vol. 57, no. 1

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Volume LVII

Rights Day Honors Death Penalty

ma where col-

lege students

have parties and drink

beer to applaud execu-

tions. We are living in an

era when enthusiasm for

the death penalty is terrif-

ically high. That is why I

would go anywhere in

the world to celebrate |

Scharlette Holdman and

Mike Farrell to show

how wrong it is to kill

people to show that kill-

ing is wrong."

With these words,

keynote speaker Brian

Stevenson, Executive

Director of the Alabama !

Capital Representation

Resource Center elo-

quently summed up the

feelings of the 600 ACLU members and

supporters who came to the 20th annual

Bill of Rights Day Celebration to honor

abolitionists Scharlette Holdman and Mike

Farrell with the Earl Warren Civil Liberties

Award.

The December 6 Celebration at the St.

Francis Hotel in San Francisco opened with

an exhilarating performance by three mem-

bers of the NUBA Dance Theatre of

Oakland and a welcome from ACLU-NC

Board Chair Milton Estes. Acknowledging

the Celebration's theme of opposition to the

death penalty, Estes reminded the audience

that _ACLU-NC_ Executive Director

Dorothy Ehrlich had proposed the estab-

lishment of the Death Penalty Project more

than six years ago at a time when "the

resumptions of executions were taken for

6 oy work in Alaba-

january - february 1993

ACLU-NC Chair Milton Estes congratulates honoree

Scharlette Holdman.

granted," based on her foresight that this

issue would play a dramatic role in the

political activity of the state.

Ehrlich's annual report was dramati-

cally punctuated by a slide show, produced

by Field Representative Nancy Otto, with

images highlighting the civil liberties events

of the year. The opening slide portrait of

Robert Harris immediately brought ACLU

activists back to the tragic early morning

moments of April 21, when Harris was

executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin

despite the massive effort to save his life.

Veteran ACLU activist Richard Criley

presented the Lola Hanzel Courageous

Advocacy Award to Monterey Chapter

leader Katherine Stoner, calling her "a per-

son who embodies all the qualities of an

ACLU Board member - thoughtfulness,

New Law in Effect

Students'

Right of

Expression Expands

advisors, the ACLU-NC applauded

the passage of a new law in California

which strengthens students' rights to free-

dom of expression. The measure, SB 1115

authored by Senator Bill Leonard (R-

Upland), reaffirms the guarantees of free

speech under the First Amendment and the

California Constitution for high school and

college students. The new law also specifi-

cally extends free speech protection to stu-

dents who attend private schools and

religious academies as long as the protec-

tions are not inconsistent with the religious

tenets of the institution.

The measure, which received bipartisan

support, was signed by Governor Pete

Wilson on September 30 and went into

effect on January 1. "It is significant that

the Legislature and the Governor have

wholeheartedly embraced free speech pro-

tection and recognized the importance of it

for high school and college students. With

the increasing rise of censorship on cam-

puses, a message needed to be sent to

school officials that abridgement of free

speech rights will not be tolerated," said

ACLU Legislative Director Margaret Pefia

who played a key role in lobbying for the

bill.

The measure breaks new ground for

students of private and religious institutions

by extending guarantees of freedom of

I n a letter to high school journalism

speech and of the press to students in these

schools. Existing California law, Education

Code Section 48907, while providing

greater protection than federal law, applies

only to students in public schools.

"Students should not automatically lose

their right to freedom of expression just

because they are attending a private high

school or college," explained ACLU-NC

staff attorney Ann Brick who wrote the let-

ter to high school journalism advisors.

"This is a significant gain for students at

private and religious institutions."

The ACLU-NC places great importance

on protecting students' freedom of expres-

sion in schools. The Howard A. Friedman

First Amendment Education Project, estab-

lished in 1991 and directed by Marcia

Gallo, focuses on educating high school

students and teachers about their First

Amendment rights. The ACLU-NC has

published and distributed over 20,000 cop-

ies of Kids Have Rights Too...But What

Are They?, a guide to students' rights. In

addition, ACLU-NC attorneys are often

called upon to remind school officials that

the California Education Code prohibits

most forms of censorship in this state and

have challenged school administrators'

attempts to censor student newspapers, lit-

erary magazines, videos, T-shirts and but-

tons.

Mike Farrell accepts his award from Pat Clark.

strategic thinking, bold initiative - in an

extraordinary way."

Stoner, who has been active in the

Monterey Chapter for over a decade, said

that she "accepts the award as a member of

a community of advocates who have sus-

tained me over the years. I thank the

Monterey County Chapter for all the work

we ve done together."

Death Penalty Focus Executive Director

Pat Clark introduced Earl Warren Award

honoree Mike Farrell by reading a letter

from Joe Giarratano, a former Virginia

death row inmate who was granted clem-

ency after a campaign organized by Farrell

and the Virginia Coalition on Jails and

Prisons. "I turned 35 today, some months

No. 1

Foes

after I was supposed to

be dead,' Giarratano

wrote to Farrell. "Thanks

for the efforts you made

on my behalf...for going

into the dark, ugly base-

ment of the death

house...for taking time

out of your hectic life and

schedule to care about

someone you never

met."

Clark said that

Giarratano's description

typified the extensive

efforts that Farrell had

made for condemned

prisoners in several

states, and for Robert

Harris in California.

Farrell, who had just

returned from a United

Nations sponsored trip to

Bosnia and Somalia, drew the connection

between efforts to abolish the death penalty

with the tragedies he witnessed in those

two war-torn nations. "How have we come

here so lonely and so late?," he asked, quot-

ing the poet Maya Angelou.

"It's a good question," Farrell said. "Is

there any difference between the bewildered

eyes of a dying child in Somalia and the

eyes of Robert Harris as he was about to be

put to death?"

Burden of justice

With a scathing eloquence, Farrell

flayed the U.S. Supreme Court decisions

Continued on page 3

| ig 8S provided by the ACLU-NC

bylaws, revised in 1980, the

ACLU-NC membership is

entitled to elect its 1993-94

Lo Board of Directors directly. The

Nominating Committee is now seeking

suggestions from the membership to fill

at-large positions on the Board.

ACLU members may participate in

the nominating process in two ways:

1. they may send suggestions for

_ the Nominating Committee's considera-_

tion by April 23, 1993. (Address sug-

gestions to: Nominatin Committee, -

4 . _ being entitled to cast a number of votes |

_equal to the vacancies to be filled; the

ACLU-NC, 1663 Mission Street, #460,

- San Francisco, CA 94103.

your nominee's qualifications and how

_ the: nominee may be reached. ,

| tions, sign Petitions of nomination, and

_ vote.)

ACLU. member will sclect Board

members from the slate of candidates

nominated by petition and by the

Nominating Committee. The ballot will

appear in the July/August 1993 issue of

the ACLU News. -

Article VII, Section 3: The final

es ACLU Board Elections

additional nominations.

nominations are proposed by Board

Include

`urrent ACLU members are those

wip have renewed their membership

| during the last 12 months. Only current

members are eligible to submit nomina- _

report of the Nominating Committee to

nominate members-at-large to the Board

will be presented at the May Board of (c)

Directors meeting [The May Board

meeting will be held on May 13, 1993.]

Members of the Board may propose

If no additional -

members, the Board, by a majority of

those present and voting, shall adopt the

Nominating Committee's report. If

additional nominations are proposed, the

Board shall, by written ballot, elect a

slate of nominees with each member

Board slate of nominees shall be those

persons, equal i in number to the vacan-_

_ cies to be fil illed, who have eceived ae

the person nominated by ae Board as

herein provided, together with those per-

) jominated by petition as ce

or more ipombers of the Union in ae _

_ standing may themselves submit a nom-

ination to be included among those -

voted upon by the general membership

by submitting a written petition to the

_ Board not later than twenty days after

the adoption by the Board of the slate of

Board nominees. No member of the |

Union may sign more than one such

petition, and each such nomination shall

_ be accompanied by a summary of quali-

fications and the written consent of the

nominee.

aclu news

jan - feb 1993

Concord's Anti-Gay Rights

Initiative Struck Down

by Jean Field

n November 16, Contra Costa

Ose Court Judge Ellen James

declared Concord's anti-gay rights

initiative unconstitutional, and issued a per-

manent injunction to prevent it from ever

going into effect. Measure M would have

repealed portions of the City of Concord's

Human Rights ordinance that prohibit dis-

crimination based on sexual orientation,

would have prevented the City Council

from ever passing a similar law, and would

have prohibited the use of City resources

for anything which "promotes" homosex-

uality or bisexuality. Measure M was chal-

lenged by several community organizations

and Concord residents ina lawsuit filed by

the ACLU-NC and cooperating attorneys

from the Walnut Creek office of Morrison

Foerster. The suit was filed in

November 1991, just days after the initia-

tive was passed by a slim margin.

"This ruling is everything we hoped

for,' said ACLU-NC staff attorney

Matthew Coles. "As we saw in the recent

election, this type of discriminatory initia-

tive is the latest fad of the far right.

Decisions like this show that the courts

won't tolerate it, and that is sure to help

discourage future initiatives."

Judge James ruled from the bench that

Measure M was invalid because it singled

out gays and lesbians for special treatment,

ACLU-NC attorney Matthew Coles, Rena Denham and Ron Mullin of Mullin and

Denham, and Gregory Dresser and Kathy Bagdonas of Morrison and Foerster

celebrate on the steps of Contra Costa Superior Court.

Judi M. Parks

repealing only their civil rights protections,

and saying that only sexual orientation leg-

islation could not be passed in the future.

This, the judge ruled, violated the equal

protection guarantees of the federal and

state Constitutions. Judge James also said

the portion of the law prohibiting the City

Council from instituting future protection

for gays and lesbians violated state law, and

that the portion blocking the use of city

resources to "promote homosexuality or

bisexuality" violated the First Amendment.

"Under these sorts of laws, people who

live, work, shop and do business in a com-

munity would be subject to discrimination

and harassment," said Kathy Bagdonas,

cooperating attorney with the Walnut Creek

office of Morrison and Foerster. "We cannot

allow that in Concord, in Colorado, or any-

where `in this country."

A similar anti-gay rights initiative that

was just approved by the voters in

Colorado is also being challenged in court

by the ACLU.

Measure M, which passed by only 42

votes, was placed on the Concord ballot by

the Traditional Values Coalition in

`November 1991. The lawsuit Bay Area

Network of Gay and Lesbian Educators v.

City of Concord, was filed the same month

on behalf of the Bay Area Network of Gay

and Lesbian Educators (BANGLE), the

Mt. Diablo Peace Center, the Contra Costa

Chapter of NOW, and several individuals

who live in Concord. In response to the

suit, the Contra Costa Superior Court

issued a _ preliminary injunction 0x00A7 in

November 1991, which prevented the

measure from going into effect.

In addition to attorneys Matthew Coles

and Kathy Bagdonas, attorneys Ruth

Borenstein, Gregory Dresser, Erica Grubb,

and Alisa Wynd, all of Morrison and

Foerster, worked on the lawsuit. During the

course of the litigation, Judge James con-

solidated a second suit (Jester v. City of

Concord) also challenging Measure M. The

November 16th ruling is the result of both

suits.

Rights Day ...

Continued from page |

justifying the execution of the mentally

retarded, the young and the innocent.

Speaking to Justice Scalia's statement that

it places too great a burden on our legal

system to determine whether a Texas man

may be executed despite the fact that new

evidence has shown he may be innocent,

Farrell said, "Our system of justice should

not seek to avoid that burden."

The well-known M*A*S*H actor, direc-

tor and human rights activist read a letter

from Tong Yi to Governor Wilder, asking

him to spare the life of Timothy Bunch

who was condemned to death for the mur-

der of Yi's sister. "All of us, my family

believe having Mr. Bunch in jail should be

enough punishment for him. We believe

that Mr. Bunch's repentance will make

peaceful for my sister. 28,000 people got

killed in 1990, my sister was one of them.

All the murderer's lives taken

~ away because they killed, it makes

56,000 lives be gone....it does not

give our family any joy or satis-

faction. It only leaves another

death and sadness to his family.

Perhaps his family's sadness is

deeper and more painful than

ours.

"We want Mr. Bunch to spend

rest of his life that he can able to

smell of roses in May, sunshine

and shadows in July, hear sounds

of leaves on the ground in October

and through the window he can

abe to see white snows falling

down from cell. One human to be

reborn."

[Editor's note: Bunch's clem-

ency appeal failed and he was

executed on December 10.]|

Farrell closed by answering Keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson.

Angelou's poetic question, "We

are not lonely because there is this commu-

nity and it is not too late."

Tellling the truth

ACLU-NC Death Penalty Project

Director Michael Laurence presented the

Earl Warren Award to _- Scharlette

Holdman, a member of Robert Harris's

defense team who has long labored on

behalf of death row inmates in the South.

"Scharlette has taught us all the importance

of telling the truth about the lives of our cli-

Settlement Reached 3

Attire No Basis for Denying

-~Admission to Theme Park

ings Entertainment Company, the

Ke of Santa Clara and Santa

Clara County and 17 individual

plaintiffs represented by the ACLU-NC,

the San Francisco Lawyers Committee on

Urban Affairs and Wilson, Sonsini,

Goodrich and Rosati announced on

November 1 that they. settled a lawsuit

stemming from a screening procedure in

place at the Great America theme park dur-

ing the 1990 season.

The plaintiffs claim that they were

denied admission to or ejected from Great

America on the basis of "gang attire." The

ents even if no one's listening - because

someday, someone may hear us and a life

may be spared," Laurence said.

"How lucky I am to do this work," said

Holdman, "We try to show love, dignity,

compassion and respect for the least among

us."

Holdman shared images from her years

of work with death row inmates and their

families: a 6-year old Mexican Indian child

Continued on page 4

lawsuit, Garcia vy. Kings Entertainment,

which was filed in Santa Clara County

Superior Court in 1991, sought monetary

damages and injunctive relief against Great

America as well as both the City and

County of Santa Clara.

The complaint alleged that the "gang

attire" judgments were based in part upon

race, sex and age and noted that the vast

majority of those excluded or ejected were

young minority males. The complaint also

alleged that excluding people solely on the

basis of their appearance and not for any

misconduct was arbitrary and unlawful

under the Unguh Act.

"The fact that you were young, minor-

ity and male greatly increased your chances

of being excluded," explained ACLU-NC

staff attorney Ed Chen.

"We're very pleased with the settle-

ment,' Chen added. "We thought Great

America's policy was discriminatory in its

impact."

Kings Entertainment Company main-

tained that the 1990 security precautions

were implemented solely as a lawful and

good faith effort to protect park guests

from possible disorderly gang-related con-

duct. The park objected to allegations that

the practice was arbitrary or unlawful or

- was directed toward excluding minorities.

The park voluntarily ceased the security

practice at the end of the 1990 season after

discussions with the ACLU, the Lawyers

Committee and other civil rights organiza-

tions, and before the lawsuit was filed.

Kings, however, refused to compensate the

individuals for the discrimination and

humiliation they suffered. At that point, the

ACLU filed the lawsuit seeking damages

and other relief.

The settlement was reached after a

mediation conducted by retired Santa Clara

County Superior Court Judge R. Donald

Chapman. Its terms are fully satisfactory to

the parties, but by agreement are confiden-

tial. According to court records cited in the

Daily Journal, one of the minor plaintiffs

was awarded $19,375 plus $5,263 in attor-

neys fees.

ihe AGEW and the lawyers

Committee applaud. Kings' decision to

enter into this settlement. Great America

will continue to maintain park security

through a conduct-based admissions policy

of ejecting unruly guests rather than

through an attire-based admissions policy.

The ACLU and the Lawyers Committee

fully support such a policy and hope that

other businesses and amusement facilities

will likewise halt or refrain from using

exclusionary policies on "gang attire."

aclu news

6 issues a year: January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August,

September -October, and November-December.

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Milton Estes, Chairperson

Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Director

Elaine Elinson, Editor

Nancy Otto, Field Page

ZesTop Publishing, Design and Production

1663 Mission St., 4th Floor

San Francisco, California 94103

(415) 621-2493

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

and 50 cents is for the national ACLU bi-monthly publication, Civil Liberties.

aclu news

jan - feb 1993 3

Jury Awards Family $600,000 for Illegal.

Search by State Agents

by Jean Field

n a quiet September evening in

QO 1988, law enforcement agents

broke down the doors of a house

in a residential neighborhood of Richmond

and held the family at gunpoint and then in

handcuffs as they ransacked and destroyed

personal possessions during an_ illegal

parole search involving one of the resi-

dents. In an unprecedented victory for state

civil rights laws, on December 10 a Contra

Costa Superior Court jury awarded Bettye

Davis and her family $668,000 in damages

for the violation of their civil rights by the

California Department of Corrections offi-

cers. :

The lawsuit, filed in September 1989

by the ACLU-NC and cooperating attor-

neys from Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro,

charged that officers from the CDC's

Special Services Unit, which targets parol-

ees suspected of lawbreaking, violated the

rights of Bettye Davis and her family dur-

ing a 1988 parole search involving Davis's

husband.

"This is the first such verdict against

the CDC's Special Services Unit, and to

our knowledge the first time a relatively

new state civil rights law (Civil. Code

Secion 52.1) has been used to award dam-

ages against a law enforcement agency,"

said ACLU-NC attorney Ed Chen. "The

jury's verdict sends a strong message that

law enforcement officers must comply

with the Constitution, and individuals do

not lose their rights simply because they

live with a parolee."

The jury, which deliberated for four

days before reaching a verdict, heard testi-

mony describing how 12 officers from the

CDC and Richmond police department

burst into Davis's home with their guns

drawn, without a warrant, warning or prop-

erly identifying themselves. During the

search, which lasted more than an hour,

officers handcuffed Davis and her 18-year-

old son, and at gunpoint ordered her 5-

year-old stepson to sit on the couch without

speaking. Davis's 15-year-old son, who

came home during the search, was detained

outside, forced to watch his belongings

being ransacked on the lawn in full view of

his neighbors. Officers destroyed many of

the family's personal belongings, confis-

cated Davis's credit cards, and scattered the

ashes of her deceased former husband

around the bedroom floor.

"The police came in and handcuffed me

and my son like we were criminals," said

Davis. "We had done nothing wrong, and I

couldn't sit back and let them get away

with it."

Corrections officials said the search

was prompted by a tip that Davis's current

husband Wendell Justice, who had recently

served a sentence for assault, was violating

his parole by engaging in drug-related

activity. Justice was arrested but released

three days later with an apology after offi-

cers found no signs of drugs.

Davis's accounts of the violence of the

incident were strengthened by videotape

made by a television crew filming the

search for a police docudrama called

"Trackdown." For his closing arguments,

cooperating attorney Mark Schallert of

Pillsbury Madison and Sutro used clips

__ from the video that directly contradicted the

testimony given by CDC officers. At one

point, officers stated that they had knocked

on Davis's door, identified themselves, and

gave her time to answer before they

decided to forcibly enter her home. On the

video, however, an officer told the camera

crew that he planned to use his special

"door key," and the camera switched to a

closeup of his boot. The video recorded the

officers crashing into the dwelling with lit-

tle warning.

"The fact that the officers allowed these

procedures to be videotaped for a TV show

indicates that such violations are part of the

Department's routine way of doing busi-

ness," said Schallert, who represented

Davis along with Chen and Pillsbury attor-

neys John Leflar and

Bernard Zimmerman.

"Officers are given a lot

of power and no train-

ing. Procedures need to

be established and

enforced that respect the

Consti-tutional rights of

those living with parol-

eS.)

Attorneys will return

to court in January for

Judge Peter Spinetta's

ruling on the injunctive

relief requested in the

lawsuit. At that time,

the judge could order | |

the department to insti- |

tute added training or

guidelines for CDC

officers who participate

in parole searches.

As part of a settle-

ment agreement in

March 1992, the Rich-

mond Police Department, which was

named in the lawsuit for its participation in

the search, agreed to institute such changes.

In addition to paying the Davis family

$50,000, the police department agreed to

put into writing search procedures that

respect the rights of people who live with

parolees, and make sure officers are trained

in their use. The guidelines state that police

officers may not force their way into a

Bettye Davis

Rick Rocamora

home without giving residents reasonable

time to respond, that officers may not pat

down or handcuff anyone but the parolee,

and that they may search only areas and

belongings that they "reasonably suspect"

are occupied or owned by the parolee.

"This verdict restores my faith in the

system," said Davis. "I want to make sure

police think twice before putting someone

else through what I went through."

~

Lawyers Council Launches

Fund Campaign

n January 28, members of the

ACLU-NC Lawyers Council will

pick up the phones and kick off the

1993 fundraising campaign.

Since it was established five years ago,

the ACLU Lawyers Council has involved

the northern California legal community in

supporting the work of the ACLU.

Lawyers Council volunteers. have carefully

developed a wide network of attorneys

ranging from public interest lawyers and

solo practitioners to members of some of

the Bay Area's largest firms. Currently,

there are 240 members of the Lawyers

Council, which is co-chaired by David

Balabanian of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown

Enersen and Susan Harriman of Keker,

Brockett and Van Est.

"The Bay Area has long been home to

one of the most highly skilled and deeply

committed community of lawyers in our

nation," said Balabanian, who has chaired

the Council for five years. "The Lawyers

Council seeks to channel some of that skill

and commitment to the work of the ACLU.

We are proud that many of the Council's -

lawyers are prominent attorneys well-

known for having served the legal profes-

sion with distinction and recipients of

numerous awards and recognition for out-

standing community service."

"I became involved with the Council

after working as a cooperating attorney on a

case protecting privacy rights," explained

Harriman. "I was so impressed by the

importance of the work that the ACLU was

doing that I wanted to contribute. With an

annual budget of $2 million, the ACLU-NC

depends almost entirely on private contribu-

tions from individual donors," she added.

Each year, the 50 members of the

Steering Committee conduct an intensive,

week-long telephone fundraising campaign

for the ACLU-NC legal and public educa-

tion programs. Last year, the volunteers

contacted over 400 lawyers, raising nearly

$50,000 for the second consecutive year.

Their efforts were bolstered by one attorney

who pledged a $12,500 challenge grant.

In addition to Balabanian and Harriman,

the Council's Executive Committee

Co-chair Susan Harriman.

Christina Taccone

includes Ruth Borenstein of Morrison and

Foerster; David Drummond of Coblentz,

Cahen; Gary Ewell of Ewell and Levy; Jim

Finberg of Lieff, Cabraser; Charles

Freiberg of Heller, Ehrman; Mary

McCutcheon of Farella, Braun and Martel;

The experience also renewed Davis's

faith that the jury system can serve African

Americans, despite the injustice typified

by the Simi Valley verdict in the beating of

Rodney King. "I thought, "Here we are

again in Contra Costa County with an all-

white jury.'" said Davis. "My family and

I were the only African Americans in the

courtroom, and I didn't think we would be

heard. But I think the jurors took their time

and did a thorough job."

Davis expressed gratitude toward the

ACLU and cooperating attorneys, whom

she credits for taking her case after many

others had turned her down. "All the other

law firms I called didn't think I had a

case," said Bettye Davis. "I called the

ACLU hotline and within.a week attorney

Ed Chen called and told me the ACLU

would represent me. They were my sav-

ior."

Since filing the lawsuit, Davis has

helped educate other people about the

importance of speaking out when their

civil rights have been violated. She is one

-of the individuals featured in the ACLU-

NC photo exhibit "The Human Face of the

Struggle for Civil Liberties,' and her

image and story is included on ACLU-NC

notecards. Local television stations regu-

larly aired an ACLU-NC Public Service

Announcement featuring her story, but the

PSA was pulled during the trial to avoid

prejudicing the jury.

Co-chair David Palbania

and Ethan Schulman of Howard, Rice.

The Council serves in an advisory

capacity to the ACLU's legal department

_ and assists the organization by identifying

lawyers and law firms interested in taking

civil liberties cases. "Our goal is to increase

the support the ACLU now receives and

expand the roster of cooperating attorneys,"

explained Harriman.

If you are interested in becoming a

member of the Lawyers Council, or

would like more information about

Lawyers Council activities, please con-

tact Development Associate Sandy

Holmes, (415) 621-2493.

New Board Officers

he ACLU-NC Board of Directors

| has elected its officers for the com-

ing year. They are Milton Estes,

Chair; Vice-Chairs: Margaret Russell

(Chair of Legal Committee), Fran Strauss

(Chair of Development Committee,

JoAnne Lewis (Chair of Field Committee),

Beverly Tucker (Chair of Legislative

Policy Committee); and Tom Lockard,

Treasurer.

In addition to the officers, the following

Board members will serve on_ the

Executive Committee: Barbara Brenner,

Marlene De Lancie, Luz Buitrago, Davis

Riemer, and Jerry Ellersdorfer.

National ACLU

ACLU-NC_ Board member Barbara

Brenner was elected in a national ballot to

serve as an at-large member of the national

ACLU Board of Directors. Margaret

Russell, the affiliate's representative to the ~

national Board, was elected to serve as a

national Vice-Chair. In addition, affiliate

activist Anne Jennings continues to serve

as an at-large member of the national

Board and Chair of its Nominating

Committee. :

ACLU-NC Board Chair Milton Estes

was invited to join the ACLU national

-committee to.select the recipient of the

Roger Baldwin Medal of Freedom Award.

aclu news

jan - feb 1993

CFP '93

9-12 MARCH 1993

BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA

Some of the topics will include:

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*ELECTRONIC VOTING

cent CENSORSHIP AND FREE SPEECH ON THE NET

centPORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST ON THE NET

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centMEDICAL INFORMATION AND PRIVACY

0x00B0 THE MANY FACES OF PRIVACY

*THE DIGITAL INDIVIDUAL

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eINTERNATIONAL DATA FLOW

The Third Conference on

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SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT MARRIOTT HOTEL

0x00B0GENDER ISSUES IN COMPUTING and TELECOMMUNICATIONS

*THE POWER, POLITICS and PROMISE OF INTERNETWORKING

This conference is

co-sponsored by

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_INFORMATION

For more information on the

__CFP'93 program and advance

registration call or write to:

CFP'93 INFORMATION

2210 SIXTH STREET

BERKELEY, CA 94710

(510) 845-1350

cfp93 @well.sf.ca.us

protested the "English-Only"

rules at the University of

California at San Francisco.

inside, and on the back flap

present the story of the indi-

vidual pictured. Each

ACLU Notecards

Send a message celebrating champions of civil liberties with

notecards produced by the ACLU-NC. The high-quality cards fea-

ture five moving portraits by Rick Rocamora which are part of

the ACLU-NC photo exhibit "The Human

| Face of the Struggle for Civil Liberties."

| The ACLU-NC clients pictured are Fred

| Korematsu, who fought the internment of

| japanese Americans during World War II;

| Bettye Davis, the Richmond woman whose

home was subjected to a brutal and uncon-

stitutional search by police; Larry Brinkin, .

who was denied a three-day funeral leave

after his longtime lover died; Chiyuka

Carlos, one of the young African American

men denied entrance to Great America

because they fit a so-called "gang profile";

and Yolanda

Cortez, a hospital dietitian who

The cards are blank onthe |

wrapped set contains five dif-

ferent portraits plus envelopes. To order

send a check or money order for $5.00 (per set),

plus $1 postage and handling, to: ACLU-NC Publications, 1663

Mission St., #460, San Francisco, CA 94103.

Rights Day...

Continued from page 2

who was beaten on his first day of school

for speaking his mother tongue and who is

now facing a death sentence; a 72-year old

mother walking eleven miles every week to

read the Bible to her son on death row; a

shackled inmate walking down the corridor

at Angola State Prison to meet with

Holdman to ask for legal help for the oth-

ers on. death row who could not read or

write.

"The last image is of Phyllis Naidoo, a

South African living in exile whom I met

in Zimbabwe," Holdman said. "She intro-

duced me to tribal women from South

Africa who had been told their sons were

executed, but did not believe it because they

were never given their bodies.

"T thought of them this spring because

San Quentin would not return Robert's

body to his family. Just like in South

Africa, the abuse is extended to the con-

demned's family. They denied the funda-

mental right of bringing the person home."

Keynote speaker Stevenson reminded

the audience that when there is widespread

acceptance of capital punishment "we have

to struggle to understand and learn how to

respond. When we execute someone, we

are saying life has no purpose. I have never

met anyone who's life did not have pur-

pose or value, where there was no possibil-

ity of redemption."

Stevenson said in all the difficult work

Bill of Rights Day Celebration photos by

Laura Trent

Paul Kantner

that he has done in defending condemned

inmates, "nothing was more difficult than

reading the U.S. Supreme Court decision in

McCleskey, rejecting the argument of racial

bias in death sentencing. The Court said

that `certain disparities based on race are

inevitable.' The same court ruled that in the

context of education, racism is unconstitu-

tional,' Stevenson noted, "`but in the con-

text of the death penalty it is simply

inevitable."

He also raised the issues of the state

executions of the mentally ill and victims of

child abuse. "I have had to tell an Alabama

mother that the only reason that her 15-year

old son faces the death penalty is because

he was born in the United States. In Iraq,

China and Russia they cannot execute chil-

dren.

"Society did nothing when these kids

were 3, 7, 9 and 12 and yet is willing to

take their life now."

Chapter Meetings

(Chapter meetings are open to all inter-

ested members.Contact the Chapter acti-

vist listed for your area.)

B-A-R-K (Berkeley-Albany-Richmond-

Kensington) Chapter Meeting: (Usually

fourth Thursday) Volunteers needed for

the chapter hotline - call Florence

Piliavin at 510/848-5195 for further

details. For more information, time and

address of meetings, contact Julie Houk,

510/848-4752.

Earl Warren (Oakland/Alameda

County) Chapter Meeting: (Usually sec-

ond Wednesday) Meet on Wednesday,

February 10 and March 10) Chapter

Hotline, 510/534-ACLU is now available

24 hours.The Earl Warren Chapter is

looking Hotline volunteers. For further

information, call Irv Kermish at 510/836-

4036.

Fresno Chapter Meeting:(Usually third

Wednesday) -Meet on Wednesday,

January 20 and February 17 at 7:00 PM at

Glendale Federal Bank/Community

Room, 4191 N. Blackstone at Ashland,

Fresno. New members welcome! For

more information call Nadya Coleman at

209/229-7178 (days) or A.J. Kruth at

209/432-1483 (evenings) or the Chapter

Hotline at 209/225-3780.

Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter

Meeting: (Usually first Thursday) Meet

on Thursday, February 4 and March 4, at

7:00 PM at the ACLU Office, 1663

Mission, 460, San Francisco. For more

information, contact Tom Reilly, 510/

528-7832.

Marin County Chapter Meeting: (usu-

ally -Third Monday) Meet Monday,

January 25 and February 22 at 7:00 PM,

Westamerica Bank, 64 East Blithedale,

Mill Valley.For more information, con-

tact Richard Rosenberg at 415/434-2100.

Mid-Peninsula (Palo Alto area)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually _ last

Thursday) Meet Thursday, January 28 and

February 25 at 7:30 PM at the California

Federal Bank, El Camino Real, Palo

Alto.New members welcome! For more

information, contact Paul Gilbert at 415/

324-1499 or call Chapter Hotline at 415/

328-0732.

Monterey County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Monday) Meet Monday,

February 15 at the Monterey Library,

Community Room, Pacific and Madison

Streets, Monterey. Annual Meeting on

Sunday, January 24 at 1:00 PM.Election

of Board and award for high school essay

contest to be given. For more informa-

tion, contact Richard Criley, 408/624-

7562.

Mt. Diablo (Contra Costa County)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Thursday) For more information, call the

Hotline at 510/939-ACLU.

North Peninsula (San Mateo area)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Monday) Meet on Monday, January 18

and February 15 at 7:30 PM. at Planned

Parenthood. Note: The North Pen

ber:415/579-1789. For more informa-

tion, contact Audrey Guerin at 415/574-

4053.

Field Program

Monthly Meetings

Field Action Meetings (c)

Chapter has a new Hotline num-

North Valley (Shasta, Siskiyou,

Tehamaand Trinity Counties) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Wednesday) For

more information contact interim

Chairperson Tillie Smith at 916/549-

3998.

Redwood (Humboldt County Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Monday) Meet

Monday, February 15, 1993 at 7:15 PM at.

the Arcata Library. For more information

contact Christina Huskey at 707/444-

6595.

Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting:

(Usually second Wednesday) Meet on

Wednesday,February 10 and March 10 at

7:00 PM at the S.M.U.D. Building,

Training Room A, 59th and "S"

Streets,Sacramento. For more informa-

tion, contact Ruth Ordas, 916/488-9956.

San Francisco Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Tuesday) Meet on Tuesday,

January 19 and February 16 at 6:45 PM at

ACLU Office, 1663 Mission, #460, San

Francisco. For more information, call the

Chapter Information Line at 415/979-

6699. -

Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting: |

(Usually first Tuesday) Meet on Tuesday,

February 2 and March 2 at,7:00 PM at the

Community Bank Building, 3rd Floor

Conference Room, corner of Market/St.

John Streets, San Jose. Contact John Cox

at 408/226-7421 for further information.

Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Tuesday)Meet onTuesday,

January 19 and February 16. Chapter will

continue to work on combating Hate

Crimes. Contact Simba Kenyatta, 408/

476-4873 for further information.

Sonoma County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Wednesday) Meet on

Wednesday, January 20 and February 17

at 7:30 PM at the Peace and Justice Center,

540 Pacific Avenue, Santa Rosa.The

Sonoma County Chapter will host its

Annual Dinner on Friday, January 29,

1993 at the Sebastopol Memorial Veterans

Building, 282 High Street, Sebastopol.A

No-Host bar begins at 5:30 PM, dinner at

7:00 PM. Tickets (without advance reser-

vations) are $15. Children under 16 are _

$5. Vegetarian meals and child care will be

available only if requested in advance.

Send name, address, telephone number

and check to ACLU of Sonoma County,

P.O. Box 14181, Santa Rosa, CA. 95402. J

No tickets will be mailed. Call Steve

Thornton at 707/544-8115 for further

information.

Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Thursday) Meet on Thursday,

January 21 and February 18. For more ~

information, call Cathy Dooley at 916/

753-6696 or the Chapter Hotline at 916/

756-ACLU. :

(All meetings except those noted will be

held at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663

Mission Street, #460, San Francisco.)

Student Outreach Committee: Meet

on Saturday, February 20 from 10:30 AM

to 12:00 PM. Contact Marcia Gallo at

ACLU-NC_ 415/621-2493, for additional

information.

Stevenson said his work on the death

penalty has given him a new perspective on

the Montgomery Bus Boycott. "Just like

with us, there was a lot of hostility - but

their incredible commitment gave a new

sense of awareness. That was nearly a year

of walking three or four miles to work,

working 11 hours, then walking home

again. As a boycotter said then, `My feet

are tired, but my soul is rested.' If your

soul is rested, you can keep on struggling."

Recalling the horrifying time of the

April execution, Stevenson concluded,

"The execution of Robert Harris is a seed

that will plant some hope, that will teach us

how to teach others."

His sentiment of hope was echoed in

the closing set by musicians Paul Kantner,

Jack Casady and Tim Gorman who per-

formed poetry by the revolutionary

Guatemalan poet Otto Rene Castillo and

sang America: "Something's happening in

America - can't you feel it? Can't you feel -

it coming? Young people with visions and

dreams, don't be afraid of anything -

don't be afraid of anyone!"

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

Piriree hi

NUR 1 WE Ral

0 |

= = Cal

WILL WE REMEMBER ELTA AS THE END OF AN ERAS

UR HOPE is that the new federal administration, elected on a promise of change, will end the

overwhelming hostility toward defenders of the Bill of Rights on a national level. After twelve years

of unrelenting assaults on civil liberties, that possibility of change inspires us-all, especially those of

us in California who-often alone and out of the mainstream - consistently raised our voices of

dissent to oppressive and discriminatory government policies.

For the people of California, 1992 may not only be remembered as a time of change, but also as a year

when we faced a series of significant defeats. It will surely be remembered as the tragic year that our state

resumed executions after a quarter century. The gas chamber killing of Robert Harris was a devastating blow to all

those who value justice and mercy.

This year was also marked by other blows to civil liberties. Just a week after Robert Harris died in the

gas chamber, people' outrage at the acquittal of the Los Angeles police officers in the beating of Rodney King was

"met by mass arrests and a State of Emergency imposed by the Mayor of San Francisco. At the end of its session,

the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Casey decision, leaving the right to reproductive choice hanging by a thread.

The Governor of California vetoed a comprehensive civil rights bill which would have advanced the housing and

employment rights of women, minorities, lesbians and gay men, disabled people, and those who speak languages

other than English. In the fall, the Mayor of San Francisco placed Proposition J on the ballot, a measure which

passed and attempts to prohibit the poorest among us from asking for help and cynically pits the haves against

the have-nots.

Yet none of these assaults on civil liberties has gone unchallenged. In our Highlights of the Legal Program, you

will read about the federal class action lawsuit we filed to challenge the mass arrests of the Rodney King demon-

strators. You will see our successful lawsuit to ensure that minors in California have access to safe and legal abor-

tions and our groundbreaking work to protect drug addicted pregnant women from being victimized by criminal

~ sanctions. Despite the failure of civil rights legislation that would prohibit English only regulations at the work-

place, we won key court rulings to protect workers who speak in languages other than English. And we have per-

sisted in our efforts to protect the rights of people with AIDS, minority youths, immigrants, students, prisoners,

the poor and other vulnerable sectors of the population who have been singled out for persecution in these_

- difficult times. :

At this moment, when spirits are high and our hopes for a brighter future seem nearly possible, our battles

in California will continue. While none of the strategies discussed in this report on California activity will auto-

matically be settled due to the changes in national leadership, we recognize the tremendous opportunities for

advancing a more expansive civil liberties agenda in the future. We are grateful that our extraordinary legal staff

and cooperating attorneys stand ready to take advantage of these opportunities.

As we share with you the highlights of our legal work, we recognize that our ability to lead these efforts in

northern California depends upon the collaboration of our staff, board, volunteers, chapter activists, a national

network of ACLU affiliates, the coalition members we work with, and our members and contributors who make

all of this possible. We thank you all for allowing the good fight to continue and, hopefully, to prevail.

ad

. Dorothy M. Ehrlich ee Milton N. Estes

Executive Director Chair, Board of Governors

ee

HE ACLU-NC LEGAL DEPARTMENT is staffed by five attorneys: Ann Brick, Edward Chen,

Matthew Coles, Margaret Crosby and Alan Schlosser. The responsibilities of the Managing Attorney

are rotated among the staff counsel yearly; in 1992, Alan Schlosser served as Managing Attorney. In

addition, the Legal Department includes the Death Penalty Project, directed by Michael Laurence,

assisted by Anne Heitbrink, and the Police Practices Project, directed by John Crew. The staff attorneys are ably

assisted by Frances Beal and Leah Nestell .

The Legal Department also oversees the work of the Complaint Desk, which is supervised by Lisa

Maldonado. The Desk, staffed by a dozen volunteer counselors, receives more than 200 calls and letters each

week from people who feel their rights have been violated. Advised by the staff attorneys and law students who

clerk for the ACLU-NC during the year, these lay counselors screen requests for assistance and often provide the

advocacy needed to resolve particular grievances.

We share the accomplishments of our legal program with more than 100 dedicated lawyers who donate

their services to the ACLU-NC as cooperating attorneys. Two-thirds of our cases this year were handled by coop-

erating attorneys working with staff counsel. Without their expertise and advocacy, the ACLU-NC would not be

able to address many pressing civil liberties issues. A list of the 1992 cooperating attorneys and firms is at the end

of this report.

DEMONSTRATORS

"State of Emergency"

his year, San Francisco

witnessed the greatest

crackdown on dissent in

recent memory: As

protesters organized to raise their

voices against the unjust Simi Valley

acquittals of the police beating of

Rodney King, the Mayor and law

enforcement officials issued a "State of

Emergency" and arrested more than

1,500 demonstrators.

The actions of the Mayor and the

Police Department from April 30 to

May 8 claimed a special victim: the

First Amendment and its guarantee of

our rights to freedom of speech and

freedom of assembly.

The ACLU-NC responded

quickly to this chain of events,

lobbying for an immediate lifting of

the curfew and State of Emergency,

speaking out at public hearings and

in the press, and interviewing those

falsely arrested and detained.

In September, the ACLU-NC

issued a 35-page report "State of

Emergency: The Attack on Civil

Liberties in San Francisco, April 30-

May 8, 1992," and filed a massive

class action civil rights lawsuit on

behalf of the demonstrators.

The report, which was delivered

to the Mayor, the Board of

Supervisors, the Police Commission

and other city officials, asks them to

respond to specific recommendations.

_ It is intended not only to review the

events and the egregious violations of

civil liberties but to raise an important

warning. What is at stake is the way

future protests, future voices of

dissent and future citizen outrage at

injustice will be dealt with by our city

officials.

' The report notes that Mayor

Frank Jordan's six-month assessment

of his administration cites his "tough,

no-nonsense" stand and the mass

arrests as among his major accom-

plishments. During the period of time

covered by the report, the San

Francisco Police Department arrested

approximately 1,500 peaceful

protesters and innocent bystanders.

That the District Attorney subse-

quently dropped all charges in no

way remedies these egregious

_ violations of individual rights, the

ACLU-NC charges. What the report

makes clear is that city officials,

including the Mayor and the Police

Chief, authorized and applauded a

policy of mass roundups of innocent

people to deter and prevent protest

demonstrations at the very time when

the need to speak out against the Simi

Valley verdicts was at its most critical.

The de facto suspension of the First

Amendment is a power that is denied

to city officials by the Constitution.

We cannot allow the suspension of

civil liberties to become San

Francisco' method of dealing with

exercise of freedom of expression.

The lawsuit, Brown v. Jordan, was

filed in U.S. District Court on behalf

of more than 400 protesters who

were harassed, intimidated and

unlawfully detained by police during

the May 8 protest. These mass arrests

culminated a dramatic ten-day period

of protests, mass arrests, and the

declaration of a State of Emergency

and a curfew. In the early evening of

May 8, approximately 1,000 protest-

ers gathered at Dolores Park for a

march and rally to protest the Simi

Valley verdicts, the previous mass

arrests in San Francisco on April 30

and May 1, racism and police

brutality.

Although the marchers followed

declaration from the court that the

defendants' actions were unconstitu-

tional and unlawful. In addition, the

suit is seeking an injunction restrain-

ing the defendants from engaging in

such unlawful actions in the future,

prohibiting the use of handcuffs in

the painful and injurious way they

were used on the demonstrators, and

requiring destruction of all records of

the arrests.

Anti-war protests

In the aftermath of the Gulf War, two

ACLU-NC suits are still pending in

court challenging attempts by the

military and the California Highway

Patrol to suppress the rights of

protesters who opposed the war.

The ACLU-NC is representing

The ACLU-NC successfully defended journalists Raul Ramirez (above) and Lowell

Bergman in their 16-year long legal battle to affirm the right to a free press.

a route mandated by the police, the

march was persistently disrupted by

police as it headed toward its planned

destination of Duboce Park. After a

police order was given that marchers

should move onto the sidewalk or be

arrested, the police suddenly and

without warning or justification,

encircled a group of more than 400

and refused to let them leave. At no

time did the police declare an

unlawful assembly, order the plaintiffs

to disperse, or give the plaintiffs an

opportunity to disperse. The plaintiffs

were never told why they were being

held. The protesters were arrested,

handcuffed, photographed and

transported to Pier 38 and detained

there until the early hours of the

morning. Within weeks, the District

Attorney dropped all charges.

The class action lawsuit charges

San Francisco city officials and law

enforcement officers with conspiring

to prevent and preventing the

demonstrators from engaging in a

peaceful protest rally and subjecting

them to unreasonable and unlawful

detentions and arrests in violation of

the federal and state Constitutions.

The ACLU-NC suit is seeking

monetary damages for each class

member arrested as well as a

five members of the Veterans Speaker

Alliance (VSA) whose civil rights were

violated during a post-Gulf War

Armed Forces Day Parade in May

1991. VSA was invited to march in

the parade; the group was given

guidelines specifying the size and

style of any posters or banners, but

no explicit reference was made

concerning the content. When the

VSA members displayed their anti-

war messages, the military police

seized their banners, attacked them

and detained them. In Veterans

Speakers Alliance v. Army, filed in U.S.

District Court in December 1991, the

ACLU-NC charges that the veterans

were arrested and unlawfully

detained because of their expressed

opposition to the war. The parade

took place on public streets as well as

on the Presidio and was sponsored

jointly by the city and the military.

Therefore, the parade was a public

forum where the veterans had the

right to express their anti-war

sentiments.

Although the military filed no

charges after the arrests, each of the

five detainees received "bar letters"

prohibiting them from ever entering

the Presidio. The lawsuit seeks

injunctive relief and damages for the

emotional and physical injuries the

veterans suffered.

In Lamperti v. California Highway

Patrol, the ACLU-NC represents three

anti-war protesters who were beaten

by CHP officers in the course of two

separate non-violent anti-war

demonstrations during the Gulf War.

The suit asks for damages against

the individual officers for the

beatings, as well as against the CHP

supervisory officers for failing to

provide adequate crowd control

training and supervision.

The ACLU asserts that peaceful

acts of civil disobedience can never

justify the use of violence by law

enforcement agencies. Such acts of

violence jeopardize First Amendment

rights when unreasonable force is

employed against those expressing

controversial points of view.

ARTS CENSORSHIP

The ACLU-NC successfully protested

the removal of two Dayton Claudio

paintings from the Philip Burton

Federal Building in San Francisco.

Although Claudio had originally been

granted a permit to display his work

in the building' lobby, the General

Services Administration objected to

the content and had the art removed.

One painting, "Madonna," was of a

nude woman and the other, "JFK"

was a collage depicting the Kennedy

assassination.

After negotiations with the

ACLU-NC and California Lawyers for

the Arts, the GSA reversed its decision

and allowed Claudio to display his

work. The two paintings were

prominently on display in the lobby

of the federal building for two weeks

in March.

In July, Attorney General Dan

Lungren sent an intimidating letter

pressuring 18 record store chains not

to sell Ice-T's album Body Count which

includes the controversial track "Cop

Killer." The ACLU-NC responded

quickly to this attempt to censor the

rap musician by sending a letter to

the same music distributors urging

them not to give in to the Attorney

General's mandate of what constitutes

"acceptable" song lyrics. The ACLU-

NCS letter stated that it is irresponsi-

ble to censor Ice-T's message of anger

and frustration and that censoring

music will not make the problems of

racism, violence and police brutality

disappear.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

In a victory against censorship, the -

Tulare County Superior Court granted

a preliminary injunction prohibiting

school officials from preventing the

release of Melancholianne, a student

video about teenage pregnancy. The

ACLU-NC represents four students

who worked on the video which was

censored because it contained some

profanities. The injunction in Lopez v.

Tulare Joint Unified School District

Board of Trustees came just in time to

allow the students to enter their work

in a video competition - and win.

The censorship of the video

would have kept the students from

selling copies to raise money for next

years production and nearly prevent-

ed them from participating in the

video competition.

Despite the fact the video has

already been publicly screened, the

school board is persisting in fighting

the suit. A trial has been set for

January.

PRESS

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court

issued the final order in McCoy v,

Hearst Corporation, ending a 16-year-

old libel suit against two reporters

who published articles in the San

Francisco Examiner which were

critical of law enforcement officers

involved in a Chinatown murder

case. The ACLU-NC successfully

represented journalists Lowell

Bergman and Raul Ramirez in their

long legal battle to affirm the right to

a free press. The Supreme Courts

- final ruling rejecting a request from

the officers to reopen the libel case

was a victory for the First

Amendment. However, such

protracted libel suits can have a

chilling effect on a free press and its

important role in investigative

journalism to expose government

misconduct.

The ACLU-NC is representing

the General Advocacy Assistance

Project (GAAP) and a GAAP staff

member against charges of libel. The

suit, Tepper v. Regents of the University

of California arises from a Street Sheet

editorial in which GAAP criticized a

San Francisco welfare supervisor for

engineering the arrest of a GAAP

client, in violation of welfare

confidentiality regulations. Referring

to a controversial proposed fraud

detection program for welfare

recipients, the editorial questioned

who were the "criminals" and labeled

the supervisor "the Hitler of General

Assistance."

Asserting that the editorial is

clearly a protected statement of

opinion, the ACLU-NC argues that

government officials must expect to

have their actions criticized, even in

harsh rhetorical language. Libel

lawsuits against a small organization

trying to protect the rights of the poor

threaten free expression. The case is

pending in San Francisco Superior

Court.

POLICE COMPLAINTS

In March, the California Court of

Appeals upheld an Alameda Superior

Court judge's dismissal of a malicious

prosecution suit, Villa v, Seeterlin,

brought by an Alameda police officer

against a man who had brought a

brutality action against the officer.

Though this case was dismissed,

the filing of malicious prosecution

actions by police officers is a

troubling trend because these actions

deter people with legitimate claims

from seeking redress from police

misconduct.

By dismissing the suit at an early

stage, the court was telling civil rights

plaintiffs that their settlement will not

be allowed to come back to haunt

them in the form of subsequent legal

harassment.

However, in Fuentes v. Berry, the

California Court of Appeal reversed

the 1990 dismissal of a similar suit by

the superior court in a case where

three police officers sued a woman

for malicious prosecution. The

woman had filed a civil rights lawsuit

against the officers charging them

- with racial discrimination and

brutality. On the eve of the trial, the

woman agreed to settle for an

undisclosed sum of money.

In dismissing the officers' case,

the superior court agreed with the

ACLU that police officers cannot file

i 3 5 S

Dr. Sadja Greenwood and Dr. Alan Margolis joined the legal battles to protect the right to

ruling. The ACLU-NC currently seeks

to obtain access to that opinion.

BEGGING

In a major victory for the First

Amendment rights of the poor, U.S.

District Court Judge Orrick struck

down California' anti-begging law in

September 1991, upholding the

ACLU-NCS position that the law

violates the First Amendment. The

ACLU-NC represents Celestus Blair,

Jr., who was arrested five times in

1988 for soliciting charity on San

Francisco streets while homeless and

unemployed.

The ACLU-NC argued in Blair v.

Shanahan that the San Francisco

Police Department violated the rights

of homeless people by arresting them

for peacefully and passively asking for

choose for all women - especially the young and the poor - as that right is increasingly -

threatened.

malicious prosecution suits where the

earlier civil rights suit had been

settled. The Court of Appeal said that

there were factual questions concern-

ing the terms of the settlement that

must be resolved before the trial

court could evaluate the viability of

the officers' lawsuit.

The ACLU-NC represented a

Catholic priest who was caught up in

a "sweep" implemented by the San

Francisco Police Department in the

Castro District in response to a

demonstration protesting a lack of

government funding for AIDS.

Although the demonstration was

confined to the intersection of Market

and Castro, the police ordered

everyone in the area to leave or go

inside. Father Jim Schexnayder was

one of those who was forced into a

neighborhood restaurant and not

allowed to leave for over half an hour.

The San Francisco Office of Citizen

Complaints (OCC) responded to the

priests complaints by informing him

the police sweep was proper.

Although the ACLU-NC

presented evidence that the wide-

ranging sweep was unjustified and in

violation of the Departments own

rules and regulations, the OCC

determined that the police acted

properly. Under current OCC rules,

there is no further review of the

matter. The rules also deny access to

the hearing officers written opinion

which forms the basis for the OCC

assistance. The ACLU-NC believes

that the police may not arrest people

simply for speech that may make

some members of the public uncom-

fortable because it reminds them of

the existence of poverty in the midst

of affluence.

The City of San Francisco and

the State have appealed the ruling.

TENANTS

In Safadi v. Parkmerced the ACLU-NC

successfully represented San

Francisco tenants who challenged a

lease provision prohibiting them from

posting political campaign signs in

their apartment windows. At

Parkmerced Residential Community,

one of the largest apartment complex-

es in the city, tenants needed the

manager' consent to display signs;

tenants feared if they broke this rule,

they would be evicted. The Court

upheld the ACLU-NCS position that

the rule infringes on tenants' freedom

of expression and that needing

permission to post signs was unlawful

prior restraint.

Just weeks before a mayoral

election, the court issued a

Temporary Restraining Order

enabling tenants to post campaign

signs and subsequently issued a

preliminary injunction. A later

settlement resulted in a stipulated

court judgment granting tenants the

right to have political signs in their

windows.

PUBLIC STREETS

a TS

In a decision supporting freedom of

expression, the Ninth Circuit Court of

Appeals ruled in Guadiya Vishava.

Society v. San Francisco in 1991 that

San Francisco cannot ban the sale of

"message-bearing" T-shirts from city

streets. This ruling upheld the ACLU-

NCS position that the city ordinance

violated the First Amendment. The

city prohibited the sale of advocacy T-

shirts claiming that it threatened the

city's aesthetic beauty and caused

congestion in Fishermans Wharf and

Union Square.

In a case brought by Greenpeace,

the Nuclear Weapons Freeze

Campaign, CISPES, the Lesbian/Gay

Freedom Day Campaign and other

groups, the ACLU-NC argued in an

" . amicus brief that freedom of expres-

sion should not depend on whether

messages are printed on paper or

cloth. The First Amendment protects

all methods of political speech in

modern society, including slogans on

Tshirts. Other measures that do not

infringe on the right to free speech

can achieve the citys goals of

preserving its aesthetic beauty. The

U.S. Supreme Court denied the city's

petition for review.

ANGI IG A NZIS

REPRODUCTIVE

i

n the last day of its 1992

session, when the U.S.

Supreme Court released

its long-awaited opinion

in Planned Parenthood v. Casey

allowing states to severely restrict a

womans right to choose, Chief Justice

William Rehnquist warned ominous-

ly in his dissent that "Roe was wrongly

decided and it can and should be

overruled."

Despite the erosion of reproduc-

tive rights on a national level, the

ACLU-NC has scored some

significant successes in protecting the

right to choose for women in

California - the most significant

being the ruling protecting a minors

right to choose abortion. The ACLU

has filed all California reproductive

rights cases in state court, relying on

our state constitutional right to

privacy since federal constitutional

protection for the right to choose is in

serious jeopardy.

-Leading reproductive rights

attorney Margaret Crosby also serves

as legal counsel to the California

Coalition for Reproductive Freedom,

providing constitutional analysis of

potential litigation and responding to

inquiries and problems experienced

by health professionals and clinics.

She also serves as consultant to

lawyers in other states about state

constitutional litigation to protect

reproductive rights.

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