vol. 64, no. 1

Woitume LXIV

aclu news

PUL Ute dls 2000

NEWSPAPER OF THE AMERICAN Civil LIBERTIES eda or NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Non-Profit

Organization

US Postage

PAID

Permit No. 4424

San Francisco, CA

Two Key Victories on Police Complaints

Officer Must Pay Attorneys Fees

Under "Anti-SLAPP" Law (c)

n October 15, a San Francisco

O Superior Court Judge ordered San

Francisco Police Sergeant Joseph

McCloskey to pay $52,000 in fees and

costs to the attorneys who represented

Betty Evans, the defendant in his defama-

tion Sit, The judge found that

McCloskey's defamation suit against Betty

Evans, who filed a misconduct complaint

against him, had no basis.

Attorneys Alan Schlosser and John

Crew of the ACLU-NC, Mark Goldowitz of

the California Anti-SLAPP Project and

Matthew Kumin, an attorney recruited

by Bay Area Police Watch, defended

Evans, who filed the misconduct com-

plaint against Officer McCloskey with

Dam Mranciseos Oiice of Citizen

Complaints (OCC).

"If law enforcement officers bring

retaliatory lawsuits against people who

file legitimate police misconduct com-

plaints, they may be held personally

responsible for the defendant's attorneys

fees and costs," said Mark Goldowitz of

the California Anti-SLAPP Project in.

Oakland. "The California anti-SLAPP law

was designed to end and prevent such

retaliatory SLAPP suits, and we intend to

help people use it whenever possible.

"Officer McCloskey should fever have

filed this suit in the first place. It was a

blatant act of retaliation against a woman

fulfilling her civic duty by officially report-

ing the police misconduct that she had

observed," Goldowitz said.

"Let this case be a fair warning to all

California law enforcement officers,"

added ACLU-NC Managing Attorney

Schlosser. "If you interfere with citizens'

First Amendment right to file official com-

plaints, you can be held personally

responsible for their attorneys fees and

costs. The ACLU will not tolerate police

attempts to bully and intimidate citizens

who make police misconduct complaints."

The case stemmed from an incident on

September 8, 1997, when Betty Evans

heard a commotion outside her apartment

door in San. Francisco. Through the peep-

hole she watched Officer McCloskey

repeatedly kicking in the groin a hand-

cuffed person who was on the floor. She

opened her door and yelled at the officer,

"Don't kick him," and he then stopped.

Concerned for the man's life, she immedi-

ately called 911 to report the incident.

Continued on page 2

Court Strikes Down Law

Allowing Police Suits against

Complainants |

n October 20 victory in a suit

Apes by the ACLU affiliates of

Southern and Northern California

overturned a California law allowing

police to sue individuals who lodge com-

plaints against them.

The ACLU suit, Gritchen v. Collier, chal-

lenged California Civil Code 0x00A7 47.5, a law

that gave police officers a special right to

sue citizens who file complaints of miscon-

Liberties Award. See page 3. @

Poet Ferlinghetti Honored at

Bill of Rights Celebration

San Francisco's Poet Laureate Lawrence Ferlinghetti has been making books, making

news and making waves for more than half a century. Forty years after he was prose-

cuted for publishing Allan Ginsberg's Howl, he joined the ACLU lawsuit to challenge

censorship on the Internet. Through it all, he has documented the political and social

history of his time with incisive, illuminating poetry and painting that capture the

pulse of America in the last half of the twentieth century.

For his courage and commitment to freedom of expression, Ferlinghetti was hon-

ored at the Bill of Rights Day Celebration on December 12 with the Earl Warren Civil

duct against them. It was the only law of

its kind in the country.

"This ruling affirms the basic right of

all citizens to speak out about police mis-

conduct, said ACLU-SC staff attorney

Dan Tokaji who argued the case in feder-

al district court. "No longer will citizens

with legitimate complaints against police

officers worry that they could lose their

life savings or their home because they

have the courage to speak out."

The case stemmed from a 1997 inci-

dent when a motorist filed a complaint

with the Long Beach Police Department

against an officer who treated him dis-

courteously. Later that year the officer

threatened to sue the motorist for filing

the complaint.

"The ACLU has always contended

that citizen complaints are protected

speech guaranteed under the First

Amendment of the Constitution," said

John Crew, Director of the ACLU-NC

Police Practices Project.

"We challenged the legality of the

California Code because it singled out

citizen complaints against police for dis-

favored treatment. Under this statute,

police, but no other public officials, were

allowed to bring defamation claims

based on citizen complaints. Clearly, the

court agreed with our argument that this

law was unconstitutional."

The court determined that the 17-

year-old law violates the First Amend-

ment by specially targeting speech

critical of peace officers. U.S. District

Court Judge Gary Taylor ruled that,

"Section 47.5 has... (a chilling) effect,

since it imposes greater risk upon citi-

zens who report claimed police miscon-

duct and thereby discourages the filing

of complaints." 0x00B0

Continued on page 2

Inside: New ACLU-NC Board Chair-Page 2; Sacramento-What's on the Agenda for 2000-Page 4

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Russell Elected New Board Chair

onstitutional law pro-

C fessor and civil rights

activist Margaret

Russell is the new Chair of

the ACLU =Board. of

Directors, taking over from

Dick Grosboll who has

served as Chair for the past

four years.

Russell, an Associate

Professor of Law at Santa

Clara University, has been

actively involved in the

= ACLU-NC since 1986 when

2she joined the Board of

the San Francisco Chap-

eter. As an affiliate Board

Newly-elected ACLU-NC Board of Directors Chair Margaret 0x2122ember, she has chaired

Russell presents out-going Chair Dick Grosboll with an .

orchid in thanks for his leadership of the organization. -

both the Legal and the

Legislative Policy

San Francisco Tenants

Win aVictory in Court

BY STELLA RICHARDSON

n November 18, the ACLU and the

QO Tenderloin Housing Clinic won a

victory for tenants who were

being evicted because they violated a

landlord's blanket no-overnight-guest

rule. Following a two-week trial in San

Francisco Superior Court, the jury in

the case of Harrell v. Juan Avalle-Arce

IT et al, ruled in favor of one of the ten-

ants and against another for reasons

largely unrelated to his having violated

the no-overnight-guest rule. (During the

trial Superior Court Judge James

McBride threw out the eviction cases

against two other tenants.) The tenants

live at Yerba Buena Commons, a 257-unit

building, at 88 Perry Street in San

Francisco. The four tenants faced evic-

tion because they violated a rule that

categorically prohibited them from hav-

ing overnight guests.. The tenants were

represented by the ACLU-NC and the

Tenderloin Housing Clinic.

"We represented the tenants not only to

preserve their housing, but because we

believe that under the state constitution,

tenants have a fundamental right to privacy

in their homes that encompasses the right to

have overnight guests" said Robert Kim,

ACLU-NC staff attorney. Under the current

rental agreement and house rules, all guests

must leave the building by 10:00 p.m. and

cannot return until 8:00 a.m. the next day.

Although the case was not decided on

privacy grounds, Kara Portnow of the

Tenderloin Housing Clinic noted, "The

jury - a cross section of San Franciscans -

sent a clear message to the landlord that

prohibiting overnight guests is unreason-

able and cannot be enforced. Implicit in

the jury's verdicts is the recognition that

the right to have overnight guests is funda-

mental to the meaning of the home and

cannot be abrogated by a landlord's unrea-

sonable visitor policy. il ae

Stella Richardson is the ACLU-NC

Public Information Associate.

Federal Court Strikes

Down English-Only

Driving Test

BY STELLA RICHARDSON

he Court of Appeals for the 11th

|" Circuit ruled on November 30 that

Alabama's practice of giving its dri-

vers license examinations only in

English was a violation of the Civil Rights

Act of 1964. The November 30 ruling

upheld a 1998 district court order in a

class action brought by the Southern

Poverty Law Center on behalf of Martha

`Sandoval and other immigrants who can-

not speak English fluently enough to take

a written test in English. The Language

Rights Project, co-sponsored by the

ACLU-NC and the Employment Law

Center, assisted in the challenge to the

law, because the impact of the suit is

potentially very broad.

"The Court's decision is a: giant step

forward for the civil rights of the immi-

grant community in America, and for its

ability to participate fully in all of the

rights and opportunities the United States

has to offer, " said ACLU-NC staff attorney

Ed Chen who co-directs the Language

Rights Project.

"Tt is an important victory," said Richard

' Cohen, legal director of the Southern

_ Poverty Law Center, "not only because of the

_ legal principles at stake, but also because of

| the lives it will touch. It will help immi-

grants overcome their isolation and become

full participants in the economic and social

__ life of this country." While Alabama does not

_ have a large immigrant population, the

_ Bureau of the Census projects that in the

next decade the Latino population in

Alabama is estimated to grow 32.4 percent

(a gain of nearly 9000 persons).

"In California -one of the most linguisti-

cally diverse states in the country - this rul-

ing puts state and local agencies on notice

that they have to take affirmative steps to

provide fair and equal access to all those

they serve," added Christopher Ho, co-direc-

tor of the Language Rights Project. Hi

ACLU News = January-Fesruary 2000 = Pace 2

| Committees and served as well on the

Executive, Development and Long-

Range Planning Committee.

_ Russell also serves as a Vice-President

of the National ACLU.

A graduate of Princeton University

and Stanford Law School, Russell has

taught constitutional law, civil proce-

dure and contemporary legal theory at

Santa Clara since 1991. She is also a

participating scholar at the University's

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. In

1991, Russell traveled to South Africa

with a delegation of legal workers to con-

sult with the African National Congress

on the drafting of a new post-apartheid

constitution. `

At the December 9 Board meeting,

Grosboll received numerous accolades

from his colleagues as he handed the

Chair's gavel to Russell. A former

Chapter activist and co-chair of the

ACLU-NC Pro-Choice `Task Force,

Grosboll was credited by Field Committee

Chair Michelle Welsh as a leader who

brought a great deal of attention and care

to the local ACLU Chapters and nurtured

their grassroots efforts. Grosboll was also

thanked for his leading role in the cam-

paign to oppose Proposition 209.

_ New Board Members, Officers

he following were elected by the

[nent to serve on the Board of

Directors of the ACLU-NC (incum-

bents are marked with an "*"): Luz

Buitrago*, Scott Burrell*, Milton Estes,

David Fermino*, Aundre Herron%,

Dennis McNally*, David Oppenheimer*,

Millicent Rutherford*, Zona Sage, and

' Pamela Samuelson*.

: NEw BoarpD OFFICERS

The new ACLU-NC Board officers -are:

Margaret Russell, Chair (see article this

page), Luz Buitrago, Vice Chair (Chair of

the Legislative Policy Committee; Quinn -

Delaney, Vice Chair (Chair of the

Development Committee) ;Steve Mayer,

Vice Chair (Chair of the Legal

Committee); Michelle ("Mickey") Welsh,

Vice Chair (Chair of the Field

Committee); and David Salniker,

Treasurer.

These officers will comprise the

Executive Committee along with Dick

Grosboll, Aundre Herron, Dermis McNally,

Susan Mizner, and Fran Strauss.

Officer Must Pay Attorney Fees...

~ Continued from page |

The OCC investigated the incident,

using Evans as a witness, and sustained a

finding of excessive force against

McCloskey. McCloskey then sued Evans on

September 1, 1998 for $25,000 damages

based solely on her complaint to the OCC.

Evans' attorneys filed a motion in

Superior Court, to dismiss the lawsuit,

McCloskey v. Evans, under a special state

law (Code of Civil Procedure, Section

425.16) enacted in 1992 to protect

Californians from defamation and other

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public

Participation (SLAPP's). The statute allows

lawsuits to be quickly dismissed if they are

based on a citizen's exercise of First

Amendment petition and free speech rights.

Without bothering to contest the

motion, Officer McCloskey dismissed his

lawsuit. Under the anti-SLAPP statute, a

party who has been improperly sued for

exercising First Amendment rights "shall

be entitled to recover his or her attorneys

fees and costs." In McCloskey v. Evans,

Superior Court Judge David Garcia found

that McCloskey had no basis for filing the

defamation suit and ordered him to pay |

Evans' attorneys the $52,000 in fees.

"Given the unique powers delegated to

police in a free society - the power to use

force, to take lives and to deprive us of

our freedom- it is particularly impor-

tant that the First Amendment right to

petition our government about griev-

ances involving police officers not be

abridged in any way," added Schlosser.

"I will never forget what I saw and

`what Officer McCloskey's lawsuit has put

me through," said Betty Evans. i

Court Strikes Law

_ Continued from page |

Crew, who served as co-counsel along

with Tokaji and ACLU-NC Managing

Attorney Alan Schlosser, concluded,

"There has been a long-standing and

statewide problem of police officers filing

retaliatory lawsuits against people who

lodge misconduct complaints. For exam-

ple, there have been at least four such

cases brought by San Francisco police

officers. While the ACLU has succeeded

in defeating each of those cases, the chil-

ling effect of the threat of being sued for

merely filing a complaint has remained.

"This ruling should end that intimidat-

ing practice once and for all," Crew added.

An appeal has been filed in the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeal.

Poet Ferlinghetti Honored at

Rights Day Celebration

Honoree Lawrence Ferlinghetti (left) and fellow poet Piri Thomas.

keep the First Amendment alive

through constant struggle," said

former ACLU-NC staff attorney Al Bendich

as he presented the 80-year old San

Francisco Poet Laureate with the Earl

Warren Civil Liberties Award at the ACLU-

NC Bill of Rights Day Celebration on

December 12.

The 500 ACLU-NC members and sup-

porters in attendance were treated to a

moving reunion of two veterans - lawyer

Bendich and bookseller Ferlinghetti - of

the 1957 landmark How! trial. "Fools rush

.in, where angels fear to tread," was how

Ferlinghetti characterized the trial whose

decision reverberated throughout the

country. "I just wanted to publish books.

We didn't have acent...Ifit hadn't been for

the ACLU, we'd be out of business.

"IT want to publicly thank the ACLU and

Al Bendich - I haven't done that before -

for defending me," Ferlinghetti added, and

then read a poem about Waco, the FBI and

government violence "If There Had Been

One Buddha."

Bendich noted that in more than 20

years of the Earl Warren Award, this was

the first granted to a poet. And in a fitting

tribute to the power of the poet and his

voice for justice, the audience heard

astounding poetry that spanned six

decades: Ferlinghetti's Autobiography

and J Am Waiting, Piri Thomas's riff

against "the drops of acid known as bigotry,

hatred and rejection," and Ten Poets Plus a

Mic's spirited song-stories condemning

Proposition 21 and a society that aims to

criminalize its youth.

66 awrence Ferlinghetti has helped'

VOLUNTEER HONORED

The Celebration also included the pre-

sentation of the Lola Hanzel Courageous

Advocacy Award to Pauline Sherman.

Sherman, who has served as a-volunteer

Complaint Desk counselor for twelve

years, was awarded by ACLU-NC Chair

Dick Grosboll: "Pauline is on the frontlines

of our civil liberties work. Her patience,

knowledge and understanding are tremen-

dous assets to the difficult task of respond-

ing to the many people who call the ACLU

because they believe their rights are violat-

ed." (See sidebar)

ACLU-NC

Executive Director

Dorothy Ehrlich's State of the Union.

address focusing on the new Racial

Justice Project, and a presentation from

the Howard *A. Friedman _ First

- Amendment Education Project on youth

homelessness highlighted the key work

of the ACLU this year.

Ehrlich also thanked Field Represen-

tative Lisa Maldonado and Program

Assistant Melissa Schwartz who organized

the Bill of Rights Day Celebration.

POET AS ADVOCATE

Born in 1919 in New York, Ferlinghetti

earned a doctoral degree in poetry at the

Sorbonne in Paris and served in the U.S.

military. He was sent to Nagasaki only six

weeks after the U.S. dropped a nuclear

bomb, destroying the city. That is where he

became a pacifist.

In 1953, Ferlinghetti came to San

Francisco and in 1955, with Peter Martin,

founded City Lights, named for the Charlie

Chaplain film, now one of the most famous

bookstores in the world. Less than three

years after its opening, a San Francisco

police officer came in the door and, for 75

cents, bought a copy of Allen Ginsberg's 44-

page "Howl`and Other Poems." That pur-

chase was the basis for the arrest of

Ferlinghetti and bookstore worker

Shigeyoshi Murao for selling obscene

material, and the landmark trial.

Ferlinghetti wrote at the time, "It is not

the poet but what he observes which is

revealed as obscene. The great obscene

wasters of Howl are the sad wastes of the

mechanized world, lost among atom bombs

and insane nationalisms."

In 1958, Ferlinghetti published A Coney

Island of the Mind, a volume of poetry that

had a great impact on American youth, and,

over the next four decades, more than two

dozen books of poetry and prose. Through 0x00B0

City Lights Bookstore's publications, distrib-

ution and literary readings, he also gave

Rick ROCAMORA

Poet Toussaint Haki of Ten Poets Plus a

Mic wowed the audience with a musi-

cal, rhyming description of the impact

of Proposition 21 on youth.

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ACLU News = January-Fesruary 2000 = Pace 3

voice to many new poets and writers, includ-

ing those of the Beat Generation - Jack

Kerouac, `William Burroughs, Herbert

Huncke, and Ginsberg.

In 1997, Ferlinghetti joined the lawsuit

ACLU v. Reno, because, in his words, "This

new law to censor the Internet would have

a chilling effect on the First Amendment.

It's upsetting and it's also un-American.

We are still publishers of Allen Ginsberg's

poem "Howl." "Howl" was judged not

obscene in a landmark trial, but we fear

that the book could now be at risk again,

more than forty years later. We publish

excerpts from our books and interviews

with our authors on our web site and we

would feel threatened by new legislation.

We do not consider our books obscene, but

others might."

When Ferlinghetti was named San

Francisco's first Poet Laureate in 1998,

@e2e2e0e00

he called for poetry to be a force for

change in the world and called on "poets

to stop mumbling in their beards to pri-

vate audiences and say something impor-

tant to the world."

Ferlinghetti has taken up his own chal-

lenge by writing a regular column "Poetry

as News" in the San Francisco Chronicle

Book keview. Ina recent column entitled,

"Unleashing Uncensored Thought," he

wrote "Today, raw thought as poetry is

everywhere, at every festival, every open

mike, every poetry slam, from rap to hip-

hop and back - black and. white and Latino

poets and the latest youth movements

poets, from Manhattan's Nuyorican Cafe to

Wednesdays at La Pena in Berkeley, and on

Youth Radio on FM stations late at night.

"The poets of the world are speaking

up and speaking their mind," Ferlinghetti

wrote. :

auline Sherman is not afraid to

Pex up for what she believes in.

She was the first woman graduate

of the Engineering Mechanics

Department of the University of Michigan

and the first (and for almost two

decades) the only female engineering

professor at the University of Michigan.

But she joined the ACLU even before

that. "In 1951 I was a student at the

University of Michigan," Sherman said.

"T went to a campus lecture by Patrick

Malin Murphy, leader of the national

ACLU. I joined the ACLU right there and

have been hooked ever since."

Sherman, now retired from three

"neering, is still a staunch member and

volunteer with the ACLU. As a com-

plaint counselor, she has spent every

Friday for the last twelve years on the

ACLU-NC Complaint Desk, listening to

people's civil liberties problems and

steering them to help. Sherman is

often on the frontlines -- people call

seeking answers on a wide range of

issues from discrimination on the job, to

police harassment and high school lock-

er searches. Sherman's patience and

resourcefulness are tremendous assets

in this demanding volunteer position.

decades of teaching aeronautical engi-

Complaint Desk Counselor Pauline Sherman was honored with the Lola Hanzel

Courageous Advocacy Award at the ACLU-NC Bill of Rights Day Celebration.

_would apply to an engineering school!"

_ to find volunteers that have been work-

Rick ROCAMORA

In her weekly day-long sessions on .

the Complaint Desk, Sherman says that

she hears about so many desperate situ-

ations from the callers that she has

become acutely aware of the necessity to

protect individual's rights when govern-

ment agencies abuse them. She knows

the sting of discrimination herself. In

the 1940's, Sherman entered the engi-

neering school of the City College of New

York with the first group of women stu-

dents, after a lawsuit was brought to

admit females. "No one thought women

Sherman explains.

"Pauline is phenomenal," said ACLU-

NC Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich. -

"Answering phones on our Complaint

Desk is a really hard job - you hear so

many sad stories and there are so many

people out there who need our help, it

can really get depressing. But Pauline

never seems to get weary, she just keeps

on coming in and helping as many folks

as she can.

"Pauline's dedication, loyalty and

commitment are outstanding. It's rare

ing that hard every week for over ten

years! We are so lucky to have her,"

Ehrlich added.

66 Ress the brand name of an |

exceptionally toxic herbicide,

aptly describes Governor Davis'

- approach to many of the civil liberties/civil

rights bills that made it to his desk. In the

Governor's attempt to position himself as a

"moderate," who will "save the Democrats

from themselves," his veto of bills that had

broad bipartisan support demonstrates

that he might pose a grave danger to our

core civil liberties issues.

Davis deliberately triangulates almost

every issue. In fact, in the criminal justice

arena he positioned himself to the right of

former Governor Pete Wilson - and possi-

bly to the right of former Attorney General

Dan Lungren - by repeatedly vowing never

to parole individuals who. had been con-

victed of murder regardless of age, infirmi-

ty, rehabilitation, etc. The Los Angeles

Times reported that of the 1,489 parole

hearings held since Davis took office in

January through September, the parole

board granted parole only 13 times. The |

Governor revoked eight of those paroles

and returned the five others to the board

for reconsideration. The board then -

reversed those decisions denying the indi-

viduals parole. The Governor's now-infa-

mous quote from early in his campaign

regarding violent crime and the death (c)

penalty has lost its irony: referring to |

Singapore's criminal justice system, Gray _

Davis stated that it is "a good starting point

in terms of law and order. I think there

ought to be clear rules. You can't punish

- people enough, as far as I'm concerned."

DRIVING WHILE BLACK/BROWN

In this context and given the strong finan-

cial support of the police unions, the

Governor's veto of the ACLU-sponsored

"Driving While Black/Brown' bill (SB 78,

Murray, D-Culver City)that passed the

Legislature with broad bipartisan support

did not come as any great surprise.

However, the howls of protest from the

community that greeted the Governor

upon his veto surely surprised him and

may be the catalyst for a better outcome

this year.

Similarly, his veto of the "Media Access

to Prisons" bill (AB 1440, Migden, D-San

Francisco) was roundly criticized by jour-

nalists and free speech organizations.

On the other hand, Governor Davis

showed his support for women's right to

choose abortions and certain gay and les-

-bian issues. Governor Davis' adamant

inaugural address pledge -"And to those

who would seek to deny a woman her right

Don't waste the Legislature's time . . ." -

has not actually been tested because all

anti-choice bills were killed in committee.

However, he signed a measure requiring

that sex education be medically accurate

and free of race, gender, and ethnic bias

(AB 246, Cunneen, R-Campbell).

In a major victory for lesbian and gay

rights, the Governor signed AB 1001,

(Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles) that culmi-

_ nated a 20-year long battle to move the

prohibition against employment discrimi-

nation on the basis of sexual orientation

from the Labor Code to the Civil Code

(into the Fair Employment and Housing

Act (FEHA)) which is more protective of

individual's rights. | Assemblymember

Sheila Kuehl's (D-Encino) five-year battle

Legislative Review

system of HIV reporting

to choose, let me offer this suggestion:

to prohibit harassment and

discrimination on the basis

of sexual orientation in pro-

grams, opportunities, and

activities in schools and uni-

versities finally paid off (AB

537, formerly AB 222). In

addition, the Governor

signed a pared-down domes- -

tic partnership measure that

creates a statewide domestic

partnership registry for gay

and lesbian couples, guaran-

tees hospital visitation

rights, and allows partners of

gay state employees to

receive health benefits (AB |

26, Migden). However,

Davis refused to sign a mea-

sure that would implement a

5

based on the use of a unique

identifier (instead of using

an individual's name).

At the end of the ses-

sion, the Governor signed the ACLU-

sponsored "California Civil Rights

Amendments of 1999" (AB 1670, Kuehl)

that included numerous changes to civil

rights statutes including increasing the

cap' on damages under the Fair

Employment and Housing Act from

Paul ANCE

Preview of the Year

lections for all the Assembly seats

BK and half of the Senate seats in this

final year of the two-year session

absorb most of the attention of the politi-

cians and color their bills and votes. In

addition, the presidential race and the

redistricting battle add further to the con- 0x00B0

fusion. 0x00B0

The Governor's intransigence on key

issues has created a new challenge for the

civil rights community. We must now show

the Governor that the policies we advocate

for are not only right, they also have an

important impact on the voters he wants to ~

woo. Furthermore, we must overcome the

inevitable pressure of the more than $10

million estimated by the Sacramento Bee

that will be sitting. in Governor Davis's

campaign treasury by the end of 1999.

Civit RIGHTS

: "RIGHT TO KNow"' BILLS

The ACLU and other civil rights organiza-

. tions will be working on a package of civil

rights "right to know' bills. At the hearings

on a new version of the DWB bill, we hope

to illustrate to the Governor the depth of

the Driving While Black/Brown problem in

this state, since he expressed skepticism

about the extent of the problem (See artt-

cle on Gallup poll, page 5).

In.addition, we will be working on

measures to collect race and gender data

for government contracting, as well as race

and gender data for disciplinary suspen-

sion in public schools to ensure enforce-

ment of our anti-discrimination statutes.

In the employment arena, the ACLU will

continue to try to enact legislation that

would ensure that people who are victims

ACLU News = January-Fesruary 2000 = Pace 4

Sacramento Roundup - 1999

BY VALERIE SMALL NAVARRO

ACLU LEGISLATIVE ADVOCATE

$50,000 to $150,000, prohibiting employ-

ers or other entities from requiring test-

ing for a genetic characteristic, and

creating a civil action for injunctive or

other equitable relief against agencies or

entities that receive state funds and

engage in discrimination..

of employment discrimination have access

to the courts and are not bound by arbitra-

tion clauses.

The public's right to know what hap-

pens behind prison walls will again be

raised in another "Media Access to Prisons"

bill.

PRIVACY RIGHTS

Scott McNealy, the chairman and chief

executive of Sun Microsystems stated "You

already have zero privacy-get over it."

We are not prepared to get over it. To patch

the holes left by federal financial privacy

legislation, we will be working with the

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and others

on ensuring consumer's privacy in the

information provided to financial institu-

tion. In addition, we will be working on a

bill regarding the monitoring of electronic

communication by employers. The

Governor vetoed a simple measure requir-

ing that employers notify employees that

their electronic communication may be

monitored (SB 1016, Bowen, D-Redondo

Beach).

EXONERATING THE INNOCENT

Permitting someone who has been convict-

ed of a crime to ask for fingerprint, DNA, or

However, he vetoed another key civil

rights bill (SB 44, Polanco, D-Los

Angeles), a measure that would have

insured that women and people of color

were informed about educational and

employment opportunities offered by the

state.

2000.

other forensic testing that was not avail-

able at the time of trial, either because the

evidence was not discovered or the tech-

nology did not exist is the subject of a bill

drafted by the ACLU and other criminal

justice organizations that will be intro-

duced this year. According to the Los

Angeles Times, DNA evidence has exoner-

- ated 64 inmates in the United States and

Canada, including nine who were on death

row in this country.

_ INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT

The ACLU will be involved in protecting

the civil liberties of individuals with men-

tal illnesses. The enduring standard for

involuntary commitment - that a person is

a danger to himself or herself or others -

faces a tremendous challenge spurred by

Assembly Member Helen Thomson (D-

Vacaville) and several organizations of

family members of people with mental ill-

nesses. AB 1028 frames the problem as an

inadequate ability to force people into

treatment when they don't realize they

need it. In reality, people who need treat-

ment and know they need treatment are

the primary ones who are being failed by

the inadequately funded and designed

mental health system. il =

"ibe

ACLU Expands DWB Lawsuit Against CHP

harging civil rights violations as a

CG: of racially motivated traffic

stops by California law enforcement

officers, the ACLU-NC filed a federal class

action lawsuit on November 30 against the

California Highway Patrol (CHP) and

Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement (BNE).

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court

in San Jose on behalf of the California

Branches of the NAACP, the California

League of United Latin American Citizens

(LULAC), and three motorists of color.

The action amends the earlier law-

suit filed in June by the ACLU-NC on

behalf of Curtis Rodriguez against the

California Highway Patrol and the

Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement charg-

ing race discrimination.

"This lawsuit challenges the racially

discriminatory practices of the CHP and

BNE in their drug interdiction efforts.

Pursuant to Operation Pipeline, people of

color are routinely stopped, searched and .

treated like criminals by law enforcement

officers when they have done nothing more

than commit a minor traffic violation or no

violation at all," said Michelle Alexander,

Director of the ACLU-NC Racial Justice

Project. "These racially biased practices

cannot be justified by the hope that if offi-

cers stop and search enough people of color

they will eventually find some drugs. Law

enforcement based on racial stereotypes is

immoral and illegal," said Alexander.

The complaint alleges that the CHP

and the BNE instruct officers to use minor

traffic violations as an opportunity to inter-

rogate motorists and search for drugs, even

when there is no evidence that the motorist -

is engaged in criminal activity. This policy

and practice has a grossly disparate impact

on people of color, who are far more likely |

to be viewed as suspicious or likely drug

couriers. Thousands of innocent motorists

are subjected to humiliating interrogations

and searches of their vehicles every year

based on false racial stereotypes.

"Studies of racial profiling in other

states have shown that, contrary to popular

belief, people of color are not more likely

than whites to be carrying drugs or other

contraband in their vehicles. Yet, officers

continue to rely on racial stereotypes when

deciding whom to stop, question and

search in connection with minor traffic vio-

lations," explained Alexander. -

"The time is long overdue for these

racially biased police practices to come to

an end," said Walter Wilson, Vice President

of the California NAACP. " These practices

undermine faith in the criminal justice sys-

tem and cause severe harm in police-com-

munity relations." -

"The Latino community in California is

gravely concerned about racial profiling,"

said Marcos Contreras, Statewide Director

of the California LULAC. "In front of our

families and loved ones, we are being

humiliated and interrogated for no good

reason. We joined this lawsuit because

these practices have got to stop."

Joining the ACLU in filing this action is

Keker and Van Nest, a major law firm in San

Francisco that is donating its services pro

bono. "It is critical for us, as members of

the private bar, to play an active role in

bringing to an end race-based police stops

in California," said Jon Streeter, a litigation

partner at Keker and Van Nest. "What the

- CHP and the BNE are doing is discrimina-

tory and illegal. People of color have an

equal right to travel our streets and free-

ways without fear of unjustified stops,

searches and interrogations by government

officials. The defendants' drug interdiction

practices violate federal civil rights laws,

the U.S. Constitution, and are inconsistent

with out democratic values."

RACE-BASED STOPS ON HicHway 152

One of the plaintiffs, Curtis Rodriguez, a

Latino attorney from San Jose, was stopped

and searched by the CHP on June 6, 1998,

just minutes after he witnessed a slew of

race-based stops of Latino drivers within a

10-mile stretch of Highway 152. The CHP

officer told Rodriguez that he stopped them

because his car has touched the line, and

because he had turned his headlights on.

| search the car for weapons,"

| Rodriguez. "I refused permission for the

_ search. Since I'm an attorney, I know my

_ rights. The officer had no probable cause

in December on racial profiling, the

ACLU-NC called on Governor Davis to

support mandatory data collection legis-

lation next year. The Gallup Poll reports

that in a national survey, approximately

60% of adults aged 18 and older say that

racial profiling is widespread, and 81% of

all adults believe the practice is wrong.

The poll further indicates that 77% of

African Americans believe that racial pro-

filing is widespread, and that 4 out of 10

African Americans have been victims of

the practice. (The poll did not compare

the attitudes of Latinos and other ethnic

groups with respect to racial profiling. )

"The poll shows that Governor Davis is

out of touch with mainstream America in

claiming that racial profiling is not a

widespread problem," said Michelle

Alexander, Director: of the ACLU-NC

Racial Justice Project. "The question now

is whether he will continue to listen to

| n light of Gallup Poll findings released

Gallup Poll - Most

_ Americans Believe

Racial Profiling Wrong

ACLU CALLs ON GOVERNOR TO

SIGN DWEB BILL Next YEAR

extremist police unions that donate to his

campaigns, or whether he will listen to

the clear majority, who recognize that

racial profiling is widespread and must be

stopped."

In October, Governor Davis vetoed

SB78, the California Traffic Stops

Statistics Act that would have required

law enforcement agencies to collect data

regarding the race and ethnicity of

motorists who are stopped. The bill,

authored by Senator Kevin Murray, had

overwhelming bipartisan support.

In an open letter to the Governor,

Alexander urged Davis to "demonstrate

leadership" and "to support the data col-

lection bill when it is reintroduced next

year. Communities of color have waited

long enough for politicians to offer more

than rhetoric when it comes to discrimi-

natory police practices. We hope that you

will choose to be on the right side of histo-

ry on this issue."

| ACLU-NC Racial Justice Project Director Michelle Alexander joined Alameda County

Supervisor Keith Carson (left) and other political, community and religious leaders on

the steps of Oakland City Hall to condemn the Governor's veto of SB 78, the "Driving

While Black or Brown" bill.

_ (Drivers are advised to turn on their head-

_ lights in this section of Highway 152). 0x00B0

"The officer told me he was going to

said

to search the car, so I refused consent to

search. Unfortunately, the officer refused

to respect my legal rights. He ordered me

out of the car and searched the car, with-

out my permission. Of course, he found

nothing illegal. The officer then checked

out my license, my passenger's license

and my insurance papers, and after ten

minutes, he ordered us back into the car.

Finally he told us we could go. He didn't

issue me a ticket, because I didn't do any-

thing wrong."

" WHAT ARE YOU DOING

WITH THAT MAN?"

Another plaintiff, Jose Lopez, was stopped

by the CHP while traveling with his com-

panion and the mother of his son,

Stephanie Gevorkian, who is white. They

were stopped near the intersection of

Highway 152 and Interstate 5. The CHP

officer said that he stopped them because a

small crystal was hanging from their

rearview window. Gevorkian immediately

apologized, took the crystal down and put

it in the glove department. Instead of tick-

eting Lopez or allowing the couple to go on

their way, however, the officers ordered

Lopez out of the car. The couple was then

interrogated separately for approximately

30 minutes. One officer repeatedly asked

Gevorkian "what are you doing with that

man?" According to Gevorkian, his tone was

angry and accusing, and she understood

~ him to be asking why she was with a Latino.

One of the officers searched their vehicle,

but the search turned up nothing. After

being interrogated and subjected to a vehi-

cle search, Lopez and Gevorkian were

finally allowed to go. No citations were

issued and no arrests were made.

MacArthur Washington, who - is

African American, was stopped on May 26,

1999 and searched illegally by the CHP

and BNE near the intersection of Highway

ACLU News = January-FesrRuary 2000 = Pace 5

152 and Interstate 5. He was on his way to

pick up a co-worker and go to work.

Washington lives in an agricultural area,

and has worked for about four years bal-

ing hay, a task that must be performed

early in the morning. On his way to his co-

worker's house, a CHP vehicle spotted

him, made a U-turn and stopped him. The

officers told Washington that he had been

stopped because the light illuminating his

rear license plate light was broken (that

was not true). Fo

No CONSENT FOR SEARCH

The officers then searched his vehicle

without his consent or probable cause.

Although the search turned up nothing,

and Washington had not committed any

traffic violation, the officers did not.allow

Washington to leave. Instead, they began

to administer field sobriety tests to him

and subject him to continued harassment

despite the fact that he was innocent of

any crime.

The lawsuit charges that the California

Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Bureau of

_ Narcotics Enforcement (BNE) violated the

plaintiffs' rights secured by the Fourth,

Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, includ-

ing the right to travel as protected by the

Commerce Clause and the Privileges and

Immunities Clauses of Article IV and the |

Fourteenth Amendment.

In April, the ACLU-NC launched a bill-

board and radio ad campaign in English

and Spanish to publicize the toll-free

"Driving While Black or Brown" hotline, 1-

877-DWB-STOP. (The Spanish Language

hotline is 1-877-PARALOS.) More than

2000 persons have called to report their

stories of discriminatory traffic stops. Hi

Correction

In the November-December 1999 issue,

the article on the Activist Conference

misstated a statistic on race and crimi-

nal justice. The correct figure is as fol-

lows: In California, one in three African

American men between the ages of 20-

29 is in the criminal justice system - in

jail, prison, or on parole or on probation.

Youth Conference Focuses on Rights,

Building a Movement

Student Geis G cer from left) Angelina Valentin of the Vallejo High School ACLU ee

Chapter, Jacinta Cruz of Camptonville Academy, Cindy Dowling of San Francisco State

University, Luis Ramirez of Berkeley High School and Myriam Bouaziz of Vallejo High School

at the 1999 Student Rights Conference.

By SHAYNA GELENDER

that could incriminate our generation.

More than 1,000 students from high

schools throughout northern California +

VIVIANE SCOTT -

attended the conference.

"I was delighted to see the interest

and thought radiating on everyone's

faces," said SAC member Sirena

Putnam, a senior at Castro Valley

High School in Castro Valley.

"Everyone seemed genuinely con-

cerned about the issues we

brought up and interested in

helping make things right."

Keynote speaker Taj

- James . from Coleman

Advocates for Youth in San

Francisco stressed the necessity of build-

ing a grassroots movement to fight for the

rights of youth.

A series of workshops on a variety of |

choolmates not Cellmates! This is one

S: the slogans being used to campaign

against Proposition 21, the juvenile

justice initiative slated for the March 2000

ballot. And juvenile justice - with

Proposition 21 as a focal point - was the

main item on the agenda at the ACLU

Student Rights Conference on October 26 at

UC Berkeley. The Conference was organized

by the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of

the ACLU-NC Howard A. Friedman First

Amendment Education Project.

At the opening session, YAC members

put on a comedic skit to demonstrate the

shocking reality that would confront youth

if Prop 21 were to pass. The skit and follow-

ing presentations sent a clear message to

the students that their efforts are central to -

fighting anti-youth measures like Prop 21, |

issues provided the information and skills

training to help build that movement. The

-~ACLU Defends Library Against

Parent Seeking Internet Censorship

October 18 in the California Court of

Appeal, the ACLU joined unique legal

battle over whether a parent can force a

public library to censor Internet access of

all its patrons in order to control her own

child's use of the Internet.

A lower court dismissed "Kathleen R."s

original complaint in 1998, in which she

argued that the library's open-access policy

constituted a "public nuisance." In an

amended complaint she argued that the

library has a constitutional obligation to

censor the Internet access of its patrons.

Both her claims are now at issue before the

|: a friend-of-the-court brief filed on

California Court of Appeal in Kathleen R. v.

Livermore Labrary.

"As the court recognized, it is no more

legal for a parent to compel a library to cen-

sor the Internet than it is for the govern-

ment to do so," said ACLU-NC staff attorney

Ann Brick, who filed the brief on behalf of |

the ACLU of Northern California, the

national ACLU, People for the American

_ Way and the Freedom to Read Foundation, |

part of the American Library Association.

-"The Livermore library's policy enables |

each family to be sure that its children use |

_ the Internet in a manner that is consistent _

_ with its own values, without imposing -

those values on other families," she added.

Brick noted that this position has long

been espoused by the American Library

Association and the majority of libraries

across the country.

Last year, in a related case, a federal

appeals court in Virginia held that a

library's policy of using blocking software

to censor materials online "offends the

guarantee of free speech." The ACLU repre-

ACLU News = January-FesRuArRy 2000 = Pace 6

sented Internet content providers in that

case against the trustees of the Loudoun

County, Virginia library.

In voiding the Loudoun County library's

blocking policy, the judge noted that the

software, which claimed to "filter" out only |

obscene material, blocked sites includ-

ing the San Francisco Chronicle and

Examiner as well as the web, site of the

Maryland "affiliate of the American

Association of University Women.

"The Livermore Library Board recog-

nizes, as the Virginia Library Board did not,

that requiring the use of blocking software in |

libraries creates, rather than solves, consti-

`tutional problems," said ACLU national staff

attorney Ann Beeson. "If Kathleen R. has her

way, the Internet will become as bland and

homogenized as daytime television. I doubt

other parents will thank her for it."

workshops included Gangs and Gang

Violence; Trying Youth as Adults; Student

Press: Can I Really Write That?; Race and

Schools-Reading, `Riting, and Racism;

Gay Rights on Campus; Rights of

Homeless Youth; Native American

Political Prisoners; the Prison Industrial

Complex; Knowing Your Rights with the

Police; Media Portrayal of Youth;

Investigative Journalism; Parental

Consent for Abortions, Gay Marriage: No

On Knight; and Needle Exchange

Programs: Promotion of Prevention?

YAC facilitator Kandyce Wilson, a

senior at Vallejo High School in Vallejo,

said she learned, "about needle

exchange, how it got started, what its

purpose is, and who it helps."

She noted that the workshops were

enriched by a wide spectrum of expert

speakers including representatives of

Horizon's Unlimited Street Outreach

Program, the Third Eye Movement, the

Beat Within, the S.F. Foundation AIDS

Prevention Project, the Bay Area Gay-

Straight Alliance Network, and several

public defenders, attorneys, journalists

and youth organizers. The students also

enjoyed the talents of Mind Tricks, a

Hip-Hop and dance troupe

from the Bay

Area.

The

confer-

ence was

possible by

the joint ef-

forts of stu-

dents and

expert youth

advocates. Nancy

Otto is the Director of the Friedman

Project and William Walker is the Project

Fellow. Members of the Student Advisory

Committee include: Rachel Aoanan,

Myraim Bouaziz, Jamie Christainsen,

Cindy Downing, Eric Elems, Kathleen

Flanagan, Shayna Gelender, Alex Green,

Chris Jones, Sanam Jorjani, Jed Kinnison,

Jeannie Lee, Gab Martinez, Dan Melleno,

Saba Moeel, Shaffy Moeel, Zac Moon,

Lucia Mortiz, Adam Nielsen, Sirena

Putman, Luis Ramirez, Lani Riccobuono,

Ana Sauceda, Viviane Scott, Suemyra

Shah, Chris Uyeda, Jose Vargas, Marlene

Williams, Kandyce Wilson, and Jenn Wu.

The YAC organizes two confer-

ences a year, selecting themes and

issues that focus on the rights of

youth. If you are interested in partici-

pating in the Youth Advisory

Committee, please contact Project

Director Nancy Otto or Project Fellow

William Walker at 415/621-2493. Hi

Shayna Gelender is a senior at Castro

Valley High School and a member of the

Youth Advisory Committee.

irtually without exception, obituar-

/ ies of former California Chief

Justice Rose Bird attribute her

1986 electoral defeat to her unwavering

her purported opposition to the death

penalty was not the motivation for con-

servatives who set out to remove the

state's first female Supreme Court justice

used to punish her for other trespasses.

California's renewed death penalty

statute (1976) and Justice Bird (1977)

burst on the scene at almost the same

time. The new Bird Court had the task of

examining the constitutionality of a

brand new, and in many legal scholars'

estimation, badly drawn state law

expanding the use of the death penalty.

Her court's rulings, necessary to refine

the law and protect the constitutional

rights of the accused, overturned most

of the death sentences brought before it.

Despite their insistence that Bird

attempted to single-handedly derail

each of the 61 decisions to overrule it

commanded a majority of the Court.

Bird's was hardly a lone voice in the

wilderness.

Oddly, while Bird.was tagged as an

outspoken opponent of the death

tal campaign to remove her from office,

in the years I knew her | never heard

her make a definitive declaration on

the issue. During her recall campaign

in 1986, she said "I feel strongly about

the sanctity of life, and I have argued

against the death penalty. But I believe

as an individual justice I can make a

determination based on issues and not

on preconceived notions."

Rose Bird was a pioneer: the first

female clerk in the Nevada Supreme

Former California Supreme Court Chief Justice kose Bird died of breast cancer on

December 4 at the age of 63. The ACLU-NC honored Bird, and her fellow justices Cruz

Reynoso and Joseph Grodin, with the Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award in 1987. Below

is a tribute to the former Chief Justice by Mike Farrell, President of Death Penalty

_ Focus and a member of the state Commission on Judicial Performance.

opposition to the death penalty. In fact, -

from office, rather it was the club they' | off the shards.

California's death penalty statute, -

- penalty by the forces that waged a bru- -

Court; first female deputy public defend-

er in Santa Clara County; the first

female to hold a cabinet-level job in

California; the first female justice on the ~

California Supreme Court. But it was not

simply the act of breaking through so

many of California's sturdiest glass ceil-

ings that so riled conservatives; it was

what she accomplished after brushing

As then-Governor Jerry Brown's

Secretary of Agriculture, she beefed up

the Division of Occupational Health and

Safety, angering business interests. She

banned the use of the short-handled hoe

that forced farm laborers to spend hours

stooped over in the fields, thus alienat-

ing powerful agribusiness interests. She

earned more enmity when she drafted

the landmark bill allowing farm workers

to organize.

On the Supreme Court, she led a

majority that bolstered environmental

laws, strengthened consumer laws, and

broadened injured parties right to sue.

She also wrote a decision banning ladies

nights at nightclubs and bars, and

affirmed decisions supporting tenants'

rights. She dissented from the court' rul-

ing that upheld Proposition 13, the 1978

property tax initiative. %

She sold the Court Cadillac, stopped

holding judge's conferences at-fancy

resorts and insisted on writing individ-

ual opinions to distinguish her views

from those of her colleagues. And she

established a special task force to make ~

California courtrooms free of sexual and

racial bias.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth

Circuit said, "Rose Bird [had] a total

passion for, and commitment to, jus-

tice." In a just world, that would have

been enough. @

Federal Court Rules

Against Censorship on

the Internet

BY STELLA RICHARDSON

he Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,

[secon with ACLU arguments,

ruled on December 17 that the fed-

eral Child Pornography Protection Act

(CPPA) goes too far and violates the First

Amendment by outlawing images that only

"appear to be" minors. In October 1997,

the ACLU-NC and the national ACLU filed

an amicus brief in an appeal from a deci-

sion upholding the 1996 law.

The ACLU argued that the law crimi-

nalizes non-obscene materials that do not

involve the participation of minors. These

materials may well have serious literary,

artistic, political or scientific value yet the

language used in the law restricts writers,

filmmakers and other artists from even

using young-looking adults in their work.

'"The decision is a victory for free

speech," said ACLU-NC staff attorney

Ann Brick, "because sexually explicit,

non-obscene speech is protected by the

First Amendment.

"In striking down the Act, the Ninth

Circuit recognized what other courts did

not," added Brick, "that when Congress

expanded the definition of child pornog- .

raphy to cover materials in which no real

children are used, they went from pro-

tecting real children who are used in

pornography to the constitutionally pro-

hibited act of banning ideas. Upholding

such a law would set a dangerous prece-

dent indeed."

The original lawsuit was filed by the

Free Speech Coalition, which includes

free speech activists and producers and

distributors of "adult-oriented materi-

als." The suit, Free Speech Coalition v.

Reno, a pre-enforcement challenge to

the CPPA, argued that the law is so

broadly worded that it covers any picture

in which an adult portrays a minor

engaged in sexual activity.

The ACLU brief was authored by Brick

and cooperating attorney William Bennett

Turner. @

No More Closed Door

Civilian Police Review

Meetings in Oakland

and police reform advocates, Alameda

County Superior Judge Henry E.

Needham ruled on December 10 that the

Oakland City Council may no longer meet

in closed session to discuss changes to the

Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB).

The ruling should end an 19-year prac-

tice of the city negotiating the powers and

role of civilian oversight of its police

department in secret with their local

police union, the Oakland Police Officers'

Association (OPOA). Oakland was the

only city in the state that held these sort of

closed- door meetings.

"The people of Oakland have been

l na major victory for open government

waiting far too long for their elected lead- _

ers to publicly consider, discuss and act

upon proposals about how police officers

should be held accountable to the people

_ they serve," said ACLU-NC attorney John

Crew. "It's high time for the City Council to

give up their long, wasteful and ultimately

desperate attempt to maintain their prac-

itce of back-room deals with the Oakland

ACLU Urges Monterey Court to

Lift Gag Order on Striker

BY STELLA RICHARDSON

of the Monterey County Coordinated

Court, the ACLU urged the Court to

strike an order barring vegetable plant

striker Hallie Lake Cox from engaging in

| na letter to Judge Marla O. Anderson

public strike activities, including peace- |

ful picketing, passing out leaflets or peti-

tions on a public sidewalk, or attending

union rallies.

"We believe that this order infringes

fundamental constitutional rights of free-

dom of expression and assoeiation and

principles of due process," charged attor-

ney Michelle Welsh of the ACLU Monterey

~s

Chapter and ACLU-NC staff attorney

Margaret Crosby in the October 25 letter.

Cox was arrested during. a strike at

Basic Vegetable Products in King City and

charged for allegedly throwing a rock at a

bus transporting replacement workers.

Judge Kay Kingsley granted Mr. Cox's

motion for reduction of bail and set bail at

$6,000 with the condition that he would not

publicly participate in strike activities.

A few weeks later, Cox was arrested

and charged with willfully disobeying the

order. According to the police report, the

arrest was based on Mr. Cox's driving on

public roads, in his red Toyota truck, with

several different flags attached (an

ACLU News = January-FesrRuary 2000 = Pace 7

- American flag, a Mexican flag, a Teamsters

890 flag, and a flag bearing the words "Si Se

Puede" Yes You Can, in Spanish.) The

District Attorney filed a criminal complaint

_ for contempt of court.

In urging the Court to dismiss the

pending contempt charges, Welsh and

Crosby argued that not only did Cox not

violate the order because "driving a truck

decorated with flags is not encompassed-

within its proscription," but that the

order itself - infringed Cox's First

Amendment rights.

Following a hearing, a plea bargain was

reached that ended the restrictions on

Cox's public strike activities. Hi

Police Officers' Association."

The ACLU-NC and People United for

a Better Oakland (PUEBLO) filed an

official complaint in-May, 1998 with the

city's Public Ethics Commission alleging

that the Council's closed-door sessions

violated state and local open meeting (c)

laws. The Commission was created by

Oakland voters to oversee compliance

with the City's Sunshine Ordinance

which, in turn, established strong rights

of public access to government docu-

ments and proceedings.

In September, 1998 the Commission

unanimously ruled that the Council's

closed-door sessions were illegal and should -

be "immediately ceased." A month later, the

Council decided to sue its own Public

Ethics Commission rather than comply with

the ruling. That suit is pending.

In response, on November 5, 1998

PUEBLO and the ACLU sued the City

Council alleging that the City Council had

violated the open meetings provisions of

the California Brown Act and the Oakland

Sunshine Ordinance. :

"Making secret backroom deals on

key public policy decisions about civil-

ian review has been a disaster for

Oakland and for police-community rela-

tions," said Dan HoSang, PUEBLO's

director. "If the police department "ants

the community to be their partner, che

partnership must be based on openness,

equity, trust and accountability. We

hope this court ruling - which in effect

forces the City Council and the police

department to be open to the public on

these sorts of questions - will be viewed

by the police department as an opportu-

nity to start building a new relationship

with the community."

The Citizens' Police Review Board is

an appointed body of civilians who, along

with their staff, investigate and adjudicate

allegations of police misconduct. The

Review Board's disciplinary recommenda- -

tions are referred to the City Manager for

further action.

Defeat the Anti-Youth, Anti-Gay Ballot Measures in March

PROPOSITION 21- JUVENILE IN-JUSTICE

ete Wilson's Juvenile Crime Initiative imposes a harsh punitive approach to addressing juvenile crime by incarcerating many more juveniles

1 for longer periods of time. Juveniles will be sent to adult prisons. Juvenile criminal records will be unsealed. Money will be spent on incar-

ceration, not education. The initiative, 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 initiative will fill our prisons with youthful offenders, and will make

it nearly impossible for young people to rehabilitate.

PROPOSITION 22- DANGER TO LESBIAN AND Gay RIGHTS

he so-called Limits on Marriage or Knight initiative spearheaded by State Senator Pete Knight would make it legally impossible for

_4 any couple other than a man and a woman to marry in California. This initiative is a "wedge" issue which is intended to use homo-

phobia to codify anti-gay measures. In states with similar legislation, courts and policy makers have relied on such laws to deny adop-

tions by lesbian or gay parents, to defeat anti-discrimination measures for lesbians and gay men, and even to justify the elimination of

wht ERC,

protections provided by anti-hate crimes laws. The California State Assembly has already defeated similar bills five times.

You Can Help Stop These Initiatives!

@ ACLU PHONE NIGHTS

Join us in calling ACLU members throughout California, urging them to vote against

both initiatives and encouraging them to join us in the fight.

" COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

Contact your local ACLU chapter and get involved with grassroots organizing and

fundraising efforts. Help educate your community on both initiatives!

@ LITERATURE DISTRIBUTION

You can order and distribute brochures against both initiatives from the ACLU. Send

in the coupon below. The brochures are free.

Chapter Boosts "No on 22"

The ACLU-NC North Peninsula Chapter organized a successful house party on

November 7 to benefit the No On Knight Campaign. The event, held at the home of

Harriet Hills Stinson, pictured above with Chapter leader Marshall Dinowitz, raised

Campaign on Peninsula

$12,500 to defeat the homophobic initiative. The fundraiser was organized by chapter

activists Dinowitz, Francesca Guido and Marlene De Lancie. Featured speakers

included Mitzi Henderson, former national Chair of Parents and Friends of Lesbians

and Gays and Wiggsy Silverstein, Dean of Students at San Jose State University.

The North Pen Chapter also helped secure the passage of a resolution opposing the ini-

tiative from the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. On December 21, the Board

unanimously passed a measure urging citizens to vote against Proposition 22 because

it is "unfair and divisive" and would lead to a climate of hatefulness."

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

Coordinating Council, "Whistlestop Wheels," Caboose

_ mation, contact Coleman Persily at 415/479-1731.

Mid-Peninsula Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth

Thursday) Meet at 7:00 PM, at 460 South California

| Avenue, Suite 11, Palo Alto. For more information, con-

Wednesday) For more information, time and address of |

meetings, contact Diana Wellum at 510/841-2069.

Chico Chapter /f you are a member in the

Chico/Redding area, please contact Steven Post-Jeyes at

415/345-1449.

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 Chloe Watts,

510/763-3910 or Jeff Mittman, 510/272-9380.

Marin County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Monday) Meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Marin Senior

tact Ken Russell at 650/493-2437.

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.

Oakland (renamed Paul Robeson) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually fourth Thursday) For more informaton

contact Stan Brackett: 510/832-1915.

Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually every third Tuesday) Meet at

Luzmilla's, 1288 G Street, Arcata at 7:00 PM. For infor-

ACLU News = January-FesRuary 2000 = Pace 8S

MARLENE DE LANCIE

|

|

|

Room, 930 Tamalpais Ave., San Rafael. For more infor -

@ Get up-to-date information on both campaign websites and our ACLU-

NC website:

www.noprop2l.org | www.noonknight.org | www.aclunc.org

@ or fill in the coupon below:

panne nnn nena nnn n ne nne nnn nnanenenn renee =o

CHECK AS MANY AS YOU WISH

(J Please send me

(c) Yes, I want to help defeat the Anti-Youth Initiative, Proposition 21

(c) Yes, I want to help defeat the Anti-Gay Initiative, Proposition 22

(c) I'll work wherever you need me against either/both of these bad initiatives.

copies of the ACLU No on Proposition 22 brochure.

Name

Address

City [States 2271p

Your telephone Email

Send to or contact:

Telephone: 415 621-2493, Address:

Lisa Maldonado, ACLU-NC Field Representative, Email (lisam@aclunc.org),

American Civil Liberties Union of Northern

California, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460, San Francisco, CA 941038

TCE RGE Noa cieclilrality

It's time that the ACLU San Joaquin Chapter reorganized, to better

campaign for the civil liberties of all residents of the San Joaquin

County area. We are looking for thoughtful and committed people

who would like to help rebuild the local chapter.

If you are interested, please e-mail Rick Atkins at

stockton4-aclu@cs.com or phone 209/ 467-4866.

mation on upcoming meeting dates and times, please

call 707/444-6595.

Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting: (Usually

first Wednesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Java City in

Sutter Galleria (between 29 and 30, J and K Streets) in

Sacramento.

_ San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Third Tuesday)

Meet at 6:45 PM at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission

_ Street, Suite #460, San Francisco. Call the Chapter |

Hotline (979-6699) for further details.

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.

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 Victor

Chechanover at 707/778-7302 for more information.

For more information, contact Lisa |

Maldonado at 415/621-2493.

Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM, 2505 5th Street #154,

Davis. For more information, call Natalie Wormeli at

530/756-1900 or Dick Livingston at 530/753-

1250.

Chapters Reorganizing

If you are interested in reviving the Mt. Diablo

Chapter, please contact Field Representative Lisa

| Maldonado at 415/621-2006 ext. 46.

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 to plan out:

reach activities. For more information, contact Nancy

Otto at 415/621-2006 ext. 37.

Student Advisory Committee: For more informa-

fion, contact Nancy Otto at 415/621-2006 ext. 37.