1973

A unanimous ruling from the United States Supreme Court confers standing under the 1968 Civil Rights Act for existing tenants of the Park Merced neighborhood in San Francisco to challenge discriminatory housing practices

1981

A U.S. District Court consent decree requires the San Francisco Unified School District to implement a specific plan for integrating schools and improving the quality of public education at all levels.

1987

The injunctive orders and consent decree of the U.S. District Court result in the hiring of the first San Francisco women firefighters and hiring and promotional goals for minorities and women within the San Francisco Fire Department.

1989

Asylum is granted by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to a Salvadoran kidnapped by guerillas in first case to find that a refugee facing forcible recruitment by non-governmental groups has a “credible fear of persecution.

1993

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds San Francisco ordinance that promotes minority – and women – owned businesses.

1994

The San Francisco Superior Court restraining order blocks implementation of Proposition 187 in schools. Prop. 187 would have denied access to public education to undocumented immigrant children

1996

The U.S. Supreme Court orders California’s governor to implement the federal “Motor Voter” law requiring states to provide voter registration opportunities to people seeking licenses and other state social services.

1999

In a case decided favorably three years earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court rules again that, pursuant to section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act, Monterey County may not implement its at-large election system even though the system is a product of state law.

2002

The enactment of state legislation (AB540) entitling undocumented immigrant students and others at California higher education institutions to obtain waiver of non-resident tuition fees.

2003

A settlement provides damages to airline passenger who was a victim of racial profiling for looking “Middle Eastern,” the first-ever cash payout in a post-September 11th airline profiling matter.

2004

The Alameda County Superior Court upholds Berkeley Unified School District’s voluntary school desegregation program.

2006

The U.S. District Court decision strikes down Redondo Beach law preventing day laborers from seeking work.

2007

In the first suit testing constitutionality of the California Voting Rights Act, the Court of Appeals upholds the Act and U.S. Supreme Court refuses to reverse ruling.

2008

A classwide injunction is issued against the City of Fresno on behalf of homeless persons whose personal possessions were being confiscated and destroyed by city employees. $2.25 million settlement, including permanent injunctive relief and damages for injured class members, reached.

2011

The City of Modesto and Stanislaus County reach a settlement on a civil rights action challenging the discriminatory delivery of municipal services to Latino communities in Modesto, California. These communities were excluded in previous annexations by the city that benefited bordering areas; thus, they remained unincorporated and without the municipal services provided to other residents residing in adjacent neighborhoods.

2012

In response to a lawsuit challenging the closure of Doyle Park Elementary School in Santa Rosa, CA, school board officials agree to keep the school open for one more year. The school was to be closed and replaced by a new French American Charter School, which was not likely to accommodate the high Latino enrollment in Doyle Park.

2013

LCCR releases the report “Held Back”, which indicates that school districts have been disproportionately requiring minority 9th graders to repeat Algebra I, even when they have performed well on standardized tests and successfully passed the class in 8th grade. In 2015, the report helps lead to the passage of a bill (SB 359), which established the “California Mathematics Placement Act of 2015” and addressed many of the issues raised in the “Held Back” report. The bill required school districts to have “fair, objective, and transparent” placement policies in place.

2014

LCCR reaches a settlement in a class action lawsuit (Uelian de Abadia-Peixoto, et al. vs. United States Department of Homeland Security, et al.) between immigration authorities and immigrants held in custody during their civil immigration proceedings in San Francisco. The settlement ended the federal government’s practice of forcing detained immigrants to go through their civil immigration painfully shackled at the waist, wrists, and ankles in every hearing before the immigration court, regardless of individual circumstances.

2015

LCCR releases the report “Not Just a Ferguson Problem – How Traffic Courts Drive Inequality in California,” which reveals that four million Californians have lost driver licenses because they were unable to afford a traffic ticket, and shows the impact on employment, education, and financial health of 1 in 6 California drivers.

2016

Doe v. Johnson plaintiffs win a class-wide preliminary injunction on behalf of immigrants, including young children, detained for extended periods in overcrowded, freezing, and unsanitary holding cells in Border Patrol stations throughout Southern Arizona.

2017

In a national environment with increased anti-immigrant sentiment, and fear in immigrant communities, LCCR files a complaint with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Children’s Justice against 75 school districts that were asking about the immigration status of students when they attempted to enroll in school. These districts have removed or are in the process of removing the offensive questions from their enrollment forms.

As a result of the “Not Just a Ferguson Problem – How Traffic Courts Drive Inequality in California” and years of advocacy through the Back on the Road coalition, California becomes the first state in the nation to stop suspending driver’s licenses for failure to pay.