclusion and to strive to maintain a workforce that reflects the communities that we serve. The landmark California Racial Justice Act is allowing our clients to challenge their death penalty prosecutions in Riverside County. Undergrads and students in other academic programs are encouraged to apply. MOST POPULAR. Students should be able to commit to a minimum of 10 hours each week during the semester (some of which occasionally may be performed out of the office). Generally, the ACLU of Southern California works on behalf of people in the Southern California region, namely in Los Angeles, Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Here are some of our highlights. Our non-legal interns will have the opportunity to work on active campaigns, develop public education materials, give know-your-rights presentations to community members, attend coalition meetings, and perform drafting and data analysis for our reports. The ACLU SoCal can serve as a work study host and will support students' applications for funding with supporting materials and documentation. Michael Nunez (he/him) serves as a Paralegal for the ACLUs Racial Justice Program. Here is a sample of our First Amendment, government transparency cases, and voting cases: In Rosebrock v. Beiter, we challenged a practice by the VA in Los Angeles of allowing people to hang American flags on the perimeter fence of the VA campus, while forbidding our client to hang an American flag upside as a form of protest of the misuse of VA land. The ACLU SoCal is currently accepting applications for interns who are interested in working on abolition and criminal legal system issues. Undergrads, law school students, students in other academic programs, and non-students are encouraged to apply. She launched P.R.O.T.E.C.T. Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Bakersfield, Summer Internships February 10, 2023 Fall Internships August 3, 2022 Spring Semester and Winter Quarter Internships- December 9, 2022 Spring Quarter Internships - February 17, 2023, Legal/Advocacy Internships, Externships & Volunteer Opportunities, Freedom of Speech and Government Transparency, To Root Out Racism in the Criminal Legal System: California's Historic Racial Justice Act, Education, Student Rights & Juvenile Justice, LGBTQ, Gender & Reproductive Justice Project, Victor Valley Family Resource Center v. City of Hesperia, People's Homeless Taskforce v. County of Orange, Youth Justice Coalition v. City of Los Angeles, ACLU of Southern California & Electronic Frontier Foundation v. LAPD & LASD, Screening written and telephone complaints by incarcerated people regarding conditions in the LA County Jails. We accomplish our goals through impact litigation, policy advocacy, activist engagement, and community organizing to enforce existing legal protections and create new ones. In the landmark victory in our Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder case, the Court established basic protections for immigrants with mental disabilities, including the right to appointed counsel and the right to robust competency determination procedures. The ACLU of Southern California comprises two organizations: The ACLU of Southern California and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California (collectively "ACLU SoCal"). Supervise the work of interns, as needed, and support intern hiring. ACLU-MO Letter of Recommendation. This law is applied far more frequently to Black students, and was invoked in the arrest of a student and plaintiff in the case, when she spoke out in protest while witnessing a classmate violently ripped from her desk by a school police officer. He recently graduated from Fordham University with a BA in Theology and Philosophy, and he interned with RJP during the 2018-2019 school year. Director of IT The FAD Fellow will work with Director of the FAD Project and the FAD Staff Attorney to help develop and litigate state and federal cases; help create and implement policy advocacy campaigns to advance the rights of free expression, access to government, and government transparency; engage in public education; and provide technical assistance to coalitions, community partners, government officials, and government bodies. In keeping with that approach, the Fellow will work on cases, advocacy projects, public education, and campaigns. Under the settlement, the Sheriff's Department adopted a plan that includes implementation of robust policies to prevent abuse of people who are incarcerated, enhancement in training in use of force for all veteran deputies and new hires, as well as radically enhanced methods for tracking and review of use of force incidents and the complaints and grievances of incarcerated people. Ayomikun Idowu (she/her) currently serves as a Paralegal for the ACLUs Racial Justice Program. Over the past five years, ACLU SoCal has worked with grassroots, labor and civil rights organizations to push major legislation making California's law governing police use of deadly force among the strongest in the nation, to safeguard the public's right to know about investigations into police use of force and findings of serious misconduct, and to strengthen California's prohibition on racial profiling and require collection of detailed data on every police stop made in the state. Ms. Moore led the bureaus enforcement in emerging areas, such as the misuse of anticompetitive labor agreements and, after the 2016 presidential election, worked to lead multi-state efforts to fight federal rollbacks of critical labor protections. He served as president of the Association of Black Law Students, as well as the attorney general for the Northeast Black Law Students Association. GeoCities Founder Funds New ACLU Fellowship | American Civil Liberties Union Defend the rights of all people nationwide. Rachel Meeropol(she/her)is a Senior Staff Attorney with the Racial Justice Program, focusing on the Indigenous Justice docket as well as the general racial justice docket. Federal Work-study Compensation (Value: $8.00/hour) ACLU-MO Monthly Parking Pass (Value: $1320.00/12 months) ACLU-MO End-of-Semester Stipend (Value: $500.00/per semester = $1500.00/12 months) HSSU/ACLU-MO Social Justice Fellowship Certificate of Completion. We are currently litigating Doe v. City of McFarland, a challenge under the Brown Act to McFarland City Councils decision to severely limit public access to its meetings, including a meeting where the Council made the highly controversial decision to permit the opening of two immigration detention facilities. In DJ v. State of California, we filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents, students, and a former administrator against the State of California for its failure to respond to reports that school districts did not provide essential language instruction to English learner students. For example: "Subject: [First Am/Immigration] [OC/IE/KERN/LA] [Summer 2023]" or "Subject: [Jails] [LA/OC/KERN IE] [FALL 2022].". aclu socal fellowship. ACLU SoCal tackles a vast array of issues, including criminal justice, First Amendment, gender equity, reproductive justice, LGBTQ rights, immigrants' rights, police practices, education equity, jails reform, and economic justice. from Virginia Tech University. The ACLU's Racial Justice Program (RJP) is dedicated to upholding racial equality and combating racism in all forms through litigation, community organizing and training, legislative initiatives, and public education to address the broad spectrum of issues that disproportionately and negatively impact people of color. Finally, because stipend allocations are made based on the total need among interns, we are unable to provide early funding decisions to interns at the time of hiring. She led cross-border investigations in one of the top ten largest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements. We are seeking interns for our Los Angeles and Orange County offices for the summer, fall, and spring academic terms. v. Holder challenges the government's failure to provide appointed counsel to pro se children facing deportation. Through a recent victory in Gonzalez v. ICE, a federal judge issued a permanent injunction blocking ICE from issuing arrest requests based solely on error-ridden electronic databases. Download Mobile Justice. We are accepting internship applications from students at all academic levels, including high school students, undergraduates, law students, social work students, and other graduate students. Ms. Moore began her career clerking for accomplished civil rights litigator, the late Honorable Robert L. Carter in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York. The Surge Fellowship is a one-year program for 20-25 emerging leaders of color in education. The ACLU SoCal is currently accepting applications for interns who are interested in working on education, student rights, and juvenile justice issues. Through advocacy, public education, and litigation, we work to ensure that a basic standard of care is provided to incarcerated people. During his tenure, he has pursued long-term priorities to deepen the ACLU's presence in the California Central Valley and elevate the ACLU's voice on state policy at the California state capitol. We focus on police use of force, racial and religious discrimination, civilian oversight and transparency, systems for police accountability and discipline, surveillance practices, counterterrorism and border policing, and police infringement on First Amendment rights. ACLU of Southern California Easy 1-Click Apply. She joined the ACLU in December 2019. Experience planning and facilitating workshops, trainings, meetings, and other community events. Ms. Moore also oversaw the bureaus appellate representation of New York States Department of Labor and Workers Compensation Board. ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties. We currently are a leader in efforts to stop the entanglement of immigration and local law enforcement. In addition to the information listed in the following section, please state in your application your intended hourly commitment and duration of volunteer service. Former President Trump and his administration spent years arguing that people who cross the . Home; About Allen March 1, 2023. This is a great learning opportunity for any student thinking about a career in law or public service that centers advocating for the justice-involved community and those who want experience providing individual assistance to incarcerated people and a window into the issues they face. These include the right to freedom of speech and assembly, the right to religious freedom, due Read more about this organization Issue Areas Include Civic Engagement Conflict Resolution Each year, the ACLU SoCal hosts eight to 10 Brown Bag presentations that are open to interns from all local non-profits. At the Civil Rights Division, she litigated issues of desegregation, discriminatory school discipline, classroom equity, discrimination against English language learners and immigrant and refugee students, and Title IX. Non-legal interns will typically contribute to the development and distribution of know-your-rights resources, support community organizing and outreach efforts, research facts and context for legal and policy matters, and help process Public Records Act requests. Jamila Jahangir (she/her) serves as a Paralegal for the ACLUs Racial Justice Program. Previously, he was a Senior Field Attorney with the National Labor Relations Board in its Manhattan office, where he investigated and prosecuted companies and unions accused of violating workers free association rights under the National Labor Relations Act. In 2022, ACLU SoCal continued to fight for the rights of Southern Californians. Familiarity working in the area of free expression, access to government, and/or government transparency. Sarah previously served as a Karpatkin Fellow with the ACLU Racial Justice Program and a fellow and staff attorney with the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. All fields are required in order for us to process your request for assistance. San Francisco, CA 94111. As part of our voting work, we provide legal, organizing, and mapping support to our partners that are engaged in decennial redistricting and/or California Voting Rights Act work, advocate in support of legislation that expands the franchise and makes voting easier and more accessible to Californians, and conduct local advocacy to ensure that voters are not being disenfranchised. New York, NY 10006 Leah earned her J.D. ACLU attorneys and advocates also host internal trainings for all interns on topics such as applying for clerkships, applying for fellowships, and interviewing clients to draft declarations. The ACLU SoCal Criminal Justice/Jails Project OC team is seeking interns to assist with examining conditions in Orange County jails and advocating with people in custody and their loved ones. These include the right to freedom of speech and assembly, the right to religious freedom, due process of law, equality before the law and the right to privacy. Litigation, advocacy, and public education campaigns include: protecting peoples rights to engage in protest, political advocacy, whistleblowing and other forms of free expression; ensuring local governments do not constrain peoples ability to comment on and criticize government policies; expanding and protecting access to government bodies and information and ensuring people can meaningfully participate in government proceedings; providing technical assistance and support to social justice movements and other ACLU teams needing support with protest and government access issues in their campaigns; and stopping government favoritism of religion or particular religions. In Glover v. City of Laguna Beach, we challenged Laguna Beach's criminalization and harassment of homeless persons, as well as its lack of resources for the homeless, as violating the ADA, the Eighth Amendment and due process. We strongly encourage students to seek funding from their schools and apply for other grants or scholarships. Conditions refers to beds, plumbing, clothing, meals, LGBTQ+ classification, recreation, proper medical and mental health care, telephones, overcrowding, indigent kits, commissary, protective custody, religious services, mail, allegations of violence and retaliation and other similar issues that arise in custody. See current listings at other ACLU affiliates. Please come back soon. In the areas of Reproductive Justice and Gender Equity, our current priorities include protecting and improving abortion and contraception access; creating workplace equity for workers of all genders and family responsibilities; advancing access to reproductive health care for incarcerated women; ensuring implementation of comprehensive sex education; and ending religious exemptions that permit discrimination in healthcare and other contexts. Part of the ACLUs broader Systemic Equality Campaign, the Pauli Murray Fellowship is one avenue through which the ACLU is committing to addressing the legacy of systemic racism and inequality in America by investing in and cultivating leadership pathways for recent college graduates. Legal interns also assist in public education efforts by drafting know-your-rights materials and helping conduct presentations. The Fellow will join the FAD Project in developing litigation and supporting legal and policy advocacy to protect and expand free expression rights, freedom of religion, separation of church and state, access to government, and meaningful civic participation throughout Southern California. Those who speak, read, and write Spanish fluently would be especially helpful, but any second language can be useful. The ACLU SoCal is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. San Luis Reservoir: +1.3% in past 1 day, now 77.1% full. Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino or Bakersfield Office Note: Hybrid and Remote opportunities are available upon request and approval. ACLU California Action is a 501(c)(4) organization jointly formed by the three ACLU affiliates in California: ACLU of Northern California, ACLU of Southern California, and ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties. Ability to help develop and support litigation of impact cases. Apply to Intern, Operations Intern, Digital Marketing Intern and more! ACLU Launches New Fellowship Program for Black and Other Underrepresented Students October 12, 2021 12:45 pm Media Contact media@aclu.org (212) 549-2666 125 Broad Street 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 United States Know Your Rights. Often, the three affiliates work in collaboration on statewide initiatives under the ACLU of California.. ReNika Moore (she/her) is the Director of the ACLUs Racial Justice Program (RJP). Our non-legal interns will have the opportunity to work on active campaigns, develop public education materials, give know your rights presentations to community members, attend coalition meetings, and perform drafting and data analysis for our reports. We split our funding among all interns, offsetting stipends by the amount each intern receives from their schools or other sources. Excellent research, writing, analytic, and speaking skills. Sarah Kahn is a 2021-2022 Justice Catalyst Fellow at the ACLU of Southern California developing legal tools in support of community movements in Southern California to reduce incarceration and discrimination by investing in housing, mental health care, and services in. We are seeking interns for our Orange County, Inland Empire and Los Angeles offices for the summer, fall, and spring academic terms. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defends the fundamental rights outlined in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Our economic justice work falls in three main areas: challenging the criminalization of poverty; expanding access to basic human needs like housing and healthcare, with a particular focus on protecting the rights of the homeless; and advancing affirmative legal rights to basic human needs. In Santiago v. Los Angeles, we challenged the LAPD's policy and practice of seizing and destroying street vendors' property as violating the Fourth Amendment and due process. Your request for assistance will be answered by regular mail. Alexis Agathocleous (he/him) is the Deputy Director of the ACLUs Racial Justice Program (RJP).