vol. 33, no. 4

-American

Civil Liberties

Union

Volume XXXIII

SAN FRANCISCO, APRIL, 1968

to public transportation.

friends.

Sundae: April 28

ACLU Annual Meeting

Jacobs and Merryman Speak

The annual meeting of the general membership of ACLU

of Northern California will take place in the Sanctuary of

Glide Memorial Methodist Church, 330 Ellis Street, San Fran-

cisco, on Sunday evening, April 28, beginning at 8 p.m.

Topic

In addition to Executive Director Ernest Besig's tradi-

tional "State of the Union" report on ACLUNC activities, the

topic of the meeting will be the threat to American democratic

processes posed by urban conflicts.

Speakers

Paul Jacobs, author and consultant to the Center for the

Study of Democratic Institutions, Santa Barbara, will discuss

the economic, racial, social and political aspects of the prob-

lem, and Prof. John Henry Merryman of Stanford Law School

and former ACLU chairman will discuss the constitutional

and legal aspects. Following the presentations of the two main

speakers, they will question each other and the membership

will have an opportunity te question both. Prof. Van wise

Kennedy, branch chairman, will preside.

Public Invited

_ Fellowing the meeting refreshments will be served in the

Fellowship Hall. The meeting is free and is open to the public.

There are several fee parking lots in the immediate vicinity

of the Church which is also ex my located with respect

All ACLU members are urged to attend and te bring their

Nelson and Seligman

Two Fairmont

Demonstration

Cases WON

Last January 16 a large group of persons gathered in

front of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco in the early

evening hours while Secretary of State Dean Rusk was ad-

dressing a joint Commonwealth Club-World Affairs Council

meeting. Some persons had come to hold picket signs, some

to witness their opposition to the

war in Vietnam, some had come

to attack the police, and others

had come because they were at-

tracted by the crowd and curious

to see what would happen.

Tactical Squad Used

Using the excuse provided by

the few persons who threw bot-

tles and bags of red paint at the

hotel, the police ordered the as-

sembly to disperse and sent the

tactical squad in to do the job

with a liberal dosage of clubbing,

shoving and Mace. As far as can

. be determined, no efforts were

made by the police to weed out

the few trouble-makers so that

the remaining persons could con-

tinue their peaceful and consti-

tutionally-protected protest gath-

ering. The police did not even

have cameras present so that

they could photograph the alleg-

ed trouble-makers rather than

wading into the crowd to get rid

of them.

Two Defended

For at least an hour after the

crowd was broken up, the police

roamed the streets arresting per-

sons whom they thought to be

demonstrators even though they

were blocks away from the scene

of the original assembly. ACLU-

NC agreed to furnish counsel to

two of these persons, Norman

Nelson and John Seligman. Nel-

son was arrested in the the at-

rium of an apartment house

about 20 minutes after the as-

sembly was dispersed. Seligman

was arrested two and a half

blocks away from the Fairmont

Hotel an hour after the assembly

was dispersed while he was on

the way to his car after he had

spent approximately one-half

hour in Grace Cathedral.

Nelson Case

Norman Nelson was the first

of the 52 persons arrested at the

Fairmont to come to trial. Nel-

son's trial was before Judge Har-

ry Low without a jury. ACLU

staff counsel Marshall W. Krause

attempted to get a ruling from

Judge Low concerning how far

away a person must go to comply

with an order to disperse, even

assuming the order was lawful.

Since Nelson was more than two

blocks away, Krause argued that

he must be acquitted as a mat-

ter of law. However, the police

came up with some surprise tes-

timony, namely Officer Elbert

Boyd who testified that Nelson

was arrested as a part of a "`sec-

ond assembly" of about ten per-

sons on the corner of Jones and

California Streets which yelled

at and taunted policemen and

was ordered to disperse. Accord-

ing to Officer Boyd, everyone

did disperse except Nelson who

remained standing on the corner

and was arrested. Fortunately,

Krause had moved that all wit-

nesses. be excluded from the

courtroom and when the second

policeman testified he did not

have the benefit of the first

policeman's story. The second po-

liceman, Sgt. Daniel Howard, also

testified that Nelson was in a

group of persons at Jones and

California Streets but stated that

the group was not yelling or

taunting police officers but in-

stead was throwing things at po-

lice officers. Officer Boyd had

testified that the group was not

throwing anything at the police

officers,

School Teacher Testifies

Nelson was able to produce an

impartial witness, a school teach-

er who was with him the entire

time and testified as to their

attempts to get away from the

-Continued on Page 2

Transcript

In Love Book

Case Ordered

After eight months of effort

the ACLU of Northern Califor-

nia has been successful in ob-

taining a Superior Court - deci-

sion ordering preparation at pub-

lic expense of the transcript of

the trial of the sellers of Lenore

Kandel's "Love Book." This rul-

ing upsets that of Judge Mana,

before whom the case was tried,

who agreed that the defendants

were indigent and thus qualified

for free transcripts but claimed

that the appeal could be heard

on the transcript of only the .

prosecution case and that the

balance of the transcript (the de-

fense testimony) could be sum-

marized by counsel. ;

Entire Record

To challenge Judge Mana's de-

cision, a petition for writ of man-

date was filed in the Superior

Court and last month Judge Rob-

ert Drewes ruled that the de-

fendants were entitled to their

entire transcript at public ex-

pense so that they could fully

present their case on appeal. It

may be remembered that after

five weeks of trial a jury verdict

was rendered that the three per-

sons charged with selling "The

Love Book" were guilty of a vio-

lation of the obscenity laws. City

authorities in San Francisco have

agreed that there will be no

further arrests for selling the

book until final decision on ap-

peal and, consequently, the little

book of poems is still available

in San Francisco.

Not Sold in L. A.

In Los Angeles, arrest of the

sellers ef "The Love Book" has

prevented it from being sold in

the community and the defend-

ants there have not been brought

to trial. It is expected that deci-

sion on the appeal in the San

Francisco case will be made in

about six months.

S.F. State College

Decision Reversed

Direct ACLU

"=: Legal Support

For Spock Case

The national board of the American Civil Liberties Union

at a special meeting held in New York City on March 2

reversed its position and voted to afford direct representa-

tion in the Spock case rather than to limit its appearance

as a friend of the court. There was no disagreement that the

case raises civil liberties issues.

The only question was whether

the ACLU. should become: in-

Women Barred in

SF State College

Music Position

Dr. William R. Ward, Chair-

man of the Music Department at

San Francisco State College,

last month defended a "male

only" announcement of a va-

eancy in the music faculty "to

be filled beginning September,

1968." Said he, in a letter to the

ACLU, "The reference to a

`male, under 40 years of age' in.

our announcement of a vacancy

in the field of musicology is an _

indication of preference based

upon a need to maintain a bal-

ance on the faculty, and to find

someone to whom the salary

which we had to offer would be -

attractive."

Dr. Ward went on to say that

he nevertheless "had several

women applicants for the posi-

tion and have interviewed four."

He concluded by stating that "At

this point, however, we are not

going to make any further effort

to fill the position."

Dr. Ward did not explain what

he meant in referring to "a need

to maintain a balance on the

faculty." Incidentally, tiie salary

was given as "$8,268 to $9,564

for the academic year of two

semesters."

The ACLU will now direct its

inquiry into the foregoing dis-

crimination against women to

the State College administration.

Students Cleared on

`Unethical Conduct' Charge

San Francisco State College students Blair Paltridge and

Jefferson Poland were defended by ACLUNC attorney Mar-

shall W. Krause at an administrative hearing during the last

part of 1967 and the first part of 1968 on the charge that

they had committed "unethical conduct". As might be ex-

pected, reactions were mixed.

Those faculty members who fa-

vored censorship of student

newspapers to protect the repu-

tation of the college supported

the administration's charge;

those faculty members who did

not favor protection of the fac-

ulty from student criticism did

not support the charge.

ACLU Position

The charge was heard before

the Board of Appeals and Re-

view consisting of a number. of

deans of the university, students

and faculty members. The ACLU

position in the case was that edi-

tors of student newspapers could

not be disciplined by suspension

or expulsion for what they print

in the student newspaper as this

would be a governmental power

of censorship forbidden by the

First Amendment. ACLU coun-

sel pointed out that the school

was free to remove the editor of

the paper or to withhold funds

from the newspaper if it felt

that it was not properly carrying

out its purposes.

Board Recommendation

The Board of Appeals and Re-

view in its decision, which was

advisory to State College Presi-

dent John Summerskill, stated:

"The Board of Appeals and Re-

view recommends that no dis-

ciplinary action be taken in the

case of Jefferson Poland and

Blair Paltridge. After careful

consideration we found the evi-

dence insufficient to substan-

tiate the charge of unethical con-

duct. It was our feeling that this

case raised questions of taste

rather than of unethical conduct.

We believe that where publica-

tions are concerned questions of

taste are outside the purview of

this Board and more properly

come under the jurisdiction of

the Board of Publications."

President Concurs

President Summerskill, after

consideration of this report,

wrote to the students: "The

Board of Appeals and Review has

recommended that no _ disci-

plinary action should be taken

and I concur with this recom-

mendation." This decision of

President Summerskill comes as

a bit of a surprise since he was

one of the administration wit-

nesses at the hearing who took

the position that the article in

question was unethical conduct.

volved directly in a case which

also has a number of prominent

non-civil liberties issues. -

Board Resolution

The motion that was finally

adopted provides as follows:

a. That the ACLU provide |

direct legal representation to

any defendant in the Spock

et al indictment who wishes

our counsel;

That it offer full support to

the Massachusetts affiliate in

its providing of direct repre-

sentation to defendants in the

indictment;

c. That it is appropriate for

the Union to provide direct

representation where feasible

to clients similarly indicted

for counseling resistance to the

draft.

d. In adopting this resolu-

tion, the ACLU does not as-

sert that the Vietnam war is

or is not unconstitutional. In

adopting. this resolution, the

ACLU does not assert that the

draft is or is not unconstitu-

tional. In adopting this resolu-

tion, the ACLU does not assert

that the United States is or is

not committing a pattern of

war crimes in Vietnam, or is

or is not violating internation-

_al law. We offer to enter this

case because of the free speech

issues involved, Having offered

to enter the case on this over-

riding ground, the positions

taken by counsel on other ques-

tions must be shaped by the

necessities of the defendants

they represent regardless of

what positions the ACLU may

or may not have taken on

those questions.

Affiliate Margin

Eighteen out of 48 affiliate

members were present at the

special meeting. Of the 18 af-

filiates, 10 voted for the resolu-

tion for direct defense and three

against. Without the presence of

affiliate members, the motion

would have lost by one vote.

Two of the five defendants in

the case - Michael Ferber and

Mitchell Goodman - are repre-

sented by Civil Liberties Union

of Massachusetts counsel (Wil-

_ liam Homans and Edward J.

Barshak, respectively).

Local Action

The ACLUNC board of direc-

tors delegated authority to its

Legal Committee to examine the

Spock et al indictments and to

take a position on its behalf. The.

Committee adopted the follow-

ing resolution which was. pre-

sented to the national body:

"Resolved, that the National

Board of Directors of ACLU be

advised that there are major

civil liberties issues presented

by the indictment in Boston,

Massachusetts, of Dr. Spock

and four others for alleged

conspiracy violation of 50 U.S.

Code Appendix Sec. 462(a).

The Northern California Board

is particularly concerned with

the protection of the right to

express one's opinion and

judgment concerning the war

in Vietnam and cooperation

with the draft laws and urges

that the National ACLU par-

ticipate in the case to raise this

and any other civil liberties

issues which are presented by

the statute on its face, the in-

dictment on its face, or the

facts in the particular: case."

_. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION NEWS'

Published by the American Civil Liberties. Union of Northern California

Second Class Oe eke authorized `at'San Francisco, California

E ST BESIG. :. Editor

503 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94105, 433-2750

__. Subscription-Rates - Two Dollars a Year

Twenty Cents Per Copy

rr

ee

Chapter Activities

Fresno County |

Started last month, regular monthly meetings of the Fresno

County Chapter ACLUNC will be held on the first Monday of each

month. When the first Monday is a holiday, the meeting will be

held on the following Monday. Meetings will start at 8:00 p.m. and

will be held in the home of Chapter President Russell K. Grove,

3815. E. Huntington Blvd., Fresno. Members are also invited to stay

for the- meeting of the executive board, which will be held imme-

ae diately after the regular meeting.

Marin County

The next meeting of the Marin Chapter, on April 22, will feature

a panel of varied points of view on the troublesome contradictions

between the right of fair trial and freedom of the press. Members

of the judiciary and newspaper representatives are being invited

to participate. Chapter members will be notified of time and place.

The Chapter also announces with pleasure that Kay Boyle,

noted writer, teacher and prison inmate will be the principal speaker

at its annual potluck in June. (Miss Boyle will be spending her

Easter vacation in jaik as a result of the Oakland Induction Center

demonstrations.) Specifics of her talk have not been worked out,

but it is expected to be on the topic of dissent in time of war.

Mid-Peninsula

The Mid-Peninsula Chapter will hold a fund-raising theater party

at the Stanford Repertory Theater production of "The Inspector

General" by Nikolai Gogol. The Russian farce is an election year

special about corruption in government. :

The performance takes place at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 23 in

The Little Theater at Stanford. Tickets are $3.00 and are available

through Joy Rosaaen, 491 Arcadia Place, Palo Alto. Telephone: 326-

4529.

Santa Clara Valley

Raul N. Halvonik, ACLUNC's legislative representative in Sac-

ramento, will speak at a membership meeting on Friday evening,

April 26. Members will receive full details about this important

meeting as soon as final arrangements have been completed.

Long-Haired

Bearded Postman

Back on Job

Bob: R. Barnum, 25-year old

bearded San Francisco postman

with long hair was reinstated to

-his job after being laid off for

about ten days after refusing to

cut his hair. The Post Office

said Barnum wasn't fired but

merely "denied employment."

After ACLU intervention, he

- was reinstated with back pay.

Under new Post Office regula-

tions, long hair is not forbidden.

But, as stated in the postal regu- -

lations "it must be kept to rea-

sonable length as judged by com-

munity standards." A photograph

of Barnum has been submitted

to Assistant Postmaster General

Richard Murphy the leader of

"Operation Hippie" to determine

whether his hair length meets

community standards.

Hidden From Public

"When Barnum returned to

`work he was shifted from his

outside job to a temporary sub-

station job where he is not re-

"=~ quired to deal with the public.

If he is required to perform out-

_ side his classification as a career

ACLUN_1946 ACLUN_1946.MODS ACLUN_1947 ACLUN_1947.MODS ACLUN_1948 ACLUN_1948.MODS ACLUN_1949 ACLUN_1949.MODS ACLUN_1950 ACLUN_1950.MODS ACLUN_1951 ACLUN_1951.MODS ACLUN_1952 ACLUN_1952.MODS ACLUN_1953 ACLUN_1953.MODS ACLUN_1954 ACLUN_1954.MODS ACLUN_1955 ACLUN_1955.MODS ACLUN_1956 ACLUN_1956.MODS ACLUN_1957 ACLUN_1957.MODS ACLUN_1958 ACLUN_1958.MODS ACLUN_1959 ACLUN_1959.MODS ACLUN_1960 ACLUN_1960.MODS ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1962 ACLUN_1962.MODS ACLUN_1963 ACLUN_1963.MODS ACLUN_1964 ACLUN_1964.MODS ACLUN_1965 ACLUN_1965.MODS ACLUN_1966 ACLUN_1966.MODS ACLUN_1967 ACLUN_1967.MODS ACLUN_1968 ACLUN_1968.MODS ACLUN_1968.batch ACLUN_1969 ACLUN_1969.MODS ACLUN_1969.batch ACLUN_1970 ACLUN_1970.MODS ACLUN_1971 ACLUN_1971.MODS ACLUN_1972 ACLUN_1972.MODS ACLUN_1973 ACLUN_1973.MODS ACLUN_1974 ACLUN_1974.MODS ACLUN_1975 ACLUN_1975.MODS ACLUN_1976 ACLUN_1976.MODS ACLUN_1977 ACLUN_1977.MODS ACLUN_1978 ACLUN_1978.MODS ACLUN_1979 ACLUN_1979.MODS ACLUN_1980 ACLUN_1980.MODS ACLUN_1981 ACLUN_1981.MODS ACLUN_1982 ACLUN_1982.MODS ACLUN_1983 ACLUN_1983.MODS ACLUN_1984 ACLUN_1984.MODS ACLUN_1985 ACLUN_1985.MODS ACLUN_1986 ACLUN_1986.MODS ACLUN_1987 ACLUN_1987.MODS ACLUN_1988 ACLUN_1988.MODS ACLUN_1989 ACLUN_1989.MODS ACLUN_1990 ACLUN_1990.MODS ACLUN_1991 ACLUN_1991.MODS ACLUN_1992 ACLUN_1992.MODS ACLUN_1993 ACLUN_1993.MODS ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1997 ACLUN_1997.MODS ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_1999 ACLUN_1999.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS ACLUN_ladd.bags ACLUN_ladd.batch add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log carrier, the ACLU will again in-

~ tervene in his behalf.

"I appear every day neat,

clean, bathed and pressed," said

Barnum. "I always wear a com-

`plete uniform. The only way I

differ from the majority of post-

men is that I have a beard and

_ long hair, both of them neat and

combed." The Post Office readi-

ly admits that Barnum is. an ex-

cellent employee.

S Novice in Monastery

After serving three years in

ee the U.S: Army, Barnum spent a

year as a novice in a Cistercian

Monastery in South Wales. At

that time he had a beard that

was seven inches long and a

_. shaven head.

. ere ss "ACLU NEWS

- Page 2 See APRIL, 1968

the whole barrel,"

Two Fairmont

Demonstration

Cases Won

Continued from Page 1-

-police and the great fear and

panic that the charge of the po-

lice officers caused among the

crowd. She substantiated Nelson's

story that they were merely

standing in the atrium of an a-

partment house when grabbed by

police officers. The teacher was

herself grabbed. but was released

by the officers when a woman

resident of the apartment house

said, `""She's a friend of mine."

Judge Acquits

With this testimony it was

hardly surprising that Judge Low

acquitted Nelson. Mr. Nelson can

now go back to his business of

being a student at Hayward State

College but still. must carry the -

burden of an arrest record

around for the rest of his life.

Seligman Case

The second ACLU case, that in-

volving John Seligman, also fail-

ed to produce a ruling on how

far a person must disperse be-

cause the District Attorney

agreed to the dismissal when in-

formed by Krause and volunteer

counsel Michael Thomas that

Seligman was on his way home -

when arrested. _

' The lesson to be learned from

these two cases is that it is not

always easy to get a ruling of

law but it is not too hard to

`show that the police "sweeps"

`of the scene of the Fairmont

demonstration involved many in-

nocent persons and was excessive

under the circumstances.

"One apple like this can spoil

said Lisa

Hobbs in the San Francisco Ex-

aminer. "There were already

several known instances, in fact,

where some of the hippies actu-

ally sang on their rounds, making

it hard: for residents to hear the

traffic, Other hippie mailmen

smiled. This frightened several

housewives, whose dreams of

rape often centered on a man

with a beard. If not a Red Chi-

nese."

Berkeley-Albany

Sets Up Chapter

Speakers' Bureau

For the last several months

the Berkeley-Albany chapter has

been busy organizing and put-

ting into. action

speakers' bureau.

The purpose of this bureau has

been only in part to publicize

the aims and objectives of the

ACLU. By disseminating a wider

knowledge of the civil rights and

liberties enjoyed by all Amer-

icans under the Constitution and

the Bill of Rights, it has hoped

to stimulate a renewed symvathy

for the social and political phi-

losophy that animated the found-

ers of the nation.

Engagements Solicited

In recent years some Amer-

icans have preferred to forget

and even to repudiate this phi-

losophy. For this reason the

Berkeley-Albany speakers'

reau has tried to be a particular-

ly aggressive one. It hasn't been

interested in talking to people

who either belong, or are likely

to be sympathetic, to the ACLU

and what it stands for, but to

people who are more likely to be

indifferent and even hostile to it.

What's more, it hasn't waited to

be asked for its speakers.

Through the efforts of volunteer

workers like Mrs. Evelyn Cornet

and Robert Williams, it has ac-

tively solicited speaking engage-

ments. As a result, in the last

several months, members of the

ACLU-among them East Bay

attorneys Gordon White. James

McCall, Neil Horton and Milton

Nason-have delivered some 13

addresses to local businessmen's

service clubs like the Kiwanis,

Lions and Rotary Clubs. Other

ACLU members-among them at-

torneys Lawrence Duga, Kenneth

Kawaichi and John Adler-have

been conducting classes in civil

liberties at Berkeley high school.

Future Program

In the next six months, the

Berkeley-Albany chapter hopes to

expand both its service club and

high school programs to the ex-

tent of fulfilling some ten speak-

ing engagements and conducting

some ten classes per month.

What's more, if all goes well with

these programs, it expects even-

tually to send its volunteer

speakers into other territories

like church organizations, trade

unions, YMCAs, YWCAs and

PTA groups.

Presenting Its Views

The ACLU is not, of course,

a political organization like the

John Birch Society or the Com-

mittee for New Politics; but

many people in the Berkeley-

Albany chapter feel that the

ACLU, like other organizations

that operate at the Very center

of the American tradition, is un-

der some obligation to advance

its position as actively and as

energetically as proponents of

the New Right and the New

Left. By activating its speakers'

bureau, the Berkeley-Albany

chapter hopes to do much to-

wards the accomplishment of this

end.-John Paterson, Chairman,

Speakers' Bureau.

an energetic .

bu-

ACLU Policy Statement .

Corp. and

Govt

Recruiters On

College Grounds

Many American colleges and universities are currently

confronting a major controversy with respect to the use of

campus facilities by corporations and government agencies

for discussion with students concerning career recruitment.

In some instances, the disruption caused by demonstrations

against the presence of partic-

ular recruiters on college grounds

has led institutions to rescind (c)

temporarily their invitations to

controversial recruiters ahd to

re-examine their traditional pol-

icy of extending invitations to

accredited agencies on a non-

discriminatory basis.

Disagreement

The complexity of the problem

is reflected in the differences of

opinion within the academic

community concerning the uni-

_versity's role with relation to re-

cruitment. The American Civil

Liberties Union has given care-

ful attention to the many aspects

of this controversy in an effort

to understand and determine

where the civil liberties and

academic freedom issues lie. We

offer the following conclusions.

On-campus career recruitment

is essentially a service to stu-

dents and not central to the edu-

cational purposes of the univer-

sity. Therefore, college and uni-

versity officials may decide, as-a

matter of institutional policy, to

refuse the use of their facilities

to all recruiting agents of any

category without infringing on

the basic precepts of academic

freedom or civil liberties.

No Discrimination

On the other hand, if the es-

tablished policy of the institu-

tion permits outside

-ment, it is incumbent on the ad-

ministration, in the interests of

academic freedom, to assure that

facilities are made available,

without discrimination, to the

representatives of an y commer-

cial firm or government agency,

including the military, invited

to the campus for that purpose

by any authorized administrative,

Halvonik Speaks At

Public Defender

Convention

Assistant staff counsel, Paul

Halvonik will address the Cali-

fornia Public Defenders Conven-

tion in Sacramento on April 26._

The topic of his speech will be

"Constitutional Challenge to the

Death .Penalty." Halvonik has

been representing ACLUNC in

the ACLUNC-NAACP/LDF death

penalty challenge that resulted

in the stay of all California execu-

tions pending decision by the

State Supreme Court on the con-

stitutional questions.

count of its activities.

out the extra forms for you.

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Dear Friend:

Enclosed is the first of 6 issues of the ACLU NEWS which

you will receive each month, at my request. The purpose of

this subscription is to present you with first-hand information

about ACLU of Northern California and it implies no obliga-

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lead to your support for ACLUNC.

recruit-_

(Signature)

faculty or student group. The

same rules and regulations that

normally govern the appearance

of outside invited persons on

campus should prevail.

The Union believes that any

decision to exclude some recruit-

ers, arising primarily from a po-

litical controversy, poses ques-

tions of civil liberties interest.

Whether based on the imposi-

tion of an ideological test, con-

cern for the physical safety of

its students, disruption of the

orderly processes of the institu-

tion, or protection of students

from the threat of reprisal by

draft reclassification, the bar-

ring of accredited outside agen-

cies strike against the concept of

the open university and the right

of students to hear all points of

view. Moreover, selective exclu-

sions that deny students access

to particular recruiters are dis-

criminatory in their application

and suggest a possible infringe-

ment of the spirit of the equal

protection clause of the Consti-

tution.

Admitting All

For these reasons, it is our

judgment that no issues of civil

liberties are raised if an educa-

tional institution decides as a

matter of policy to admit all ac-

credited agents from the campus

or to admit none, but a decision

to admit some.and exclude oth-

ers would be discriminatory and

an incursion into the basic prin-

ciples of academic freedom.

We also believe that free

speech and academic freedom re-

quire that protests on campus

relating to recruitment by any

segment of the academic commu-

nity should also be fully pro--

tected. This includes all forms of

legitimate protest such as

speeches, peaceful demonstra-

tions, picketing, rallies, etc.

However, demonstrators who are

moved by conscience or the in-

tensity of their convictions to

use means of protest which re-

sult in depriving others of the

opportunity to speak or be heard,

physically obstruct movement or

disrupt the educational or insti- -

tutional process cannot expect

support on civil liberties grounds

and must be prepared to accept

the consequences of their action.

We assume that regardless of the

manner in which protest is ex-

pressed, procedures of due proc-

ess will be strictly observed by

the college and university where

the infractions are charged,

Campus Disturbances

A collateral issue to on-campus

recruitment is raised by the use,

in some instances, of outside po-

lice to quell disturbances on uni-

versity grounds. Traditionally,

universities have been self-gov-

erning institutions which have

settled their internal dissensions

and difficulties through the art

- of discussion and persuasion and,

only when unavoidable, by the

use of campus authority and dis-

cipline. We believe that outside

police should not be summoned

to a campus to deal with internal

problems unless all other tech-

niques have clearly failed and

then only on the basis of rules

made in advance with the par-

ticipation, consultation, and pref-

. erably, concurrence of represen-

tatives of students and faculty

who have been selected in a truly

representative fashion.

-February 19, 1968

Non-Violent Prisoners

Parole Sought at

End of Minimum

Sentence

_The California Legislature has for the past decade been

"waging war on crime." The most popular weapon in its

~-arsenal has been the severe penalty. Legislators have become

more and more skeptical about the efficacy of this weapon

but, with a Westmoreland-like persistence, they have con-

tinued to use it. In the 1967 ses-

sion of the Legislature, for ex-

ample, the minimum sentence for

certain crimes of violence was

raised again, Two legislative re-

ports issued within the past

month have undermined com-

pletely the premises upon which

California's severe penalty

structure is based.

"Credible" Deterrents

One of those reports, "Survey

of Knowledge of Criminal Penal-

ties,' conducted by the Social, .

Psychiatry. Research .Associates

for the Assembly Committee on

Criminal procedure, demonstrates

that severe penalities are not a

greater deterrent to criminal ac-

tivity than lighter penalties. De-

terrents, as all students of mod-

ern diplomacy know, must be

"eredible" in order to be `"mean-

ingful." Said another way, people

have to know about punishment

if they are to be' deterred by its

existence. And, as the Survey ob-

serves, "If the deterrent theory

is valid, persons with the most

knowledge of the penalty would

engage in the least amount of

the crime."

General Public Ignorant :

The Survey discloses that the

general public knows very little

about the penalties prescribed

for specific crimes. In fact 'they

give incorrect answers more than

75% of the time. Those with the

greatest knowledge of- penalties

are those who have been con-

victed of crimes. A number of in-

ferences might be drawn from

this fact, the one the Survey

draws, that knowledge of penal-

ties comes after the crime, is

the most reasonable. Since the

recidivism. rate is about one-

third it would appear that even

this superior knowledge does not

function as a deterrent.

Penalties Underestimated

Not only is the general public

ignorant of penalties, it con-

'sistently underestimates what

those penalties are. And that por-

tion of the public that most vig-

orously agitates for stiffer pen-

alties is the very portion most

likely to underestimate current

penalties. Nor is the general

public aware that the Legislature

has been raising already high

penalties. A significant number

think the Legislature has been

decreasing penalties.

Conclusion

The conclusion of the Survey

is that severe penalties, since

they are unknown to the general

public, are not a deterrent su-

perior to lesser penalties and

that the Legislature cannot justi- -

fy raising penalties as a political

expedient because the public is

not going to find out about it.

The second report is entitled

"Crimes and Penalties. in Cali-

fornia." It was prepared for the

Assembly Criminal Procedure

Committee by Robin Lamson and

Carol Crowther of the Assem-

bly Research Staff. It points out

that excessive penalties accom-

plish no legitimate purpose; `they

are simply costing this state a

fortune.

Is Crime Rate Rising

The first myth demolished by -

the report is that the crime rate

is rising. Penalties have been

augmented to cope with the al-

legedly growing crime rate. This

growth is not only a source of

alarm for the public at large but,

ironically enough, two-thirds of

those institutionalized in Cali-

fornia prisons who participated

in the deterrence survey ex-

pressed a similar concern.

No Rate Change

According to the California De-

partment of Justice, Bureau of

Criminal Statistics, there has

been no increase in crime but

an increase in the number of

crimes reported. The Bureau's

analysis discloses that:

To the extent that felony ar-

"rests somewhat reflect the num-

ber of persons engaged in serious

crime, it appears that there has

been almost no rate change in

California over the past seven

years, except in the drug area...

Susceptible Group -

The crime problem, however,

is expected to increase greatly

in the next decade. That is be-

cause the younger, "crime sus-

ceptible,' population will be in-

creasing at twice the general

population increase rate, Thus,

in the view of California's Youth

and Adult Corrections Agency,

we will be holding even with the

population growth if the crime

rate increases 60% by 1975. Un-

less we decrease the amount of

time served by offenders we are

going to have a let of people in

institutions seven years from

now, necessitating an increase of

$300 million dollars in annual op-

_erating costs and another billion

dollars in capital outlay. All of

that without any improvement in

community safety. The expen-

ditures will merely maintain

things at the current level.

Nothing Accomplished

Penalties have been increased

on the assumption that the crime

rate is growing. It has not been.

They have also been increased

on the assumption that they

have an effect on the crime rate.

They do not. The Staff report

confirms `the Survey's conclusion

that California's heavy penalties

have accomplished no purpose

`other than keeping people in

prison for a long time. The crime

of assaulting a police officer -

has been increased from a mis-

demeanor to a felony. Since

the increase a Los Angeles po-

liceman (the only _ statistics

available) is almost twice as like-

ly to be attacked. In 1961 the

penality for possession of mari-

juana was raised. In that year

almost 3,500 persons were ar- .

rested for marijuana offenses. In

1966, after the increase, the ar-

rests had jumped to 18,000.

No Legitimate Function

Do long jail sentences serve

any legitimate function? No, says

the Staff Report. They do not

help rehabilitate prisoners. For

-many prisoners institutions are

the least effective rehabiltative

system. Do long sentences, by

isolating offenders; improve

community safety? The answer,

once again, is in the negative.

"Most crime is property crime.

The criminals who commit it are

in the community, not in prison,

and it is highly probable `that

the prison population represents

the least skillful criminals."

Moreover, if community safety

were improved by long prison

sentences then the states, such as

California, with the longest me-

dian period of confinement would

have less crimes `than those with

lower medians. There is no con-

sistent relationship between sev-

-Continued on Page 4

~ dress

Telephone

identification

Case to be Heard

The California Supreme

Court, granted a writ of review

on March 13, 1968 to Fred Hunt-

ley and the American Civil Lib-

erties Union of Northern Cali-

fornia who object to an order of

the Public Utilities Commission

requiring that Huntley identify

himself by name and address in

his pre-recorded telephone mes-

sages.

Anonymity Defended

The ACLU petition charged

that the Utilities Commission had

violated a constitutional right by

dispensing with the right to com-

municate anonymously without

any showing of state interest re-

quiring identification. Huntley,

who uses a recorded telephone

announcement for what are gen-

erally considered right-wing po-

itical messages, does not want to

be identified by name and ad-

because he has been

threatened and bombed on pre-

vious occasions because of his

messages. Also, since the length

of time available in recorded

messages is extremely limited,

he does not want to be told what

he must put in his messages.

No Compelling State Interest

The ACLU takes the position

that if someone wants a message

to be anonymous they have the

constitutional right to keep it

anonymous absent some compel-

ling state interest requiring iden-

tification. In the particular case

at bar, any person legitimately

interested in Huntley's address

and the sponsorship of the tele-

phone messages may obtain them

from the files of the Telephone

Company. ACLU petition pointed

out that this removes any state

interest in having this informa-

tion in the message itself and

that there have been no com-

plaints about the lack of this

information in the message com-

plaints received by the Telephone

Company having been limited to

those which objected to the poli-

tical content. of the messages.

The public Utilities Commission

had claimed that without such

identification some persons might

think the Telephone Company

was in agreement with the mes-

sage, but did not come forward

. with any evidence to support this

hypothetical danger.

The case will be argued before

the State Supreme Court in May

or June of this year. Volunteer

attorney Reed H. Bement will

handle the case for ACLUNC.

New Elections

ACLU Board

_ Membership

Stands

at 38 (c)

In addition to the seven at-large members added to the

board of directors on March 1, the board last month elected

attorney Henry J. Rodriguez of Oakland to a three-year term.

The following persons have been elected to the board from

their chapter areas: Robert C. Dalton, Jr., Stockton; Mrs.

Natalie Dukes, Sacramento Val-

ley; Robert Greensfelder, Marin

County; Francis Heisler, Mon-

terey County; Dr. John Marquis,

Mid-Peninsula; Richard. Patsey,

Mt. Diablo; Eugene N. Rosen-

berg, Berkeley-Albany;

Stevens, Santa Cruz; and Justin

Vanderlaan, Santa Clara Valley.

Mrs. Esther Pike

Fresno County, because of, its

distance from San Francisco, has

chosen not to elect a board mem-

ber. The Sonoma County Council

is represented by Prof. Glenn W.

Price. -

Merryman Resigns

There is presently one vacancy

on the board of directors result-

ing from the resignation of Prof.

John Henry Merryman of Stan-

ford Law School and former

board chairman. Prof. Merryman

has been unable to attend board

meetings since February because

of a teaching conflict. Next year

he will be in Europe. His resig-

nation reduced board member-

ship from 39 to 38.

Last month, the ACLU NEWS

carried detailed biographical in-

formation on only two of the new

at-large members. Since then,

the office has received detailed

Unemployment Insurance

Decision Awaited in

Beard and `Long Hair' Case

A decision is being awaited in the appeal of Stephen

Spangler of Sausalito whose unemployment insurance bene-

fits were discontinued by the San Rafael office of the Cali-

fornia Employment Service because he grew a beard and his

hair was "longer than usual."

The Employment Service `in-

terviewer noted that Spangler

was "seeking work as a manu-.

facturer's representative or sales

manager, which involves public

contact work. Since employers

usually refuse to hire men with

beards or long hair and you re-

fuse to do anything about your

appearance," said the interview-

er, "you have, by choice, limited

your possible labor market to an

extent. that you cannot be con-

sidered available."

Neat Beard

Spangler wears a well-trimmed

full beard. His hair is only slight-

ly longer than most men ordin-

arily wear it. Several similar

cases have arisen at the Tenth

_ and Howard office of the Employ-

ment Service but they were all

successfully disposed of . without

a hearing. The appeal in the

Spangler case was heard by a

hearing officer who himself

wears a beard. At: the hearing,

Spangler was represented by

Ernest Besig, ACLU executive

director,

New Guide-Lines Issued

In consequence of the ACLU's

request that guide-lines be es-.

tablished in such cases for the

area's offices, on February 29, a

1968, Mare W. Johnson, Coastal

Area Manpower. Administrator,

issued the following instructions

to offices under his direction:

"Issues. are raised under the

California Unemployment Insur-

ance Code when a claimant vol-

untarily adopts a standard of ap-

pearance that precluded him

from employment. Resolving

of these issues demands thorough

fact-finding,

sound judgment and the com-

plete absence of any personal

prejudice on the part of the

interviewer.

Job Requirements

"Specific fact-finding should

be directed toward claimants

identifying the job requirements

within the labor market. A dis-

qualification would be in order

when the facts clearly establish

that the claimant has in effect

removed himself from a substan-

tial portion of his labor market." '

Stanley

the exercise of -

biographical information on the

following three new at-large

board members:

' Martin Mills, M.D.

Martin Mills, M.D., of Rich-

mond, was born in Kansas City,

Mo. He received his A.B. and

M.D. degrees from University of

Kansas in 1930 and 1935, re-

spectively. In 1938, he received

a Masters in Public Health from

U.C. at Berkeley. He served as

Chief, Crippled Children's Serv-

ices, State Dept. of Public

Health from 1938-44. He has

served as Health Officer of Rich-

mond, Calif., 1944 to date. He has

also served as School Physician

of Richmond from 1945 to date. -

He has been in the private prac-

tice of medicine in Richmond

since 1952, He is a member of

various medical societies, the

Rotary Club and Richmond Yacht

Club. He has previously served

on numerous social service ~

boards in Richmond.

Mrs. Esther Pike

Mrs. Esther Pike of San Fran-

cisco was born in Washington,

D. C. She took her A.B. at

George Washington University

and did graduate work at George

Washington University Law

School and at Union Theological

Seminary. She did legal editorial

work for several years. She~is

currently a member of the State

Commission on Equal Opportun-

ity in Education and.the San

Francisco State College Advisory

Board. She has been active in

past years on various social re-

lations committees. She has just

been appointed to the Joint Com-

mission on the Church in Human

Affairs of the General Conven-

tion of the Protestant Episcopal

Church.

Joe J. Yasaki

Joe J. Yasaki resides in Rich-

mond but practices law with the

Martin Mills, M. D.

firm of Yonemura and Yasaki in

Oakland. He was born in Los An-

geles and received his B.S, from

UCLA and his LL.B. from the

`University of California, Berke-

ley. He was elected to Phi Beta

. Kappa at UCLA and Order of the

-Coif at law school. He was an as-

sociate editor of the California

Law Review. He served' in the

U.S. Army from 1944-1949 and

again from 1951-1953. He served

as a State Deputy Attorney Gen-

eral from 1957-1961 before going

_into the private practice of law

in 1961. He has held various po- ~

sitions with the Japanese Amer-

_ican Citizens League and was

President of the Nikkei Lions

Club of San Francisco in 1967.

He is presently a director of the

Japanese Chamber of Commerce

of Northern California. -

ACLU NEWS Page 3

APRIL, 1968

John Roderick Peet

Dismissal Urged

In Draft Card

Burning Case

Scheduled for argument in Federal District Court on April .

12 is the motion to dismiss the indictment of John Roderick

Peet who faces a criminal charge for destruction of his draft

card. Peet is represented by ACLUNC staff counsel Marshall

W. Krause who last month filed motions in Federal District

Court to dismiss the indictment

on the ground that it was based

on an unconstitutional statute.

Symbolic Speech

~ The contentions in the ACLU

motion are as follows: (1) The

burning of a draft card is the

kind of communication protected

as speech under the First Amend-

ment to the United States Con-

stitution. The motion states:

"Defendant could have chosen

to hold aloft his notice of classi-

fication at a public gathering and

state `I detest this card because

it stands for an unfair system

which requires young men to

fight in an unjust and immoral

war.' If he had done just this

there is no court in the land

where his conduct would not

find protection under the First

Amendment. Instead, defendant

is charged with having burned

his eard. This burning is no more

than a symbolic or dramatic

means of communicating the

same words as expressed above."

This same issue is pending be-

fore the United States Supreme

Court in O'Brien v. United States

whieh was argued on January

24, 1968 and may be determina-

tive as to this issue in the Peet

case.

Carrying of Cards

`The ACLU motion also points

out Some additional anomolies

in the statute which Congress

passed in a tide of anti-protest

sentiment in 1967. First there

already-is a law which punishes

as.a felony the failure of a per-

son to have his selective service

card in his personal possession.

This statute would seem to reach

any damage caused by the burn-

ing of a draft card, but it has not

been invoked, probably because

of. grave - doubts as to its con-

stitutionality and questions

among government personnel as

_to whether this country will real-

ly tolerate a system whereby all

young "men (and if it can0x2122 be

Mid-Peninsula and

Berkeley-Albany

Elect Officers |

Following their board election

meetings held in February,

Berkeley-Albany and -Mid-Penin-

sula Chapters have now elected

officers, for the. coming year. Dr.

Irving Berg, a physician active

with the Berkeley Chapter in the

`past. and a member of the Board

during 1967, will serve as chair-

`man of the Chapter, with Ken

`Kawaichi, an attorney who has

been `on the legal panel for the

past "two years, acting as Vice-

Chairman `and Legal Coordinator,

Lawrence. Waldron and Eileen

Keech have. been elected as

Treasurer and Secretary, respec-

tively.

Larry Sleizer, newly elected

Chairman of the Mid-Peninsula

Chapter, has been active with

the Chapter for several years,

serving on the Chapter: Legisla-

tive and Membership and Fi-

nance committees, and on the

`Branch. Legislative Committee.

Dr. Bernard Sjoberg, Program

`Chairman for the Chapter in

1967, will serve as Vice-Chair-

"man, Mimi Morse - will .act as

Secretary and. Joy. Rosaaen, as

treasurer. :

AGLU NEWS

APRIL, 1968

Page 4

ee young men, it can be

done to all citizens) can be re-

quired to -carry identity cards

at all times.

Unreasonable. Law

The second anomoly in the

statute is that it punishes the

destruction of any certificate or

card issued by the Selective Serv-

ice System no matter how it

came into your possession and

whether or not it has been super-

seded or made unimportant by

further action of the Selective

Service System, Thus if you find

someone's certificate of classi-

fication you are guilty of a fel-

ony if you throw it in the gar-

bage; the same is true if you de-

stroy your own notice of classi-

fication which has been super-

seded by a _ new classification

card; the same is true if the

parents of a young man who has

been killed in Vietnam destroy

his registration certificate. Since

it is a felony to destroy a card

even though it has no relation-

ship to an individual's obliga-

tion under the Universal Mili-

tary Training and Service Act,

the ACLU motion alleges the de-

privation of due process of law

by legislative action which is ar-

bitrary and without reasonable

relation to some purpose within

the competency of the govern-

ment to require.

. Cruel Punishment.

The ACLU: also: alleges that

the five-year imprisonment

threatened for destruction of a

draft card is cruel and unusual

punishment since it is grossly

disproportionate to the crime

especially in view of the minimal,

if any, governmental purpose

which is served by the statute.

Lastly, Peet is charged with

destroying a "notice of classifi-

cation" whereas the _ statute

makes destruction of a. "`certifi-

cate" a crime. If every, notice or

letter sent by a draft: board is to

be. construed as a. `certificate"

registrants will have piles of pa-

per two and three inches thick to

preserve from all harm' under

penalty of a felony prosecution.

Parole Sought at

End of Minimum

_ Sentence

Continued from Page 3-

erity of penalties and crime rates.

Texas, with the lowest median

time served of large states, re-

ports a crime rate of 1,363 per

population of 100,000. Illinois,

with the highest median, reports

a crime rate of 1,713. Our system

of severe penalties, then, has no

real impact on offenders or of-

fenses.

Proposal

What the reports disclose are

that people are spending a lot

of time in confinement for no

good reason and at a cost that

is astronomical; a cost that will

increase dramatically in the next

few years unless something is

done to change the system.The

Staff report suggests that the

system be changed by releasing

all non-violent prisoners after

they have served their minimum

sentence, This would reduce the

current prison population of 25,-

000 by between 6,000 and 10,-

000 convicts.

Vasconcellas' Bill

Assemblyman John Vasconcel-

las (D.-San Jose) is introducing

legislation designed to accom-

plish that objective. Under the

Vasconcellas bill the Adult Au-

thority would be required, at the

expiration of the minimum sta-

tutory period of a non-violent

prisoner, to grant parole or, if

it should fail to grant parole,

set forth its reasons in writing

for so acting. Vasconcellas' bill

provides something sought by

ACLUNC. A modicum of due

process in parole hearing; a

statement, in writing, of the rea-

sons for denying parole. Another

ACLUNC objective is implicitly

contained in this provision for

with reasons being given in writ-

ing explaining denial, standards

for granting and denying parole

will inevitably develop. No long-

er will the freedom of men turn

on uncommunicated .whim,

~ Great: Savings:

it the bill should become law

it will save the State of California

a great deal of money, some-

thing that ought to intrigue the

Governor. Vasconcellas - would

channel that money into law en-

forcement, where it could have

an effect on the crime rate. Some

of it would be transferred to

the Department of Corrections

for support of: parole activities,

the balance would. be alloeated

to: local: law enforcement -agen-

cies to be used for: technical im-

provements in detection of crime,

apprehension of criminals, im-

prove peace officer training and

increasing the number of peace

officers.-Paul N. Halvonik.

The first right of a citizen

Ts the right

To be responsible

JOIN TODAY

ce 151

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OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

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503 Market Street

San Francisco, 94105

Civil Service Commission

Defies Constitution

At present there is only one person in the United States

who may apply for federal employment without answering

questions regarding political association and beliefs which

a court has found to be unconstitutional. That person is

Steven D. Soltar, a client represented by ACLU attorneys in a

case previously reported in the

News which resulted in an order

and judgement that the ques-

tions were unconstitutional and

need not be answered by Soltar.

The government did not appeal

the decision in the Soltar case,

but it continues to use the same

invalid forms for applicants for

employment.

Questions Changed

Meanwhile in Washington D.C.,

ACLU representative Lawrence

Speiser has been busy working

on the Civil Service Commission

_ to conform its application ques-

tions to the Constitution. The

Commission's latest proposal is

to change its questions to read

as follows: "Are you now or

since January 1, 1967, have you

been a member of 1. The Com-.

munist Party U.S.A. or any sub-

division, 2. An organization that

to your present knowledge ad-

vocates the overthrow of the con-

stitutional form of government

of the United States by force

"Questionable

Literature' in

S.F. High Schools

The ACLU has asked for clar-

ification of directions given on

February 18, 1968, to Senior

High School. Principals and As-

sistant Principals. on "Protocol

for Handling Intrusions in the

Senior High Schools." The in-

structions came from Lewis All-

bee, Assistant Superintendent.

Under the sub-title "Question--

able Literature,' the memoran-

dum reads: "Do not authorize

the distribution of any literature,

posters, or cartoons that are not

in good taste or that are inimical

to the highest ideals of our

American democraticent way of life.

If any of the-literature does fall

in your hands, ' "please have it

sent to the Police Department

for their information."

Why Inform Police?

"What is literature,' asked the

ACLU, "that is inimical to the

highest ideals of our American

democratic way of life? Would

you suggest that literature at-

tacking our -present position in

Vietnam falls within your ban?

Even if this literature does not

satisfy your desires, why in the

absence of any violation of law

should it be turned over to the

Police Department. `for their in-

formation?' "

The ACLU's inquiry also ad-

dressed itself to instructions on

"the discussion of controversial

issues." While supporting free-

dom of speech and a presentation

of all points of view, teachers are

held "responsible for doing their

best to see to it that the conclu-

sions reached by the students are

based on an examination of all

of the facts involved, and are

consistent with the basic tenets

of our free society." (Emphasis

supplied )

Authoritarian Approach

The ACLU inquiry says that

this last quotation "suggests an

authoritarian approach on the

part of the teachers rather than

a fair and free examination of all

of the facts."

As the NEWS goes to press no

response has been received from

Lewis Allbee.

or violence or o t h e r unlawful

means?" If your answer to either

of these questions is `"`yes" you

are supposed to give full details.

The Commission also advises

you that if you have any doubt

about whether to list a member-

ship you should discuss it with

the Commission representative

and that admitted past member-

ship or participation does not

itself disqualify you for govern-

mental employment.

Improper Questions

These questions are still ob-

jectionable intrusions into poli-

tical freedom. The Supreme

Court of the United States has

`been quite clear in ruling that

state governments have no power

to ask these kinds of questions.

of their employees. There is no

reason to believe that the fed-

eral government has any greater

power under the Constitution to

invade areas of political freedom.

Membership in organizations is

information which the govern-

ment has no right to require un-

less it can show a compelling

need to have this information in |

a particular factual situation.

Blanket. questions, asked of all

persons from post office clerks

to eabinet officers, do not meet

this "compelling need" test. The

Supreme Court has also pointed

out that mere membership in an

organization is no evidence that

one subscribes to any illegal pur-

pose which the organization may |

have.

Objectors Welcomed

Any persons who are confront-

ed with this type of loyalty ques-

tion ,by, the, federal. government

and wish to oppose its use should

feel free to contact the Northern

California ACLU office so that

suit can be instituted to obtain

`an injunction to prevent the

Commission from asking these

questions of applicants in the

future.

e

Bricker

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Obtains C.0O..

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Classification

ACLUNC staff counsel Mar-

shall Krause represented Charles

Bricker when he was acquitted

of the crime of failure to report

for induction in a trial before

Federal Judge Alfonso Zirpoli.

Bricker's main contentions were

that the draft board had not fair-

ly considered his claim to qualify

as a conscientious objector. After

Bricker's acquittal, which was on

procedural grounds, he was

again classified 1-A by his local

board in Hayward and he again

requested 1-0 classification as a

conscientious objector, Since the

members of the draft board had

testified against him at his fed-

eral court trial, Bricker tried to

get them disqualified from con-

sidering his new claim, but the

members refused to disqualify

themselves.

Last month, to everyone's

great surprise, the board agreed

with Bricker that he was indeed

a conscientious objector. This is

one of the rare instances where

the Seeger decision, allowing per-

sons who follow no orthodox re-

ligion to be classified as con-

scientious objectors, was actually

followed. No doubt the draft

board was influenced by the fact

that Bricker so strongly believed

in his principles that he risked

criminal prosecution to defend

them. It is pleasant to learn that

some people's minds can be

changed, even if it did take a

massive amount of persuading.