vol. 40, no. 2

aclu

Volume XXXX

February 1975, San Francisco

No 2

Marin sued for unequal maximum

security treatment for women

As a result of a lawsuit challenging Marin County's

unfair treatment of women confined in the county jail,

a Superior Court Judge stayed execution of Charlene

Scott's 10 day sentence pending a hearing on the suit.

Ellen Lake, attorney for the ACLU Foundation's

Women's Rights Project, and Erica Black Grubb,

staff counsel for Public Advocates, Inc., joined in

asking the Marin County Superior Court to prevent

the detention of all women in that county who would |

qualify for minimum security confinement but who .

are under sentence to serve time in the maximum

security county jail. (c)

All women incarcerated in Marin County spend

their time in the congested jail, where they are locked

into cells and guarded by sheriff's deputies. They have

access to the exercise yard only once a week for one ~

hour and they have no dining hall so that they must

eat their meals in their cells, often on their laps. They

may communicate with visitors only through a

telephone from behind a glass panel.

By contrast, most male prisoners are housed in the

county Honor Farm. The farm is located on an open,

grassy plot where they see no bars, no uniforms and no

locks. They have significant freedom to leave the |

facility for work or school. They are allowed contact

visits and substantial recreational opportunities.

Defendants in the case are Marin County Sheriff

Louis Mountanos, the County Board of Supervisors,

the Director of the County Division of Corrections and

the Acting Director of the Probation Department. The

class action was filed on behalf of Charlene Scott and

all other women sentenced to imprisonment in Marin

County and who would, but for their sex, be permitted

to serve their time at the Honor Farm.

Scott, a resident of San Francisco, was convicted of

drunk driving last August in the Marin County |

Municipal Court. She was sentenced to 90 days in the

County Jail which was suspended on the condition.

that she serve 10 days. That sentence would have'

begun on January 31, 1975.

She had applied for and was accepted in the Work

Furlough Program. If she were a man, such ac-

ceptance would have automatically qualified her for

assignment to the Honor Farm. Approximately two-

thirds of the sentenced men serve their time at the

farm.

It is bad enough that women do not have an op-

portunity for minimum security but, in many respects,

women prisoners even receive worse treatment than

men assigned to the jail. Although Sheriff Mountanos

did not allow Lake or Grubb to tour the women's jail,

it is known that it is made up of five cells and a drunk

tank, all enclosed by locked bars. |

There is no space available for recreation, study,

reading or dining. Only two of the cells have tables.

There are 18 beds but the number of prisoners is often

greater than that on weekends. Some must sleep on

mattresses on the floor. The exercise yard is in the

men's facility and is reserved for women for only one

hour per week. Men by contrast have eerequen access

to the yard.

Women prisoners are permitted one phone call a

week while male inmates in the jail enjoy the right to

daily calls. There is no full-time nurse on hand for the

women and only tw of the five cells have televisions.

All of the men's cells have T.V.'s and they have a color

T.V. in the diningroom.

On January 21, the Board of Supervisors voted to

approve the establishment of a half-way house for

female prisoners. The hitch, however, is that the

county wants to wait until it receives a federal grant

which would pay for most of the facility. The suit

seeks to prevent the incarceration of any women in the

Board Nominations

ACLU members are invited to submit

f "nominations for members-at-large to the Board of

Directors of ACLU-NC. There are two ways in

which nominations from the ee membership

_ may be submitted.

Prior to April 1, 1975, members may suggest

names for consideration directly to the nominating

committee. The committee is composed of Board

members Fay Stender and Norvel Smith as well as

general members Rita Friedman, Henry Ramsey

and Gene Rosenberg. The committee will evaluate

the suggestions and then make recommendations.

Furthermore, any fifteen or more members of the

Union may themselves submit a nomination

directly to the Board of Directors. These may be

submitted by sending a written petition no later

than May 1, 1975 to be considered by the Board

_ along with the nominations presented by the

nominating committee.

No member may sign more than one such

petition and each nomination must be ac-

companied by a summary of qualifications and the

written consent of the nominee to serve.

Please send your nominations or suggestions

: to the hominating committee, ACLU, 593 Market

St., Suite 227, San Francisco, CA 94105.

class until that facility is opened. Since the suit was

filed, the Marin County Counsel has indicated a

willingness to agree that the County is not providing

equal treatment to women. If such an agreement is

reached, the County may promise to provide an

improved facility for women and at the same time

suspend all sentences for women until the half-way

house is completed. Should that occur, further court

action may be unnecessary.

Court 4 to expunge arrest records of innocents.

In 1972, California voters passed a

constitutional amendment which added

privacy as one of the inalienable rights

guaranteed to all citizens. As a result,

the California Constitution begins:

"All people are by: nature free and

`independent, and have certain

inalienable rights, among which are

those of enjoying and defending life and

liberty; acquiring, possessing, and

protecting property; and pursuing and

obtaining safety, happiness, and

privacy."

Nearly two years after adoption of -

this amendment, one Joseph J. Loder

was arrested. In the words of the Court

of Appeal, which may be the un-

derstatement of all time, "Loder was

arrested and charged with disturbing

the peace, battery, and resisting arrest.

for attacking a police officer who was .

clubbing Mrs. Loder."'

Seeing that there was clearly no case

against Loder, the District Attorney

dismissed the charges after Loder had

signed an agreement not to sue the

police for false arrest. Following the

dismissal of charges, Loder was not

rehired by the San Diego Unified

School District because of his arrest -

record.

Loder's attorney then returned to the

San Diego Municipal Court asking that

the judge expunge the record. The

judge responded that he had no

authority to do so because the law only

provided expungement in the cases of

juveniles and probationers. Not, ap-

parently, in the cases of falsely arrested,

innocent people.

Loder then sought a writ of mandate

in the Superior Court and was denied.

The California Court of Appeal also

denied relief. Finally, the California

Supreme Court granted a hearing on

the matter.

Last week, the ACLU's of Northern

California and Southern California

combined to file an amicus curiae brief

in Loder's behalf in the Supreme Court.

The brief was prepared by ACLU-NC

- Staff Counsel Joseph Remcho and

Stanford law student, Jeffrey Ross.

They argue that the ballot argument

supporting Proposition 11, the privacy

amendment, provides the clear intent of _

the legislation and must be relied upon

- mere

`in the interpretation of the amendment.

That ballot argument states: "`At

present there are no effective restraints

on the information activities of

government and business. This

amendment creates a legal and en-

forceable right of privacy for every

Californian ... Fundamental to our

privacy is the ability to control cir-

culation of personal information."'

Remcho and Ross point out that

according to the ballot argument, the

maintenance of unnecessary

information is, in and of itself, an

invasion of privacy and prohibited.

They add, that the newly created right (c)

of privacy may be invaded only when

there is `compelling public need."

-"We urge this Court to recognize that

Article I, Section 1 protects each

Californian from the maintenance of an

arrest record when the charges have

been dismissed or he or she has been

acquitted." Remcho and Ross note that

the state of Connecticut already has a

policy of destroying all record of

charges which are dismissed or

acquitted.

In California, the Bureau of Criminal

Statistics reported that in 1971, 21.6

percent of felony arrests were disposed

of by release at the police level. At the

Superior Court level, another 8.2.

percent were dismissed and 5.9 percent

- resulted in acquittal. In 1971 alone, this

means that 56,456 arrest records were

begun on innocent people.

The California Department of Justice

currently maintains criminal records on

about 5,200,000 people. And those

records are widely distributed. The

Department routinely and without any

court order releases "`rap sheets'' to

literally hundreds of state and federal

agencies and to tens of thousands of

individuals.

Included are. all law enforcement

agencies in California, in other states,

in foreign countries and in the federal

government. Also, "law enforcement

agency' is defined very broadly - for

example, all embassies and consulates,

the FBI, the IRS, the Secret Service, the

Treasury Department, the Civil Service

Commission, the Defense Investigative

Service and even the Department of

Agriculture. The list is endless.

continued on page 3

Eb. 1075

~ aclu news

We need you in "45

An unprecedented number of you have already generously responded to the 1975 |

membership renewal Rees We cannot express enough thanks for your con- -

tinued support.

We desperately need the rest of you, however. If you `have not erence yet, please

take a moment, today, to send us your membership contribution. Help us cut the cost

of our April reminder mailing and assure that your money goes toward civil liberties.

We are aware that any contribution places a burden on you in these difficult times,

but please remember that such times also increase the burden on ACLU. Despite the

problems, the coming year provides us opportunities we must be prepared to take

advantage of. The new administration and legislature in Sacramento appear more

open to our views than they have been in many years. We expect. significant gains in

our priority areas' of women' s rights, victimless crimes, prison rights, equality and

privacy.

We have a. great deal of work ahead of us in 1975. The economy will present

massive problems while the political climate mandates that we act forcefully. Please

help us meet these responsibilities. Send your renewal today. |

Involuntary prison transfers

challenged in federal court

Although the ACLU Foundation's

Prison Rights Project has run out of

funding, former Project Director Peter

`Sheehan continues to handle a number

of important cases on a volunteer basis.

The cases, all begun while the Project

was still in. operation, could have

significant impact on the rights and

- freedoms of inmates in California State

Prisons.

In his most recent action, Sheehan :

has filed a motion for preliminary

injunction in U. S. District Court in San

Francisco in the case of Walker v.

Procunier. The class action is being

heard by Federal District Judge Charles

Renfrew. Walker was first filed last July

and it challenges the policies of the

California Department of Corrections

regarding transfers of inmates from one

prison to another. |

Sheehan seeks an injunction barring

any involuntary transfer before the

inmate is granted due process

protections at which he can oppose the

transfer. As an alternative, Sheehan

asks the court to at least bar the

transfer of inmates into San Quentin

prison. ee

Christopher Walker

_ Esters, the two named plaintiffs in the

case, were both incarcerated in the

medium security facility at the

_ California Men's Colony in San Luis

Obispo. Last year, Walker was trans-

ferred to Soledad and Esters to

Quentin.

They found conditions at Soledad

and San Quentin far more debilitating

than they were at the Men's Colony. At

San Luis Obispo, the 2400 inmates were

divided into 600 man "program units."

Each man had his own room to which

he had his own key. Between 6:30 a.m.

and 10:00 p.m., the inmates have

virtually unrestricted access to their

quad, including the day room, the

television room, the showers and the

outdoor exercise yard.

In addition, Walker, Esters and the

other Men's Colony inmates had a

table, bed, toilet, sink with hot and cold

water, earphones with piped-in music,

air ventillation and an outside window

in their rooms. The men were paid

. $7.50 per month for their jobs and were

allowed "`contact'' visits for up to seven

hours at a time. There is also a Family

Visiting Program in which families and

inmates can spend up to 72 hours

and Russel

together. Two weekly phone calls were

allowed and correspondence is

unlimited. Group therapy, psychiatric

counseling and college-level courses are

also available.

The transfers changed life for Walker

and Esters dramatically. At Soledad,

Walker is limited to one-hour visits at

which he is handcuffed and with a

screen between him and his visitor. He .

can only correspond with a list of ten

prison- approved people. His bed is a-

steel-plate, he is locked in his cell 24 -

hours a day except for meals and a

shower three times a week.

At San Quentin, similar restrictions

were placed upon Esters. It is over-

crowded; few cells have only one man.

Prisoners are locked up most of the day,

allowed out only for meals, weekly

showers, and exercise every other week.

Transferred: inmates are denied can-

teen, gym and library privileges and

may be visited only by attorneys. |

_ Neither man was told either before or

after his transfer why the Department

was moving him. Besides the loss of the

more amenable facilities and privileges |

at the Men's Colony, both men are in

greater physical danger of assault or

murder as a result of their transfers.

Furthermore, their chances for parole

are diminished since the rehabilitation

programs which they were involved in at

the Men's Colony are now denied them.

Finally, the transfers placed both men a

greater distance from their families.

"Walker's mother lives in Compton and

Esters relatives are in San Diego. -

In his motion for preliminary in-

junction, Sheehan argues that the

`Department must provide at least

- minimal safeguards of procedural due

process guaranteed by the Fourteenth

Amendment before subjecting inmates -

to the obvious detriments of transfers.

He asks the federal court to find the

Department regulations allowing such

transfers unconstitutional; and to order

the Department to provide inmates with

prior written notice of the reason for the

transfer, a hearing before an impartial

_ board at which the prisoner may

present evidence in his own behalf,

present witnesses, confront persons

urging the transfer, and to have lay

counsel if he is illiterate or the issues are

complex. A written statement of the

final decision of the impartial board

together with the evidence relied upon

ORGANIZATION

Irv Cohen appointed Acting

Executive Director for ACLU

Just as we went to press with the

ACLU News last month, everything

changed. You will recall that we

reported that Alice Daniel had been

appointed Acting Executive Director

by the Board. Alice then ac-

complished the remarkable feat of

"setting up in her new office within a

few days, losing no time in taking on

the enormous duties of her new

position.

| We were still coping with the fact

that newly-elected Governor Jerry

Brown was taking our General

Counsel, Paul Halvonik, away from

us, when word came through that

Brown wanted Alice to move to

Sacramento also. As staff members

and Board members learned the

news, each would semi-audibly

mumble, "Oh well! I guess ACLU's -

loss will be California's gain." It just

seemed the thing to say - tring to be

brave, show a stiff upper lip and all

that.

Paul was appointed as Assistant to

the Governor for Legislative Affairs.

Alice is the- Deputy Legal. Affairs

Secretary where she will work with

Anthony J. Kline, formerly of Public

Advocates, Inc.

_ Happily, all was not despair, the

- resourceful Executive

wasted no time and immediately

arm-twisted Irving Cohen : into

agreeing to serve as Acting Director.

Before Irv had time to come to his |

senses and to reconsider, the Board

of Directors approved the ap-

pointment. There was another

consideration contributing to the

dispatch with which the Board acted

- everyone was afraid Jerry Brown

would hear about Irv and invite him

to Sacramento too.

The net result of all these

machinations was that on February

1, Irv dropped all else and became

the Acting Executive Director.

Fortunately, he had a headstart on

most people. He has been the

Chairperson of the Marin Chapter |

_ cabinet maker at his home in Mill

- Committee -

Irving R. Cohen

twice and a member of the Affiliate

Board for years. In addition, he

has been Chairperson of the

Chapter Committee and a member

of the Executive Committee. He was

also one of the Board members

nominated by the staff to serve on

the Grievance Committee.

When he was not attending ACLU

meetings, Irv was self-employed as a

Valley. He also is the film critic for

the Pacific Sun, a Marin County

weekly. And believe it or not he still

found time to work on a couple of

novels he has been writing.

Irv's aceceptance of the position

was greeted by Board, staff and all

others concerned with both great

enthusiasm and great relief. He has

long been highly respected and

admired by all of us in the ACLU

community who have had the pri-

vilege of knowing him.

We will of course miss the fine

talents of Alice Daniel and Paul

Halvonik who have contributed so

much to the strength of civil liberties

as well as the ACLU. But oh well, I

guess ACLU's loss: is California's

gain. We wish them good luck.

ould ten be provided to the prisoner.

As a result of this fawsuit the

Department of Corrections proposed

new regulations providing at least some

of the due process protections.

However, these new regulations were

rejected at the wardens and superin-

tendants meeting last November. As a

result, the regulations are unchanged as

the matter goes before Judge Renfrew.

The Department insists on continuing

to treat inmates as if they have no rights

and contrary to all notions of

rehabilitation theory. -

Sheehan is presently carrying other

cases aimed at improving the plight of

inmates. In Committee for Prisoner

- Humanity and Justice v. Craven, he is -

`challenging censorship procedures at

Folsom State Prison in behalf of three

organizations and seven inmates. In re

Sangsland is a habeus corpus petition

seeking the right to marry for inmates

and challenging the "civil death"

statute. In another case, he _ is

challenging the appointment of Ronald

Redgan's press secretary, Rudy C.

Garcia, to the Adult Authority just

before Reagan's term expired.

aclu news

9 issues a year, monthly except bi-monthly in March-April, July-August,

and November-December

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California -

Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California

Richard DeLancie, Chairman of the Board, Irving R. Cohen, Acting Director

Mike Callahan, Editor and Public Information Director.

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

Membership $15 and up of which $2.50 is the annual subscription fee for aclu News.

REG AS

Feb. 1975 ag

`aclu news 3

_S.F. appeals federal snjunction halgud Zebra dituct

Last April, following a series of unsolved homocides

and attempted homocides in San Francisco, the Police

Department embarked upon a program calling for

officers in `Interracial areas of the city' to ``stop'"' and

_ make a "`pat search" of black male persons who fit a

general description and two composite sketches of the

so-called `"`Zebra killers."

One week after "Operation Zebra" began, U.S.

District Court Judge Alfonso Zirpoli issued a

preliminary injunction prohibiting further forcible

stops and frisks of individuals by the police in the -

- absence of adequate ``reasonable suspicion" that the

particular individual stopped and frisked "has

committed or is committing a crime.'

Joseph Williams and Leo Bazille, et al. v. Joseph

- Alioto et al. was immediately appealed to the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals by the city. Last month, the

plaintiffs filed their reply to the appeal. They are

represented by the Northern California Police

Practices Project, the ACLU Foundation, the

Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education

Fund, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education

Fund; ACLU-NC Board members Stanley Friedman, "

Jerome Falk and Anthony Amsterdam; as well as

private attorneys Kenneth Philpot and Cecil Poole.

The brief was prepared by Police Practices Project

Director Amitai Schwartz and Stanford Law Professor

Anthony Amsterdam.

Although the police admitted that the Zebra

searches were ineffective and that they were going to

voluntarily cease the program because it was a "waste

of time,"' they have appealed the injunction which

ordered them to do what they said they were going to

do in the first place. Chief of Inspectors Charles Barca

had testified that. they were only testing the Plog edure

for about a week.

During that week, more ian 600 Black men were

`stopped and frisked. Barca admittedt that the stops

generated a "hue and cry raised'by the Black people

of San Francisco" and that Black men were afraid to

_ walk the city streets for fear of harassment by the

police. Others, living in communities around San

Francisco, feared to enter the city.

Following two days of hearings on the plaintiffs'

motion for preliminary injunction, Judge Zirpoli ruled

that the original Zebra procedures, as well as the later

modifications issued by the police,violated the Fourth

and Fourteenth Amendments "`to the extent that they

. authorize and direct the forcible stop of large

numbers of Black male persons who fit the general

description ... without additional reliable evidence

. .known to `the officer (which) creates a reasonable

suspicion that such person has committed or is

committing a crime and that such person is armed

and dangerous."

In the appeal to the Ninth Cri the City presents

two arguments. First, they urge that the Zebra stop-

and-frisk operation was constitutional from the outset

because ``the operation ... consisted of highly

selective, brief investigative detentions' in which a

mere 600 Black peopie were stopped, ``all of whom~

may well have reasonably fit the profile."

Second, city attorneys argue that even if the

procedure was constitutionally defective, they

"voluntarily adopted procedures that remedied any

such defect" with the consequence that Judge Zir-

S. F. Street

Musicians

Conference

Nationally known Sheriff John

Buckley of Middlesex Co. Mass. will

Jail

poli's order was either an abuse of discretion or was

issued in a moot controversy.

Amsterdam responds that no matter hag the city |

interprets the Zebra dragnet, it is at a minimum clear

that the Fourth Amendment has two fundamental

elements: there must be an "individualized basis'' for

the stop; and that basis must consist of ``facts judged

against an objective standard.'' Stops and seizures

cannot be made at the discretion of the police.

He notes that the critical question is whether an

authorization given to police officers to stop all

persons fitting a generalized "`profile'' - a profile so

unspecific that 600 people were found to fit it in a

week - can be judged to rely upon an "individualized

basis" and whether it sufficiently confines "the

discretion of the police."' He urges, "With the utmost

respect, we submit that the question answers itself. If

it did not, history and eel authority both answer it in

the negative."

Amsterdam adds that the city has proposed a

factual argument to which we find response im-

`possible and can only submit it for consideration by

the Court in the terms the city presented it: ``The fact

_ that 600 individuals were detained is not, in and of

itself, evidence that the operation amounted to a ~

dragnet." :

Turning to the questing of the procedural propriety

of Judge Zirpoli's order, Amsterdam quotes the U.S.

Supreme Court when it noted that discontinuation of

illegal conduct on the part of the police provides no

grounds upon which to refuse an injunction, "`since

otherwise they would be free to return to their old

ways."

Lawyer Brent Barnhart i is

ACLU legislative advocate

Brent Barnhart began this month as

Acquitted

Volunteer attorney John Vaisey has

won the acquittal of four San Francisco

street musicians who were accused of

violating city noise ordinances. The four

defendants in the case were Pierre

Baynes, flute; Sam Austin, trap drums;

Robert Burch, saxophone; and ae

`Davis, bongo drums.

_ Vaisey spent several months trying to

get appellate courts to declare the' noise -

ordinance unconstitutional. Austin and

Davis had previously been acquitted of

charges of disturbing the peace. When

it became clear that juries were un-

willing to find musicians guilty of

disturbing the peace, downtown -

merchants persuaded the Board of

Supervisors to pass an anti-noise or-

dinance..

This case was the first prosecution. of

street musicians under the new or-

dinance. The trial lasted five days in the

courtroom of Municipal Court Judge

- Agnes O'Brien Smith. The jury

deliberated three hours before retur-

ning the not-guilty verdict.

Howard Henderson, manager of the

Emporium Department Store, which is

across Market Street from where the

musicians were playing was the chief

complaining witness.

Following the verdict, sheral jurors

told Vaisey their reasons for acquittal.

The jury was impressed by the fact that

accurate testing procedures are almost

impossible on noisy, conjested city

`streets and that police officers are ill-

equipped or trained to follow the

precise scientific techniques required.

Also, they noted that Muni buses,

be the keynote speaker at the April

26th conference on ``How to Change

the Jails' to be held at the University.

of San Francisco. The conference

which grew out of a suggestion made

to the Chapter Committee will be

sponsored by ACLU in conjunction

with several other groups. Among

them are American Friends Service

Committee, Joint Strategy and -

Action Committee, NAACP-Legal

Defense Fund, Young Adult

Network, Lawyers Guild, Committee

for Prisoner Humanity and Justice,

Sheriff Hongisto, and the Com- -

munity Development and Public

Services Program of Lone Mountain -

College.

_ There will be an admission charge

of $5.00 for the one day conference |

which will feature workshops in

Community Organizing, Legislation,

Litigation, Jail Administration, and

| `Community Based Corrections. The

purpose of the conference is prac-

tical. To give people some tools and -

solution suggestions for solving jail

problems in their county. Those

interested in working on the con-

ference or just knowing more about

it can contact Louise Riemer at 547-

1267 or write to Jail Conference in

care of the Affiliate.

although exempt by state law, all have

`noise levels far in excess of the sound

level of musicians or the _ noise

limitations of the ordinance.

RENEW

ACLU-NC's new legislative representa-

tive. He replaces Toby Sherwood who

has moved to the staff of the Assembly

Special Committee on Criminal Code -

Reform. Brent is new to Sacramento

but not to ACLU or to legislatures.

Born in California, he left the state to

go to law school at Indiana University

and he has practiced law in Indiana

since he graduated in 1969. He received

his undergraduate education at the

University of California, Riverside in

Political Science.

Following law school, he worked for a

private law firm in Indianapolis, where -

he did civil as well as criminal work. In

1970, he became a partner in his own

law firm and began handling criminal

cases almost exclusively.

Beginning in 1972, Brent began

handling an increasing number of civil

rights suits. Many of the cases were

appeals involving denials of civil

`liberties as well as several employment

discrimination cases. For the past year,

Brent has served as Staff Attorney for

the Indiana Public Interest Research

Group which engaged in consumer,

environmental and civil rights cases.

He was a member of the Bloomington

Committee and the Committee on Legal

Services and Legal Aid of the In-

_dianapolis Bar Association. In 1974, he

was a candidate for the Democratic

tatty nomination for state represen-

tative.

Brent is rapidly getting acquainted

with his new position and environs. At

least he need not feel alone, he is hardly

the only new face in Sacramento this

-month. We wish him good luck.

Brent Barnhart.

Arrest records

continued from page 1

Virtually every imaginable state

agency has access to rap sheets from the

Legislature to the California School for

the Blind; Deaf and Neurologically

Handicapped as well as school districts (c)

and welfare departments. Glancing at

the list, one can only conclude that

there are absolutely no controls on the

dissemination of arrest records.

_ Anybody can get them.

Civil Liberties Union Screening

Remcho and Ross argue that the

state has made no showing of "com-

pelling public need" for such an

awesome information system. They note

that even Attorney -General Evelle

Younger has recognized that the

maintenance of arrest records presents

a severe danger of "`the improper use of

these records by unscrupulous and

unauthorized persons.'

Remcho further urges the Court to

continued on page 4

Feb 1975 -

aclu news

CHAPTERS

Berkeley-Albany

In addition to the on-going civil

liberties business of the Chapter, the

Board is formulating a major program

to deal with "Right of Privacy' con-

cerns. :

Included in this effort will be a focus

on the privacy rights of juveniles and

teachers within the school system. The

- Chapter will organize panel discussions

in the schools and will assist in the

development of privacy guidelines for

school board adoption.

Computers and their relation to

incursions into privacy rights will be

another significant field of action.

Using local expertise in the computer

field we will attempt to inform the

public of the dangers which this

modern technology poses and what can

be done about it. _

In. the realm of employment and

consumer (credit) privacy, surveys of

local practices. are planned.

Much more is also envisioned in the

areas of government surveillance,

privacy concerns of prisoners, and the

tension between the public's right to

know and the political candidate's right

of privacy.

Persons interested in assisting in the

development of this program and

working with it are encouraged to

attend the next Chapter Board meeting

which will be on Thursday, February .

27th, 8:00 p.m. The meetings are held

at the Unitarian Fellowship Building at

_ Lipton,

A GALA

PART yen

AND BENEFIT FOR THE SAN

FRANCISCO :

CHAPTER.

SATURDAY Maps oi 12, 5-

18:00 P.M. :

AT THE XOREGOS DANCE

STUDIO ,

70 UNION STREET

(Below Telegraph Hill at Battery)

PERFORMERS:

ING COMPANY

} JAMES SMALLEY AND HIS

AUTOHARP |

LENNY MCBROWNE

(EVOLUTION OF

BLUES).

MERLE SAUNDERS |

TONY SAUNDERS

|J.C. BURRIS AND HIS

|" AUTOHARP

AND MORE..........

Admission $2.50 - No Host Bar

Reservations accepted by check

payable to S.F. Chapter ACLU

593. Market St.,

Please enclose self-addressed,

stamped envelope. _

THE

THE XOREGOS PERFORM- :

S.F. 94105.

Cedar and Bonita in Berkeley. Those

unable to attend but interested in

working with us may call 525-0279,

evenings.

Fresno

The Fresno Chapter of the ACLU of

Northern California is sponsoring a

dinner March 10, 1975 to present the

local Civil Libertarian Award. The

Award will be presented to Les and

Paula Kimber Publisher and Editor of (c)

the California Advocate. The dinner

will be at 7:00 p.m. at the Rodeway Inn,

2220 Tulare, Fresno and price for

dinner including tax and tip is $5.25 per

person. Reservations can be made by

calling Jim Smith, 229-6432 or Joan

229-8486. Everyone

couraged to attend.

San Francisco

The newly elected officers of the San

Francisco Chapter Board of Directors

are: President, Ruth Jacobs; Vice

Presidents, Lorraine Honig, Norman

Posner, Peggy Sarasohn; Secretary,

Francis. Strauss; Treasurer, David

Nevins. Committee Chairpersons are:

Priorities, Arthur Brunwasser and

Lorraine Honig; Legislative, Tony

Rothschild; Membership, Bruce

Johnson; Fund Raising, Norman

Posner; Nominating, John Hansen;

Budget, Peggy Sarasohn; Represen-

tative to Chapter Committee, Peggy

Sarasohn. Chapter members wishing to

join any of these committees may do so,

drop the chapter a note indicating your

preferences.

Having learned that the an

Francisco Police Commission was

considering approval of a new set of

policies, rules and procedures to govern

police conduct in San Francisco and

that the Commission intended little or

no participation by the public or in-

terested citizen's groups, the Chapter

passed a resolution which urged the

Police Department to make copies of

the manuals available for purchase;

that the Police Commission ask for

public response and comments and

hold special hearings to receive such

comments before the policies, rules and

procedures are adopted and _ that

sufficient advance public notice to be

provided to all interested persons and

groups before the Commission takes

any action relating to this subject in

order to allow them to prepare com-

ments.

The Board of Supervisors, the City

Attorney's office and the press

responded well and ``we won round

one."

For "round two" the Chapter will

focus on specific issues which strike us

| deserving accentuation, i.e. a) rules

which curtail rights of police officers

regarding travel, law suits, or incurring

| debts; b) Intelligence Unit of Bureau of

Special Services which would be_in-

volved in espionage, subversive ac-

tivities, vice squad, treason, undercover

officers would have a right to detain any

individual for anticipated crimes.

Needless to say ACLU recommends the

| abolishment of this unit. The Chapter

Board will keep the membership in-

formed about actions of the San

Francisco Police Department re _ its

manuals and public hearings.

It is chapter membership renewal

time. Members who renew each year are

is en-

the lifeblood of ACLU. By the way,

have you enrolled a new member lately.

If you need recruitment material please

call the chapter office and we will be

happy to send you as much information |

and material you need.

If you wish to attend a Board of

Directors meeting, please call the

chapter office, 433-2750. We welcome

your interest and your participation.

The Board of Supervisors Fire, Safety

and Police Committee have introduced

- an ordinance designed to prevent and

control the contents of newspaper

racks. The ordinance is extremely

restrictive. If passed, this ordinance

- would threaten the constitutional rights

of freedom of the press and the

economic survival of such publications.

ACLU Chapter position is clear. . .

when those who choose to exercise their

freedoms must bear the burden of.

proving in court that they have the right

of constitutional protection, there is no

freedom. The First Amendment of our

Constitution needs no re-evaluation,

but rather in this case, it needs the

protection by the Board of Supervisors.

The Chapter is on it. ....

`Redwoods

The Redwood Chapter of the ACLU

of Northern California is adopting a Jail

Project study to determine the physical

and administrative conditions with a

view toward making improvements in _

the system as well as channeling in-

formation to the ACLU Jail Project.

Depending on member commitment

they will also incorporate a study of

local police practices for the Jail

Project.

A committee is being formed at

present and chapter members _in-

terested in the project are urged to

contact Danny Ihara, Chapter

Secretary in Eureka. A_ general

-membership meeting on the subject will

be held on Thursday, March 6 at the

Neighborhood Center, 1427 California

St., Eureka at 8:00 p.m. Persons who

have formerly been detainees in the

local jails have been invited to discuss

their experiences and impressions of

their apprehension and. detention.

Additional open-end discussions will be

on the agenda for future meetings with

public officials, administrators and

qualified experts from Humbolt State

University. ~

The Women's Rights Project is

currently being held up dependent on

member interest in developing a

working committee. There are currently

two women's centers in the area. One

each campus and several attorneys who

_ are already involved in women's rights

cases. Support for adoption of this

project should generate public interest

in the problems of affirmative action,

legislative and legal remedies relative to

the civil liberties issues faced by women

as a class. The matter will again come

before the Board of Director at its next

meeting.

Oakland

The Chapter is continuing its work in

- the jail issue. The next jail meeting will

be on February 26th at the law offices of

Harvey Kletz, 5510 College Ave., in

Oakland. Anyone interested in the jail

issue in Alameda County is invited to

come to the 8:00 meeting. The Privacy

Committee will be announcing its next

meeting date at the Feb. 19th meeting.

Alameda County is currently con- .

sidering computerizing the 17 police

record index systems and the Chapter -

committee will give some consideration

to the privacy issue involved here.

Stockton

The Stockton Chapter of the American

Civil Liberties Union will hold its

annual dinner meeting and election of

board members on Friday, February 28.

Raymond College on the University of

Pacific campus will be the setting for

the dinner, which will begin with

cocktails from 5:30 to 6:30, dinner at

6:30, and plans for after-dinner music

and conversation. Robert E. Green

from the Unitarian Church will speak

on the topic, "Is there a place for civil

liberties in America's third century?'

Reservations are being handled by

Arlene Weston, 477-2144 and Janet

Bonner, 477-0324.

Santa Clara

Peter Szego, long-time member of the

Santa Clara Valley board of directors,

will retire from that body with the

expiration of his current term. Szego

plans to devote more of his time to

partisan politics. He has always been

one of this chapter's most valued

members and it is hoped that the

chapter will be able to call on him for

help and advice from time to time.

SCV Chapter has changed its priority

from privacy to police harassment. The

increase in the number of police

complaints from this area have made

this change an inevitable one.

The Cupertino School District has |

"made several books dealing with the

subject of ``Scientific Creation''

available to its schools. The County

Counsel has ruled that the Genesis story

may be taught in social studies classes

as part of a comparative religion study.

The Scientific Creation people feel that

Darwin's theory of evolution and

Genesis should be taught side by side

with ``scientific proofs' for both

`theories'. Members in the Cupertino

School District are being asked to

watch the evolution of these classes by

attending school board meetings. |

The Court Observers program needs

observers. Call M. Spiller 253-2588.

Arrest records -

contuued from page 3

agree that it is a denial of due process to

maintain arrest records while providing

the individual no opportunity to

_ challenge the record. He notes that the

government must be required to

provide a hearing, a chance to challenge

the evidence, etc. before engaging in

any action which is harmful to a citizen.

_ He adds, that certainly is the case with

atrest records.

Quoting from an opinion by Justice

Stanely Mosk in Burrows v. Superior

`Court, which ACLU also participated

in, ``Development of photocopying

machines, - electronic computers and

other sophisticated instruments have

accelerated the ability of government to

intrude into areas which a person

normally chooses to exclude from

prying eyes and inquisitive minds.

Consequently judicial protection of

individual privacy must keep pace with

the perils created by these new devices."