vol. 58, no. 2

Permit No.4424

SAN Francisco, CA

Non-Prorit

ORGANIZATION

U.S. PosTAGE

PAID

Volume LVIII

March - April 1994

No. 2

NCAA Drug Testing Ok'd by High Court

Ruling Reaffirms Privacy Right

by Jean Field

n January 28 the California

QO Supreme Court reaffirmed the

California constitutional right to

privacy, but ruled that the National

Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

could force student athletes to submit to

invasive, often humiliating drug tests.

The ruling in Hill and McKeever v.

NCAA came seven years after the ACLU-

NC filed the case on behalf of Stanford ath-

letes who opposed the random, involuntary

testing. Civil liberties and pro-choice

groups had closely monitored the case

because of its implications for the state

right to privacy, which protects the right of

reproductive choice and issues of lifestyle

and personal autonomy (see sidebar).

"The opinion is obviously a defeat for

student athletes," said ACLU-NC cooperat-

ing attorney Robert Van Nest of Keker,

Brockett and Van Nest, who represented the

Stanford athletes along with Susan

Harriman of the same firm, and ACLU-NC

staff attorneys Ed Chen and Margaret

Crosby. "It's too soon to predict how it will

affect the use of drug testing in general, or

privacy rights in other settings."

Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas wrote

the complex 93-page opinion, which was

followed by a 25-page concurring and

dissenting opinion by Justice Joyce

Kennard and a 74-page dissent by Justice

Stanley Mosk. Although the majority

opinion specifically applies the state

Constitution's privacy clause to private

institutions, it does not require them to

Former Stanford diving team captain Simone LeVant sued the NCAA to stop the

random, inviuntary drug testing of student athletes. Rick Rocamora

meet the strict standards that have been

imposed on governmental invasions of pri-

vacy. Instead of requiring businesses or

other organizations to show a "compelling

interest" for an invasion of privacy, the

court may require only that they show the

invasion is justified by "legitimate inter-

ests" and needs.

Lower standard

In applying that lower standard to the

NCAA drug-testing program, the court

held that the tests did not violate the ath-

letes' "reasonable expectation of priva-

cy,' because sports competition involves

A Review of Our

Legal, Legislative, Educational

Organizing Efforts.

regulation of physical fitness and bodily

condition.

"Tm very disappointed in the deci-

sion," said Simone LeVant, the former

captain of the Stanford Women's Diving

Team who called upon the ACLU-NC in

1987 when she felt her constitutional rights

had been violated by the drug-testing pro-

gram. "The NCAA's monitoring of ath-

lete's urination is degrading, humiliating

and presumes everyone is guilty of using

drugs."

The drug-testing program had not been

used at Stanford since 1988, when the

Santa Clara County Superior Court issued

a permanent injunction blocking its use.

The lower court's decision was upheld in

1990 by the Court of Appeal, which unani-

mously found that the tests were an uncon-

stitutional invasion of privacy. Since the

case went to court, the NCAA has stopped

asking women directly about use of birth-

control pills and has removed some over-

the-counter asthma and cold remedies

from their list of banned substances.

"Tt makes me feel better that there have

been some changes in the program since

the suit,' said Jennifer Hill, a medical stu-

dent at UCLA. Former co-captain of the

Stanford women's soccer team, Hill

became a plaintiff along with football line-

backer Barry McKeever after LeVant

graduated. "But I think there should be

some sort of probable cause before some-

one would be tested for drugs."

Drug education

"Instead of putting so much money

into drug testing, the NCAA should have

started a drug education program," added

LeVant, who is now a paralegal in San

Francisco.

It is unclear how this ruling will affect

drug testing in other settings, or what kinds

of "legitimate interests" will justify inva-

sions of privacy. "This is not a broad-

based approval of drug testing," said Chen.

"The court explicitly differentiated the sit-

uation of athletes from that of employees,

and each case will be evaluated on an indi-

vidual basis. But it could open the door to

invasive procedures in the workplace."

Justice Mosk issued a strong dissent in

the opinion, which accused the court of

setting forth a legal standard that weakens

California's protection for privacy. Hl

2 aclu news

march - april 1994

by Francisco Lobaco

ACLU Legislative Advocate

dominate over policy at the state

Capitol. The high-profile gubernatorial

and state office election campaign will

take center stage, but all 80 Assembly

seats and 20 Senate seats will also be up

for re-election. In addition, the impact of

term limits is taking effect as many long-

time members are ee or we for

different office.

I n 1994, politics will undoubtedly pre-

The ACLU intends to maintain its

leadership role in Sacramento in civil

. We

will seek passage of legislation that both

reforms the Unruh Civil Rights Act and

permits local jurisdictions to enact stronger

civil rights laws than`state law. We will

also actively lobby in opposition to any

efforts to restrict the right to choose an

abortion.

"Tough on crime"

But this election year, perhaps more

than in recent memory, crime-related

issues will dominate the legislative ses-

Legislative Preview

What's on the Agenda in the State Capitol?

The Assembly Pub

expected to t

enforcement po

_ dssue subject to political mani

sion. While crime is always an

recent public and po

Gralidine ir minor drug crimes) where the

Celebrating

Roe v. Wade

Dr. Barbara Staggers (left), Director of the Department of Adolescent Medicine at

Oakland Children's Hospital, spoke about on access to reproductive health care with

a special emphasis on teenagers and women of color.

ver 100 reproductive rights activists

() from throughout California

descended on Sacramento on

January 19 for the Capitol Summit on

Women's Access to Reproductive Health

Care sponsored by the California Coalition

for Reproductive Freedom.

"The wide range of issues covered by

our expert speakers shows how far our

movement has come since the U.S.

Supreme Court first legalized abortion in

1973," said ACLU Legislative Director

Margaret Pefia, Chair of the sponsoring

Coalition. "They also warned of the new

challenges - such as clinic violence and

inclusion of abortion in health care cover-

age under the Clinton plan - that we con-

tinue to face."

Speakers, in addition to Dr. Barbara

Staggers and Ignatius Bau (pictured here)

included Catherine Dodd of the Clinton

Health Care Task Force on National Health

Care Reform; Susan Shinagawa Smith of

the UC San Diego Cancer Center on Breast

Cancer Prevention; and Priscilla J. Smith

from the Center for Reproductive Law and

Policy, on Clinic Violence. Hf

Ignatius Bau, a staff attorney with the

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of

San Francisco addressed the need for

health care coverage for undocumented

women and children.

Photos by: Brenda Romney

ety Committee i 1s

is year's crime

; two prior serious or violent

punishment,

The Assembly Public Safety

Committee, which in the past has taken a

strong civil liberties approach to criminal

justice issues and has prevented passage of

many draconian proposals, is expected to

take a more pro-law enforcement position

on this year's bills. We can expect to see

many more anti-civil libertarian bills being

passed out of committee and eventually

reaching the Governor's desk for signature.

Immigration debate

The debate on immigration-related

issues will continue throughout the year.

Many of the anti-immigrant bills from

1993 most likely will be reintroduced,

including those denying undocumented

students the right to an education and pro-

hibiting undocumented persons access to

emergency health care.

In January, Governor Pete Wilson pro-

posed to balance the 1994-95 Budget by

assuming the federal government will

reimburse California $2.3 billion for

alleged education, emergency health and

incarceration costs for the undocumented

population. However, none of this money

is currently authorized by federal law and

it is highly unlikely that it will be forth-

coming. As a result, the state will have to

make up an additional $2.3 billion dollar

deficit through cuts to existing programs

- cuts that will be blamed on immigrants.

Asset forfeiture will again be on the

agenda for.the Legislative Office in 1994.

Despite lobbying by law enforcement last

session, the Legislature refused to renew

the drug asset forfeiture law. Since

January, when the temporary law expired,

a few trial courts have ruled that the old

law - which required conviction before

forfeiture - is no longer in effect either.

Law enforcement lobbyists obviously want

to rectify this situation. The ACLU strong-

ly opposes forfeiture laws, and will cer-

tainly be in opposition.

The 1993 Annual Report enclosed in

this issue of the ACLU News reviews the

Legislative Office's activities during the

past year. For a list of ACLU positions and

actions on specific bills during 1993,

please write to: ACLU News, Suite 460,

1663 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA

94103. @

ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS:

THE HOWARD A. FRIEDMAN FIRST

AMENDMENT EDUCATION PROJECT

INVITES YOU. TO A TEACHERS

CONFERENCE ON

CURRENT CONTROVERSIES

SURROUNDING RELIGION AND

THE SCHOOLS

"FRIDAY, APRIL 22ND

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND

REGISTRATION, PLEASE CONTACT

MARCIA GALLO

DIRECTOR, HOWARD A. FRIEDMAN

FIRST AMENDMENT PROJECT

ACLU-NC

1663 MISSION STREET, SUITE 460

SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103

OR CALL 415/621-2493

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

Lisa Maldonado, Field Page

ZesTop Publishing, Design and Layout

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 3

march - april 1994

CDC Must Lift Ban on HIV-Inmates

in Food Jobs

n February 8, ACLU-NC staff

O attorney Matthew Coles argued

before a three-judge panel in the

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that HIV-

positive inmates cannot be excluded from

food service jobs at the California Medical

Facility (CMF) in Vacaville.

"There is no realistic risk [of HIV

transmission] of prisoners working in the

food service," Coles told the court.

The ACLU-NC challenged the state's

exclusion of these inmates as a violation of

the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973

(Section 504). The lawsuit, Gates v.

Deukmejian, filed by the ACLU-NC, the

Prison Law Office and attorneys from

McCutchen, Doyle, Brown and Enersen and

Rosen, Bien and Asaro in 1988, charged

that the segregation of HIV-infected

inmates and their exclusion from prison

programs, jobs and education violated the

Rehabilitation Act.

The case was settled in 1990 with a

consent decree. Under the consent decree,

the Department of Corrections implement-

ed a pilot program integrating HIV-posi-

tive inmates into the prison. A court-

appointed mediator and federal magistrate

ruled that the continued exclusion of HIV-

positive inmates from food service jobs

violated the terms of that consent decree.

On May 5, 1993, U.S. District Court

Judge Lawrence K. Karlton affirmed that

ruling. An appeal by the Department of

Corrections necessitated the February

hearing.

At the Court of Appeals hearing, Coles

also argued that "Having a policy that

"In four years of integration of HIV-

infected inmates there has not been a

single incident of violence as a result of

those fears. If you have a good education

program, violence will not result."

- Matthew Coles, ACLU-NC Staff Attorney

excludes HIV-positive inmates from food

service jobs undercuts the Department' s

AIDS education program. "The point of

the education program is to say that HIV is

not easily contracted. Banning inmates

undermines that message,' Coles argued.

Responding to the CDC attorney's

charge that other inmates are frightened of

inmates with HIV and will react violently,

Coles stated, "In four years of integration

of HIV-infected inmates there has not

been a single incident of violence as a

result of those fears. If you have a good

education program, violence will not

result."

Coles also told the court that the

increased incidence of HIV in the prisons

is due to the increase of HIV persons in

the general population - not as a result of

the desegregation program.

A decision is expected from the Court

of Appeals in the next few months. Hf

I uty)

Congratulations on your January-

February issue. Please send me an addi-

tional copy to share as well as another

copy of Myths and Facts Part I. Thanks!

Vic Ulmer

Saratoga

We have received the January-

February 1994 issue of ACLU News. The

article "Myths and Facts" Part II con-

tributes substantial information on the sore

question about immigrants. We deeply

appreciate the information.

Abel Castro

Grass Valley

I recently received a copy of your

ACLU News fact sheet, "Myths and Facts:

The Economic Impact of Immigration in

the United States." I am getting involved

with the Ad-hoc Coalition for Immigrants

Rights of the Central Coast, and would

like more information. Please send me a

copy of the citations used in putting

together this fact sheet. Thanks so much.

Patricia Zavella

Associate Professor

Community Studies Board

University of California, Santa Cruz

Immigration has been a central issue in

American history, and particularly impor-

tant in San Francisco, Throughout our his-

tory, immigrants have arrived in the

United States with few resources and have

eventually become part of the American

mainstream, contributing economically

and culturally to our nation. Legal immi-

gration can and has been absorbed by this

country with great results.

As you know, I am a strong advocate

of human rights. I believe that our country

must maintain its historic tradition of

being a haven for those fleeing state-spon-

sored persecution. Asylum is a necessary

component of American foreign policy as

well as an important international principle

of justice.

I am in favor of reforming the current

system of asylum as long as those persons

with genuine asylum claims are not

forcibly returned to their country to face

torture, oppression or death.

I oppose proposals to allow a single

Immigration and Naturalization Service

("INS") official the power to render sum-

mary exclusion of an asylum claim with-

Our Readers Respond

Confronting Anti-Immigrant Myths

out a right of review or appeal. An INS

official, who may be unfamiliar with the

language, culture, and country conditions

of the asylum applicant, could run the

unacceptable risk of sending back, to cer-

tain persecution, a legitimate candidate for

asylum.

I am in contact with the [Clinton]

Administration regarding my concerns

about their asylum reform proposals

I will keep your views in mind as

Congress debates reform of our nation's

immigration laws.

Nancy Pelosi

Member of Congress

Cons

Why did your piece in the Nov-Dec

ACLU News not deal with the HUGE

problem of illegal (thus criminal) aliens?

Yes, criminals who are here by virtue of

their criminal behavior (crossing U.S. bor-

ders illegally is criminal behavior) and

your piece turns a blind eye to these vast,

uncountable numbers. Surely you don't

mean to condone criminal behavior, do

you?

These criminal aliens are criminal

again when they buy fake ID with which

they then access U. S. services - fraudu-

lently. Your piece does not deal with the

fact that it was never the intent of the

framers of the Constitution, nor of the

national legislature since, to provide citi-

zenship to children of criminal aliens?

Why was there no mention of the greater

context of our local bloated over-popula-

tion problem and the already inadequate

carrying capacity of our local natural

resources? This is particularly urgent here

in California where we do not have

enough water, nor clean air, nor health

care, etc., for our legal population.

Our lifeboat cannot accommodate all

the disadvantaged of the planet, much as

we would like to do so. Our lifeboat is

now over full. Yes, we have already more

residents here than the carrying capacity of

our natural resources. We have water

rationing, toxic air warning days, and mil-

lions of legal residents with inadequate

housing and inadequate health care. So,

we certainly do not need the ACLU stray-

ing from its urgent mission - protecting

Constitutional liberties of legal residents -

to enlist in the criminal alien defense

lobby.

William R. Stewart

San Francisco

The situation, as I see it, is this: the

high level of immigration into the U.S.,

and especially California, is hurting the

standard of living of working and poor

USS. citizens and is harming the environ-

ment. We would be much better off if the

level of immigration was cut to about one-

tenth the current rate.

It is important to keep in mind that the

current level of immigration is much high-

er than in recent history. I went to college

and received a Ph.D. in biochemistry in

1988 from U.C. Davis. Many of the peo-

ple I have been competing with for jobs

are immigrants from other countries. Most

of them were educated in the U.S. An

astounding 28% of all Ph.D.s in science

are granted to immigrants. The employ-

ment situation at the Ph.D level in life sci-

ences is dismal: I personally have been

unable to find full-time employment for

almost 2 years. Is this related to the larger

number of immigrants seeking the same

jobs? Is the Pope Catholic?

When you have high levels of unem-

ployment, you do not invite large numbers

of foreigners in to compete for jobs.

When you have high housing prices, you

do not invite foreigners in to compete for

housing. When there is not enough money

to educate U.S. children, you do not invite

foreigners in to compete for education.

When there is not enough money to keep

poor U.S. citizens on AFDC, you do not

invite foreigners in to receive welfare.

This is common sense.

James Morgan

Sacramento

Please address the issue of the effect

of the growing human population on the

non-human lives of this state. Do trees,

meadow foam, delta smelt, salmon, con-

dors and the hundreds of other life forms

whose populations are rapidly diminish-

ing and will join those that have already

gone extinct in this state have a right to

life in the place and manner they were

living before humans arrived?

Do people have a right to live wherever

they want? If all 5.5 billion people on

earth today wanted to live in California

and proceeded to travel here and claimed

that they could make it here, would that be

permissible if that meant the extinction of

`every other life form here?

There are plenty of other environmental

and human life quality questions that can be

asked. The myths and facts about immigra-

tion series has so far been a stacked series.

John Ost, Jr.

Chico

4 aclu news

march - april 1994

UE ay

atsy Fulcher, a leading woman's

P rights activist and a member of

the ACLU-NC Board of

Directors, died on January 16 from

complications arising from ALS (amy-

otrophic lateral sclerosis) or Lou

Gehrig's Disease at the age of 54.

An activist in the resurgent

women's movement in the 1960's,

Fulcher was a pioneer in developing

affirmative action training programs for

corporate and government managers.

She served as the Western Regional

Director for the National Organization

for Women (NOW) and as co-chair of

the NOW National Task Force on

Minority Women and Women's

Rights. She was a founding member of

Black Women Organized for Action

and the Bay Area Women's Coalition.

As Chair of the Coalition for the

Medical Rights of Women, Fulcher

was a leader in the campaign to

strengthen a woman's right to choose

in California.

In 1975, Fulcher was appointed

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the

California Health and Welfare Agency

where she was responsible for commu-

nity and employee relations. She also

served as special advisor on women's

issues to former San Francisco Mayor

Dianne Feinstein and spoke widely on

women's rights issues. When she fin-

ished her stint with the government in

1977, Fulcher joined Aileen C.

Hernandez and Associates, an urban

Patsy FULCHER

- gy (renewed when necessary by an

consulting firm in San Francisco,

where she was a Senior Associate until

her death.

Fulcher served on the ACLU-NC

Board in the 1980's, strengthening the

organization with her expertise in and

enthusiasm for women's and minority

rights and reproductive freedom. She

was on the Conference Planning

Committee for the 1984 ACLU-NC

Annual Chapter Conference and went

to the national ACLU Biennial

Conference in Denver as an affiliate

delegate in 1985.

Fulcher's boundless energy and

commitment to social justice was

shared with a wide range of organiza-

tions. She served as Vice-Chair of the

Bay Area Black United Fund, and on

the boards of the Sacramento NAACP,

United Way of the Bay Area, and the

Sickle Cell. Anemia Regulations

Advisory Committee among other

groups.

Her colleague and friend Aileen C.

Hernandez, an ACLU-NC Earl Warren

Civil Liberties Award honoree, said of

Fulcher, "In whatever arena she

worked, she did so with enthusiasm,

humor and a seemingly boundless ener-

infusion of Snickers candy bars). She

will be sorely missed by all whose lives

she touched. We have lost her much

too soon."

A special tribute to Patsy Fulcher is

planned for later in the year.

- PRIZES

. First Prize $150.

Second Prize $75.

Third Prize $25.

Suggested length 1,000 words

Entries must be postmarked

Enter the Earl Warren Chapter

STUDENT Essay CONTEST

Open to all Alameda County

High School Students

FOR ESSAY TOPICS AND

MORE INFORMATION, ;

WRITE TO: Essay Contest -

ACLU-NC :

Earl Warren Chapter `

PO Box 1865 ...

| by April 15

Oakland, CA 94604 ~

Field Program

Monthly Meetings

Chapter Meetings

(Chapter meetings are open to all

interested members. Contact the

Chapter activist 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

second Wednesday) Meet on

Wednesday, April 13 at 7:30 PM in the

basement of the Temescal Branch of the

Oakland Library, 5205 Telegraph

Avenue (use the rear entrance). New

members welcome! The Earl Warren

Chapter is now accepting entries for the

Alameda County High School Essay

Contest. The theme is The First

Amendment in the Schools: Dress

Codes, Prayer and Censorship. Essays

should be 1000 words. First place win-

ner to receive $150, two second place

winners receive $75 and as many as four

third place winners receive $25.

Deadline for entries is April 15. For

more information, call Jim Murphy at

510/787-1472.

Fresno Chapter Meeting: New

members welcome! For information on

date, place and time of meetings, call

Nadya Coleman at 209/229-7178 (days)

or the Chapter Hotline at 209/225-3780.

Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter

Meeting: (Usually firstThursday)

Meet on Thursday, April 7 at the ACLU

Office, 1663 Mission Street, #460, San

Francisco. Mailings and other activities

start at 6:30 PM. Speakers at 7:00 PM.

Business meeting starts at 7:30 PM. For

more information, contact Alissa

Friedman 510/272-9700.

Marin County Chapter Meeting:

(usually third Monday) Meet Monday,

March 21 and April 18 at 7:30 PM,

WestAmerica Bank, 1204 Strawberry

Town and Country Village, Mill Valley.

For more information, contact Richard

Rosenberg at 415/434-2100.

Mid-Peninsula (Palo Alto area)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth

Thursday) Meet Thursday, March 24

and April 28 at 7:30 PM at the California

Federal Bank, El Camino Real, Palo

Alto. For more information, contact

Leah Glenn at 415/329-1327.

Monterey County Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Tuesday)

Meet Tuesday, March 15 and April 18 at

7:30 PM at the Monterey Library,

Community Room, Pacific and Madison

Streets, Monterey. For more informa-

tion, contact Richard Criley, 408/624-

7562.

Mt. Diablo (Contra Costa County)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Thursday) For more information, call

Hotline at 510/939-ACLU.

North Peninsula (San Mateo area)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Monday) Meet on Monday, March 21

and April 18 at 7:30 PM. at Planned

Parenthood. The Annual Meeting will

be on Sunday, May 15. For more infor-

mation, contact Audrey Guerin at

415/574-4053.

North Valley (Shasta, Siskiyou,

Tehama and Trinity Counties)

Chapter Meeting: For more informa-

tion write to: Tillie Smith, P.O. Box

2503, Redding, CA. 96099.

Redwood (Humboldt County)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Monday) Meet Monday, March 21 and

April 18 at 7:15 PM at the Plaza Grill,

Arcata. Annual Meeting will be in

May, date to be announced. For more

information contact Christina Huskey at

707/444-6595.

Sacramento Valley Chapter

Meeting: (Usually second Wednesday)

Meet on Wednesday, April 13 at 6:00

PM at Shakey's Pizza, 59th and J Streets,

Sacramento. For more information, con-

tact Ruth Ordas, 916/488-9956.

San Francisco Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Tuesday) Meet on

Tuesday, March 15 and April 19 at 6:45

PM at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663

Mission, #460, San Francisco. For more

information, call the Chapter

Information Line at 415/979-6699. 0x00B0

Santa Clara Valley Chapter

Meeting: (Usually first Tuesday) Meet

on Tuesday, April 5 at the Community

Bank Building, 3rd Floor Conference

Room, corner of Market/St. John Streets,

San Jose. Contact Larry Jensen at

408/244-4570, for further information.

Santa Cruz County Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Thursday)

Meet on Thursday, March 17 and April

21 at 7:00 PM at the Women's Law and

Mediation Center, 104 Walnut Avenue,

Suite 203, Santa Cruz. Contact Eleanor

Eisenberg at 408/423-8327 for further

information.

Sonoma County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Wednesday) Meet on

Wednesday, March 16 and April 20 at

7:30 PM at the Peace and Justice Center,

540 Pacific Avenue, Santa Rosa. Call

Steve Thornton at 707/544-8115 for fur-

ther information. ;

Yolo County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Thursday) Meet on

Thursday, March 17 and April 21. For

more information, call Natalie Wormeli

at 916/756-1900 or the Chapter Hotline

at 916/756-ACLU.

Field Action

Meetings

(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, March 12, from 10:30

AM to 12:30 PM. Following the meet-

ing, there will be a speaker training on

Youth and the Police. Contact Marcia

Gallo at ACLU-NC 415/621-2493, for

more information.

Student Advisors Planning meet-

ings for the next SAY WHAT!?!3

Student Conference will be on

Saturday March 12, at 2:00 PM.

Contact Marcia Gallo at ACLU-NC

415/621-2493 for more information.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

TVANNY

Lyenodiaa

SPANNING THE GENERATIONS SSSR

DEAR |OUR 1993 ANNUAE REP OR I

reveals a frightening trend we must confront: an increasing intolerance of the poor and homeless. Twelve

FRIENDS | years of indifference at the highest levels of government to social needs have created a growing population

American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

1663 Mission Street

Suite 460

San Francisco

CA 94103

Telephone: 415.621.2493

4 Cover photo: Members

of the Elk Grove High

School Model United

Nations/Junior

Statesmen of America

Club went to court and

won the right to paint a

mural celebrating

Freedom of Expression.

(Photo: Jose Luis Villegas/

Sacramento Bee)

of the dispossessed, and a palpable fear of their presence. In turn, that public impatience fueled

government action that seriously infringes on the civil liberties of the most powerless members of our

communities. Local government actions like the Matrix program, and Propositions J and V in San Francisco

virtually criminalize poverty. These policies are found not only in large urban centers, but, as our report

reflects, are emerging in suburban and rural California as well.

As widespread as it is, the public' intolerance of homeless people pales in comparison to the passionate

desperation that pollsters find the public feels about crime. And no wonder. After decades of politicians

claiming to "get tough on crime," people still feel no safer on the streets. So now politicians pledge to get "even

tougher" under newer, catchier slogans like "Three strikes, you're out." Yet these dangerously pandering

policies could subject a generation of young men, particularly young men of color, to a lifetime of incarceration

at an incredible cost, both human and financial.

Fear creates a host of scapegoats. As California's economic recession continues unabated, leaders in the

highest offices unfairly blame our serious economic woes on immigrants - both legal and undocumented. A

campaign is underway to punish immigrants by depriving them of constitutional rights and excluding them

from our communities.

To defeat this onslaught of ignorance and prejudice, the ACLU must wield the powerful weapon of

education. For underlying many of these policies and much of this public opinion is a lack of understanding of

the meaning of the Bill of Rights and its basic promise to protect minority beliefs and populations. There is no

longer a broad consensus about the power of government: on one hand, people want "government off their

backs;" on the other, they are ready for the government to use draconian measures to sweep the streets of

homeless people and lock young offenders in prison for perhaps the rest of their lives.

Has popular opinion abandoned any notion of justice?

The ACLU of Northern California will not abandon that principle, and as our report reveals, we are

engaged in groundbreaking work to make sure that it still is alive for future generations. We are currently

educating youth about the Bill of Rights through our Howard A. Friedman First Amendment Education Project

and its innovative work in classrooms, school assemblies, and widely attended student conferences and

workshops.

At the same time, we are providing direct advocacy for students seeking to vindicate their rights, and

training them to effectively advocate on their own.

But even our advocacy has not stopped repressive dress codes, which disproportionately target young men

of color. Nor have we prevented illegal police stops and searches of youth, or the astonishing proliferation of

data bases kept by local law enforcement, and shared with other agencies which store records about "potential

gang members," without even an accusation that a law has been broken. Curfews, metal detectors,

surveillance and arbitrary expulsion are the ways that many youth today learn about the principles of the Bill

of Rights. :

Clearly our advocacy must go hand in hand with education if our young people's commitment to the Bill of

Rights is not to wane, as it has for many in government and the general public.

The importance of teaching a new generation to speak out against injustice cannot be underestimated. For

as our presence on campuses becomes more visible, we receive more requests for our legal assistance to

`combat the abuses that students face. Throughout 1993, our representation of students, especially in

protecting their First Amendment rights, grew tremendously.

This year's Annual Report truly reflects that organizational growth. While we remain justly proud of our

respected legal program, not every civil liberties abuse lends itself to litigation. The ACLU's dynamic strategy

relies on a combination of approaches to achieve our goals, which is why we include here accounts of our

public education program, our field organizing and our legislative advocacy as well.

As the climate of fear and intolerance intensifies the challenges before us, your belief in our advocacy and

your support of our program is deeply appreciated. I hope when you read this report, you will let us know

about your questions and concerns.

Thank you for standing with us as the ACLU spans the generations in its unwavering work for justice.

Yours sincerely,

Dorothy Ehrlich, Milton Estes, M.D.

Executive Director Chair, Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Executive Committee*: Milton N. Estes, Chair; Joanne Lewis, Vice-Chair; Nancy S. Pemberton, Vice-Chair;

Davis Riemer, Vice-Chair, Margaret M. Russell, Vice-Chair; James B. Blume, Treasurer, Barbara Brenner; Luz Buitrago;

Eleanor Eisenberg; Maria Ontiveros; Frances C. Strauss.

Members of the ACLU-NC Board of Directors: Abby Abinanti, Harry Anisgard, Leonard Bronstein,

David Bunnell, Angelo Butler, Robert P. Capistrano, William Carpmill, Helen Chang, Marna Cohen,

Marlene De Lancie, Kathleen Dooley, Teresa Lynn Friend, Richard Grosboll, Janet Halley, Christina Huskey,

Lawrence R. Jensen, Leonard S. Karpman, Howard W. Lewis, Ethel Long-Scott, Susan Mizner, Charis Moore,

Herbert E. Nelson, David B. Oppenheimer, Rachel Richman, Marcelo Rodriguez, Louise Rothman-Riemer,

Andrew Rudiak, Zona Sage, Alberto Saldamando, Ethan P Schulman, Michelle Welsh, Donna Yamashiro.

General Counsel: Stephen Bomse, Heller, Ehrman, White and McAuliffe.

Frances Beal, Ann Brick, Cheri Bryant, Ed Chen, Matt Coles, John Crew, Margaret C. Crosby, Mila De Guzman,

Rita Egri, Dorothy Ehrlich, Elaine Elinson, Jean Field, Charles Francis, Marcia Gallo, Anne Hietbrink, Sandy Holmes,

Jean Hom, Michele Hurtado, Jan deJong, Michael Laurence, Lisa Levy, Francisco Lobaco, Lisa Maldonado,

Michelle McTamaney, Robert Nakatani, Leah Nestell, Nancy Otto, Margaret Pefia, Alan Schlosser, Zelma Toro,

Denise Wells.

ACLUN_1981.MODS ACLUN_1981.batch ACLUN_1982 ACLUN_1982.MODS ACLUN_1982.batch ACLUN_1983 ACLUN_1983.MODS ACLUN_1984 ACLUN_1984.MODS ACLUN_1984.batch ACLUN_1985 ACLUN_1985.MODS ACLUN_1985.batch ACLUN_1986 ACLUN_1986.MODS ACLUN_1986.batch ACLUN_1987 ACLUN_1987.MODS ACLUN_1987.batch ACLUN_1988 ACLUN_1988.MODS ACLUN_1988.batch ACLUN_1989 ACLUN_1989.MODS ACLUN_1989.batch ACLUN_1990 ACLUN_1990.MODS ACLUN_1990.batch ACLUN_1991 ACLUN_1991.MODS ACLUN_1991.batch ACLUN_1992 ACLUN_1992.MODS ACLUN_1992.batch ACLUN_1993 ACLUN_1993.MODS ACLUN_1993.batch ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1994.batch ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1997 ACLUN_1997.MODS ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_1999 ACLUN_1999.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log These officers also constitute the ACLU-NC Foundation Board of Governors.

oe

A eurotU-N C ANNUAL REPO R | A. 9 9.3

HIS ANNUAL REPORT,

which describes high-

`lights of our litigation

docket, reveals the broad range

and scope of the issues with

which' we dealt, as well as the

difficulty and complexity of lit-

gating cases before courts that

are Often not receptive to claims of vio-

lations of individual rights. It also

underscores the importance of pursuing

non-litigation approaches in addressing

current civil liberties and civil rights

issues. The new administration in

Washington has certainly brought hope

for positive changes in governmental

policies: New judicial and executive

appointments could mean that we

might not face the same level of consis-

tent hostility toward civil liberties and

civil rights from the federal govern-

ment. Obviously, any major changes in

the judiciary will take time to have an

impact on our litigation.

Though we cannot describe every

one of our current 70 cases, we sum-

marize here our work in our priority

areas. The current priority areas are

Reproductive Rights, Racial and

Language Minorities, Immigrant and

Refugee Rights, Lesbian

Thanksgiving, we filed a federal lawsuit

against San Franciscos Matrix Program

-which literally criminalizes home-

lessness-to remind the city that civil

liberties cannot be denied to its poorest

and most vulnerable residents.

The ACLU-NC Legal Department is

staffed by five attorneys: Ann Brick,

Edward Chen, Matthew Coles,

Margaret Crosby and Alan Schlosser.

Alan Schlosser currently serves as

Managing Attorney. In addition, the

Legal Department includes the Death

Penalty Project, directed by Michael

Laurence and 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

was 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

speech, freedom of the :

press, book and film

censorship, locker

searches and other

school-related prob-

lems. In addition, as

school administrators ~~

try to deal with the problems of drugs,

gangs and student safety, they often

come up with solutions without regard

to the students' civil liberties. Among

these are proposed or recently enacted

policies imposing dress codes, sugges-

tions for random student searches

(including proposals for the use of

metal detectors at schools or at school-

sponsored activities), and attempts to

control drug, alcohol and tobacco use

and

ze

_ by mandating "24-Hour Non-Use" poli-

cies for students wishing to participate

in extra-curricular activities. Closely

related to these issues, and an area of

continuing concern, is the problem of

police interrogation of students on

school premises.

In most cases, our response to

inquiries from students or their parents

involves an investigation of the facts

`and, if appropriate, a letter to the

responsible authorities. Quite often, a

letter is sufficient to

tion in May. When the Court of Appeal

denied the school officials' request for a

stay of the injunction, the defendants

dropped their appeal. As the school

term began in September, the Model

U.N. Club members painted their

mural and, in so many dimensions,

brought the lesson of the First

Amendment to Elk Grove High.

The courage of the Elk Grove stu-

dents was brought to national attention

when the ACLU Arts Censorship

Project bestowed a 1993 "Censor of the

Year" award on the school officials who

had attempted to ban the mural.

Dress Codes

The ACLU-NC has supported stu-

dents in challenging dress codes that

included a hat ban in Salinas to condom

jewelry in Tracy and to winning a junior

high school girl in Manteca the right to

wear a T-shirt

proclaiming | Whena Clovis

Gay Rights, AIDS, resolve the problem.In "Real +~Women elementary school refused

Student Rights, Police more serious cases, Love Jesus." to allow 5-year-old Derrek

Practices and the Death where no accommoda- Often, a Casebolt to enroll in

Penalty. tion could be reached, phone call from kindergarten unless he cut

Our focus on these we have filed suit. the ACLU is his hair, the ACLU filed

priority areas is coupled

with the need to react to

particular civil liberties

crises and emergencies.

For example, the protest

in the streets of San

Francisco after the

Rodney King verdict in

April 1992 resulted in

the Mayors unprece-

dented declaration of a

State of Emergency, and

the mass arrests of more

than 1,000 demonstra-

tors. the ACLU

responded by issuing a

35-page report that crit-

icized the Citys use of

the State of Emergency

to impose a de facto

moratorium on demon-

strations in San

Francisco during the

critical days immediate-

ly after the verdict.

Subsequently, we filed a

class action lawsuit on behalf of 396

demonstrators who were arrested on

May 8, 1992 (Brown v. Jordan). This led

to one of our major victories this year: a

settlement with the City that includes

monetary damages and the destruction

of the protesters' arrest records.

Another crisis occurred in August of

this year, when a Death Row inmate,

David Mason, relinquished all of his

appeals and "volunteered" to be execut-

ed. Though Mr. Mason refused to allow

the ACLU to be involved in represent-

ing him, the occurrence of another gas

chamber execution in California rapidly

brought our pending suit challenging

lethal gas (Fierro v. Gomez) back onto

the judicial calendar. Although we lost a

motion to try the suit prior to the

scheduled execution, the trial did begin

several weeks after Mason was killed. If

we are successful with this litigation,

David Mason may be the last person

executed by lethal gas in California.

Also, as cities began to use police

and punishment to deal with the social

problems of poverty and homelessness,

we found ourselves challenging these

abusive practices. On the eve of

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 ser-

vices to the ACLU-NC as cooperating

attorneys. Two-thirds of our cases this

year were handled by cooperating attor-

neys 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 1993 `cooperating

attorneys and firms is on page 12.

Student Rights

ITH THE ADVENT OF THE

Howard A. Friedman

First Amendment

Education Project,

questions involving student rights have

assumed even more importance in our

work. As a result of the Project's out-

reach to students and teachers, we

receive more questions from students,

teachers and parents about freedom of

When high school

students in Tulare cre-

ated a video-drama

highlighting the prob-

lem of teen pregnancy,

school authorities

ordered the students to

remove all' profanity

from the dialogue of

the - student-written

production. The ACLU

filed suit (Lopez v.

Tulare Joint Union High

School District Board of

Trustees) in superior

court and obtained a

preliminary injunction

enabling the students

to show the film and to

enter it in a competi-

tion where it won first

prize in its category.

However, when the

case came before a different superior

court judge on the parties' cross-

motions for summary judgment, he

ruled that the school administrators

were within their rights in censoring the

film. The case is currently on appeal.

In April, we filed suit in Sacramento

County Superior Court on behalf of

eight members of the Elk Grove High

School Model U.N./Junior Statesmen of

America Club whose mural celebrating

freedom of expression was censored by

school officials. The school district

would not allow the students to paint

their proposed design of a burning

American flag with the text of the First

Amendment showing through the

flames and a citation to the US.

Supreme Court case of Texas v, Johnson,

which upheld constitutional protection

for flag burning.

The students, noting that all of the

other clubs were able to put up their

murals - including some with poten-

tially controversial topics - challenged

the principal' decision. The ACLU rep-

resented the students in the case of

Markgraf v. Elk Grove Unified School

District, and won a preliminary injunc-

enough to solve aut

the problem,

but in = one

(Photo: Bryan Chan/

Clovis Independent )

unique instance

we filed suit on behalf of a kindergarten

student who was not allowed to attend

school unless he cut his hair. Five-year

old Derrek Casebolt was barred from

entering kindergarten at Pinedale

Elementary School in Clovis because of

his long hair, even though he offered to

wear a rubber band or other hair-fas-

tening device to keep the hair away

from his face. The principal insisted that

Derrek comply with school regulations,

which mandate short hair for boys, or

be prohibited from attending Pinedale.

No similar hair length restrictions are

imposed on girls. -

In February, the ACLU filed Casebolt

v, Clovis Unified School District on behalf

of Derrek and several other male stu-

dents charging that the school district'

policy constitutes gender discrimina-

tion in violation of federal and state

constitutional and statutory provisions.

In the arena of student discipline, we

have received a significant number of

calls from around northern California

raising questions about student expul-

sions. In most cases, these calls involve

factual disputes, which are best handled

by individual lawyers rather than by

ACLU representation, since we do not

have the resources either at the staff or

chapter level to take on such cases.

However, we continue to monitor this

area and to work with other public

interest lawyers and advocates in devel-

oping strategies to deal with the overuse

of suspension and expulsion by admin-

istrators and the disproportionate

impact of school discipline on minority

students.

Metal Detectors

Concerns about the growing level of

violence in California schools has

prompted some school officials to con-

sider the use of metal detectors at

schools and school-sponsored func-

Ae le N euro

AN NU AE

Ree RP OCR 21-929 3

o

a POLITICIANS CLAMORED TO

project their fight against

crime to the top of the state'

agenda, the ACLU-NC Police

Practices Project worked in

conjunction with other

Departments to ensure that

individual rights are not lost in

the current zeal for law

enforcement

efforts. The

Field

Committee

police

practices as

the priority

issue, and the

Project helped

provide the resources and

expertise to aid in the Chapters'

community activism. In

addition, the Project's focus on

anti-panhandling ordinances

and police sweeps of the

homeless have helped to raise

public awareness about the civil

liberties problems inherent in

these measures.

Rights of Demonstrators

The preliminary settlement

reached in Brown v. Jordan,

challenging the San Francisco

Police Department's sweep of

hundreds of individuals

protesting the acquittal of the

Los Angeles police officers in the

2

beating of Rodney King,

reinforces the Project' efforts to

ensure the city follows crowd

control procedures that

safeguard basic civil liberties.

(See section on Demonstrators.)

The Project continues to

advocate compliance with and

strengthening of the San

Francisco Police Department's

crowd control manual, .

developed with input from the

Project.

Intelligence Gathering

Police practices were again front-

page news in San Francisco with

the discovery of illegal

surveillance of political

organizations and individuals.

Just one week after the Police

Practices Project wrote to the

San Francisco Police

Commission regarding its failure

to adequately monitor police

intelligence-gathering activities,

a newspaper reported that San

Francisco police, along with

other law enforcement agencies

and the Anti-Defamation League,

infiltrated and monitored local

organizations. The Project

released a 46-page report on the

Police Commission' failure to

adequately respond to this

discovery and its refusal to fully

investigate the ongoing abuses of

police intelligence gathering.

Civilian Review

In conjunction with the Field

Department, Project Director

John Crew met with members

from ACLU-NC chapters, from

Eureka to Monterey, and helped

them take steps toward estab

lishing effective civilian review in

their communities.

In San Jose, the Project

worked with local coalitions to

press for a system of civilian

review, and used Public Records

Act requests to gain information

for a 28-page report, "A

Campaign of Deception - San

Jose's Case Against Civilian

Review." The City Council

implemented an auditor system

rather than full-fledged citizen

review process, but the coalition

continues to monitor the system

and work for more effective

civilian oversight.

The Project' efforts sparked

renewed community activism

centered on the issue of police

oversight in Stockton.

Targeting Indigent People

San Francisco continued its

assault on the constitutional

rights of homeless people

through the Matrix program, in

which police officers targeted

offenses like sleeping in public

parks, lodging anywhere on

public property, and blocking

sidewalks. In conjunction with a

lawsuit against this program (see

section on Homeless), the Police

Practices Project has worked to

educate city officials the public,

media and activists about this

campaign of intimidation and

harassment. Project Director

John Crew has investigated the

costs and effects of the Matrix

program and testified at public

hearings.

The Project continues to

monitor the implementation of

San Francisco' Proposition J,

the so-called aggressive panhan-

dling law passed by the voters in

November 1992. During the

first half of 1993, the law result-

ed in few arrests and no prose-

cutions despite an expensive

undercover program that divert-

ed scarce police resources. In

late 1993, efforts to prosecute a

handful of "aggressive panhan-

dlers" failed when Municipal

Court judges consistently ruled

that Proposition J was legally

flawed.

Other cities, spurred by San

Francisco' crackdown on pan-

handlers and the homeless, are

attempting to adopt similar

laws. John Crew has worked in

Berkeley to counter proposed

anti-loitering and panhandling

laws, and is monitoring efforts

in several communities through-

out northern California.

tions. In 1992 Attorney General Dan

Lungren issued a formal Opinion essen-

tially giving the green light to the use of

metal detectors in schools.

The Legislative Committee consid-

ered the issue in view of the competing

interests in preserving student safety

while at the same time protecting stu-

dents' rights to be free of unreasonable

searches. After careful study, the

Legislative Committee concluded that

school metal detectors result in a sub-

stantial invasion of students' privacy

rights and the danger of unequal

enforcement. The Committee also

agreed that there is a striking absence of

reliable evidence showing that metal

detectors are, in fact, effective in keep-

ing weapons out of schools.

Accordingly, it concluded that the

ACLU should oppose the use of metal

detectors in schools in favor of both

long- and short-term alternatives that

are more likely to address the root caus-

es of violence in the schools. These

include encouraging the development

of conflict resolution programs and

non-violence curricula, the expansion

of leadership, drug education, cultural

diversity, peer counseling, and student

employment programs, making travel

routes to and from school safe, and

using volunteers to monitor school halls

and campus grounds.

Reproductive Rights

Teenagers

E HAVE . SUCCESSFULLY

protected young wom-

en' right to reproduc-

tive choice by blocking

burdensome state legislation. In

American Academy of Pediatrics v.

Lungren, the ACLU and the National

Center for Youth Law represent several

distinguished organizations of medical

professionals serving California's young

people in challenging the constitution-

ality of a 1987 law that would require

teenagers to obtain parental or judicial

consent to terminate an unplanned

pregnancy. The so-called parental con-

sent law removes abortion from the

many types of necessary medical care,

including all pregnancy-related ser-

vices, that minors may obtain on their

own informed consent. The law has

never taken effect because of court

orders issued in the case.

During six years of litigation, the

State has failed to justify the law' seri-

ous invasion of young

women's reproductive deci-

sions. In 1992, following a

month-long trial, the San

Francisco Superior Court

ruled that the statute vio-

lates the California

Constitutions guarantees

of privacy and equality.

The court issued a per-

manent injunction

barring the State

from enforcing

the law. The

court agreed

with our

argu-

ments

that

the

California Constitution protects repro-

ductive privacy more comprehensively

than the United States Constitution.

The court made detailed factual

findings based on extensive expert testi-

mony that the law does not benefit

young women, and interferes with

access to health care.

The State appealed the Superior

Court decision. The briefing is com-

plete and the case is awaiting argument

in the Court of Appeal.

Prosecutions of pregnant women

We have also

worked to

pro-

tect reproductive rights in the criminal

justice system - an increasingly impor-

tant arena. A new and troubling devel-

opment is the District Attorney's

attempted use of the states murder

statute to prosecute women for alleged

substance abuse during pregnancy.

In People v. Jaurigue, we successfully

represented a woman who was charged

with murder on the theory that she had

killed her fetus by ingesting cocaine

during her pregnancy.

The ACLU argued in the local Justice

Court in Hollister that California's fetal

homicide law was intended to protect

pregnant women against violent assault

by third parties, not to prosecute them

for prenatal conduct. The California

Legislature, following the enlightened

consensus of expert opinion, has recog-

nized that prosecution of women for

alleged substance abuse during preg-

nancy would deter women from access

to prenatal care, and thus be counter-

productive to the states objective of fos-

tering the birth of healthy infants. In

addition, we argued that the prosecu-

tors novel interpretation of the law, if

adopted, would render it unconstitu-

tional as a violation of due process and

privacy rights.

Although we did not prevail in the

Justice Court, the San Benito Superior

Court overturned the lower court rul-

ing, and held that a woman could not

be prosecuted under the feticide statute

based on her conduct during her preg-

nancy. The Attorney General unsuccess-

fully sought review in the Court of

Appeal. All charges against the woman

were dismissed.

In People v. Jones, the Siskiyou

County District Attorney filed murder

charges against a woman, arguing that

her alleged substance abuse while preg-

nant caused the death of her prema-

turely born infant. We joined the Public

Defender as co-counsel and again were

successful in persuading the court that

the State's murder statute did not apply.

The charges against the woman were

dismissed by the Siskiyou County

Justice Court.

These are but the latest in a series of

criminal prosecutions brought against

women throughout the country stem-

ming from prenatal substance abuse.

These misguided attempts to treat sub-

stance abuse during pregnancy as a

problem that can be solved through the

criminal justice system have so far been

totally unsuccessful.

role in the pro-choice

reproductive rights.

(Photo: Ann Rushing)

4 Teenagers play an active

movement, protesting laws

which would deny them

(c)

Ae | UN

ASN NU AE

R ER OUR 4

1590x00B090x00B0 3

Controlling women's behavior

In addition to attempting to prose-

cute women for their conduct during

pregnancy, we have also encountered

other attempts by the state to control

the actions of pregnant women. For

example, Santa Cruz

County officials

Vallejo High School (R) | obtained a temporary

graduate Teresa Esguerra' | conservatorship order

is on the ACLU-NC for a _ schizophrenic

oe Advisory pregnant woman and

committee, had her confined in a

locked mental health

facility against her wish-

(Photo: Courtesy Esguerra)

es. It was clear from the record that no

conservatorship would have been

imposed had the woman not been preg-

nant. The order was based solely on her

decision not to seek prenatal care,

because she feared hospital authorities

would take her child away once it was

born. There was no evidence that the

woman was unable to provide herself

with food, shelter or clothing, although

such a showing is required before a

conservator can be appointed.

At the request of the Public

Defender, we became co-counsel in the

case and filed a writ of habeas corpus

Cn re McSweeney) asking the court to

free the woman from her confinement

and conservatorship. We argued th

because the woman was able to provi

for her own food, shelter and bir

she was not "gravely disabled" a

accordingly, the imposition a at

rary conservatorship was not

rized by the relevant statutes.

After we filed our brief, the C

reconsidered its position and offe

drop the proceedings and lift the

servatorship if the woman ob

more permanent shelter and agr

see an obstetrician. Because the C

agreed to our clients desire th.

identity of the obstetrician not b

closed to the County or the hospit

had initiated the conservatorship

ceedings, she accepted the offer

now free.

Access to clinics

We have also responded to le

tive efforts to protect access to

ductive health services. The ACL

urged state and local governme

accommodate fundamental righ

reproductive choice and freedo

expression with a minimum sacri

either value. We have opposed

broad legislative proposals that

suppressed speech excessively, su

total bans on targeted residential p

ing. We are currently formulating

cy on clinic access laws that go be'

preventing physical obstruction to pla

ing restrictions on demonstrations out-

side health care facilities. We believe

that the ACLU has an important role to __

play in articulating both the fundamen-

tal rights of reproductive choice and

freedom of expression.

Legal analysis

Attorneys Margaret Crosby and Ann

Brick are often called upon to speak to

the media, and to legal, medical and

community organizations about the

legal status of reproductive rights in

California and the nation. This year, the

focus was on the federal clinic access

bill and several appropriations mea-

sures to provide funding for abortion.

Crosby serves as a consultant to

lawyers in other states about state con-

stitutional litigation and is part of the

Affiliate Advisory Task Force to the

National ACLU Reproductive Freedom

Project. As legal counsel to the

California Coalition for Reproductive

Freedom, Crosby regularly provides

constitutional analysis of potential legis-

lation and responds to inquiries and

problems experienced by health profes-

sionals and clinics.

Ce ee ees

Demonstrator

N A SETTLE-

MENT THAT

indicates

the consti

tutional right to

take part in

peacern|

demonstra-

tions without

fear of arrest,

the City of San

tember: of the VSA dis layed antiwar

banners while they passed

police, their banners were ripped from

their hands, and they were ultimately

issued letters permanently barring them

from returning to the Presidio.

The ACLU claims that the actions of

the military police were targeted against

the political viewpoint being expressed

by the VSA members, and that the First

Amendment prohibits this viewpoint

discrimination even on a military base.

The lawsuit seeks damages as well as

injunctive relief.

In another suit stemming from the

Gulf War, Lamperti v. California, the

ACLU is representing three antiwar pro-

testors who were beaten by California

Highway Patrol officers during two sep-

arate nonviolent demonstrations against

the Persian Gulf War. In one of the

demonstrations, two of the protestors

were engaging in a sit-in on the side of

the roadway on the Bay Bridge,

and suffered serious physi-

cal injuries when they

were. cttuck by

batons. The suit

seeks damages

from the individ-

ual officers as

well as against

CHP. superviso-

ty officials for

failing to provide

adequate training

and supervision.

In. addition, the suit,

pending in

homeless people of

process and unlawfully

The ACLU went to a federal appeals

court in December to defend the free

speech rights of poor people in the case

of Blair v. Shanahan. The suit was origi-

nally filed on behalf of a formerly

homeless man who was arrested several

times as he asked people walking along

San Francisco streets for money so that

he could survive while seeking employ-

ment. The ACLU argued that seeking

charity is protected speech under the

First Amendment and that the San

Francisco police violated the man's con-

stitutional rights when they arrested

him under the California begging law.

In 1991, the US. District Court

ruled that the statute is unconstitution-

al because it criminalizes speech. The

court ruled that peaceful solicitation of

funds from members of the public is

protected. The City of San Francisco

and the state appealed. _

ACLU-NC CONTINUES ITS

rts to educate and inform

ernment agencies and

anizations about the rights

HIV as well as halt various

practices that needlessly

confidentiality. The enact-

Americans with Disabilities

rovides federal protection

itive individuals, is an

ep forward in the fight

mination. In addition, the

mtinues to litigate some of

questions emerging in the

e of the epidemic.

of those

e been encouraging signs

t of HIV-infected prisoners

prisons is improving as a

CLU-NC. litigation and

lic awareness.

ttlement and consent

ted in the class-action

Deukmejian, filed by the

ehalf of HIV-infected

1e California Medical

aville, called for a pilot

ed to segregate only

ho pose a significant

others. Additionally, it

the prison improve

ms, jobs and facilities

inmates.

nt of Corrections

that the pilot pro-

those inmai

risk of infec

mandated

to open housing

| allowed prison

risk of infec-

inmates refused medical treatment to

protest CMF' failure to provide quality

medical care after two well-respected

prison physicians resigned. The ACLU

asked the magistrate to investigate these

charges, and community organizations

joined in the protest. Assemblyman

John Burton conducted hearings to

expose the inmates' plight. In response,

CMF hired an experienced AIDS physi-

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