vol. 63, no. 5
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Wotume LXIill
n August 11, the ACLU-NC submit-
QO: an amicus brief to the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals in support
of the appeal of a ruling that permits the
use of pepper spray against nonviolent
demonstrators engaged in civil disobedi-
ence. The brief argues that the case,
Humboldt, should be presented to a jury.
"The ACLU believes that the use of pep-
" per spray as a kind of chemical cattle prod
on nonviolent demonstrators resisting
arrest constitutes excessive force and vio-
lates the Constitution,' said ACLU-NC staff
attorney Margaret Crosby. "Certainly, a
jury should be afforded an opportunity to
evaluate this new experimental use of a
chemical weapon."
When the case was originally heard in
1997 the jury hung, and in an unusual judi-
cial action, U.S. District Court Judge
Vaughn Walker did not order a new jury tri-
al. Instead he ruled that application of
pepper spray to nonviolent protestors
engaged in civil disobedience constituted
reasonable force as a matter of law. The
ACLU argues that, in justifying the denial
of a jury trial, the district court and
authority to use pain compliance on
demonstrators engaged in civil disobedi-
ence, and understated the harmful impact
of pepper spray.
BY MarIA ARCHULETA
ous lead, San Francisco and
Sacramento are considering vehicle
seizure ordinances that would authorize
the seizure, forfeiture and sale of cars
believed to have been used to solicit prosti-
tution or to acquire, or attempt to acquire,
drugs. Because neither ordinance would
require a person to actually be convicted of
a crime before valuable personal property
is irretrievably lost, ACLU-NC Managing
: Press the City of Oakland's dubi-
proposed laws in letters and testimony.
"The ACLU recognizes that prostitution
communities and are matters of legitimate
government concern," testified Schlosser at
the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Housing and Social Policy Committee on
August 3. "However we urge San Francisco
not to establish a harsh and overbroad local
forfeiture operation that places at risk basic
individual and property rights."
Under San Francisco's proposed
Vehicle Seizure Ordinance-introduced by
Mayor Willie Brown and Supervisor Amos
Brown-a vehicle can be seized and sold
without anyone being convicted, or even
arrested, for the underlying criminal
offense. Even an acquittal of the criminal
Headwaters Forest Defense v. County of
Humboldt overstated the constitutional |
Attorney Alan Schlosser has fought these .
and drug traffic adversely impacts local -
NEWSPAPER OF THE AMERICAN Civil LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
aclu news.
SEPTEMBER-OcTOBER 1999
On three separate occasions, as a novel
and dangerous experiment in facilitating
the removal of demonstrators who had
locked themselves together, sheriffs
|
is a benign organic substance that causes
only transient discomfort," Crosby noted.
"In fact, pepper spray ingredients,
alone and in combination with solvents
"Pepper spray is a kind of chemical
cattle prod on nonviolent
demonstrators resisting arrest..."
directed pepper spray at close range, or
near the protestors' eyes-sometimes
directly on the eyelids. The Humboldt
Sheriff said, "what we have done here' with
pepper spray "is new'-never before used
in Humboldt County, in the state of
California or in the nation.
The demonstrators sued the County
and its officers in United States District
Court, charging that the sheriffs' use of a
chemical weapon to inflict pain in the eyes,
face, throat, and lungs was an unconstitu-
tional response to civil disobedience.
The ACLU-NC brief summarizes empir-
ical, scientific and toxicological research
on pepper spray. "Scientific literature
refutes the repeated depiction, by the trial
judge and by Humboldt, that pepper spray
charge would not result in the return of
- the vehicle.
Schlosser said, "The basic presumption
of our justice system-innocent until
proven guilty-is violated by the ordinance.
Vehicles can be seized without any prior
judicial hearing based on something more
than a hunch but far less than what is nec-
essary to prove guilt in a criminal court."
The unfairness is even more extreme
in the City of Sacramento's proposed ordi-
nance: a vehicle can be seized even if the
owner is not present at the time of its sus-
pected use in criminal activity. In an
August letter to Sacramento Mayor Joe
Serna and to the City Council members,
Schlosser wrote, "Loaning your car to your
teenager or your spouse or a friend would
be sufficient grounds to be subjected to
government confiscation and loss of title if
it is used for illegal purposes."
In such circumstances, once the vehi-
cle is seized the innocent owner has the
burden of fighting the system to regain his
or her property. No public defender will
represent indigent persons in civil forfei-
ture proceedings, ensuring that the ordi-
nance would unfairly effect low-income
persons. The unfairness is aggravated by
_the provision that owners have only ten
days to file a claim before forever losing the
right to attempt to regain their property.
that create the weapon, have a variety of
physiological effects. Courts have recog-
nized that pepper spray may be a danger-
ous chemical weapon, resulting in
liability to government or private parties,
or incarceration to criminal defendants,"
Crosby argued.
The ACLU brief also noted that the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled ear-
lier this year, in the context of senten-
cing guidelines for criminal defendants,
that pepper spray may constitute a dan-
gerous weapon. Federal sentencing
guidelines define a dangerous weapon as
"capable of inflicting death or serious
bodily injury," causing "extreme physical
pain or the protracted impairment of a
function of a bodily member, organ, or
ACLU Fights Vehicle Forfeiture
Ordinances
In his letter to the Sacramento City
Council, Schlosser pointed out that the
ordinance would be inconsistent with state
Non-Profit
Organization
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PAID
Permit No. 4424
San Francisco, CA
No. 5S
ACLU Exposes Danger of Pepper Spray
Against Redwoods Demonstrators
mental faculty; requiring medical inter-
ventions such as surgery, hospitalization
or physical rehabilitation."
The ACLU argues that the use of pepper
spray on environmental demonstrators
requires a jury evaluation under estab-
lished constitutional standards. The single
most important consideration in assessing
the reasonableness of the use of force is
whether the suspect poses an immediate
threat to the safety of the officers or others.
Crosby noted, "The Humboldt authorities
arrested peaceful demonstrators, seated,
linked and locked into a metal device. They
were dramatizing their commitment to pro-
tecting old-growth redwood trees. They
were not menacing anyone."
Pepper spray weapons-both their
active ingredients and their chemical sol-
vents and propellants-may have damaging
short- and long-term effects on a number of
body systems and functions. These
weapons are particularly dangerous for peo-
ple with compromised health status and for
young people. Several of the redwoods
demonstrators were minors.
"Pepper spray's effects on the respirato-
ry, ophthalmologic, and neurologic systems
may be severe. Studies also show that pep-
per spray also may produce carcinogenic
effects and disrupt the body's temperature
regulation system," Crosby said.
The ACLU brief summarizes animal
studies, research and case studies involving
humans. The studies report incidents of
correctional officers suffering physical
injuries during training exercises with pep-
per spray, emergency room reports of eye
injuries from pepper spray, children hospi-
talized after accidental exposure to pepper
spray, spice workers suffering respiratory
ailments from long-term exposure to pep-
per spray's active ingredients, and cancer
rates in countries with high consumption of
Continued on page 5 | hot peppers. Ml
Students Step into the Journey of
"Homelessness: Unplugged"
In August, twenty high school students from the Howard A. Friedman First
Amendment Education Project went on a 9-day exploration of youth homelessness in
the Bay Area and Los Angeles, visiting drop-in centers, group homes, needle
exchanges and listening to the experiences of homeless teenagers. Read about their
journey on pages 4-8.
See Inside: Key aT TKS on the Governor's Desk-What You Can Do... pages 6 and 8
Racial Insults at the Workplace
Free Speech or Illegal Harassment?
BY MARGARET CROSBY
ACLU-NC Starr ATTORNEY
n August 2, the California Supreme
QO Court, in the case of Aguilar v. Avis
Rent-a-Car System, Inc. upheld an
injunction barring an Avis manager from
continuing to call his Latino workers by
such names as "motherfuckers" and "wet-
backs." The ACLU of Northern California
supported the Latino employees' effort to
secure a workplace environment free of
racial harassment. The Supreme Court's
decision advances equality without threat-
ening freedom of expression.
A jury had found Avis liable for race
discrimination based on its supervisor's
repeatedly hurling racist epithets at his
Latino workers. The jury awarded money
damages for this proven race discrimina-
tion. Avis did not challenge the damage
award, thereby conceding that the speech
was not constitutionally protected. The
only question Avis presented on appeal was
whether the court could restrain the
views. The government may not ban expres-
sion simply because most people find it
offensive or even outrageous. Flag burning,
salacious parodies, political messages with
The workplace is not Hyde Park.
Speech that is protected on the
street corner may not be protected
in the workplace
supervisor from continuing his illegal
harassment or whether the Latino workers
were relegated to filing a series of repeti-
tive damage suits.
On a soapbox, on a public street, an indi-
vidual may express racially demeaning
Airline to Provide |
Domestic Partner Benefits
CLU leaders applauded United
Airlines for becoming the first U.S. -
carrier to provide comprehensive
fringe benefits to the domestic partner of
its lesbian and gay employees nationwide.
The July 30 announcement "marked a
huge step towards equality in the work-
force," said ACLU-NC staff attorney
Robert Kim. :
"Social recognition of lesbian and gay
couples has largely been the result of
efforts to persuade local governments and
major businesses to include them in fringe
benefit plans," noted Kim. "Until United's
decision, most of the progress had come
from the high-tech, entertainment, and
finance industries. This is a major addition
to the growing list of businesses that treat
lesbians and gay men fairly."
With United's decision to provide these
benefits, transportation becomes the
fourth major industry to recognize gay and
lesbian relationships.
"United is the first major U.S. carrier to
fully recognize domestic partners," said
Matthew Coles, Director of the National
ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.
"Since it is the largest airline in the world,
its domestic competitors have already fol-
lowed suit."
Only few days after United's announce-
ment, American Airlines, the second
largest airline in the world, said that it
would also offer domestic partner benefits
to its lesbian and gay employees.
These changes in policy come after the
City of San Francisco passed the contro-
versial Equal Benefits Partners Ordinance
in 1996, which requires companies that the
City does business with to provide the
same benefits to unmarried domestic part-
ners that they provide to married couples.
Challenging their obligation to follow
the ordinance, the American Transport
Association filed suit in federal court
against the City of San Francisco on behalf
of major twenty six major airlines, includ-
ing United. The ACLU, along with Lambda
. Legal Defense and Education Fund and
the National Center for Lesbian Rights,
filed a friend-of-the-court brief in defense
of San Francisco's ordinance. Coles, Kim,
and former ACLU-NC staff attorney Kelli
Evans represented the ACLU.
In April, 1998 U.S. District Court Judge
Claudia Wilken upheld the ordinance and
ordered United to provide travel privi-
leges, bereavement leave and medical
leave to both same-sex and opposite-sex
domestic partnerships.
Despite United's ground-breaking
move for lesbian and gay rights, the Air
Transport Association is still proceeding
with its appeal on Wilken's ruling. Hi
n July, the ACLU filed a friend-of-the-
| court brief in ATA v. San Francisco in
to information submitted to the court as
part of the ongoing litigation. At the ini-
tial stage of the airline industry lawsuit
`seeking to avoid compliance with the
city's domestic partnership ordinance,
the parties had agreed that documents
containing highly sensitive trade secrets
or business information could be sealed
and removed from public scrutiny.
However, according to staff attorney
Robert Kim, the airlines were improperly
sealing information that was outside the
scope of the agreement.
"The public has a First Amendment
right of access to information filed in a civ-
il case," Kim said. "Litigation should not be
shrouded in secrecy. The right to know
support of the public's right of access .
ACLU Shek. Info from United
|
would surface, then surface they should."
what's going on in the courts is essential as
a check on the judicial system. Materials
that are filed with the court should not be
hidden from view merely because they may
prove embarrassing to the airlines.
"This is especially important in a civil
rights case," Kim added. "If potential evi-
dence of bigotry or unsavory comments
"In addition, where the government is
a party to the litigation involving a matter
of significant public interest, the public is
especially entitled to know as much about
the details of the lawsuit as possible."
The San Francisco Examiner also
intervened in the lawsuit, asserting its
right to print information about the case
to the public. Kim expects that the air-
lines will agree to unseal most of the doc-
uments in dispute.
ACLU News = Seprenser-OcToseR 1999 = Pace 2
four letter words, are all protected against
government censorship despite their strong
emotive impact. These are important con-
stitutional principles. The ACLU steadfast-
ly defends the core right in a free society to
speak out-including the right to proclaim
racial superiority.
But the context of speech is also
important. The workplace is not Hyde
Park. Speech that is protected on the
street corner may not be protected in the
workplace. The Supreme Court has recog-
nized that verbal harassment along pro-
tected lines, racial or sexual, may
constitute an act of employment discrimi-
nation. Employees have the right to work
in an environment free from discriminato-
ry intimidation, ridicule and insult. While
the Avis supervisor has the right to use the
language of prejudice in the public square,
he does not have a right to humiliate and
harass the Latino workers he supervises.
As any employee knows, the realities of
the workplace have an inevitable impact
on the application of the First Amendment
to speech on the job. It is impossible, as a
practical matter, for the victims of racial
harassment in the workplace simply to
walk away or shut their eyes when their
own boss harasses them on the job.
An employer's speech to subordinates
has a coercive character, because of the
power imbalance inherent in the relation-
ship. Speech that would be protected on
a street corner may not be protected
when the boss says it to the worker, who is
not in a position to dispute it, or even
walk away.
That problem is compounded, more-
over, by the fact that harassment is rarely
designed to elicit a response or, more to
the point, to precipitate a dialogue.
- Usually, the constitutional remedy for
provocative speech is more speech, not
enforced silence. Thus, if the Klan plans
to march down Main Street, its critics
must not petition to revoke the Klan's per-
mit, but stage a robust counter-demonstra-
tion in favor of equality.
The operating assumptions are very
different in a workplace where many
employees have little choice but "enforced
silence" when they are harassed on the job
by their own boss. The hierarchical rela-
tionship skews the robust exchange of
ideas. In the Avis case, for example, the
supervisor is insulated from the vigorous
response he might expect were he to hurl
racial slurs at passing strangers on a street
corner. As subordinates, his workers are
muzzled from responding as sharply as
they might wish to the racial slurs their
boss casts at them. This is not a fair
exchange in the marketplace of ideas.
Pervasive racist invective on the job is
therefore illegal. It is not constitutionally
protected expression. If it were, a court
could not award money damages for racial
harassment. A court may punish and
enjoin illegal verbal acts, like terrorist
threats, bribes or securities frauds.
Avis had its day in court. The jury
found that the supervisor's racist epithets
created a hostile working environment for
the Latino worker forced to endure them.
Avis did not challenge the damage award
based on that finding. An order requiring
Avis and its supervisor to cease its proven
illegal behavior is not a prior restraint. As
Chief Justice Ronald George concluded:
"Once a court has found that a specific pat-
tern of speech is unlawful, an injunctive
order prohibiting the repetition, perpetua-
tion, or continuation of that practice is not
a prohibited `prior restraint."
This decision does not make every
_ workplace a zone sanitized of any provoca-
tive speech. The antidiscrimination laws
do not prevent us from discussing racist
literature or sexy movies. The law forbids
only severe and pervasive behavior, which
creates the kind of hostile working envi-
ronment that most employers would and
should not condone.
Most companies would fire, or at least
discipline, a manager whose violation of
the antidiscrimination laws had resulted
in a substantial damage award. They
would not champion the supervisor's right
to continue creating a hostile working
environment. In most cases, an injunction
restraining racist invective should and
would not be necessary.
But where companies fail to protect
workers from race discrimination, courts
must act. The Constitution holds out a
promise of equality as well as expressive
freedom. The Constitution permits state
and federal governments to enact laws
securing the right of people all races to
equal treatment at work. Those laws nec-
essarily place some limits on the unre-
strained speech of bigots in the
workplace, particularly when they are in
positions of authority on the job. In the
Avis case, the Supreme Court, enforcing
California's law against race discrimina-
tion, accommodated fundamental princi-
ples of equality and expression.
Estes Honored with FrontLine Award
BY NANCY MAGIDSON
n July 14, in the spirit of Bastille Day |
liberation, more than 200 friends of |
the ACLU came together to celebrate
and-honor Dr. Milton Estes with the first "On
the FrontLine" award at the Ed Hardy San -
Francisco gallery. "The FrontLine award is
given to an individual who has done signifi-
cant and sustained work to protect and pre- |
serve the rights of lesbians, gay men,
bisexuals, transgender people, and people
with HIV and AIDS. We especially want to |
honor those who do this work in the larger _
advocacy context of protecting civil and con- -
stitutional rights for all people," explained |
ACLU-NC Executive Director.
Ehrlich said that the innovative event -
is one component of the Frontline
Tanya Neiman and honoree Milton Estes.
fundraising campaign which gives donors
an opportunity to evenly split their contri-
butions between the National ACLU
Lesbian and Gay Rights and HIV/AIDS
Projects and all the civil liberties work of
the ACLU-NC.
Nadine Strossen, president of the
National Board, made a surprise visit to
the Bay Area to honor Estes. Matt Coles,
director of the National ACLU Lesbian and
Gay Rights Project and HIV/AIDS Rights
Project also flew in from New York for the
event. "The ACLU is involved in more les-
bian and gay rights litigation and legisla-
tive work combined than any other single
organization in the country," Coles told the
crowd of ACLU supporters.
Tanya Neiman, Director of Volunteer
Legal Services for the San Francisco Bar
SUSANA MILLMAN
Association pre-
sented the hand-
crafted glass
sculpture award
to, "Dr Estes,
"Milton lives his
life on the front-
line every day;
activism perme-
ates all aspects
of his daily life,"
Neiman said.
On receiving
the award, Estes
asked the crowd
"to remember
that gay and les-
bian liberation
has not as yet
been realized, and that the struggles of les-
| bians and gay men are inextricably linked
with the civil liberties and liberation of all
_ people. " Always the organizer, Estes
encouraged supporters to get involved in
the campaign to defeat the Knight
Overcome."
Carol Vendrillo and Estes lead
SUSANA MILLMAN
crowd in singing "We Shall
San Francisco jails. In addition to his med-
ical work, Dr. Estes has dedicated substan-
| tial volunteer time to his work for the
| ACLU. He served four years as the first
| openly gay Chair of the Board of the ACLU-
Initiative, the anti-gay marriage measure, |
slated for the March 2000 ballot. To further
bring home the real reasons for gathering,
Estes invited his friend Carol Vendrillo to
lead the singing of "We Shall Overcome."
Estes has focussed his efforts on pro-
tecting the rights of those with HIV and
AIDS, working for freedom of speech and
reproductive freedom, and striving to
ensure racial justice. The first physician in
Marin to treat people with AIDS, Estes cur-
rently serves as the Medical Director for
the City of San Francisco's Forensic AIDS
Project, dividing his time between his
AIDS practice in Marin and providing com-
passionate care to those incarcerated in
NC and currently serves as a vice-president
of the national ACLU Board as well as the
Chair of the Board's Lesbian and Gay
Caucus.
"Because of his work and the way
Milton has chosen to live his life, he
became the obvious and unanimous choice
for the award," said Executive Director
Ehrlich.
Ehrlich also thanked Pacific Bell for
underwriting the evening with a generous
donation and Ed Hardy for inviting the
gathering into his beautiful antique gallery
| forthe event.
Nancy Magidson is the interum Major Gifts
- officer of the ACLU-NC.
SOSOS9HSHSHSHSHHHHHHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHHHHSHSHSHHSHSHSHSHSHHHHHHHHSHSHSHSHHSHSHSHHSHSHHHSHHSHHHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHHSHHSHEHHHHHSHHHKEHSHHSEHHSEHEHSHHSHSHEHSEHBHHSHSEHEHEHSHEHEHHEHEHEHHSSSESEEHE
Unlawfully Imprisoned
Asylum Seeker
uling that the Immigration and
Posts Service had been
unlawfully incarcerating Salvadoran
immigrant Miguel Rivera for over a year, on
. July 18, U.S. District Court Judge Thelton
Henderson ordered the San Francisco
Office of the INS to grant Rivera a hearing
to determine whether the asylum appli-
cant could be released while his immigra-
tion case was pending. Less than two
weeks later, Rivera was out of jail.
"Judge Henderson's decision is the first
ruling in the Northern District of California
to find that the INS is misinterpreting
immigration detention statutes," said for-
mer ACLU National Immigrants' Rights
Project attorney Chris Palamountain.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit for Rivera on
June 22, charging that INS officials and
Attorney General Janet Reno violated
Rivera's Fifth Amendment due process
rights and the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA). Specifically, the
ACLU argued that the INS misread the
INA as mandating Rivera's detention
without giving him any opportunity to
demonstrate that his imprisonment
served no purpose because he is not a
danger to the community or a flight risk.
"The Immigration and Nationality Act
can not allow the government to strip peo-
ple of their basic right to a hearing before
being incarcerated, " said ACLU-NC man-
aging attorney Alan Schlosser.
The judge who heard Rivera's asylum
case carefully considered whether Rivera's
six month jail sentence in 1994 might dis-
qualify him from asylum and decided it did
- not, because of the highly favorable reports
of his probation officer and his regular par-
ticipation in Alcoholics Anonymous and an
anti-domestic violence program. But only
a few days after Rivera was granted asy-
lum, President Clinton signed into law the
Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigration Responsibility Act. As a
result of the Act, the INS argued that
Rivera is an "aggravated felon" and ineligi-
ble for asylum.
Because a state court later vacated
Rivera's sentence, his conviction can no
longer be considered an "aggravated
felony. However, on April 3, 1998 the INS
ordered him to report for deportation-
three full years after his release from his
jail sentence. Rivera complied and was
incarcerated without a hearing at the
Tehama County jail on May 4, 1998, where
he was held until the ACLU obtained the
court ruling that his detention violated the
Immigration Act and the Constitution.
"This case proves, once again, that the
federal courts are crucial to stopping the
illegal practices of a federal agency with a
sad history of ignoring the law and violat-
ing constitutional rights," said Lucas
Guttentag, Director of the ACLU National
Immigrants' Rights Project.
Rivera is represented by Chris
Palamountain, Judy Rabinovitz and Lucas
Guttentag of the ACLU National
Immigrants' Rights Project, ACLU- NC
managing attorney Alan Schlosser, and
attorney Robert Lewis.
Annual Activist Conference
of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
SAVE THE DATE!
|9O99 BILL OF RIGHTS
DAY CELEBRATION
SUNDAY, DECEMBER
ir
HONORING WITH THE EARL WARREN CIVIL LIBERTIES AWARD
LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI
SAN FRANCISCO'S POET LAUREATE HAS BEEN FIGHT- _
ING FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION FOR HALF A CEN-
ARTE O ee
IN THE |950'S HE WAS PROSECUTED FOR
PUBLISHING ALLEN GINSBURG'S HOWL-- IN THE
| 990'S HE IS PART OF THE ACLU LAWSUIT AGAINST
CENSORSHIP IN CYBERSPACE. JOIN US IN HONORING
LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI'S LIFE AND WORK.
ACLU News = SEPTEMBER-OcTOBER 1999 = Pace 3
For nine days in August, twenty high school students ranging in age from 15 to
18 went on a journey to explore the issue of youth homelessness. Sponsored
by the ACLU-NC Howard A. Friedman First Amendment Education Project, the
students traveled from San Francisco to Los Angeles, visiting youth drop-in
centers, group homes, needle exchange programs, clinics, merchant
associations, youth employment centers and the streets.
The students came from high schools throughout northern California - from
Martinez and Oakland to Santa Rosa and Vallejo. Throughout the year, they
will soeak about their experiences to other high school students and publish a
report "Through Our Eyes: Homelessness Unplugged."
Here, Shayna Gelender, a 17-year old senior from Castro Valley High School
and the editor-in-chief of her school newspaper, shares some her thoughts
on the journey.
ong time heroin addict,
Le grade education, HIV
positive, dirty, cold, hun-
gry, weary, no where to go, no
where to sleep, age 16. Who is he?
He is part of the rapidly grow-
ing generation of homeless
youth, street kids. On our
Homelessness Unplugged `99 trip
we learned where he may have
come from, why he stays on the
streets, what services are avail-
able to him, and what can-be
done to prevent others like him
from becoming homeless.
The Coalition on Homeless-
ness, a political advocacy orga-
nization in San Francisco,
taught us about the trend of sys-
tematic criminalization of
homeless people. Cities pass
laws making it illegal to hold
signs on median strips or to sit
on the sidewalks. These laws
Kathleen Flanagan, Saba Moeel, and Sanam Jorjani at Dome Village, an innov-
ative housing community for homeless people in Los Angeles.
out homes.
ACLU News = eee D2 ie V4 ae
| pass because there is a climate of |
_ vengeance and hatred against those with- |
a break fr prep G
Memorial Church in San Francisco.
Police are often instructed to "clean up
the streets," which translates into unlawful
action taken against homeless people to
remove them from public view. Police issue
tickets to homeless folks for allegedly
breaking laws regarding encampment or
sleeping in the park. Yet it is not illegal to
sleep in the park during the day. Simple
tickets grow into warrants because home-
less people often have trouble keeping
court dates and can't pay fines.
In Hollywood, we learned that mer-
chants hire private security called the
Green Shirts, solely to harass homeless peo-
ple. In reality, these guards have no more
legal rights than any other citizen. But
most people, homeless or otherwise, espe-
cially youth, do not know their rights. We
seek to educate our peers on these issues.
There's a stigma attached to homeless
youth: the prevailing wisdom is that
they're all irresponsible, runaway delin-
quents, out to have a party and get high,
and that we should either pity or walk all
~ over them. These are the myths.
What is true is that most all of them are
running. Usually they are either running
from poisonous homes or from a system
that's repeatedly failed them. What they
are running from in the home may be so
horrific - sexual, emotional, physical and
mental abuse, or neglect - that it's safer
for them on the dangerous streets.
Many youth from across America seek
refuge in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Not because of the so-called "magnet theo-
ry' that politicians would have us believe,
that it's so "easy" to be homeless in these
cities. Though the services provided here
are often better than most other cities
around the country, youth come to L.A. or
San: Francisco for reasons as varied as the
individuals. Many youth flee to the Castro
and the Haight seeking escape from fami-
lies and communities who have made them
outcasts for being gay, lesbian, bisexual,
Nancy OTTO
transgender, or questioning. A dispropor-
tionate number of street kids are GLBTQ.
Many homeless youth would like to go
home but can't find a pathway through
their pride and shame to make it back. We
visited many programs in the Bay Area and
Los Angeles that address the needs of
homeless youth .
The Haight-Ashbury Youth Outreach
Team provides a drop-in site, clinical refer-
rals, counseling, street outreach, and other
services. They offer assistance to youth with-
out judgment or discrimination. Here, youth
can be themselves and receive the care they
need. My Friend's Place in LA and the
Berkeley Chaplaincy are two other drop-in
sites that provide outreach, educational
opportunities, hygiene supplies, referrals to
shelters, food, trusted adults, and a number
of other services. Drop-in programs give
homeless youth a place to go during the day
where they can receive necessary services.
Youth Industries in San Francisco
takes another approach to assisting home-
less youth. Here, youth are trained with
marketable skills for self-sufficiency and
are hired to work in one of the program's
businesses, such as Einstein's Cafe, Pedal
Revolution, or thrift stores.
Substance abuse, HIV, and ae
are major problems in the homeless com-
munity. We learned that drug addiction |
knows no class borders. Needle exchange
programs seek to provide ways in which
users can be safer. Needle exchanges pro-
- vide clean needles, safety supplies for
users, condoms, and oftentimes therapy,
HIV testing, food, clothing and other ser-
vices. In San Francisco we visited Horizons
Unlimited, Clean Needles Now, and the
San Francisco AIDS Foundation exchange
site for women.
For the most part, needle exchanges
are illegal but ignored, yet clients are often
harassed by police upon exiting a site. One
of the sites we visited is legal because it
Vehicle Forfeiture...
Continued from page |
and federal law, which explicitly state
that the vehicles of innocent owners used
for illegal purposes without their knowl-
edge or consent cannot be forfeited.
Besides being illegal and unfair,
Schlosser charges that both the San
Francisco and Sacramento ordinances
would implement a "cash bounty system"
of law enforcement, because the seizure |
and subsequent sale of vehicles directly
generates revenue for the government,
half of it slotted for local authorities.
"There is an inherent conflict of interest
built into the exercise of prosecutorial
applies for "Public Emergency' status
every two weeks.
Our journey took us to many facilities
that provide assistance to homeless peo-
ple: Harrison House, BOSS Youth Shelter,
Huckleberry House, Marion House,
AMASI, AQUA, and Larkin St. Youth Center
in the Bay Area and Angels' Flight,
Covenant House and LA Youth Network in
Los Angeles. Although we were often high-
ly critical of some of the programs' policies
and limitations,
our judgments
are irrele- vant.
What is relevant is
that we learn to
analyze the impact
of approaches on
solving the prob-
lems.
The homeless
youth we met told
us their sentiments:
Youth often choose
the streets over a
shelter because they
feel unsafe in some
shelters. There are
very, very few shelters
available for minors,
and most of them will
call parents - an
obvious deterrent for
youth who are running
from their parents.
There simply are not nearly enough shelter
beds in the city for everyone. Youth often
engage in survival sex work because the one
thing they have control over are their bod-
ies. Often, the money made by prostituting
goes directly into feeding a drug addiction,
which spirals them into further despera-
tion, thus repeating the vicious cycle.
Well-meaning, effective, programs can
and do help some individuals. With the
numerous agencies
A
in Oakland.
already in existence help- |
~ ing homeless people, how can we do more?
We can start by not permitting ourgovern-
discretion when the local prosecutor will
receive 50% of the forfeiture proceeds,
and there will be a strong temptation for
law enforcement to pursue assets and not
convictions," said Schlosser. "To innocent
owners or those guilty of a first time
offense, this cash bounty system will seem
very much like legalized extortion." '
Schlosser warned both cities that
because their proposed ordinances
would authorize the seizure of valuable
property for relatively minor offenses,
the punishment would not be in propor-
tion to the crime, which is prohibited by |
the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth
Amendment. San Francisco Mayor
Willie Brown was quoted in the press as
looking forward to the seizure of BMW's
ACLU | a Ae SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1999 u anh . J
5 work with activists from UNI
ment to simply throw money at "the home-
less situation." Yes, city and county govern-
ments do give money to social services. |
However, this tiny amount of money is mis-
directed and with it comes strings |
attached that do not allow programs the |
freedom they need to operate successfully.
Some of the facilities we visited receive
most of their funding from private donors.
These places are often more free
to
function as they
see fit because individual donors are much
less demanding than governments.
Ted Hayes, the founder of Dome Village |
in Los Angeles, taught us a great deal about
being solution-oriented. Hayes voluntarily
became homeless fifteen years ago so he
could study homelessness firsthand, with the
goal of eliminating it altogether. Since then,
he created Dome Village and actively pro-
motes his theory of the National Homeless
Problem. Hayes's theory teaches that wide-
spread, increasing homelessness cannot be
handled locally. A viable, comprehensive
plan backed by resources to
put it into action is the only
way to arrive at a nation-
al solution to the home-
less problem.
There have always
been homeless people,
more in times of depres-
sion, and fewer in times of
1B to survey TaTlss and low-inc
prosperity, until recently. Now, when our
nation's economy is growing, the homeless
population is also growing. There are lots
of contributing factors to this phenome-
non. Local governments are overwhelming-
ly ill-equipped and unwilling to handle the
_ Situations in their areas. The national budget
must in-clude more funds to build Section 8
housing. Homeless
people are moved
from place to place;
there is nowhere for
them to go, and no
one wants to take
responsibility for
housing them and
providing neces-
sary opportunities
for _ self-suffi-
ciency.
All the
inspiring pro-
grams we visit-
ed are doing
the best they
can with limit-
ed resources.
= But agencies
that serve
= homeless peo-
ple are only
"band aid"
solutions. Food Not
Bombs and the Meals Program at Glide
Memorial Church specifically address the
very real need of people to eat everyday.
Feeding or housing an individual for a
night is important; yes, people need to eat
and sleep everyday. These measures how-
ever, do nothing to eradicate the deeply
rooted societal causes of why a person is
hungry and homeless to begin with. Why do
we more readily fund programs that react
to problems instead of those that prevent
problems from occurring.
Our first priority as a student group is
to educate our peers about what we've
ome youth
_ learned. At the same time, we need to keep
learning, and start doing.
When we returned home to the com-
fort of our pampered lives and loving
families, we were a bundle of contradic-
tions; drained, empowered, baffled, and
energized all at once. Yet we could not
escape one single fact: we have a ton of
work to do. @
The Travelers on "Homelessness: Unplugged"
The following students participated in the ACLU-NC 1999 journey:
Shayna Gelender, 17 Castro Valley; Kathleen Flanagan, 16,
Oakland; Sirena Putman, 17, Castro Valley; Lani Riccobuono, 18,
Martinez; Jed Kinnison, 17, Santa Rosa; Kandyce Wilson, 17, Vallejo;
Ryan Ricco-Pena, 15, San Anselmo; Zac Moon, 17, Berkeley; Sierra
Martinez, 18, Martinez; Gabriel Martinez, 16, Martinez; Chris Uyeda,
17, Martinez; Jamie Christiansen, 17, San Ramon
18, Martinez; Suemyra Shah, 17, Berkeley; Sanam Jorjani, 16, Albany;
Saba Moeel, 16, Albany; Rachel Aonan, 17, Castro Valley.
They were accompanied by Adult Chaperones: Nancy Otto, Director,
=| ACLU-NC Howard A. Friedman First Amendment Education Project;
Bernadette Montemayor, SF State; Jeannie Lee, UC Berkeley; William
Walker, SF City College; Shaffy Moeel, UC Berkeley; Catrina Raollos, SF
State; lain Finlay, ACLU-NC Finance Director.
; Cindy Downing,
used in the purchase of a "$10 bag a mar-
ijuana;" however, the maximum fine for .
the possession of small quantities of
marijuana is $100 and no jail time.
Also of great concern is the likeli-
hood that if passed, the ordinances
`would have a disparate impact on racial
minorities because police are more like-
ly to stop minority drivers, especially
African-Americans and Hispanics. "In
recent months, the phenomenon of
Driving While Black has been widely dis-
cussed in the news and President
Clinton has called for a national effort to
document the problem of drivers being
singled out by law enforcement based on
race and ethnicity," Schlosser said. "In
view of this well-documented problem,
San Francisco and Sacramento should
question the appropriateness of adding
another weapon to the arsenal of the
police that will give them both the dis-
cretion and the financial incentive to
single out drivers suspected of minor
offenses."
The ACLU-NC has _ repeatedly
expressed civil rights concerns on vehi-
cle seizure ordinances and legally chal-
lenged the Oakland ordinance on which
the San Francisco and Sacramento pro-
-posals are modeled. The case Horton v.
City of Oakland: is pending in the.
California Court of Appeal.
Maria Archuleta is the former ee
Editor of the ACLU News.
ae
Governor's Veto of Key Civil Rights Bill
Draws Fury from Advocates
rights advocates throughout the state,
Governor Gray Davis vetoed a key bill
providing for equal opportunity for women
and people of color in state employment
and education.
The measure, SB 44, authored by
Senator Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles)
supported outreach and recruitment pro-
grams for women and people of color and
ensured equal access to information about
opportunities in education and employment.
Moments after news of the veto came
on July 28, the Coalition for Civil Rights
fired off a letter to the Governor charging
that his veto "sends the unequivocal mes-
sage that your administration will make
no room for the women and minorities
that now constitute the majority of
California's population."
"The Governor's veto places state and
local agencies between the proverbial rock
and a hard place," said Michelle Alexander,
Director of the ACLU-NC Racial Justice
Project. "Governmental entities have a
constitutional duty not to discriminate.
They have an obligation to distribute the
| n a political move that outraged civil
_ more than $4 billion in annual public con-
| tracts, 200,000 state jobs, and 2 million in
public higher education slots equitably.
Where they have identified discrimination
in the letting of contracts or hiring and
promotion practices, governmental agen-
cies are required to act affirmatively to
remedy the situation. By precluding them
from instituting such modest efforts as
outreach and recruitment, the Governor is
_ denying them the ability to act.
"Outreach on the basis of socioeconom-
ic status or geographic area simply will not
work. Race- and gender-based problems
need race-and gender-conscious solu-
tions," Alexander charged.
"The Governor's veto is contrary to the
intent of the voters in passing Proposition
209. It is contrary to the authors and propo-
nents of 209 who have stated repeatedly
that the initiative was not meant to ban out-
reach and recruitment programs. And it is
| contrary to several court decisions that
have held that "preferential treatment"
does not encompass measures designed to
level the playing field and equalize opportu-
| nities," said Beth Parker, Program Director
Ce ee ee eo Oe te
Governor Davis and the
Legislative Endgame
BY VALERIE SMALL NAVARRO
LEGISLATIVE ADVOCATE
overnor Gray Davis has _ until
Gon 10 to sign or veto the bills
that were sent to him during this
first year of our two-year legislative ses-
sion. It is crucial that ACLU members
write or FAX a letter to Governor Davis,
State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814 (FAX
916/445-4633) on bills that will protect our
civil liberties.
CIVIL RIGHTS
SB 78 (Murray) - The Traffic Stops Data
Collection measure, a.k.a. the "Driving
While Black or Brown' bill. This modest
measure merely requires officers to keep
statistical information regarding race,
what the legal basis was for the stop,
whether a search was conducted, and what
was seized for traffic stops.
Although a similar bill was recently
signed by the Republican Governor of
Connecticut, our Governor has not indicat-
ed that he will sign this bill. [See p. 5]
AB 1670 (Kuehl)- The "California Civil -
Rights Amendments of 1999" is an omnibus
legislative proposal intended to strengthen |
the civil rights protections afforded by the
Fair Employment and Housing Act
(FEHA), and other their civil rights
statutes. The religious right added this
measure to its "hit list".
Among its most important provisions,
AB 1670 would extend protections against
harassment at the workplace to indepen- _
dent contractors; would require employers -
to provide reasonable accommodation to ~
pregnant employees; would increase the |
amount of damages that can be awarded |
through the administrative process form
$50,000 to $150,000; would prohibit genetic
testing by employers; and would clarify that
the current prohibitions against discrimina- |
tion by agencies or entities receiving stated |
funds is enforceable through a civil action |
for equitable relief. The Governor has not
indicated that he will sign this measure.
AB 1001 (Villaraigosa) - moves the provi-
sion prohibiting employment discrimination |
on the basis of sexual orientation from the |
Labor Code to the Civil Code (FEHA). The
protections currently afforded by the Labor
Code are less extensive than those afforded
by the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
For example, there is a 30-day time limit for
filing instead of the one year under FEHA
and prevailing parties may not recover
attorneys' fees. It is unclear whether the
Governor will sign this bill.
PRIVACY RIGHTS
AB 103 (Migden) - implements for the |
first time a system of HIV reporting in
California based on the use of a unique
identifier (instead of using an individual's
name) to track the trends of the epidemic.
People who fear that their names will be
added to a government HIV list will be
reluctant to be tested and may be reluctant
to participate in partner notification
because they fear their name may be
revealed. The Governor has not indicated
whether he will sign this measure.
FIRST AMENDMENT
of Equal Rights Advocates. "Indeed,
Governor Davis's position that Proposition
209 prohibits any race based programs to
achieve diversity - is far more extreme
than the position taken last year by former
Attorney General Dan Lungren when he
supported the measure."
The Coalition, a group representing
more than 50 organizations, noted that the
"Governor's decision contradicts the will of
the people in passing the initiative."
Polling data taken before and after 209's
passage showed that most voters support-
ed outreach and recruitment. A pre-elec-
tion survey conducted by Hewlett-Packard
and Kaiser Permanente found that 70 per-
cent supported outreach programs to
expand minority enrollment in colleges
and 68 percent supported targeted out-
reach efforts to recruit women and minori-
ties for employment. Exit polls taken on
election day similarly confirm that a sub-
stantial number of even those who voted
for the initiative did not intend to elimi-
nate equal opportunity for women and
people of color.
Not surprisingly, Governor Davis was
lauded in the media by U.C. Regent Ward
Connerly, the architect of Proposition
209 who is now involved in a campaign to
bring the same divisive measure to other
states.
Civil rights activist and engineer Fred
| Jordan, director of a coalition of minority
_ business owners, thought that Connerly's
_ praise should be a source of worry for the
Governor. "To take some action that Ward
Connerly, perhaps the most despicable
| black man in America would applaud him
_ for, is a major problem," said Jordan.
The Governor was lambasted in an edi-
_ torial in the New York Times, which noted
"The anti-affirmative action camp in
California is trying to twist the meaning of
Proposition 209 to ban outreach and recruit-
_ ment efforts that merely encourage minori-
ties and women to compete for jobs,
contracts, and college slots. This pernicious
attack, if successful, would take away a cru-
cial remaining tool to remedy the lingering
effects of racial and gender discrimination.
"Mr. Davis apparently believes that
diversity in the workplace and on college
campuses can be achieved solely through
outreach programs based on nonracial
characteristics like economic status or geo-
| graphic residence. But the legacy of racial
discrimination is not fully accounted for by
measuring qualities like economic status.
"The attack on outreach programs
looks like an attempt to deny minorities
and women the very information they
need to compete fairly," the Times editor-
ial concluded.
"`Censored!"' Sculpture
Exhibit Reaps Lively
Discussion, Benefits for
ACLU-NC
. censorship case he tried
AB 1440 (Migden) - overturns a regula- -
tion that imposed a blanket ban on media |
interviews with
specified prisoners.
However there is a provision to allow the |
Department of Corrections to impose rea-
sonable time, place, and manner restric- |
tions; the bill also allows the Department
to prohibit an interview that would pose an
immediate and direct threat to the security |
of the institution or the physical safety of a _
member of the public.
As the ACLU News goes to press, the |
Governor has expressed grave reservations -
about the measure. However, this is a crucial -
freedom of press bill that would allow public -
scrutiny of our correctional system, one of the _
largest expenditures of taxpayer funds.
BY STAN YOGI
midst thought-provoking sculptures,
Aw ACLU supporters gathered at A
ew Leaf Gallery in Berkeley on the
afternoon of August 14 for an opening recep-
tion and benefit in conjunction with the:
exhibit "Censored! Sculptors Responding to
the Wave of Puritanism in the 90s."
ACLU-NC Executive Director Dorothy
Ehrlich, moderated a pro-
gram which began with
ACLU advisory counsel
Ephraim Margolin describ-
ing with great vigor a 1964
with former ACLU-NC legal
director Marshall Krause.
The two defended sculptor
Ron Boise against obscenity
charges stemming from an
exhibit of Boise's work at
the Vorpal Gallery, which
included 12 pieces based on
the Kama Sutra. This was
the first jury trial for
Margolin, now a nationally renown defense
attorney, and he successfully convinced the
jurors that the works in question were not
obscene. In appreciation for their efforts to
defend his First Amendment rights, Boise
gave Krause and Margolin each one of the
sculptures in the Kama Sutra series.
Margolin brought his piece to the event to
share with the audience.
ACLU-NC staff attorney Ann Brick, an
expert in censorship issues, reminded the
crowd that the First Amendment goes
hand in hand with artistic expression.
ACLU News " SEPTeNseER-OcTOBER 1 999 = Pace 6
ACLU-NC Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich (7. to 1.)
leads a panel on arts censorship with ACLU advisory
counsel Ephraim Margolin, ACLU-NC staff attorney
Ann Brick and Philip Linhares, Chief Curator of the
Oakland Museum.
Because art communicates ideas, the cre-
ation of art is essential to keeping the mar-
ketplace of ideas free and diverse. "Artists
must be free to create or display their art,
regardless of whether some members of
our society consider their art blasphe-
mous, disrespectful or overtly sexual,"
Brick said.
She explained, however, that the courts
have placed limits on artistic expression.
"Obscene" art, for example, can be prohibit-
ed. To be considered "obscene," a work must
lack serious artistic value.
Philip Linhares, Chief Curator of Art at
the Oakland Museum of California and the
curator of the "Censored!" exhibit,
described the role of the curator as that of
a gatekeeper who makes judgments based
on artistic merit and knowledge about
audiences' tastes and values. He talked
about recent objections from African
American patrons of the Oakland Museum
Continued on page 7
| tors was thrilled to
ACLU-NC Supports Voices of Free Speech Radio
n July 28, when the doors of local
Q community-sponsored radio station
KPFA were padlocked and broad-
casters were on the street instead of in the
studios, the ACLU-NC wrote to Pacifica
Foundation President Mary Francis Berry
noting that Pacifica's actions had "weak-
ened the exchange of ideas in northern
California, not strengthened it."
"Over its remarkable fifty-year history,
KPFA has been a voice for the voiceless,
airing ideas from people who otherwise
may never have been heard. Conscientious
objectors, prisoners, demonstrators, poets
angry and obscure, teenagers, philoso-
phers and America's dissenters to wars
from Vietnam to El Salvador to Iraq have
all shared KPFAs airwaves," wrote ACLU-
NC Board Chair Dick Grosboll and
Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich.
"As a listener-sponsored radio station
that eschews commercial sponsorship,
KPFA has brought these voices to com-
munities that are alienated from main-
stream news reporting," Grosboll and
Ehrlich noted.
"As an organization that cherishes
free speech, the ACLU must be con-
SCHOOSHSHHOHHSHSSHHOHSHSHHOHHSHSHSHHHHHHHSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSHEHHSSHH8EEHE
cerned when a listener-sponsored radio
station is shut down, locked up and
silenced. Is the free exchange of ideas
not threatened when:
e Armed guards drag a veteran broad-
caster out of the studio and out of
the building?
e A news director is accused of trespass-
ing in the office she has worked out of
for two decades?
e A studio built by the contributions of
thousands of listeners is boarded up
like an abandoned house, its doors
chained shut?
e All staff are barred from the building,
denied access to the airwaves, and pre-
vented from protecting their own
research, writing and files containing
potentially sensitive information from
confidential sources?
e There is no sound on 94.1 FM except
canned speeches from years ago,
accompanied by protest songs that
grew out of movements supported by
many of those same listeners?"
Edgar Morse's Enduring
Gift to Civil Liberties
BY STAN YOGI
ong-time ACLU member, Edgar
[ jee: who passed away on June 13
of a sudden heart attack at the age of
72, left a powerful bequest to the ACLU
Foundation of Northern California. Morse
named the ACLU Foundation as the major
beneficiary of his revocable living trust,
which should generate approximately $1
million for the ACLU.
This gift represents one
of the largest bequests
that the ACLU
Foundation of Northern
California has ever
received.
"Our board of direc-
learn of Mr. Morse's gen-
erosity and commit-
ment to the ACLU," said -
ACLU-NC Board Chair
Dick Grosboll. "He is an
inspiration to us all. His
wonderful gift will help
ensure that the ACLU
will protect civil liber-
ties for future generations."
Morse enjoyed a varied life that includ- |
ed three distinct professions: electrical
engineer, professor of history, and antique
dealer. Born in Chicago, he served in the
Navy during World War II and earned a
degree in Physics from the Illinois |
Institute of Technology. Upon graduation, -
he worked as an electronic engineer in |
Chicago and Michigan before moving to |
Mountain View in 1957 to accept a position |
as a Supervising Engineer for Sylvania |
Electrical Products. |
Although Morse was always interested -
in history (doing genealogical research
which traced familial relationships to
Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph),
in 1962 he dramatically shifted the focus of
his professional life and entered a doctoral
program in history at UC Berkeley.
While at Berkeley during the days of
the tumultuous Free Speech Movement,
Morse witnessed events in the fight for
freedom of expression that resulted in his
lifelong devotion to First Amendment -
Rights. Although he was not himself an "on
Edgar Morse
the streets" activist, he developed an
enduring commitment to freedom of |
speech and the work of the ACLU.
After receiving his Ph.D. in the History |
of Science, he taught for 20 years in the
innovative Hutchins School at Sonoma
State University. As one of eight faculty
members who organized and taught in this
special program, his charge was to develop
new ways to teach the
liberal arts and _ sci-
ences, making use of
small discussion semi-
nars, tutorials, and
occasional lecture
courses. He taught
= courses ranging from
g "Human Experience and
=the Arts' to "Science
= and Society."
In 1976, he co-
aner Michael Weller,
= 8 Argentum Antiques, a
~ San Francisco business
that is the principal
dealer in fine antique
silver in the Western United States.
Because of his expertise and interest in sil-
ver, it was no surprise that the Oakland
Museum of California selected Morse to be
the Consulting Curator and Editor of the
1985 exhibit "Silver.in the Golden State."
Morse was a long-time member of the
Sierra Club and served on the advisory
board of the American Art Study Center at
the De Young Museum. During the last sev-
eral years of his life, he was a board mem-
ber and enthusiastic supperter of the
American Bach Soloists.
"The ACLU Foundation of Northern
California is honored and moved to be the
_ beneficiary of Edgar Morse's extraordi-
nary generosity. We will use his remark-
able bequest to defend the civil liberties
that he cherished. He has left an extraor-
dinary legacy, and we are deeply grateful,"
said ACLU-NC Chair Grosboll. @
If you are interested in leaving a legacy
to the ACLU, please contact Stan Yogi,
Director of Planned Giving, at 415/621-
2493, ext. 330.
"Because of KPFA, issues vital to civil
liberties have been aired: listeners have
learned about our prison system, about
racism, about immigration, about workers'
rights, about lesbian and gay rights and
about attacks on reproductive freedom.
This type of free, political speech is what
makes democracy possible."
Grosboll and Ehrlich wrote Berry
that the ACLU-NC supports a "resolution
| that allows KPFA's vibrant and eclectic
voices once again to enhance the politi-
cal and intellectual life of Northern
California."
The station was reopened in August;
several unresolved staffing, programming
and management issues are still pending.
The controversy is currently under scutiny
by the Legislative Audit Committee of the
| California Legislature.
S E founded. with his part-
ormer ACLU-NC Board Chair
F Howard Jewel, renowned civil liber-
ties advocate, died on July 28.
Jewel, who served as
director of the constitu-
tional rights unit of the
state Department of
Justice, was an attorney
with the Oakland law firm
of Neyhart and Grodin
when he was elected
ACLU-NC Chair in 1969.
"No one loved the Bill
of Rights or the ACLU
more than Howard," said
Thomas Layton, Presi-
dent of the Gerbode
Foundation and former
ACLU-NC Associate Dir-
ector. "He combined a
passion for civil liberties
with great leadership abilities and an
extraordinarily wry sense of humor. He
will be greatly missed."
Jewel presided over the affiliate
during the turbulent political battles of
the times ranging from abortion rights,
to anti-war demonstrations to student
dress codes. Under his leadership, the
ACLU-NC defended the rights of stu-
dents, teachers and even military per-
sonnel to demonstrate. Perhaps one of
the most pivotal decisions of the ACLU-
NC Board, was the exceptional vote in
1970 to condemn the illegality of the
U.S. government's involvement in the
Vietnam War.
The burgeoning student movement -
and subsequent backlash - drew the
HOWARD JEWEL
CHAIR OF ACLU-NC BoarbD
DURING TURBULENT TIMES
Howard Jewel in 1974.
_ ericans during World War II," Layton noted.
_ ACLU into litigation challenging suspen-.
sion for long hair or political buttons and
defending freedom of the press of under-
ground newspapers.
The ACLU was.a leader
in securing a woman's
right to choose, both
nationally and - four
years before Roe v.
Wade - in California.
"Howard guided
our affiliate through its
process of rejoining
with the National
ACLU, after our long
separation as the result
of National's refusal to
support our challenge
to the internment of
more than one hundred
thousand Japanese Am-
After leaving the Board Chair in 1973,
Jewel served as the affiliate representa-,
tive to the National Board of Directors.
"Both locally and nationally, Howard
played a played a key role in the decision
to advocate for impeachment of Richard
Nixon," Layton said.
Jewel, raised in Napa, was a graduate
of U.C. Berkeley and Boalt Hall School of
Law. He served as a public defender in
Alameda County before being appointed
to the Department of Justice post by
then-Attorney General-elect Stanley
Mosk, later a Supreme Court justice.
After his retirement, he and his wife
Nancy Meyer Strawbridge, who died in
1997, moved to Guatemala.
Censored! Exhibit...
Continued from page 6
who found African American painter
Robert Cole Scott's depiction of a particu-
lar black character offensive. Linhares
explained that the Museum responded to
these objections, not by taking down the
work in question but by creating new inter-
pretive materials that discussed the vari-
ous perspectives on the painting.
He added that problems of censorship
are currently more prevalent among per-
forming artists, not visual artists. He not-
ed, however, that the fundraising needs of
art museums can result in wealthy donors
exerting tremendous influence on the kind
of art that is - and is not -- shown in
museums.
Brick echoed his as by noting the
U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in
NEA v. Finley, a case focused on govern-
ment funding of the arts. After controver-
sies in the late 1980s regarding National
Endowment for the Arts funding, Jesse
Helms added an amendment to legislation
authorizing federal funding of the arts
instructing the arts endowment. to take
a Mak Mellie des ih deahtaedactahde cls Siateedendeedlalaitainrlcttad
into consideration "general standards of
decency" and the "beliefs of the American
public" when making funding decisions.
Although lower courts had ruled this
amendment unconstitutional, the
Supreme Court last year decided not to
strike down the amendment, instead say-
ing that it is purely advisory. Because the
amendment is still in place, it can have a
"chilling effect" on artists and arts organi-
zations who need NEA support and might
self-censor their work in fear of jeopardiz-
ing their funding. "The good news from
the decision is that the Court ruled
Congress cannot deny funding to a project
because it disagrees with the content,"
Brick noted. :
Executive Director Ehrlich gave special
thanks to A New Leaf Gallery and its owners
Brigitte Mickmacker and John Denning,
and Gallery director Benjamin Rodefer for
hosting the reception and for donating a
portion of the sculpture sales during the
`week of the event to benefit the ACLU
Foundation of Northern California.
Stan Yogi is the ACLU-NC Director of
| Planned Giving and Foundation Support.
What You Can Do For Civil Liberties
Two Dangerous Initiatives
TPT CA AIT)
Primary Election
Two very dangerous initiatives, they don't have
numbers yet, will be on that ballot in March 2000.
ANTI-YOUTH
ete Wilson's Youth/Juvenile Crime Initiative, will put our youth into jail-track lives.
Pr initiative imposes a harsh punitive approach to addressing juvenile crime by
incarcerating many more juveniles for longer periods of time. The intiative, which
makes hundreds of changes in California law, contains many failed proposals of former
Governor Wilson that were rejected by the Legislature in prior years. If passed, this initia-
tive will fill our prisons with youthful offenders placed alongside adult convicts and will
make it nearly impossible for youthful offenders to rehabilitate.
ANTI-GAY
he so-called Defense of Marriage or Knight intitiative spearheaded by State Senator
[Tre Knight would make it constitutionally impossible for any couple other than a
man and a woman to marry in California. This initiative is a "wedge" issue which is
intended to use homophobia to codify anti-gay measures. In states with similar legislation
on the books, courts and policymakers have relied on such laws to deny adoptions by les-
bian or gay parents, to defeat anti-discrimination measures for lesbians and gay men, and
even to justify the elimination of protections provided by anti-hate crimes laws. The
California State Assembly has already defeated similar bills five times.
WATCH OUR WEBSITE FOR
DEVELOPMENTS: WWW.ACLUNC.ORG
You Can Help Stop These Initiatives!
A
CHECK AS MANY AS YOU WISH
(Yes, I want to help defeat the Anti-Youth Initiative
Yes, I want to help defeat the Anti-Gay Initiative
(c) I'll work wherever you need me against either/both of these dangerous measures.
Name
Address
City | State Zip
Your telephone and/orEmail
Send to or contact:
Lisa Maldonado, ACLU-NC Field Representative, Email (lisam@aclunc.org),
Telephone: 415 621-2498, Address: American Civil Liberties Union of Northern
California, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460, San Francisco, CA 94103
a ee ee eee ee eee
Thursday) Meet at 7:00 PM, at 460 South California
Avenue, Suite 11, Palo Alto. For more information, con-
tact Ken Russell at 650/325-8750.
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-Ken-
sington) Chapter Meeting: (Usually first
Wednesday) For more information, time and address of
meetings, contact Diana Wellum at 510/841-2069.
Monterey County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third
Tuesday) Meet at 7:15 PM, Monterey Library. For more
information, contact Richard Criley at 408/624-7562.
North Peninsula (San Mateo area) Chapter
Meeting: (Usually third Monday) Meet at 7:30 PM, at
700 Laurel Street, Park Tower Apartments, top floor.
Check-out our web page at: http://members.
aol.com/mpenaclu. For more information, contact Marc
Fagel at 650/579-1789.
Fresno Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth
Tuesday). Please join our newly-reorganized Chapter!
Meetings are held at 7:00 PM at the Fresno Center for
Non-Violence. For more information, call Bob Hirth
209/225-6223 (days).
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights
Chapter For more information, contact Lisa Maldonado
415/621-2493.
Oakland/East Bay Chapter Meeting: (Usually
fourth Thursday) For more informaton contact Stan
Brackett: 510/832-1915.
Marin County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third
Monday) Meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Marin Senior
Coordinating Council, "Whistlestop Wheels," Caboose
Room, 930 Tamalpais Ave., San Rafael. For more infor-
Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter
Meeting: (Usually every. third Tuesday) Meet at
Luzmilla's, 1288 G Street, Arcata at 7:00 PM. For infor-
mation on upcoming meeting dates and times, please
mation, contact Coleman Persily at 415/479-1731.
Mid-Peninsula Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth
call 707/444-6595. :
Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting: (Usually
|
~ Meet at 6:45 PM at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission -
ACLU NEws ada et) ia ee ee
Have You Been Stopped by Police
Because of Your Race?
Call | -877-DWB-STO P=
Or in Spanish:
|-877-PARALOS**
Share your experience - and help put an end to race-based stops.
Call the ACLU toll free in California.
*1-877-392-7867 "0x00B0F 1-877-727-2567
More than 2,000 people have called the ACLU DWB Hotline since it was initiated last
October. The respondents have called from cities, suburbs and rural areas throughout the
entire state. Each story, each voice will help stop the practice of race-based police stops.
Culver City), mandates that data on race and traffic stops be collected by police and
reported to the Department of Justice. The bill passed the full Senate and is heading
for a vote in the Assembly. Then, it must be signed by Governor Davis. Last year, Governor
Wilson, saying vetoed AB 1264, Murray's first attempt to require data collection on racial pro-
filing. ;
As the ACLU News goes to press, Governor Davis has not yet stated whether or not he
will sign this measure.
Call, FAX or write Governor Gray Davis, urging him to vote YES on SB 78
Write: Governor Gray Davis, 1st Floor State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916/ 445-2841 Fax: 916/ 445-4663
e President Clinton, Attorney General Janet Reno, and the American Bar Association are
calling upon states to enact comprehensive legislation. The President led the effort by
issuing an executive order requiring federal law enforcement agencies to collect the
type of data required by SB 78. The President also directly challenged state and local
governments to follow his example.
Tr "Traffic Stops Statistics Act" (SB 78), sponsored by Senator Kevin Murray (D-
e There has been national bipartisan support of efforts to halt the practice of race-based.
police stops. Democratic Governor Jim Hunt of North Carolina and Republican Governor
John Rowland of Connecticut recently signed bills similar to SB 78. At least a dozen other
states have other pending measures. Republican Governor Christine Todd Whitman of
New Jersey headed an effort to address profiling practices after the state attorney gener-
al's office collected data confirming long standing complaints of profiling practices.
e All the law enforcement agencies in Alameda County and Stanislaus County as well as
the police departments of San Diego, San Jose, and Sunnyvale have implemented vol-
untary traffic stop data collection efforts.
Now is the time to pass a state law in California!
_ Please send copies of your correspondence to Field Representative Lisa Maldonado,
ACLU-NC, 16638 Mission Street, #460, San Francisco 94108.
psn
SSS SSS
Davis. For more information, call Natalie Wormeli at
530/756-1900 or Dick Livingston at 530/753-
1255,
first Wednesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Java City in
Sutter Galleria (between 29 and 30, J and K Streets) in
Sacramento. For more information, contact David Miller
at 916/991-5415,
Chico Chapter: If you are a member in the
Chico/Redding area, please contact Steven Post-Jeyes at
San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Third Tuesday)
530/345-1449.
Street, Suite #460, San Francisco. Call the Chapter
Hotline (979-6699) for further details. Cc hap ters Reorgan izing
If you are interested in reviving the Mt. Diablo
Chapter, please contact Field Representative Lisa
Maldonado at 415/621-2006 ext. 46.
Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting: (Usually
first Tuesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Peace Center,
48 S. 7th St., San Jose, CA. For further chapter infor-
mation contact Dan Costello at 408/287-6403. -
Field Action Meetings
(All meetings except those noted will be held at the
ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission Street, 460, San
Francisco.)
Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting: (Usually
third Monday) Meet at 7:15 PM. For more information,
contact Dianne Vaillancourt at 408/454-0112.
Sonoma County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third
Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM at the Peace and Justice
Center, 540 Pacific Avenue, Santa Rosa. Call Judith
Volkart at 415/899-3044 for more information.
Student Outreach Committee: Meet to plan out:
reach activities. For more information, contact Nancy
Otto at 415/621-2006 ext. 37.
Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third | Student Advisory Committee: For more informo-
Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM, 2505 5th Street #154, tion, contact Nancy Otto at 415/621-2006 ext. 37. i