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American Civil Liberties Union
Finally, housing for homeless vets at the West L.A. VA facility
The Veterans Administration's agreement, announced Wednesday, to house more homeless vets at its West Los Angeles facility is a stunning turnabout and a huge win for veterans' advocates, who have been trying for years to persuade the agency to provide permanent housing on its grounds for troubled vets. The agreement — which will settle a lawsuit brought by a group of severely disabled homeless veterans — is not the end of the story, however. There are likely to be pitched battles in the months ahead over how the VA will use its land, how many veterans will be housed there and what will happen to the non-veteran-related businesses and activities on the site....
Related "American Civil Liberties Union" Articles
Finally, housing for homeless vets at the West L.A. VA facility
The Veterans Administration's agreement, announced Wednesday, to house more homeless vets at its West Los Angeles facility is a stunning turnabout and a huge win for veterans' advocates, who have been trying for years to persuade the agency to provide...
Prop. 47 brings a shift to longer time spent behind bars
For decades, Los Angeles County jail inmates divided their sentences by five, 10 or 20 to calculate the time they would actually spend behind bars.
Because of overcrowding, they left after completing as little as 5% of their sentences.
Now, as...
Obama's renewed push to close Guantanamo prison is seen as promising
President Obama has recharged his campaign for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center with a strategy legal experts say holds out new hope of achieving that signature objective of his presidency.
After years of being thwarted by Congress from...
Should religion give businesses an excuse to not serve gay couples?
There is strong support for gay marriage in the United States, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, but there is even stronger support for allowing businesses to deny services to same-sex couples on religious grounds.
Americans favor same-sex...
Capitol minister aims to deliver state leaders from temptation
Amid the crush of lobbyists, lawyers and lawmakers packing the hallways of the Capitol in the final days of each legislative session, one figure moves through the corridors with noticeable serenity.
Tall and lean, Frank Erb might be mistaken for a...
Sorting out U.S. visas for crime victims
As a society, we want people to report crimes and help bring criminals to justice. Without the cooperation of victims, the criminal justice system doesn't work very well. One particular problem for police and prosecutors is that people living in the...
New York foundations bankrolled Proposition 47
The power of nonprofit foundations to change state law was exemplified by the bankrolling of Proposition 47, a $9.5-million campaign that reduced drug possession and minor theft charges to misdemeanors. By contrast, opponents reported spending a...
Al Bendich, lawyer who defended Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl,' dies at 85
In a San Francisco courthouse in 1957, a poem went on trial. It was Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," the incantatory, profanity-laced paean to self-expression that became the centerpiece of one of the most important obscenity cases of the last century....
VA unveils settlement to provide veterans housing on West L.A. campus
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced a legal settlement Wednesday that will transform its sprawling West Los Angeles campus into a center of permanent housing for homeless veterans and curtail the controversial practice of leasing VA...
Texas executes convicted killer with IQ of 67
A Texas inmate who had been described as intellectually disabled by civil rights advocates was put to death Thursday, officials said.
Robert Ladd, 57, was pronounced dead at 7:02 p.m. at Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, according to a...
License-plate tracking by DEA trades away too much liberty
The military calls it "mission creep" — sending troops out for one purpose, then adding to their marching orders over time. This kind of metastasis is innocuous in some contexts, but not so benign when the government is collecting information...
U.S. settles suit over misuse of West L.A. veterans campus
The federal government has agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing the Department of Veterans Affairs of misusing its sprawling West Los Angeles health campus while veterans with brain injuries and mental impairment slept in the streets, people familiar...
Two years in prison is plenty for Bob McDonnell
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday, a sentence much more lenient than the 10-plus years prosecutors had requested and a fraction of the 78- to 98-month sentence suggested by federal guidelines.
The sentence...
Border drones are ineffective, badly managed, too expensive, official says
Drones patrolling the U.S. border are poorly managed and ineffective at stopping illegal immigration, and the government should abandon a $400-million plan to expand their use, according to an internal watchdog report released Tuesday.
The 8-year-old...
Men's Central Jail should be demolished. But what should replace it?
"Can we get some better light in here?" asks a man sitting on his bunk in a cell at Los Angeles County's Men's Central Jail. He has given up trying to make out the words in a paperback book and directs his question to Assistant Sheriff Terri...
Federal judge orders veterans agency to stop Westside construction
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to stop building on its West Los Angeles campus, ruling that officials had acted "in excess of their authority" by authorizing construction of an amphitheater on the...
North Carolina abortion law struck down by federal appeals court
A federal appeals court Monday ruled that a North Carolina abortion law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and describe sonogram images to women is unconstitutional because it violates free speech rights.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in...
Women to participate for first time in Army Ranger course
About 60 women will be allowed to take the next Army Ranger course assessment, giving female soldiers their first opportunity in the all-male area of special operations forces — even though they will not become members of the regiment and will not serve...
Judge says Michigan must recognize 300 same-sex marriages
A federal judge ruled Thursday that Michigan must validate nearly 300 same-sex marriages, although the decision will not take effect until next month and could be appealed by the state.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith ruled that the state must...
LAPD's plan for 7,000 body cameras comes with challenges
Los Angeles will purchase 7,000 cameras for police officers to wear while on patrol, making the city a laboratory in the use of devices that bring the promise of more transparent policing but also concerns about civilian privacy.Los Angeles would be the...
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