By Torey Van Oot
tvanoot@sacbee.com

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked the courts to block provisions of California's new voter-approved law targeting human trafficking.

The federal court in Sacramento granted a request for a temporary restraining order to halt implementation of Proposition 35 pending a hearing, writing that the "plaintiffs have raised serious questions about whether the challenged sections of the (proposition) violate their First Amendment right to free speech and other constitutional rights."

By Sam Stanton and Andy Furillo - sstanton@sacbee.com

After beating back a well-funded effort to abolish capital punishment in California, death penalty supporters said Wednesday that their efforts to have executions resume may include going to the voters in 2014.

"We may have to go to the ballot ourselves," said Kent Scheidegger, legal director for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in Sacramento, one of the groups that helped defeat Proposition 34 Tuesday.

The measure, which was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and would have replaced death sentences with life without possibility of parole, lost 53 percent to 47 percent.

It seems they've only been released to the SacBee [PDF] (and they're in pdf form which is especially cumbersome when you have several documents)

Related: Internal UC Davis emails Reveal Officials' Surveillance and Infiltration Tactics During Campus Tuition Hike Protests

and

News coverage of UC Davis Students' Revelation of Spying by University Officials

and

Sac Bee: Campuses must avoid overreach on protesters

Coalition demands changes at Sacramento County Jail

The Jail Action Group says it has received many complaints from inmates about food, medical and health conditions at the jail, claiming inhumane conditions.

"Our ultimate plan is to have the jail removed, all of the correctional facilities removed from the sheriff's hands," said Rev. Ashiya Odeye, of the Jail Action Group.

In a news conference outside the county jail on Tuesday, Odeye said he wanted "a whole separate county correctional division set up" to take over for the sheriff.

Jason Ramos, a spokesman for Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, told KCRA 3 the sheriff remains committed to transparency and is receptive to appropriate oversight with respect to the jail.

Study: Free birth control leads to fewer abortions

WASHINGTON -- Free birth control led to dramatically lower rates of abortions and teen births, a large study concluded Thursday. The findings were eagerly anticipated and come as a bitterly contested Obama administration policy is poised to offer similar coverage.

The project tracked more than 9,000 women in St. Louis, many of them poor or uninsured. They were given their choice of a range of contraceptive methods at no cost - from birth control pills to goof-proof options like the IUD or a matchstick-sized implant.

When price wasn't an issue, women flocked to the most effective contraceptives - the implanted options, which typically cost hundreds of dollars up-front to insert. These women experienced far fewer unintended pregnancies as a result, reported Dr. Jeffrey Peipert of Washington University in St. Louis in a study published Thursday.

California urged to improve prison isolation unit conditions

Maureen Cosgrove at 8:59 AM ET

Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday urged California authorities to end "shocking conditions" in high-security prison isolation units. In a report [text, PDF] entitled "The Edge of Endurance: Conditions in California's Security Housing Units," AI examined the prison conditions of over 3,000 individuals who have been confined in isolation in California prisons. The prisoners, who spend over 22 hours each day in their cells without work, activities or rehabilitation, endure "inhuman suffering," AI asserted. US Researcher for AI Angela Wright visited several prisons in the state and deplored the conditions:

Judge tosses Occupy Chicago park arrests

By David Heinzmann Tribune reporter

The mass arrests of Occupy Chicago demonstrators that city leaders held up as a model for how to respect protesters' rights has been ruled unconstitutional and tossed out of court by a Cook County judge.

In a 37-page ruling issued today, Associate Judge Thomas Donnelly ruled the October 2011 arrests were unconstitutional because the city routinely chooses not to enforce the curfew for events the city supports, such as the 2008 Election Night rally for President Barack Obama. The judge noted that no arrests were made at that event, even though it went well past curfew.

ACLU, Sacramento County Chapter 2012-2013 Election
Invitation to Apply for Nomination to the Board

Dear Chapter Members:

Election of the 2012-2013 Sacramento County Chapter Board will be held during the Annual Meeting on November 27, 2012. Chapter members whose dues are current are eligible to run for one of twenty-five (25) seats on the Board. The term of office for Directors is two (2) years and can be extended for two (2) additional terms, for a total of six (6) years on the Board before a one-year hiatus.