vol. 47, no. 4

Volume XLVII

Bilingual Ballot Probe Blastec (c)*

"The U.S. Attorney's investigation of

bilingual ballot seekers is blatantly

discriminatory on. racial and ethnic

grounds and has a serious chilling effect .

on persons who wish to exercise one of

our precious democratic rights - the

right to vote."

_ This statement from ACLU-NC Ex-

ecutive Director came in response to

U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello's in-

vestigation of people who request bil-

ingual voting materials in nine counties

in northern California.

The bilingual ballot probe became

public when an Oakland Tribune

reporter revealed that Russoniello had

sent a letter on April 19 to district at-

torneys in nine counties in his jurisdic-

tion which provide bilingual voting

materials - San Francisco, Contra

Costa, Alameda, Santa Cruz,

Monterey, San Mateo, Napa, Sonoma

and Santa Clara - asking them to

compile the names of all persons re-

questing bilingual voting information.

Twenty-five names selected at ran-

dom from the list were.to be submitted

to the U.S. Attorney who would then

check them against the records of the

Immigration and Naturalization Ser-

vice to determine whether or not those

persons were eligible to vote.

Russoniello warned the district at-

torneys not to make any statement to

the press about the investigation

"because of the sensitivity of this mat-

tere"

Upon learning of the investigation,

Ehrlich and ACLU-NC staff counsel

Alan Schlosser sent a letter to Rus-

soniello to "protest against the covert

investigation" and to `"`cease im-

mediately your program of review and

investigation of persons using bilingual

election materials."

"There is a long and dishonorable

history in our country of scapegoating

the foreign born and racial minorities,"

the ACLU letter stated. ""To commence

such an effort with a clandestine fishing

expedition targeted against an entire (c)

class is to ignore the constitutionally-

mandated principle that fundamental

rights such as voting must be regulated

only by the least drastic and intrusive

means.

"Last week, a similar group of per-

sons was targeted by another federal

agency in the "Operation Jobs' cam-

paign. The workplace raids and deten-

tions by INS personnel spread a great

deal of fear and panic among foreign

born and non-English speaking per-

sons. It is hard to believe that it is just a

coincidence that another federal agency

is immediately following that campaign

with an analogous sweeping raid on the

ballot box which again casts a net of

suspicion and surveillance over the

same segment of our population,"

Ehrlich and Schlosser wrote.

The ACLU was joined in protesting

the investigation by many community

and civil rights groups including

MALDEF, Chinese for Affirmative Ac-

tion, the Asian Law Caucus, and the

Police Drop Libel Suit

Against Gay Paper

Police officers who claimed they were

libeled by a San Francisco gay com-

munity newspaper, the Bay Area

Reporter (BAR), have suddenly drop-

ped their $20 million dollar libel suit

against the paper.

The ACLU was defending the BAR

against the multimillion dollar libel suit

filed by two police officers in October,

1981. Two San Francisco police of-

ficers, backed by the Police Officers

Association, claimed that they had been

libeled in a BAR aarticle entitled,

"SFPD Brutality Aired, Toklas Club

Envisions Review Board to Curb Rising

Aggressiveness Against Gays' which

appeared in the May 21, 1981 issue.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge

Ira Brown had twice granted the

ACLU's motions to dismiss the case on

grounds that the police officers had fail-

ed to state facts entitling them to

damages. Both times the court had

allowed the police officers time to

amend their complaint against the

paper. After Judge Brown granted the

second motion on April 16, the police

officers decided to drop their suit.

According to ACLU-NC staff counsel

Amitai Schwartz, `"`We said when the

case was first filed that it was an at-

tempt to intimidate the people of San

Francisco from speaking out against

police brutality.

"We can now confirm that this police

libel suit was a case of harassment plain

and simple against the Bay Area

Reporter. At first the police claimed

they were injured to the tune of $20

million because of a newspaper article

- and now they just drop the case. Ap-

_ parently they got all the mileage they

could out of their $20 million price tag

last fall and once their allegations were

put to a legal test they walked away

from the case.""

A second police libel suit, Falzon v.

Schell, was also dropped by the police,

even before it went to court.

In this case, San Francisco Police In-

spector Frank Falzon was suing Randy

continued on p. 4

Hispanic Coalition for Human Rights.

On May 7, the ACLU-NC and

MALDEF filed a lawsuit (Olagues v.

Russoniello) in U.S. District Court

seeking to halt the U.S. Attorney's

probe. The class action suit on behalf of

persons who request bilingual ballot

materials and_ those

which register Spanish and Chinese

speaking voters argues that the in-

vestigation unconstitutionally focuses

ry (Check one) {[-#}/- Yj

| prefer election materials

in - REEL...

CI) He Ti Ht

(J English

OD) Espefol

on `particular racial and ethnic groups

and.casts a chill and a stigma over those

seeking to exercise their right to vote.

, On May 13, U.S. District Court

Judge Spencer Williams denied the

ACLU request for.

Restraining Order, asserting that he

felt it improper for the court to inferfere

with the U.S. Attorney's investigative

process.

Attorney Schlosser said, "I find it

disappointing that the court did not

agree that there is a chilling effect right

now on Chinese and Spanish speaking

-voters to exercise their First Amend-

ment rights."'

The U.S. Attorney moved to dismiss

the case; a hearing on that motion has

been set for May 21.

Legislative Hearings

Also on May 21, in response to

widespread public protest, the Califor-

nia Assembly Elections and Reappor-

tionment Committee will hold hearings

on the ballot probe.

Committee Chair Richard Alatorre

said, "I think it is important that the

many persons who have been denied an

opportunity to meet with the U.S. At-

torney to air their grievances be able to

do so in order for us to determine if

legislation is neded to insure that per-

sons are not.deterred from requesting

the bilingual materials to which they

are entitled under the Voting Rights

Act.

Although this is the only geographic

area in which such an investigation is

being carried out, the ACLU and other

groups have called on U.S. Represen-

tatives Don Edwards, Chair of the

House Subcommittee on Civil and Con-

stitutional Rights to hold hearings on

this matter at a Congressional level.

"We know that as a staunch advocate

for civil liberties in Congress, you

recognize the clear danger this in-

continued on p. 3

organizations (c)

a Temporary -

| INS Rass |

`Racist'

The massive raids staged by the Im-

migration and Naturalization Service

(INS) on workplaces throughout the

country during the last week of April

brought a strong protest from the

ACLU-NC and the national ACLU.

"The ACLU believes that the Ad-

ministration is playing havoc with

peoples' rights to score a public rela-

tions victory,' wrote ACLU national ex-

ecutive director Ira Glasser in a letter to

President Reagan, Attorney General

William French Smith and INS Com-

missioner- Alan C. Nelson. "It is

scapegoating undocumented workers in

an effort to shift the blame for the Ad-

ministration's dismal failure to cope

with increasing unemployment."

The ACLU letter noted that serious

civil liberties violations occurred in the

course of the raids including:.

e agents reportedly apprehending

only. "`foreign-looking'' workers, which

the letter describes as "`discrimination

pure and simple, not the even-handed

application of the law required by the

Constitution's equal protection

guarantee.'' Hispanic workers seemed

to be the sole targets.

cent the raids were designed and carried

out to terrify the suspects. Teams of up

to 20 agents jumped out of cars, charg-

ed into factories, sealed off exits and

lined up all "foreign looking"' people.

0x00B0 Mexican workers in particular were

pressured into waiving their rights to

counsel and coerced into agreeing to

immediate deportation.

neighborhoods inhabited by the foreign

born.

Glasser added, "`It is no coincidence ~

that `Project Jobs' was staged while con-

gressional hearings on the Simpson-

Mazzoli, bill are in progress. The cur-

rent raids are apparently designed to

garner public support for the employer

sanction section of this ill-advised

legislation which the ACLU is on record

as-opposing. "

The INS raids were carried out in

nine areas - San Francisco Bay Area,

Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los

Angeles, Detroit, Denver, New York

and New Jersey. In northern California

over 500 persons were seized by the INS

in workplaces in Oakland, Santa Rosa,

and Petaluma.

The ACLU-NC has been working

with other legal and minority rights .

groups to monitor the civil liberties

violations and is considering litigation

on behalf of persons who were seized in

the raids.

aclu news

may 1982

Landmark Death Penalty Case Argued

In an attempt to stop the first state

execution in California in 15 years, the

ACLU-NC has filed an amicus brief on

behalf of condemned inmate Robert

Alton Harris in the U.S. Court of Ap-

peals for the Ninth Circuit. The hearing

was held on May 11.

Harris was scheduled to be executed

in the gas chamber at San Quentin on

March 16. Four days before the death

sentence was to be carried out, the

Court of Appeals stayed his execution

to permit Harris to appeal his sentence

to that court.

A joint friend of the court bie by the

ACLU-NC and the California State

Public Defender's Office is supporting

Harris' appeal prepared. by San Diego

`"`The ACLU believes

that

sentenced is unconstitutional. Although

three justices of the California Supreme

Court agreed with that argument, the

majority of that court voted to uphold

the statute. No federal court has ever

reviewed the California death penalty

statute, so the Harris case has become

the test case for the constitutionality of

the law.

"For the past ten years, the U.S.

Supreme Court has insisted that the

death penalty must be imposed fairly

and evenhandedly or not at all," ex-

plained Deputy State Public Defender

Michael Millman. "`The Harris appeal

-argues that unlike every other state,

California lacks the procedural protec-

tions necessary to ensure that there is a

capital punishment

epitomizes all that is brutal, unthinking, vicious and

degrading in the administration of justice."'

attorney Michael McCabe.

ACLU Executive Director Dorothy

Ehrlich explained, "`The failure of the

courts and the legislature to recognize

the inherent unfairness of the death

penalty has led us through nearly a

decade of tortured wrestling with the

impossible goal of establishing fair

rules for legalized murder.

`The ACLU opposes capital punish-

ment. The ACLU opposes - state-

sanctioned programs that deny the

value of human life by intentionally

choosing to put some people to death.

The ACLU believes that capital punish-

_ ment epitomizes all that is brutal, un-

thinking, vicious, and degrading in the

administration of justice," Ehrlich add-

ed.

death penalty law under which he was

Ce ee ee ee ee

ACLU-NC Ballot Card :

The ACLU-NC Board has taken a position on three of the initiatives on

Harris' appeal asserts that the 1977

meaningful basis for distinguishing the

few cases in which the death penalty is

imposed, from the many where it is

not

Millman explained that in other

states several procedural protections

have been adopted in death penalty

cases. These include a requirement of

jury unanimity on the basis for the

death penalty, clear objective standards

to guide the jury in their penalty deci-

sion, and some statewide appellate

review mechanism to ensure that the

death penalty is not being arbitrarily or

capriciously applied.

The California death penalty statute,

which includes none of these procedural

protections, is not significantly dif-

ferent from the laws held unconstitu-

tional by the U.S. Supreme Court in

1972.

2 a os a os oy

the June ballot. The ACLU-NC urges you to vote NO on Proposition 1, 4 8

g and 8. All three of these measures would erode the hard-won constitu- 0x00A7

tional rights of the people of this state - and would do nothing to stop #@

crime. - ;

Proposition 1

The Prison Construction Bond would cost at least $1.1 billion to build g

more prisons. New prisons would have no impact on current over- 0x00A7

crowding. California is already locking up more people everyday without 0x00A7

affecting the crime rate. The prison population jumped from 21,000 fo

29, 000 i in the last-three years while the crime rate didn't fall.

Proposition 4 NO

Xx]

= SS se aE

This proposed constitutional amendment would bring preventive i

detention to California, and deny persons merely accused of acrime the g

right to bail on the grounds that they may be a threat to public safety. This g

measure would do away with the presumption that a person is innocent 0x00A7

until proven guilty.

Proposition 8 -

4

This panoply of measures touted as the ``Victims Bill of Rights'' would

amend the state Constitution, Penal Code and Welfare and Institutions

Code in a way that would play havoc with our fundamental rights. The g

measure would open the door for illegal searches, allow for ``preventive i

dentention'' of innocent persons, undrmine the right to a fair trial,

remove legitimate grounds for defense, and hold out false hopes of 4

restitution for crime victims. .

NO

x]

ee ee ee ee

Take this card with you to the polls!

For more information on these ballot issues, call the ACLU-NC at

415/621-2488.

NO BE

"Given these apparent flaws, it 1s

_ most distressing :that the district court

allowed Harris to come within four days

of an execution without any federal

review of the law under which he was

sentenced,'' Millman added.

_ The joint amicus brief was prepared

by Charles Sevilla, Ezra Hendon, Eric

Multhaup and Millman of the State

Public Defender's Office and Amitai

Schwartz, ACLU-NC staff counsel. The

brief supports Harris' request for the

appellate court to send the case back to

the U.S. District Court in San Diego for

an evidentiary hearing with the ultimate

objective of having Harris' death penal-

ty set aside.

Harris was sentenced to death by the

San Diego County Superior Court in

March 1979. In February 1981, his

death sentence was upheld by the

California Supreme Court. Since then

he has sought review of his conviction in

various state and federal courts. Two

previous execution dates have been

stayed to permit Harris to seek review.

When the state courts denied his

habeus corpus petition, he filed a

habeus petition in the U.S. District

Court for the Southern District of

California. It was the denial of that

petition by Judge William Enright on

March 12, 1982, that set the stage for

Harris' appeal to the Ninth Circuit.

Justice Dies

The ACLU-NC mourns the passing

of California Supreme Court Justice

Mathew O. Tobriner who died on April

7. Justice Tobriner wrote some of the

major high court opinions defending in-

dividual rights over the last two

decades, including the ACLU-NC case

CDRR v. Myers upholding the right of

every woman in the state to have an

abortion regardless of economic status.

There will be a tribute to Justice

Tobriner in the next issue of the ACLU

News by ACLU-NC Vice-chairperson

Jerome B. Falk, Jr.

New Members, Treasurer on Board

In March, the ACLU-NC Board of

Directors selected William McNeil and

Steven Owyang to serve on the Board.

Owyang, an attorney with the state Fair

Employment and Housing Commission

told the ACLU News, "I am particular-

ly concerned with church/state issues."

An expert in the field of employment

discrimination, Owyang also hopes to

""do some bridge-building between the

ACLU and the Asian community."'

Attorney William McNeil is a

Regional Counsel for California Rural

Legal Assistance. McNeil said, `I want

to help bring the minority viewpoint to

the ACLU-NC Board and to ensure that

the concerns of minorities are address-

ed.

The two new Board members fill the

vacancies created by the resignation of

Antonia Radillo and Michael Vader

and will each serve a three-year term.

New Acting Treasurer

At its April meeting, the Board of

Directors selected Lisa Honig as the

new Acting Treasurer due to the

resignation of Treasurer Alvin H.

Baum, Jr., who has served as the

organization's treasurer for over five

years.

The Board passed a special resolu-

tion for Baum, who is leaving the

ACLU-NC for an extended stay in

Paris, France, thanking him for his ex-

traordinary contributions to the finan-

cial health of the organization. Calling

Baum the "creme de la creme," the

Board particularly noted his foresight

in establishing an endowment fund to

protect the future of civil liberties and

cited him as "a leading force in the

establishment of our Major Gifts Cam-

paign, assuring its extraordinary suc-

cess through his personal generosity

and by uncovering that same generosity

in others."

Honig, who will be taking over the

financial reins as Acting Treasurer, has

been on the ACLU-NC Board since

1980. and has served on the

Budget/Management and Equality

Committees. As Development Director

for Equal Rights Advocates and a fun-

draising and concert, consultant for

many Bay Area organizations, Honig

brings a wealth of experience and ex-

pertise to the post.

Asked how she felt about succeeding

Baum, Honig said, "I look forward to

the challenge and I feel confident know-

ing the high quality of financial work

done by the ACLU-NC staff.

"Besides," she added,

anything to get to Paris!"'

Under Honig's guidance, the ACLU-

NC is about to launch the 1982 Major

Gifts Campaign and is beginning to.

make plans for the annual Bill of Rights

Day Campaign.

"TIL do

aclu news

8 issues a year, monthly except bi-monthly in January-February, June-July,

August-September and November-December

Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Davis Riemer, Chairperson Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Director (2).

Marcia Gallo, Chapter Page ig

ACLU NEWS (USPS 018- 040)

1663 Mission St., 4th floor, San Francisco, California 94103. (415) 621-2488

`Membership $20 and up, of which 50 cents is for a subscription to the aclu news

and S0 cents is for the national ACLU-bi- pay pee Civil Liberties.

Elaine Elinson, Editor

Suits Clear Mall Paths for Protestors

by Kathy Cramer

The ACLU-NC Shopping Center Pro-

ject scored three major victories this

month, insuring access for political

campaigners at shopping malls in Con-

tra Costa, Sonoma and Santa Clara

counties. Martin Fassler, attorney for

' the Shopping Center Project told the

ACLU News that the Sonoma County

Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign,

the California Water Protection Coun-

cil, NOW and the Contra Costa Coali-

- tion Against U.S. Intervention in El .

Salvador can now solicit signatures and

donations at Santa Rosa Plaza, Vallco

Fashion Plaza (Cupertino) and Sun-

valley Shopping Center (Concord)

respectively because of ACLU lawsuits.

Fassler, who has been working with

the Project since January, said, `The

courts have consistently ruled in our

favor, striking down regulations which

place burdensome restrictions on

groups seeking access to these malls."'

`He explained that although many

shopping centers have similar regula-

tions, each mall must be challenged in-

dividually.

pers at Vallco Shopping Center in

Cupertino. ACLU-NC cooperating at-

torney Robert Peterson said, ``The rul-

ing opens the doors to one of the biggest

shopping centers in the area. The

Council averages 300 signatures a day

when they campaign at Vallco."'

Santa Clara Superior Court Judge

Edward Panelli set another hearing in

the case for May 5 to hear further

arguments on Vallco's regulation re-

quiring the group to post a $50,000 in-

surance policy. :

In Contra Costa County, Sunvalley

Shopping Center's restrictions on

soliciting money were struck down as a

result of a suit filed on behalf of the

local chapters of NOW and the Coali-

tion Against U.S. Intervention in El

Salvador. Sunvalley had earlier agreed

to let both groups gather signatures in-

side the mall, but insisted that money

be collected only outside one entrance.

On April 8, Judge Robert Cooney

issued a preliminary injunction ruling

that this restriction violated the groups'

rights. Cooperating attorney Guyla

Ponomareff said, "`We were very

satisfied with the decision.

Campaigners for the Nuclear Freeze ballot initiative won ate Flt to approach

shoppers with their message at Santa Rosa Plaza because of an ACLU lawsuit

against the shopping center's restrictive regulations.

"The shopping centers' efforts to

restrict access are an attack on popular

democratic activity here in California,"

Fassler said. Examples of restrictive (c)

regulations include requiring the name

and address of every group' member -

who will be leafletting, not allowing the

solicitation of donations, and

stipulating that petitioners must stay

within three feet of their table. Fassler

noted that each of the three recent vic-

tories presented slightly different issues

to be resolved by the courts.

On April 15, Sonoma County

Superior Court Judge William Boone

issued a preliminary injunction pro-

hibiting Santa Rosa Plaza from

stipulating that petitioners for the

Sonoma County Nuclear Weapons

Freeze Campaign had to remain at their

~ table and not approach mall patrons.

ACLU-NC cooperating

Marylou Hillberg, who represented the

Freeze Campaign, said, ``Such restric-

tions severely limit the ability of cam-

paigners to communicate effectively

with shoppers. Without that com-

munication, free speech rights become

meaningless."'

On April 27, the California Water

Protection Council won a decision from

Santa Clara Superior Court allowing

Council campaigners to approach shop-

attorney

groups depend to a large extent on-

donations they solicit while gathering

signatures."'

Commenting on the overall success of

the Shopping Center Project, attorney

Fassler said, "`While these victories are

very important, we are still getting calls

from groups who are faced with these

restrictions at different shopping

centers. For example, I recently receiv-

ed a call from the Gray Panthers who

were barred from registering voters at

Florin Mall in Sacramento."

In response to this continuing de-

mand, Fassler indicated that he is

preparing a special packet to aid other

lawyers in filing similar suits. A pam-

phlet will also be made available to peti-

tioners alerting them to unconstitu-

tional restrictions they may potentially

face at shopping malls.

Staff counsel Alan Schlosser added,

"Shopping center owners must be con-

vinced by litigation or negotiation that

their regulations have to be consistent

with free speech principles. Hopefully

our continual success in court will con-

vince them to change their regulations

voluntarily. We have been involved in

discussions with some centers which we

hope will end in reasonable rules and

serve as an example to other mall

owners.'

and

These

| _ originated on May 16,

aclu news

may 1982

Anti-Choice Clinic Invaders

Convicted

Anti-abortion pickets who invaded

the Planned Parenthood clinic in:

Walnut Creek, were convicted of

trespass and battery after their attempt

to use. the "necessity defense' was

thwarted by the ACLU-NC. `

ACLU-NC staff counsel Meegaret

Crosby argued in Contra Costa

Municipal Court on May 4 that the

anti-choice defendants' claim that they

were compelled to invade the clinic in

order to prevent abortions from taking

place was totally groundless and that

evidence supporting their argument

that abortion is murder should be inad- (c)

missable.

Superior Court Judge Joseph

Longacre agreed with ACLU arguments

that abortion, under federal and state

law, is not murder but a constitutional-

ly protected right and that evidence for

the necessity defense should not be per-

mitted.

Unjustified Invasion

The case, People v.. Gomez,

1981 when

pickets from an anti-abortion group in-

vaded the Planned Parenthood clinic,

totally disrupting the operations of the

clinic and assaulting several clinic

employees.

According to Crosby, who, with

ACLU-NC cooperating attorney Ellen

Lake handled the case for the ACLU

and Planned Parenthood, ""The defen-

dants attempted to claim that their ac-

tions were justified because all abor-

tions constitute murder.

The necessity defense is a legal device

used when defendants can prove that

they acted in an emergency to prevent

- injury to a person and that they had no

opportunity to resort to the courts. In

California, it has been accepted by the

courts only in cases of prison escape,

when the prisoner has been able to suc:

cessfully. prove that he or she was in im-

minent danger of assault.

Crosby explained, "These defendants

were faced neither with any emergency

nor with a threat of harm to any person.

They had ample opportunity to bring

the suit in court to test any claimed il-

legality occurring at the clinic. They

deliberately bypassed that lawful route,

preferring to pursue disruptive tactics

that interferred with the constitutional

rights of others.

"Abortion is not only not a greater

evil than trespass or battery, it is a con-

stitutionally protected right. To permit

the defendants to justify their intrusion

of the clinic because they believe abor-

tion is murder would be to allow the

beliefs of these defendants to overrule

the highest courts of this country and

state," Crosby added.

The jury trial of the anti- ehoies

demonstrators followed immediately

after Judge Longacre granted the

ACLU motion to eliminate the use of

the necessity defense, the defendant's

main strategy for acquittal.

On May 7, all eight defendants were

convicted of two counts of criminal

trespass and one of them, Raul Gomez,

was also convicted of three counts of

battery.

Earlier in the case, an attenint by the

defendants to subpoena confidential in-

formation about the Planned Paren-

thood clinic's patients and contributors

was also thwarted by the ACLU.

In September 1981, the lawyer for the

anti-choice group, claiming he needed

material for the defense, served a sub-

poena on Planned Parenthood of Con-

tra Costa demanding books, records

and documents showing, among other

-things, the names, addresses, phone

numbers and treatment given to clinic

patients over a two-week period in May,

as well as Planned Parenthood's sources

of income and funds during that same

period.

Cooperating attorney Ellen Lake

argued that the defendants had shown

no compelling interest in obtaining the

names of patients and donors and to

reveal them would violate federal and

state constitutional Hents of privacy

and association.

In November, Judge Longacre ruled

in favor of the ACLU and quashed the

objectionable sections of the subpoena.

Bilingual Ballots

continued from p. 1

vestigation presents to the Chinese and

Hispanic communities in northern

California,"' Ehrlich wrote to Edwards.

The ACLU is also working with other

groups to persuade District Attorneys

in the nine counties not to comply with

providing the names or with pursuing

prosecution. The DA of Contra Costa

County has already refused to provide

the names and San Francisco DA Arlo

Smith has indicated that he will not

cooperate further with the SEITE

tion. ..

It was also learned that Secretary of

State March Fong Eu, Chief Elections

Officer in California, wrote to Rus-

soniello that ``Your investigation has

the obvious and reasonably certain ef-

fect of discouraging naturalized citizens

from registering to vote for fear of trig-

gering a federal investigation which

could prove to be an embarrassment

and an invasion of privacy. Such a con-

cern is not unfounded,'' Eu added,

"given the notorious unreliability -of

INS data."

Many other local, state, and national

. Officials have also protested the bil-

ingual ballot probe. . Congressman

- Philip Burton called the probe a ``thinly

disguised attempt to intimidate

thousands of our fellow American .

voters."" Assemblyman Art Agnos said,

"Combined with the recent federal im-

migration raids on undocumented

workers, your decision brought bitter

memories of racism and repression to

most ethnic minorities in San Fran-

cisco."'

X

U.S. Congressman Peter Rodino, |

Chair of the House Committee on the

Judiciary wrote to Attorney General

William French Smith asking him to

look into the northern California in-

vestigation, adding that "checking

names at random and secretly is chill-

ing to the electoral process."

Protests also came from Speaker of

the Assembly Willie Brown, Oakland

City Council, the Marin Board of

Supervisors, the San Francisco Board

of Supervisors, Mayor Dianne Feinstein

and others. Amanda Metcalf, assistant

U.S. attorney in charge of enforcing

voting rights laws in northern Califor-

nia said ``the investigation is

diametrically opposed to the spirit and

intent of the Voting Rights Act," and

resigned her post.

aclu news

may 1982

Does Your Representative Represent You?

Do you know how your elected of-

ficials voted on major civil liberties

issues this year? You can now get a

comprehensive run-down on northern

California legislators' voting records on

reproductive rights and ``national

security'' issues compiled by the Pro-

Choice Task Force and the Right to

Dissent Subcommittee.

The votes of 67 elected officials from

northern California. on 14 abortion-

related = bills in the: California

Legislature and in Congress are record-

ed.

On the "national security' side, re-

cent votes on the Intelligence Identities

Act and inforrmation about the pro-

posal to establish a new Internal Securi-

ty Committee in the House of Represen-

tatives are included. The latter

measure, H. Resolution 48, was

brought to the House by Representative

Larry McDonald of Georgia and has

' 158 co-sponsors.

The voting records were designed and

. produced by Task Force member Karen

Winner with assistance from Rose

Bonhag, and and can be ordered from

Field Representative Marcia Gallo at

the ACLU-NC, (415) 621-2494.

Election Info

"ACLU's organizing committees

have mounted a concerted campaign to

. BeAek

BOARD MEETING: (Fourth

Thursday each month.) Thursday,

May 27: Thursday, June 24; 8:00

p.m. in Berkeley. Contact Joe Dorst,

415/654-4163.

EARL WARREN

BOARD MEETING: (Third

Wednesday each month.) Wednes-

day, June 16, 7:30 p.m., Sumitomo

Bank, 20th and Franklin, Oakland.

Contact Barbara Littwin, 415/452-

4726.

FRESNO

Interested in reactivating the Fresno

Chapter? Contact Mindy Clark,

209/486-7735.

GAY RIGHTS

SPECIAL PICNIC and Meeting now

being planned for May 23. Contact

Bill Ingersoll, 415/348-8342, for

more information. :

MARIN ~

ANNUAL MEETING planned for

June, with special guest speaker.

Contact Bill Luft, 415/453-6546, for

details.

BOARD MEETING: (Third Mon-

8:00 p.m.. Fidelity Savings,

Throckmorton Street, Mill Valley.

Contact Bill Luft, (number above).

MID PEN

BOARD MEETING: (Fourth

Thursday of each month.) Thursday,

May 27; Thursday, June 24; 8:00

p.m. All Saints Episcopal Church,

day each month.) Monday, June 21; ~

distribute voting record information

Night, and encourage discussion of

reproductive rights and freedom of ex-

pression," said Pro-Choice Task Force

chair Anne Jennings. Dissent Subcom-

mittee chair J. R. Rubin added, "`Get-

ting information out on these issues

during this year's election campaigns is

critical."

Both activist committees are joining

with other local groups throughout nor-

thern California to sponsor public

meetings and query candidates on their

views.

In Davis, Julius Young and Yolo

Citizens for Choice developed and mail-

ed questionnaires on_ reproductive

rights to candidates for local, state, and

congressional seats. Regional coalitions

throughout northern California are now

planning similar efforts.

"Our efforts focus specifically on

reproductive rights and `national

security' measures because we must be

sure that these issues are among those

debated and discussed during the heat

of the 1982 election campaigns," said

`Peter Hagberg. chair of the Field Com-

mittee.

All ACLU members and friends are

urged to contact Marcia Gallo at the

ACLU-NC or your local chapter to

learn more about regional electoral ac-

tivities.

jenna LAC ar

S55 Waverly Street, Palo Alto.

Contact Harry Anisgard, 415/856-

9186.

MONTEREY

BOARD MEETING: (Fourth Tues-

day each month.) Tuesday, May 25;

Tuesday, June 22; 7:30 p.m.

Monterey Public Library. Contact

Richard Criley, 408/624-7562.

MT. DIABLO

BOARD MEETING: (Third Thurs-

day each month.) Thursday, June

17. Contact 415/939-ACLU.

NORTH PEN

BOARD MEETING: (Third Tues-

day each month.) Tuesday, June 15,

8:00 p.m. Contact Richard Keyes, .

415/367-8800.

SACRAMENTO

BOARD MEETING: (Third

Wednesday each month.) Wednes-

day, June 16; 7:30 p.m. New County

_ Administration Building, 7th and I

Streets, Hearing Room 1, Sacramen-

to. Contact Cliff Anderson, 916/451-

5025. ,

SAN FRANCISCO

ANNUAL MEETING: Sunday, June

6, 1:30-4 p.m. "FEELING SAFE. .

.?" will feature Dr. Dan Posin,

_ professor of Physical Science, San

Francisco State University, on `"The

Nuclear Threat to World Survival'

and Dr. Ralph Goldman, Professor

of Political Science, on ``New Ap-

proaches to Arms Control: Building

STOP THE HATCH "HUMAN LIFE"

AMENDMENT (HLA)

ALL ANTI-ABORTION BILLS

RALLY

at

U.N. PLAZA

_ San Francisco

(at Civic Center-BART station, north

side of Market Street, between

Hyde and Leavenworth Streets)

-4:00-7:00 PM -

First day of Senate floor debate

on the Anti-abortion bills

Call 415/552-2000 for exact date

Show your support-wear a light blue lapel ribbon

Police Libel continued from p. 1

Schell for $14 million because of an ar-

ticle that Schell published in the July,

1981 Bay Area Reporter alleging in-

adequate police investigation of the

murder of a gay man.

Falzon filed a libel suit in San Fran-

cisco Superior Court claiming that he

was "injured in his occupation because

it reflects negatively on his ability as a

homicide inspector.'' The ACLU laun-

ched a legal defense on behalf of Schell

in January 1982.

Institutions for Security in a World

of Conflict.'' Also, Fran and Charlie,

the Nuclear Comedy Team. A wine

- and cheese reception will follow the

program; election of chapter board

members will precede the program.

Unitarian Center, Franklin and

Geary Streets, San Francisco. Call

Marcia Gallo, ACLU-NC, 415/621-

2493, or Lorraine Honig, 415/664-

3395, to reserve your seats now, or

write to San Francisco Chapter An- -

nual Meeting, c/o ACLU-NC, 1663

Mission Street, San Francisco

94103.

BOARD MEETING: (Last Tuesday

each month.) Tuesday, May 25;

Tuesday, June 29; 6:30 p.m. Contact

Richard Weinstein, 415/771-8932.

SANTA CLARA

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP

MEETING: Friday, June 4, 7:30

p.m. San `Jose City Collese

Auditorium. GUEST SPEAKER:

ANN FAGAN GINGER; topic,

"New Threats to Civil Liberties.''

Election of new members of: the

Board will also take place. Contact

Jane Miller, 415/327-5400, for more

information.

SANTA CRUZ

BOARD MEETING: (Second

Wednesday each month.) Wednes-

day, June 9; 7:30 p.m. Louden

Nelson Center, Santa Cruz. Contact

Bob Taren , 408/429-9880. .

SONOMA

BOARD MEETING: (Third Thurs-

day each month.) Thursday, June

17; 7:30 p.m. Center for Employ-

ment Training, 3753 Santa Rosa

Avenue, Santa Rosa. Contact An-

drea Learned, 707/544-0876.

Schwartz commented, ``There has

been a definite increase in the number

`of libel and slander lawsuits recently fil-

ed in connection with statements made

in the political process. In the past year

the ACLU has fought libel suits on

behalf of newspapers, reporters, en-

vironmental groups and political cam-

paigners.

"Fortunately the courts remain sen-

sitive to the First Amendment rights at

stake and like the two suits against the

BAR and Randy Schell - they can be

quickly put to rest,' he added.

STOCKTON

ELECTION RESULTS:

Congratulations to new chapter

president Bart Harloe, vice-

president Eric Ratner, secretary

Mary Lynn Young, and treasurer

James Riddles.

BOARD MEETING: (Usually the

first Tuesday each month.) Tuesday,

June 1; contact Bart Harloe,

209/946-2431.

YOLO

BOARD MEETING: (Third Thurs-

day each month.) Thursday, June

20; 7:30 p.m. Contact Julius Young,

916/758-5666.

DEBATE: Victims' Bill of Rights or

Civil Liberties Nightmare? Wednes-

day, May 26, 7:30 p.m. Veterans

Memorial Center, Davis. Special

Guest: Rick Gilbert, Yolo County

District Attorney. Contact Julius

Young, 916/444-2624.

Pro-Choice Task

Force

WRITERS' CRAMP PARTY AND

-POTLUCK: Come ready to write

those pro-choice letters to your

legislators and enjoy wonderful food

and company. Thursday, June 17, 7

p.m. at the ACLU-NC. Contact Bill

Ingersoll, 415/348-8342.

Right to Dissent

Subcommittee

SPEAKERS TRAINING SESSION:

The Right to Dissent Subcommittee

will sponsor a speakers training ses-

sion on "national security' and

freedom of expression issues. Satur-

day, June 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

at the ACLU-NC office. Contact

Jake Rubin, 707/526-3800.