News

Advocates gathered in Sacramento to explore the long history of language and disability justice and selected priorities that aim to weave access and inclusion into every aspect of our state government, from how laws are made to how information and services are provided.  

Latino community groups in California's Central Coast region filed a Civil Rights Complaint with the U.S. EPA against the State Water Resources Control Board to address racially disproportionate impacts of water pollution from nitrogen fertilizers used by the agricultural industry. 

San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, San Luis Obispo County Probation Department, San Luis Obispo Defenders, Restorative Partners, People’s Justice Project, California Rural Legal Assistance, and San Luis Obispo College of Law will host a free legal Clean Slate Clinic for San Luis Obispo County residents for criminal record expungement, felony reduction, and arrest record sealing on Friday, March 8, 2024.

Over the past couple of weeks, CRLA clients and advocates have creatively engaged in zealous advocacy in a number of significant litigation cases. We wanted to share a snapshot of these cases.

The funds position California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. to significantly expand community-led justice in rural areas on the front lines of climate change, the housing crisis, and other statewide challenges.

The State Water Board’s September 2023 decision has statewide policy and downstream impacts and represents the state government’s unwillingness to confront decades of pollution by the agricultural industry—despite rising nitrate contamination and resulting lack of clean, safe, affordable drinking water for many communities.

Name and gender marker corrections open the door to a life of safety, stability, and authenticity for CRLA clients. Yet many people may feel intimidated by the process or unsure of their rights or where to start. Legal services can make the difference for them.

VENTURA, CA (April 17, 2023) — Seventeen farmworkers filed a lawsuit today in the Ventura County Superior Court of California, alleging that they were not fully paid for picking Driscoll’s strawberries during the 2022 harvesting season. A press conference will be held outside the Ventura County Superior Court, 800 S Victoria Ave, Ventura, CA 93009 on April 19, 2023 at 4:00pm.

Modesto-based attorney Jessica M. Jewell, first woman to lead California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., sees power of rural residents to shape civil rights in post-COVID climate change era

All people deserve to live free of violence. We will continue to fight alongside vulnerable communities to ensure they have access to justice and resources that build community safety and wellbeing.