vol. 27, no. 7

American

Civil Liberties

Union

Volume XVI:

Witch-Hunt Continues

San Francisco, July, 1962

`eser vist Is

Target of

Security Case

A Field Board Hearing was held on June 18 to examine

into the suitability of a University of California student to

remain in the Army establishment. Since in the normal course

of events the individual is scheduled for a discharge on July -

26, 1962 from the Army Reserve after six peat of egies'

inactive duty, the "suitability"

proceeding won't accomplish any-

thing except to give the individ-

-ual a black mark, Final disposi-

tion of the proceeding may take

many months.:

`The Allegations

The allegations in the proceed-

ing contain the following four

charges:

a. Since September, 1960, you

have been an active member and

attended meetings of the Young

Socialist Alliance (YSA) in the

San Francisco, California area.

The Young Socialist Alliance is

dominated and controlled by the

Socialist Workers Party (SWP).

b. In December, 1960, you acted

as temporary chairman at a West

Coast Young Socialist Alliance

Regional Conference held in San

Francisco, California, -

_c, During 1960 and 1961 you

subscribed to "The Militant," a

weekly publication of the Secial..-

ist Workers Party.

d. Wou maintsin a close and.

sympathetic association with........ as

who is a member of the Execu-

_ tive Committee of the Oakland-

_ Berkeley Branch of the Socialist

Workers Party,

Unsigned Statement

"At a hearing, the Board re-

fused to accept into evidence an

unsigned statement which C.I.C.

agents had allegedly

from the individual, It turned

out, however, that a C.I.C. agent

now in Europe had prepared the

document from notes of an inter-

view and that it had never been

submitted to the individual for

- correction,

Secret File

As usual, the Government in-

troduced into evidence a secret

file, despite the June 15, 1961,

decision of the U.S. Court of Ap-

peals in Washington, D.C., that

field board hearings must provide

a respondent with the safeguards

required by law, namely confron-

tation with his accusers and an

Mid-Peninsula

Champagne

Reception

The Second Annual Cham:

pagne Reception of the Mid-

Peninsula Chapter of the AC-

LUNC will be held Sunday aft-

ernoon, July 8, from 3 to 6

o'clock at the home of Mr. and

Mrs. John M. Fowle, 27060 Old

Trace Road, Los Altos Hills.

Directional signs will point the

way from Arastradero and Fre-

mont,

Ernest Besig, ACLUNC Ex-

ecutive Director, will report on

recent ACLU activities,

Donation-$1.00 per person.

Por further information, call

Karel DeLeuw, DA 6-6351,

July 8

secured

In This Issue...

Ban Expenditure of Public

Funds for Easter Cross .. p. 3 _

Hearing Denied in Cancel-

lation of Certificate . -p. 2

How Members Bring ACLU

to Community Doorsteps. p. 2

Results of 3-Year Review

~ of Censorship ......p.3,

Should Amish be Allowed -

Exemption from Social

`Security Law?

2 8 (c) and " 0x00A7e

p. 4

opportunity to cross-examine

them.

In a similar case, the Army re-

cently granted an Honorable dis-

charge but it made reference to

security regulations. An appeal

is now pending. a

ACLU Contentions

The ACLU also contends that

poltical activties during daactive

status may not be utilized to de-

termine the character of the dis-

charge to be given. In the fore-

going court case, it was merely

decided that if it were to be con-

sidered, the government had to

give the right of confrontation to

the reservist. It did, however, ex-

press grave reservations about

_such a power, The ACLU con-

tends that the character of the

discharge should be based on the

service rendered while on active

duty. "The price that we would

pay by quarantining a sizeable

portion of our male population

while on inactive reserve status

_from full utilization of their po-

litical freedoms is just too pucks

- on any basis to pay.'

MailGoes __

Through After

ACLU Action

A first class letter addressed

to an ACLU member was de-

tained by the postal authorities

last month and the addressee was

requested to give the Postmaster

permission to inspect the con-

tents with the alternative that if

he did not do so the letter would

be destroyed. ACLU staff coun-

se] Marshall W, Krause was in-

formed that the authorities sus-

pected that the letter contained

"non-mailable" material, even

though its outside appearance

Was ordinary and there was no

return address on the letter.

Papers for a lawsuit to challenge

the post office action were pre-

pared, but before they could be

filed the letter was delivered

without any comment from. the

Post Office.

The ACLU position follows Ex

Parte Jackson, an 1878 case in-

which the U.S. Supreme Court

held that the Fourth Amendment

extends to first class letters and

the Post Office can only inspect

them, except as to their outward

form and weight, after obtaining

a search warrant issued on prob-

able cause.-M. W. K,

Number 7

Board

Says Burglar

State |

Can't Barber

San Jose apprentice barber

Gerald Wiech admits that he has |

been convicted of burglary in the

past, but still wants to continue

his profession of barbering. How-

ever, the State Board of Barber

Examiners has filed an accusa-

tion against him seeking to deny

_ his application to receive a li-

cense as a registered barber and

to revoke his license as an ap-

prentice.

ACLU Board Acts

The ACLU board of directors,

concerned that the right to make

a living should not be circum-

scribed with unrelated qualifica-

tions, and that ex-convicts should

not be debarred from making a

living, authorized the ACLU

Staff counsel to defend Mr. Wiech.

Hearing Set

The case is set for hearing be-

fore the Board of Barber Exami-

ners on September 27th. The

board is proceeding under Busi-

`ness and Professions Code _ sec-

tion 6576, which provides that

conviction of a crime involving

moral turpitude is a cause for

disciplinary action. Thus the dis-

`qualification to be a barber does

not seem to be automatic under

the law, but under the board's

practice it may be.

ACLU Position

The ACLU will take the posi-.

tion that sinee a barber is neither

in a position of trust nor a han-

dler of large amounts of money

or property, it is unreasonable to

disqualify him from the trade be-

cause of a burglary conviction

unrelated in any way to his pro-

fession. If the Board of Exami-

ners does not agree, review will

be sought in the courts to declare

the disqualification unconstitu-

tional as a violation of substan-

tive due process.-M. W. K,

Baccalaureate

Services Invalid

In Washington

The Attorney General of the

State of Washington recently

ruled that "baccalaureate sery-

ices or pre-commencement exer-

cises which are religious. in na-

ture," would violate the separa-

tion of church and state.

"However," the Attorney Gen-

eral went on to say, "we wish to

point out that pre-commence-

ment activities which might be

labeled as baccalaureate exer-

cises and are non-religious in na-

ture would not necessarily in-

voke the same problems of

church-state relations. Indeed, i

might be said that each individ-

ual baccalaureate should be

judged on its own merits to de-

termine whether or not it is es-

sentially `religious' and `secta-

rian' in nature and, therefore,

whether a problem of church-

state relations in the constitu-

tional sense is precipitated by

the conduct of such an exercise."

In a separate opinion, the At-

torney General also decided that

distribution of Gideon Bibles on

school premises by either school

employees or representatives of

the Gideon Society violates the

separation of church and state.

The Attorney General noted simi-

lar opinions of the attorneys gen-

eral of California, Colorado and

Arizona, and the 1953 decision

of the New Jersey Supreme

Court in Tudor v. Board of Edu-

cation declaring the distribution

of Gideon Bibles in public schools

to be unconstitutional,

Protest Against Nuclear Testing

The trimaran sailing vessel "Everyman" embarked on a

brief voyage on May 26 which was stopped twelve miles off

the coast of California below San Francisco Bay by two

Coast Guard cutters and a U.S. Marshal in a whaleboat. The

trimaran's three sailors, Evan V. Yoes, Harold Stallings, and

Edward Lazar, had announced _

for at least a month previous to

the start of the voyage that they .

were sailing to Christmas Island

to protest the nuclear weapons

tests located there. Despite this

long advance warning, the United

States Attorney waited until after

court hours on the eve of the

boat's departure to obtain a tem-

porary restraining order (issued

without any chance for opposi-

tion) preventing the "Everyman"

from leaving Sausalito harbor. It

was for violation of this order

that the "Everyman" was at-

Sam Eubanks

Moves To

0x00B0 : cent :

Washington, D.C.

Sam B. Eubanks of Berkeley,

Executive Secretary of the San

Francisco - Oakland Newspaper

Guild for the last ten years and

a member of the ACLU's Board

of Directors since November,

1959, has resigned his job in

order to accept a position with

the Federal government.

Eubanks has accepted an ap-

pointment as director of techni-

cal assistance for the Bureau of

Labor-Management Upports of

the Department of | `Labor in

Washington, D.C. Since he is

`leaving the area, he resigned

from the ACLU's Board of. Di-

rectors.

A vice-president of the Cali-

fornia Labor Federation, Eu-

banks served as executive vice-

president of the AFL-CIO Ameri-

can Newspaper Guild from 1941

to 1951. Previously, Eubanks had

worked as a reporter for the

Chico Record, San Francisco Ex-

aminer and Oakland Post In-

quirer and edited aviation and

construction trade publications.

Eubanks was appointed by Gov-

ernor, Edmund G. (Pat) Brown

to the Golden Gate Authority

Commission,

Employee

Suspended in

Security Case

An engineer at the Hiller Air-

craft Corporation in Palo Alto

had his secret clearance revoked

by the Navy on May 29 and on

June 8 he was given an unre-

quested leave of absence from his

job (without pay, of course) un-

til the security matter is cleared

up.

The necessity for the "leave of

absence" is not clear since the

individual's job does not require

access to classified military in-

formation, but merely to an area

where such information is used.

.What prompted the Navy's ex-

traordinary action is not known.

Under the regulations, there will

now be an investigation and pos-

_Sibly charges against the em-

ployee, which he must answer in

writing. At that time, he may

also request a hearing.

Disposition of the matter may

take six months to a year. In the

meantime, the employee, who has

a wife and four children, is look-

ing for other work (of a non-

security nature),

_ tached and its three crewmen

-brought back to San Francisco.

ACLU Intervention |

The ACLU first entered the

case at the request of Evan Yoes

when he was arraigned on a con-

`tempt of court charge on Monday,

May 28. ACLU staff counsel Mar-

shall W. Krause was appointed

to advise the other two crew mem-

bers who stated that they wished

to represent themselves and did

not want the ordinary legal de-

fenses interposed in their behalf.

The ACLU saw the caSe as pre-

senting three civil liberties issues:

1) The bad faith of the govern-

ment in waiting until the last pos-

sible moment and then claiming

that an emergency justified the

issuance `of a restraining order

without notice to the defendants;

2) Freedom of U. S. citizens to

leave the country and_ travel

abroad when they wished; and 3)

the right of the government to

close off mammoth areas of the

high seas (in this case some 1,-

450,000 square miles) to travel

for U. S. citizens. -

Trial On June 7

The case finally came to trial

on the contempt of court charge

_and the government's motion to

replace the temporary restrain-

ing order with a preliminary in-

junction on June 7 before Fed-

eral Judge William T. Sweigert,

who signed the original restrain-

ing order. At this time Los An-

geles Attorney A. L. Wirin, acting

as a private attorney, entered the

case on behalf of some of the de-

fendants. In addition to the de-

fenses mentioned above, some of

the defenses raised in behalf of

the defendants were that the

Atomic Energy Commission had

no authority from Congress to is-

- sue a regulation forbidding Amer-

ican citizens to enter a portion of

the high seas, and that the de-

_fendants' arrest twelve miles at

sea was unlawful.

30 Day Sentences

After hearing extensive argu-

ment and statements from the de-

fendants (including the announce-

ment by a witness representing

the Committee for Non-Violent

Action that they were readying -

another boat which would attempt

to sail into the test area, despite

any court order to the contrary),

Judge Sweigert announced that

he found the three defendants

guilty of contempt, and since they

refused to "purge themselves" by

agreeing to obey future court or-

ders they would have to spend 30

days in jail. The court also al-

lowed the government's motion

for a preliminary injunction re-

straining the defendants from en-

tering or conspiring to enter the

zone during the curr :nt series of

tests.

No Appeal Planned

No appeal is planned by the

ACLU in view of-the fact that

federal law is well settled that

one who violates an order of court

is guilty of contempt, even if that

order should later prove to be

void. The remedy is to attack

the order by motion or appeal,

not to violate it. On the civil

action for an injunction it seems

clear that by the time an appeal

is perfected the test series would

be over and the appeal would be

dismissed as moot,-M. W. K,

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION NEWS

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California

ERNEST BESIG...

Editor

503 Market Street; San Francisco 5, California, EXbrook 2-4692

Subscription Rates -- Two Dollars a Year

Twenty Cents Per Copy

Dr. Alfred Azevedo

Fheodore Baer

Prof. Arthur K. Bierman

Rev. Richard Byfield

Prof. James R. Caldwell

John J. Eagan

Prof. Van D. Kennedy

Rey. F. Danford Lion

John R. May

Lloyd L. Morain

Honorary Treasurer:

Joseph M. Thompson

Honorary Board Member

Sara Bard Field

Mrs. Gladys Brown

Mrs. Paul Couture

Joseph Eichler -

Morse Erskine

Dr. H. H. Fisher

Mrs. Margaret C. Hayes

Prof. Ernest Hilgard

Mrs. Paul Holmer

Mrs. Mary Hutchinson

Richard Johnston

Roger Kent

Mrs..Ruth Kingman

Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

CHAIRMAN: Howard A. Friedman

VICE-CHAIRMEN: Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn

Helen Salz

Rey. Harry B. Scholefield .

SECRETARY-TREASURER: John M. Fowle

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ernest Besig

Committee of Sponsors

Prof. Charles Muscatine

Prof. Herbert L. Packer

William M. Roth .

Clarence E. Rust

Prof. Nevitt Sanford

Mrs. Alec Skolnick

Mes. Martin Steiner

Gregory S. Stout

Donald Vial

GENERAL COUNSEL

Wayne M. Collins

Prof. Theodore Kreps

Prof. Carlo Lastrucci

| Norman Lezin

Prof. John Henry Merryman

Hon. Clem Miller

Rey. Robert W. Moon

Dr. Marvin J. Naman

Prof. Hubert Phillips

Prof. Wilson Record

Dr. Norman Reider

Prof. Wallace Stegner

Mrs. Theodosia Stewart -

Mrs. Kathleen D. Tolman

Rt. Rey. Sumner Walters

Stanley Weigel

Franklin H. Williams

Evidence of Citizenship

Denied

In Cancellation

Of Certificate

On May 28, 1948, Tommy Woo received a Certificate of

United States Citizenship which recited that he had "proved

to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that he is now a

citizen of the United States of America (and) became a citizen

thereof on May Ill, 1934."

Commissioner ordered tic Certi-

ficate cancelled and s'vrendered

to the Immigration Service with

the threat that unless this was

done Woo would be liable under

a criminal statute providing up

to 5 years imprisonment for fail-

ure to surrender a cancelled Cer-

tificate.

Paper Evidence

The Comissioner claims that

Woo's witnesses at the 1948 hear-

ing testifed falsely concerning

his right to citizenship, This

claim is based solely on affidavits

submitted to the Commissioner.

Ernest Besig, ACLU Director rep-

resenting Woo, asked to be al-

lowed to hear the testimony of

the persons who made the accusa-

tions against Woo and be allowed

to cross-examine their testimony

to test its accuracy. These re-

quests were denied and a non-

appealable decision cancelling

the certificate was rendered.

: Federal Suit

Now the ACLU has-filed an ac-

tion in federal district court chal-_

lenging the right of the Immigra-

tion Service to require the sur-

render of this valuable document

without confrontation and cross-

examination of adverse evidence.

The Service takes the position

that the Certificate is just a re-

flection of the Government's be-

lief as to the holder's citizenship

at a particular time and that it

can be cancelled in the manner

described because this does not

affect the underlying citizenship

status of the holder.

ACLU Position |

The ACLU's position is that the

document is a property right use-

ful as evidence in case of.a chal-

ACLU NEWS

Paae 2

JULY, 1962 |

In March of this year the

lenge to the holder's status and

that it cannot be taken without

due process of law. In a series of

decisions involving other statutes

and executive orders the United

States Supreme Court has

avoided the question as' to

whether due process invariably

requires that confrontation and

cross-examination be accorded

when the government takes pe-

nalizing action in an administra-

tive proceeding, but has con-

strued the laws involved to re-

quire such rights because they

are so important that they are

deemed accorded in the absence

of an express denial.

Volunteer ACLU Attorney

The ACLU's action takes the

form of a suit for declaratory

judgment, injunctive relief and

administrative review. The pa-

pers were prepared with the as-

sistance of volunteer attorney

George Duke, - M.W.K,

Criticism Not

Welcome In

Alameda County

The Public Works Department

of the County of Alameda last

March issued general written in-

structions to its employees "not

to release any information or to

make any statements that may re-

flect criticism on the County."

An inquiry by the ACLU last

month received a response from

H. R. Savage, Buildings Superin-

tendent, that "we are making a

review of this and other ambigui-

ties in the wording of these in-

structions, and hope to clarify

the situation for our employees

in the near future." .

Letters...

to the Editor

Huck Finn Stand

Editer: The ACLU has taken

the proper stand on the Huck

Finn conflagration. Such foolish-

ness diverts attention for the real

issues at hand in the fight for

Negroes' rights. It also makes the

NAACP look bad and makes it

harder on all of us who are try-

ing to work for the betterment of

Negroes in the community.

The NAACP should devote its

time and attention to the really

important issues, and I'm glad to

see the ACLU taking a sane posi-

tion on this one. - Burton H.

Wolfe, Editor, The Californian.

Economic Pressures

Editer: There is one cause

which I hope the ACLU will sup-

port when it becomes a larger

organization with more funds. I

feel there is a definite threat to

the dignity of American citizens

in the increasing amount of right-

wing propaganda they are forced

to listen to if they work in any

so-called "defense" industry. I

ean see no difference in having

to listen to this than in having

to listen to readings from. the

Bible, which latter thing the

ACLU would certainly protest. I

mentioned this to someone on the

ACLU board before and

received the advice that there

was nothing illegal in a company

forcing employees to listen to

this propaganda (which I will

grant) so that this would just be

my cross to bear. Then IJ recalled

what the ACLU was most con-

cerned about at the moment,

some cross on public property in

Redwood City. It occurred to me

that rather than being concerned

' with such a picayune thing the

ACLU should just regard that

cross in Redwood City as _ its

cross to bear. :

I think the reason there is not

more concern about this is that

it is a new threat which `has not

yet been properly' evaluated.

- There is no tradition in our coun-

try for opposition to this sort of

thing while there is a long tra-

dition of opposition to religious

encroachments, a tradition going

back to the American revolution.

It seems to me that of all the

pressures. a person faces, eco-

nomic and social pressures are

the most dangerous. Economic

pressures are becoming especial-

ly dangerous because certain en-

tire areas of scientific work. have

fallen under the mantle of se-

curity and the secrecy of defense

classification; unjustifiably, I

might add.-v. H. :

Withholding Passports

Editor: In regard to withhold-

ing passports from members of.

the Communist Party, you say

"this right should not be in-

fringed merely on the basis of

membership in any organization,

and barring actual warfare... ."

For the following reasons it

seems to me this is not realistic.

1. The Communist Party is not

party, in the usual sense of that

term. It is not comparable to the

Democratic or the Republican

Party in the U. S. On the con-

trary it is a revolutionary con-

spiracy dedicated to the achieve-

ment of world control, regardless

of the rights of others or of any

moral considerations. It is not

merely another organization, like

the Chamber of Commerce or the

P-TA. Its members are necessar-

ily active participants in the pro-

gram and subject to orders from

above. One of their main objec-

tives is the overthrow of all dem-

ocratic regimes and particularly

of the strongest one - that of

the U.S. Hence, they are actually

traitors.

2. For years we have been en-

gaged in a conflict which is "aec-

tual warfare" although it does

not fit the current but obsolete

definition of the term "war." The

communists are well aware that

the Cold) War is war and that it

is the most important kind of

war. - E.B. .

_Lecal Membership Committees at Work

How Members Bring ACLU

To Community Doorsteps

Even before a membership drive actually begins, hun-

dreds of members set the stage for action with lists of

prespects they suggest be invited to join ACLU. This year,

more than 3600 names reached the office, backed by per-

sonal recommendations. Many members go further working

with their local membership com-

mittee. They call on, talk to and

give parties for prospects-telling

them what the ACLU is and what

a does.

Personal Contacts

It is this direct, person-to-per-

son communication that brings

home the importance of ACLU's

work to people all over North-

ern California, from Redding to

Carmel, from the Bay to the Ne-

vada border. Office mailings of

the brochure describing program.

and copies of the NEWS report-

ing current cases and issues are

the basic educational tools. For

many prospects these facts of

civil liberty are enough te cast

the die. Seeing the problems and

recognizing their responsibility,

they act-and join ACLU,

What Can I De?

Many other prospective mem-

bers, though, do not draw straight

problem-action lines that. readily.

They may see a case only in the

dimensions of "the other guy."

Or realizing the issues involved,

they may sincerely lament, "But

what can I do?" Local member-

ship committees give these many

concerned people of goodwil] the

hand needed for next steps in

their thinking and commitment.

In the jungle of community rela-

tions today it is small wonder

that many persons lose sight of

how important the individual is

in what he does. ACLU offers a

clearcut, simple example: a mem-

ber's dues or contribution sup-

ports a fight against infringe-

ments of civil liberties, in the

process protecting constitutional

safeguards*for all people. Mem-

bers working with their local com-

mittees are vividly effective in

making this dollars-and-cents

value clear, in the educational

work they do and in their own per-

sons.

To date, five membership chair-

men have sent in reports on mem-

bers working on this year's cam-

paign. When the other chairmen

follow suit, future NEWS issues

will carry their stories.

Berkeley

In both Berkeley and San Fran-

cisco members who took on the

job of telephoning prospects are.

too numerous to even mention.

Ruth Lyon directed Berkeley's

telephone committee in masterly

fashion. Her remarkable compe-

tence extended, in matter-of-fact

stride, to teaching on a substitute

basis, tutoring students at home,

taking care of two pre-school boys

of her own, cooperating with the

nursery school and giving birth

toa baby girl in mid-April. Some-

thing of a full schedule, but all in

a day's work to Mrs. Lyon. Ella

Quinn was Berkeley's "idea"

woman for the campaign-one of

those rare ones who worked on

what she thought up. Nina Cohen

handled all the publicity work.

Diane Bernard took over the dull

but important chore of checking

all prospects' telephone numbers.

The Berkeley committee, headed

by Doss Hull, tried several ex-

periments this year. They sup-

plied one of the busiest book-

stores with "21 Questions and An-

swers About the ACLU," stocked

in an eye-catching convenient

spot for literate customers to

pick up and take home. They also

designed display boards, with

give-aways of informational mate-

rial, for one or two stores. A

number of new members joined

through these outlets,

San Francisco

In addition to a public showing

of "Operation Correction'-to an

audience numbering more than

500-the San Francisce commit-

tee concentrated its energies on

house Meetings. Fer prospects

only, these gatherings enjoyed

the gracious hospitality of Ann

Ryan, Miriam Feigenbaum and

Prentice and Paul Sack. Among '

the many who served as right-arm

to Doris Kahn, San Francisco's

chairman, in all the preparations

and work were: Dorothy Franz-

blau, Eva Metzger and Jacqueline ..

Steiner.

Orinda

Orinda's committee, chaired by

Marilyn Pennebaker, had the ded-

icated help of Douglas Baugh, .

Jim Burchell, Kay Petersen,

Louise Ruhland and Eleanor

White. "The prospect list was

long and... the telephoners were

all enthusiastic,' Mrs. Penne-

baker says in explanation of their

whopping success,

Lafayette - Walnut Creek

Barbara Suczek, Lafa:-ette-Wal-

nut Creek co-chairman with Aron

Gilmartin, nominates "for the

ACLU honor roll the following

sterling, helpful people: Stella

Hill, Doug Page, Katherine St. |

Aubin, Beverly Scaff and Lois

Sprague-last but not least, the

organized, unruffled, prepared-

for-any-emergency Mrs, A. Gil-

martin."

Richmond

Ann Spencer's report on the

Richmond committee, which she

led, reflects the gamut of interest

taking up ACLU members' time

and talents: "What with elections,

one new baby, labor union work

and the dismissal of Superintend-

ent McCunn from our junior col-

lege, to say nothing of regular

family and job commitments, |

West Contra Costa members have

been pressed for time. However,

several of them squeezed hours

from their busy days to help out

on the membership drive. From

Richmond, we had the able help

of Roberta Hipolito, John M.

King and Richard Leuba; and

from El] Cerrito, willing assist-

ance from Bob Douthitt, Adolph

Kamil, Jeanne McHugh, Barbara

Scher, Art Schroeder and Ken

Thollaug. Thanks are also owing _

to our `cookie ladies' who provid-

ed refreshments at the new-and-

prospective-member meeting -

Peggy Coffey, Ruth Holden and

Ann Lenway. And _ particular

thanks to George Coles and to

William Kretzmer, who suggested

many people as potential commit-

tee workers." Miss Spencer gets

to the heart of ACLU's program

with her final point: "Why not

throw in thanks to the general.

membership for submitting names

in the first place-thus making

it possible to have a membership

drive!"-J. H. :

New Legal |

Move In |

Hartman Case

Lawrence Speiser, ACLU's

Washington, D.C., representative,

has filed with the U.S. Supreme

Court a "Motion for leave to File

Supplement to Petition For Writ

of Certiorari" in the case of

Louis Hartman, radio personality

being defended in a contempt of

Congress prosecution by the

ACLU of Northern California.

The motion points out that Hart-

man's indictment contains the

same defect as did the indict-

ments in the six contempt convic-

tions reversed by the Court last

month,

The faulty indictment in the.

Hartman case was called to the

attention of the trial court in a

motion to dismiss which was de-

nied. It is hoped that the Court

will act in the. Hartman case be-

fore the summer adjournment at

the end of June.-M.W.K,

Alleged Obscene Material

esults of

Ending a three-year review of the issue of censorship of

allegedly obscene material, the American Civil Liberties Un-

ion declared recently that "the constitutional guarantees of

free speech apply to all expression."

The ACLU's Board of Directors, emphasizing it was

neither urging the circulation

nor evaluating the merit of ma-

terial charged with being ob-

scene, asserted in a policy state-

ment its belief that "limitations

-of expression on the ground of

obscenity are unconstitutional."

Clear Proof

But, the ACLU said, if ob-

scenity laws are invoked prose-

cutions should be based on clear

proof that the material would

cause, "in a normal adult, be-

havior which has validly been

made criminal by statute." A

special exception would be per-

missible if the target group of

the allegedly obscene material

were children. In these cases the

standard to be applied in judging'

such material should be whether

its effect on children would lead

to behavior that would violate a

criminal statute.

Free Speech Position

Explaining its position that

the First Amendment covers all

forms of expression, the ACLU

said it recognized the genuine

concern of parents,

and community officials about

allegedly obscene material. But, -

the Union stressed, the right of

expression under the _ First

. Amendment was too frequently

abridged under the vague and

uncertain standards of obscenity

which now-operate.

Supreme Court Yardstick

"Even under the Supreme

- Ceurt's 1957 definition of ob--

scenity in the Roth case -

`whether to the average person,

applying community standards,

the dominant theme of the ma-

terial taken as a whole appeals

to prurient interest' - courts

-and juries continue to differ

over what constitutes obscenity,

often including books

have won world-wide acclaim.

This is only natural since indi-

vidual judgments, whether of a

book, a magazine, a film, a play

or a painting, are inevitably

subjective and personal. What

may strike one man as porno-

graphic may be a matter of com-

plete indifference to another.

What may be offensive to one

person may be great art to an-

other person. And. frequently

such individual judgments con-

demn most severely only con-

troversial expression-the very

kind of speech for whose protec-

tion the First Amendment was.

written."

Precise Line Impossible

Despite the Supreme Court's

1957 ruling that material with-

out "redeeming social impor-

tance" does not have the protec-

tion of the First Amendment,

the ACLU said the drawing of

a precise line between "good"

and "bad" material is impossible.

"We do not say that every

book or publication carries ideas

of importance to the community,

but we do believe that every act

of deciding what should be

barred carries with it danger to

the community, Because of the

special need in a free society te

guard against the stifling effect

' of censorship no ban should be

placed on allegedy obscene ma-

terial, even though such material

may be intensely disliked by

many persons.

_ Unpopular Position

"This is never a popular posi-

tion but we are convinced that

it is the right one. The seeds of

clergymen _

which

censorship have been planted in

far too many areas of American.

life, usually with the intention

of curing an evil. But rarely

does the evil recede when cen-

_ sorship is imposed. The causes

of such social problems as juve-

nile delinquency, which often

prompt demands for censorship,

are much deeper, Moreover, ban-

ning any expression only boosts

interest in it and results in

wider circulation of the offen-

sive material. The experience of

the Prohibition Days _ proved

this."

Although urging acceptance of

its no-censorship position in

order to strengthen the protec-

tions of the First Amendment,

the Union said it recognized that

federal and state anti-obscenity

laws do exist and are being in-

voked. When used, the Union

stressed, the following standard

should apply: "Any (c) govern-

mental restriction or punishment

of any form of expression on the

ground of obscenity must re-

quire proof beyond a reasonable

doubt that such an expression

would directly cause in a normal

adult, behavior which has validly

been made criminal by statute."

_ Standard of Proof

This standard follows the Un-

ion's traditional `clear and

present danger" position under

which free speech may be

limited, the statement empha-

sized. If accepted, prosecutions

would at least relate to "some

definable criteria in an admit-

tedly murky field. The mount-

ing pressure for removal of of-

fensive books and other mate-

rials in reeant years has had as

its basis the assumption that

there is a clear connection be-

tween such material and anti-

social behavior; actually, there is

a wide difference of opinion

among experts on what influ-

ences such material may have.

The standard we propose would

bring the issue of alleged ob-

seenity into the realm of reality

where in a court of law it can

be considered in the context of

calm, rational evaluation of evi-

dence rather than an emotional

insistence upon `action' against

`dirty books.' The requirement

of proof that the particular ma-

terial would cause criminal be-

havior may seem difficult to

meet. But there is no lazy man's

way of preserving a cherished

First Amendment guarantee. We

must insist on strict standards

of proof before such a vital right

as freedom of expression may

be curbed."

Children or Savants

The ACLU statement noted

that most of today's pressures

for censorship come from groups

anxious about the impact-of ma-

terial on children. "This is an

area of understandable concern,

but here, too, the assumed

danger to sensitive minds must

be measured against both 1)

actual. evidence as to whether

such danger is real, and 2) the

damaging effect that general

proscriptions on distribution to

children will have upon the

availability of controversial read-

ing matter to adults. However,

where there is proof beyond a

reasonable doubt that the target

group of the particular distribu-

-Continued on Page 4

Appraisal of 4 -

Ex-Communist

Witnesses

Professor Herbert L. Packer of

the Stanford University Law'

School and a member of the -

Board of Directors of the ACLU

of Northern California is the

author of a new book "Ex-Com-

munist Witnesses: Four Studies

in Fact Finding,' published by

the Stanford Vay Press

(247 pp. $4.95).

Prof. Packer's study

nanced by the Fund for the Re-

public and examines the testi-

mony of Whittaker Chambers,

Elizabeth Bentley, Louis Budenz

and John Lautner.

Chambers

Packer concludes that Cham-

-bers was "far more candid, far

lass evasive and defensive" than

any other major ex-communist

witness of the post-war period.

But his famed confrontation with

Alger Hiss and the trials which

followed "stopped far short of

even so imperfect an approxi-

mation of truth as the processes

of law permit."

Bentley

In contrast to Chambers, no

major ex-communists's story is

"better calculated to inspire mis-

trust or disbelief" than Elizabeth

Bentiley's, Packer declares. "And

yet hers is clearly no story in-

vented out of whole cloth."

Budenz

"The testimony of Budenz is,

in the main, of a hearsay nature,"

Packer concludes, "We cannot

know how well he remembers

what he was told or how accurate

it was in the first place. The testi-

mony of other ex-party members

suggests that he may have ex-

aggerated his position in party

councils."

Lautner

On the other hand, Lautner's

"workmanlike" role in the party

is reflected in his testimony,

Packer declares. "To be sure, he

has been tripped up on more

than one occasion, He has also

been evasive, militantly self-justi-

fying, and all_the other things

one might expect of a man, who,

late in life, finds himself in the

unenviable position of repudiat-

ing his life's work.

"Yet he gives the over-all im-

pression of close familiarity with

the party's ideology and, more

important, with the day-to-day

details of its operation.

"Strongly in Lautner's favor as

a witness is the faet that unlike

the other three, he has not carved

out an extra-testimonial career

as. an ex-communist. He has been

paid, and paid well, for his testi-

mony. But he has not had the

additional impetus to fabricate

that comes from the creation of

a public image that must con-

stantly be refurbished by yet an-

other round of revelations,

Free Speech for

Students at L.A.

State College

The faculty of Log Angeles

State College recently affirmed

a 1961 policy granting students

the right to assemble, to select

speakers and to discuss issues of

their choice.

Student groups which observe

certain technical procedures for

campus meetings shall not have

permission withheld because the

speaker is "controversial or un-

popular, or because officials of

the college, faculty or adminis-

~tration personally dissent from

the wisdom of their action," the

Faculty Council stated.

The tradition of academic free-

dom, defined as "the unfettered

pursuit of truth,' involves not

only the professor's freedom to

teach, but also the student's free-

dom to learn, the Council stated.

The faculty unanimously rec-

ommended that no new policies

are needed to regulate faculty

invitations to outside speakers

who appear in their classrooms

or at other campus meetings.

was fi

Berk. City Attorney's Ruling

SS

The City Attorney of Berkeley has ruled that the expen-

diture of public funds for the erection of a cross for Easter

sunrise services is unconstitutional under the federal and

State Constitutions. The ruling resulted from a recent protest

by the ACLU of Northern California.

According to the City Manager,

"the City, for a long period of

years, has customarily cooper-

ated with the Berkeley-Albany

Couneil of Churches in erecting

a Cross fer the Easter Sunrise

Service and removing the Cross

shortly after the services are

completed."

State Constitution

The City Attorney called at-

tention to Article IV, Section 30

of the California Constitution

which provides that "Neither the

Legislature, nor any county, city

and county, township; school dis-

trict, or other municipal corpora-

tion, shall ever make an appro-

priation or pay from any public

fund whatever, or grant anything

to or in aid of any religious sect,

church, creed, or sectarian pur-

Civil Marriage

Causes Expulsion

From College

The New York Civil Liberties

Union has termed "arbitrary and

capricious" and "violative of aea-

demic rights" the action of the

administration of St.-John's Uni-

versity in Brooklyn in dismissing

three students for their partici-

pation in a civil marriage cere-

mony. The NYCLU's. position was.

contained in papers filed on May _

17 in Supreme Court,

County.

Petitioners Catholics

The case involves Howard

Glenn Carr and Greta Schmidt

Carr, who were married on

March 13 before a City Clerk at

the Municipal Building in

Brooklyn, and a witness,

Jean Catto. A second witness was

also dismissed by the University

but is not a litigant in the pro-

ceeding. On April 12 Mr. and

Kings

Mrs. Carr were married a second.

time by a priest at the St. John's

Evangelist Roman Catholic

Church in Brooklyn, with the

same witnesses. The petitioners

are all Roman Catholics.

Dismissal Notice

In communications dated April

18, the petitioners were notified

by the Reverend Frederick J.

Easterly, Vice President for Stu-

dent Personnel Services, that

they were dismissed frem the

University "because of your ac-

tion relative to an attempted mar-

riage in the presence of a civil

officer .. ." The marriage, the

University said, "is gravely sin-

ful and has become a source of

public scandal. . . . The matter

`is especially serious," the Univer-

sity continued, "in light of the re-

cent pronouncement of the Vati-

can condemning the light and

- frivolous attitude of modern so-

ciety in regard to the sacred con-

tract of holy matrimony."

June Graduates

Carr had completed all course

work for his degree in January

and was to receive his diploma

in June. The other petitioners

were also to be graduated in

June. St. John's University is

chartered by the Regents of the

State of New York, and is open

to qualified applicants of all re-

ligious faiths.

The proceeding, which is being

handled in behalf of the NYCLU

by Emanuel Redfield, one of its

general counsel, asks that the de-

fendants be reinstated in time to

receive their degrees this month. |

Miss:

pose . . ." The City Attorney

`pointed out that the courts in in-

terpreting this section of the con-

stitution have broadened the or-

dinary meaning of the words

"sect" and "sectarian" so that

these are for all practical pur-

poses: synonymous with religion.

City Attorney's Conclusion

"It is our opinion,' the City

Attorney concluded, "that the ex-

penditure of City funds for the

furnishing of the cross for Easter

sunrise services is unconstitu-

tional under the First Amend-

ment of the United States Consti-

tution and under Article IV, Sec-

tion 30 of the California Consti-

tution."

Fire Fighters' Offer

In reporting to the City Coun-

cil, John D; Phillips, City Man-

ager said, "In view of this legal

- Situation I have discussed the

matter of the provision of the

Cross for the Easter Sunrise Serv-

ice with representatives of the

Berkeley - Albany Council of

Churches and advised them of

the offer of the Berkeley Fire

Fighters Association to erect the

Cross at Cragmont Rock Park for

Easter Sunrise Services.

Church Council's Reaction

Berkeley- Albany Council of

Churches recogtize the legal

problem involved and in no way

desire to continue any practice

that is not proper and legal, They

believe that there will be no prob-

lem in continuing the Easter Sun-

rise Services and are very ap--

preciative of offers such ag that

of the Berkeley Fire Fighters.

Association to assist in making

these services possible." Ss

`Right to Meet

In its letter to the Council,

signed by Ernest Besig, ACLU

executive director, the ACLU de-

clared that there could "be no'

objection to religious meetings in

public parks, We have defended

them in the past and we would

`be the first to raise our voices to.

oppose discrimination against the

right of assemblage on public

streets and parks of religious

groups.

"There is no question, too,"

the letter went on to say, "that

such religious groups may pro-

vide and display their own re-

ligious symbols in such meetings.

But we submit neither the State

nor its subdivisions may lawfully

expend public funds to provide :

such religious symbols."

Supreme Court Declaration

The ACLU pointed to the dee-

larations of the U.S. Supreme

Court in Everson v. Board of Edu-'

cation that "No tax in any

amount, large or small, can be

levied to support any religious

activities or institutions, what-

_ ever they may be called, or what-

ever form they may adopt to

teach or practice religion."

And, quoting from Madison's

Memorial and Remonstrance

Against Religious Assessment,

the ACLU insisted, "it is proper

to take alarm at the first experi-|

ment on our liberties. The

freemen of America did not wait

till usurped power had strength-

ened itself by exercise, and en- -

tangled the question in prece-

dents."

ACLU NEWS

JULY, 1962.

Page 3

Should Amish

Be Exempted

From Social Security Law?

(The following debate is taken from the June; 1962, issue

of Civil Liberties Record, published by the Greater Philadel-

phia Branch ACLU.)

CAVEAT CAESAR

By DANIEL H, SHERTZER

The struggle of the Amish to

maintain their 19th century way

of life have embroiled them in

more or less constant troubles

with government-national, state,

and local-most of which pose the

civil liberties problem of social

good vs. the - of the indi-

vidual.

The latest arena is the Federal

Social Security program. ~ Self-

employed farmers first became

subject to the Old Age Insurance

program in 1955. Few of the

Amish filed for the new self-

employment tax. And the Bu-

reau of Internal Revenue made

little effort to force compliance.

Then, in 1960, the Bureau of

~Internal Revenue began a cam-

paign to collect not only current.

self-employment taxes but all

taxes back to 1955. Soon, Amish

`were trooping to Internal Reve-

nue Service offices all over

_ Pennsylvania, with their carpet-

bags full of canceled checks,

sales bills, receipts, and records

`made on the backs of old calen-

dars. With the introduction in

Congress of the Clark Bill last

year, a moratorium was called on

collection of the tax and the pa-

`rade halted, at least temporarily.

The Amish object to any par-

ticipation in the Social Security

program. They are opposed to

receiving benefits because they

object to reliance on Caesar, or

as they put it, "I want to put my

trust in Our Heavenly Father

for my future needs." They are

opposed to paying the tax because

it is not a tax in the strict sense,

but a compulsory insurance sys-

tem,

The Clark Bill would exempt

self-employed persons who are

conscientiously opposed to Social

Security and who are members of

a church which is opposed to So-

cial Security. This would not ex-

empt all Amish, as many are em-

ployees. But since the tax is

taken from their pay before it

gets to them, and they are not

therefore actually paying the tax,

the Amish do not object to this.

- The requirement of church

membership will bother the civil

libertarians more. It is undoubt-

edly in the Bill to meet the ob-

jection that to allow anyone who

claims he was conscientiously op-

posed to Social Security to with-

draw from the program would

put the Social Security program

on almost a voluntary basis and

_seriously impair its effectiveness.

. But there is a better reason

which the author of the Bill un-

doubtedly had in mind. The

Amish Church does provide for

the old age of its members, if

needed. The Amish are a frugal

_. people, and at the end of a life-

_ time of hard work and saving it

is rare that an Amish man or

woman must call on anyone for

assistance. But his family, or his

church community, is always

there to give the aid for which

the Social Security system is de-

signed.

An individual with religious

scruples would have no such sub-

stitute for Social Security. In his

case, the social good of the pro-

gram vs. its encroachment on re-

ligious liberties is weighted more

heavily on the Side of the former

than in the case of the Amish.

In short, the Amish do provide

for the old age security of their

members. They are waging a con-

stant struggle to maintain their

uniqueness in an increasingly

homogeneous society. They do not

really participate in our modern

society and should not be com-

pelled to do so.

ACLU NEWS

JULY, 1962

Page 4

AMISH-MASH-NO

By LOUIS G. FOVER

The Clark Amendment to the

Social Security Law exempting

the Amish from the coverage of

the Act changes the fundamental

character of that Act from a tax

levied upon all citizens within

its ambit to a voluntary form of

insurance. The Act is clearly a

tax measure, despite the compli-

cations of payments and benefits.

_ The purpose of the Social Secu-

rity Law was not solely to provide

for the individuals who might ul-

timately receive benefits,

rather was principally for the

general welfare so that the elder-

ly people of the nation would

not become indigents and a bur-

den upon the taxpaying public.

This proposed amendment is

_ without precedent in permitting |

individuals to elect whether or

`not to pay taxes, depending upon

their views, as to the desirability

of the purposes for which the

tax money is to be spent.

Significantly, there is no com-

pulsion under the present law

upon any individual to accept

benefits. A person exempt under

the proposed amendment who be-

came indigent would not be de-

prived of public assistance.

The fact that the opposition to

a particular tax has a religious

basis compounds the constitu-

tional difficulty. Under the Clark

bill, an individual whose own con-

science forbade his accepting so-

cial security benefits would be

compelled to pay the tax, while a

member of the Amish sect would

be exempt. Clearly this consti-

tutes an establishment of religion

and a preference of one sect over

Other sects and over the non-

believer and the religiously un-

affiliated individual.

The operation of the draft law

recognizing as,conscientious ob-

jectors persons who were mem-

bers of a certain church but not

individuals upon the basis of their

own beliefs is a dubious and un-

fortunate precedent. Similarly,

wartime treatment of Japanese-

Americans, based upon racial

background rather than individ-

ual culpability, affords an equal-

ly undesirable precedent for

making legal classifications based

upon race or religion.

Many persons and certain

churches are opposed to the pub-

lic school system for religious

reasons. However, to date no in-

dividual and no member of a

church has been exempted from

paying school taxes on the ground -

that it would violate the tenets

of his church to permit his chil-

dren to accept the benefits. of a

public school cducation. .

Efforts to accommodate the

public school system to the prac-

tices of the Amish have been mu-

tually unsatisfactory. The Amish

have not accepted the legal obli-

gation to make their children at-

tend school for the required num-

ber. of years.

which are for the benefit of a

society requiring a minimal level

of literacy and information have

thus been seriously eroded,

A congressional acknowledg-

ment of distinctions based upon

religion in the name of religious

freedom is self-defeating.

but (c)

The school laws-

Wulf Replaces _

Watts As ACLU.

Legal Director

The appointment of Melvin L.

Wulf of New York City as Legal

Director of the American Civil

Liberties Union was announced

last month by John de J. Pem-

berton, Jr., national executive di-

rector of the Union. Wulf will re-

_ place Rowland Watts of Pleasant-

ville, New York who has resigned

to enter the private practice of

law in the Washington and Balti- -

more areas. Watts will also con-

tinue on the ACLU staff as a

Special Counsel.

Wulf, who has served as Assist-

ant Legal Director of the Union

since 1958, is a graduate of the

Columbia Law School, During

the 1955-57 period he served.as a

Legal Officer in the United States

Navy. In his work with the

ACLU, Wulf has handled all

phases of the Union's legal op-

erations, including the prepara-

tion of legal briefs, arguing cases

in the courts, and counseling with

local affiliates and cooperating at-

torneys: on particular civil liber-

ties issues, -

In making the announcement,

Pemberton expressed the Union's

deep appreciation for the service

given by Watts during the past

seven years to the ACLU and

the `cause of civil liberties.

"There is not another lawyer in

the country who has devoted so

much of himself to the defense

of constitutiena] rights as Row- |

land Watts. His deep devotion to

the protection of individual

rights is an inspiration to the Un-

ion's 1,000 volunteer attorneys

throughout the nation. We are

delighted that he will give some

of his time and his counsel to the

Union, and we wish him every

success in the private practice of

law."

Political

Provisos of

Will Upheld

A $22,250 trust fund to aid

Negro children whose parents

have been convicted of "political

crimes" was recently held valid

by the California Supreme Court

in a 4 to 3 decision. The court's

majority opinion was written by

' Associate Justice Roger J. Tray-

nor and concurred in by Chief

Justice Gibson and Justices Dool-

ing and Peters. |

The unique trust was estab-

lished by Jack Robbins of Chicago

and Los Angeles, who died in

1958, "to preserve the right to

_ dissent, the right to differ and be

different." He called the trust

_fund "my last contribution to a

more democratic way of life for

all people."

A grand nephew contested the

will on the ground that the fund

was invalid because it would en-

courage Negro parents to commit

political crimes in order to insure

financial help for their children.

The high court disagreed. "Any

risk that a parent might be in-

duced to commit a crime... be-

cause of the possibility that his.

child might become a beneficiary

of this trust is far outweighed by

the interests of the innocent chil-

dren involved and society's inter--

est in them," the court declared.

The ACLU of Southern Cali-

fornia filed an amicus curiae

brief in the case.

ACLU Holds Biennial Conference.

~The ACLU's biennial confer-

ence was held in New York City

from June 22-24. Attending the

conference were delegates from

33 affiliates and members of the

national Board of Directors, the

National Committee and the na-

tional staff. Ernest Besig. repre-

sented the ACLUNC. :

Financial problems loomed

~

large in the discussions. Other

matters considered were fhe

threat of the "garrison state," the

rise of ultra-right organizations,

current church-state issues, cen-

_ sorship, due process and race dis-

crimination in housing and labor

unions. A fuller report on the

conference will be contained in

the August NEWS.

Results of Three-Year

Review of Censorship

Continued from Page 3-

tion charged to be obscene is

composed of other than average

adults (e.g.: children or savants)

then the test should be the ef-

fect established beyond a rea-

sonable doubt on that group'-

whether the material would di-

rectly cause behavior that is

criminal by statute.

So long as any prosecutions

take place, the ACLU said, the

standard should apply at the fed-

eral, state and local levels; to

laws, regulations, and injunc-

- tions; to censoring, licensing, in

rem proceedings, prosecutions

and any other means of govern-

mental restriction or _Punish-

ment.

Due Process Protections

The ACLU statement also laid

down a strong set of due process

-protections that should be ap-.

plied in obscenity prosecutions.

These include ". . . a clear statu-

tory definition of the offense,

the right to counsel, the right to

a prompt and fair public trial by

jury, and the right to appeal;

and that no action should be di-

rected against persons who are

without knowing and substantial

responsibility for the creation or

distribution of the material in

question."

Responsible Persons

This latter protection, the

ACLU said, would remove pres-

sures from the small candy-store

or book-store operator who has

nothing to do with the produc-

tion of the challenged material

and place the responsibility on

the author, publisher or distrib-

utor of the questionable item.

"The ordinary bookseller's fear

that he may be prosecuted, when

he does not have the finances

for defense and neither time nor

competence to judge every book,

results too frequently in his de-

ciding not to stock `controver-

sial' books at all, including many

dealing with social and political |

problems. Thus people who wish

to exercise their right to read

books of their own choice are

denied access to the material."

In Rem Proceedings

The Union also urged that if

prosecutors are considering

court action against persons in

connection with a book, maga-

zine, elc, -{

of the material first be deter-

mined before criminal prosecu-

tions are brought. "We prefer

the use of in rem proceedings

against material alleged to be

obscene - with a right to de-

fend the material being afforded

the publisher, distributor, re-

tailer, etc. - as a prerequisite

to any criminal prosecution of

any person for publishing, dis-

tributing, or selling such ma-

terial thereafter. Moreover, if an

the alleged obscenity |

adverse determination is made

in such a proceeding, based on

the exception concerning ma-

terial aimed at children the

judgment should be limited to

that `target group' so as not to

affect other groups in subsequent -

proceedings. Also, 1) in any

criminal prosecution, knowledge

of any prior in rem finding of

obscenity should be required; 2)

in any criminal prosecution fol-

lowing an in rem finding of ob-

-scenity a new trial on the ques-

tion of obscenity should be re-

quired; 3) any party involved in

the issue should be permitted to

reopen-an in rem finding of ob-

scenity after the passage of a

reasonable period of time. The

statute should define such a pe-

riod as within five years, but

should not bar 7 Sepscaent ac-

tion.

_ Previous Positions Affirmed

_ The Union statement also re-

affirmed its previous position

`upholding the right of private

groups to conduct a `specific

and primary boycott" against a

particular play, film, book, etc,

"even when they imply some de-

gree of coercion," as an expres- -

sion of opinion protected by the

First Amendment, but opposing

a general or secondary boycott,

(aimed, for example, at closing

a theatre) because of its wider

- impact on the circulation of

- ideas. Also reaffirmed was the

Union's traditional stand against

the motion picture and radio-TV.

codes as "restraints on freedom

of expression." (c)

Wisconsin _

Voids School

Bus Law

By a 4 to 2 vote, the State Su-

preme Court of Wisconsin on

June 5 declared Wisconsin's law |

providing State aid for transpor-

"tation of children in private and

parochial schools in direct viola-

tion of a constitutional provision

that "prohibits the expenditure

of any public funds for the bene-

fit of religious societies or re-

ligious or theological seminaries."

The majority opinion said the

constitutional issue in question

was in no way affected by the

fact that the law provided for

transportation of pupils to the

nearest public school instead of

to their own school.

If upheld, the law would have

meant transporting 50,000 more

students at a cost of $62 per pupil

yearly.

High courts in Deleware, New |

York, Oklahoma and Washington

have ruled similar laws unconsti-

tutional, but the courts of Cali-

fornia, Kentucky and Maryland

have upheld such laws saying

they benefit the pupils and not

: the schools.

(

The first right of a citizen

Is the right

(c) be responsible.

JOIN TODAY

po 151

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA (c)

Patron Membership .......0ceccccoccers

Sc eek so 7 $106

Sustaining Membership... -.. 3... 6.255.005. 4s.+ 50

Business and Professional Membership .........s0+02 20

Family Membership:. .......06 6: -- 0 teas ee: 12

Associate Membership 2.3 ..4.... ss. se se 10

Annual Membership ........ eee 0

Junior Membership (under 21) ........cccccecesees 2

ACLU: News Subscription "25... -.. 25.55. ss 2-00

NAME Coee OS AS Le DTSCH HOES EE HR EH HHS EH ORO ECOC EHO OH F708

ADDRESS .

TELEPHONE NUMBER...

COC SRH HEL CECE OHO HHH HE SEHH HOH HO HHH FELD ODO

eevee se Feo oe

eooceeseveeee ee

AMT, ENCLOSED... .. =. 5.

503 Market Street

San Francisco, 5