Open forum, vol. 54, no. 7 (July-August, 1977)

By Mary Ellen Gale

When the California Supreme

Court ruled a year ago that the Los

Angeles Board of Education must

desegregate city schools, said

ACLU volunteer counsel Edward

Medvene, "the first shoe dropped."

Medvene, arguing for the plain-

tiffs in the Los Angeles school de-

segregation case, told Superior

Judge Paul Egly last month that

the time had come to finish what

the Supreme Court had started.

"Drop the other shoe now,

judge," Medvene urged. "Tell the

board that there will be desegrega-

tion now."

Mary Ellen Gale, a member of

the ACLU-Southern California

Board of Directors, teaches at USC

Law Center.

He asked Egly not only to de-

clare the school board's desegrega-

tion plan unconstitutional but to

appoint experts and write his own

desegregation plan instead of send-

ing the job back to the board.

But Egly's long-awaited ruling,

filed on July 5, gave the plaintiffs

only half of what they wanted.

Although the judge. rejected the

school board's part-time, mostly

voluntary desegregation plan, he

ordered the board to write a new

proposal within 90 days.

The board's new plan or plans

must "realistically commence the

desegregation of this district by no

later than February 1978," and

must "promise ... to complete such

desegregation process within a rea-

sonable period thereafter,' Egly

admonished.

To help him enforce his ruling

and evaluate the board's new pro-

posals, Egly said, he would ap-

point a referee to oversee the

board's work in progress.

The ACLU of Southern Califor-

nia responded to Egly's decision

with mingled praise and concern.

"On the one hand, it's a fine deci-

sion," said Ramona Ripston, Exec-

utive Director ACLU-SC. "On the

other hand, an entire generation of

school children has graduated from

segregated schools since this case

was first filed in 1963.

"Every court that has looked at

this district has found it to be seg-

regated. It is one of the most segre-

gated school systems in the nation.

Yet now we face the possibility of

an appeal-and of still more delay."

In the closing arguments before

Judge Egly, Medvene read to the

court a long list of minority segre-

gated schools that would have re-

mained completely segregated un-

der the board's proposal. "The

school board has acted knowingly,

in bad faith" to delay and obstruct

school desegregation in Los Ange-

les, he said.

Although Egly declined to hold

that the board had acted in bad

faith, his decision sharply criticized

the board's plan as "wholly ineffec-

tive in desegregating this district."

The judge agreed with the board

During the closing arguments in Crawford, the Los Angeles school integration case, a brief visit to the court-

room was made by children from the Echo Park/Silverlake People's Child Care Center, who work and play

together in an integrated setting.

Night Courts

ACLU CALLS FOR FASTER ARRAIGNMENT

TO END JAIL TIME ABUSES IN L.A. .

Night and weekend arraignment

courts are sought in a suit filed

June 7 by the ACLU Foundation

of Southern California and the

Greater Watts Justice Center.

Arraignment, the court proce-

dure in which a municipal judge

determines if sufficient cause exists

to formally charge an arrested per-

son, can be delayed in Los Angeles

for several days with the present

schedule for arraignment courts.

ACLU staff counsel Terry Smer-

ling cited the circumstances in

which Isaac Youngblood, arrested

at 7:00 p.m. on a Saturday, was

still not arraigned when the suit

was filed Tuesday afternoon. "He

was held in confinement, without

being formally charged, on the

say-so of an officer in a disputed

claim of assaulting a policeman,"

Smerling said.

Pointing out that present statu-

tory provision requires arraign-

ment without unnecessary delay

and not later than 48 hours of time

during which court is in session,

Smerling explained that the Young-

blood situation was not unusual.

"The statute lends itself to this

kind of abuse. Arrested persons are

sometimes held as long as 120

hours during three-day holiday

weekends. This especially discrim-

inates against poor people unable

to raise bail, and enables the police

to see that persons get jail time

even when there is no case against

them." Youngblood was confined

FBI FILES DISCLOSE LAPD

DOSSIER ON A. L..WIRIN

Dossiers on ACLU members

received as a result of a Free-

dom of Information Act suit

brought by the Illinois ACLU re-

veal-that the FBI surveillance of

the Union's activities included as-

sistance from the Los Angeles Po-

lice Department.

The 1933 dossier on A. L. Wirin,

ACLU counsel from the 1930's to

70 S, prepared for the FBI by the

intelligence division or so-called

Red Squad" of the LAPD states

_ in part:

"Wirin is particularly dangerous

ecause of the fact that he pos-

sesses a brilliant mind and has a

comprehensive knowledge of law.

It is his delight and pride to search

deep into legal lore for possible

loopholes which may be utilized

in the defense of revolutionists who

have transgressed the law. Artful

interpretation of the law, as re-

gards `constitutional' rights, is an-

other of Mr. Wirin's knavish sub-

subtleties. .. ."

One fifth of the 20,000 pages of

FBI files are to be surrendered

each month to ACLU. The batch

received in June covered 1920 to

1943.

until five minutes before the ar-

raignment deadline, then released

with no charges filed.

The class action filed on behalf

of taxpayers Joyce Fiske and Rob-

ert Slaughter asks that Municipal

Court provide arraignment sixteen

hours a day, seven days a week

and release on their own recogniz-

ance all arrestees who are not ar-

raigned within twelve hours of

their arrest.

Judge Drops `Other Shoe' on L.A.

School Board; Orders New Plan

open

orum

PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

633 SO. SHATTO PLACE, LOS ANGELES, CA. 90005 " (213) 487-1720

that desegregating the Los Angeles

public schools is "a formidable

task, given the geographical size of

the district, the vast numbers of

students, the increasing minority

population, the decreasing white

population, the numbers of limited

or non-English-speaking Hispanic

students (100,000), the limitations

on both taxation and expenditures

of money, and lastly, the board

members' own personal percep-

tions of their constitutional duty.

Three School Systems

"But nothing this Court has

heard has sustained the argument

of the board that the board can do

nothing further in relieving segre-

gation. It is clear from the evidence

that this plan . . . would result in

this district continuing to maintain

three separate school systems;

brown, black and white, each iso-

lated from the other."

Egly ordered the board to con-

sider "all reasonable alternative

plans" in making its final submis-

sion to the court next October.

He warned the board not to rely

on its Permits With Transportation

(PWT) program as a_ primary

method of school desegregation,

noting that the program now "is

used almost entirely by minority

students, busing themselves out of

minority segregated schools to seg-

regated white schools."

PWT Suspect

"It is constitutionally suspect as

a major desegregation device be-

cause it places the burden of reliev-

ing the racial isolation of the mi-

nority student upon the minority

student," Egly wrote.

The judge explicitly rejected the

school board's argument that de-

segregation could be accomplished

through specialized learning cen-

ters where children from segre-

gated schools would meet to share

limited classes "for part of a day

and part of a year."

JULY-AUGUST 1977

VOLUME 54, NUMBER 7

ESS 10

In the oral arguments before

Judge Egly last month, Medvene,

speaking on behalf of the ACLU,

the NAACP, and the Los Angeles

Center for Law and Justice, de-

scribed the specialized learning

centers as "a disgrace" and an in-

sult to minority children and their

parents.

"By this plan the board is say-

ing to these kids, "You're too dumb

to learn with the white folks,' "

Medvene argued.

In reply to Medvene, school

board attorney G. William Shea in-

sisted that the board plan was a

"reasonable and feasible" approach

to desegregating the schools. He

rejected an ACLU counter-propos-

al for full-time desegregation, with

white students moving into minor-

ity schools, on the grounds that it

would hasten "white flight" from

the Los Angeles public schools and

result in resegregation.

Young Court-Watchers

During the closing arguments,

attorneys from the intervenors

wrangled over the legal signifi-

cance of the words "reasonable and

feasible." As Harvey Saferstein,

counsel for Better Education for

Students Today (BEST), argued

with the judge, an _ integrated

group of young children from the

Echo Park/Silverlake People's

Child Care Center entered the

courtroom.

They smiled and waved at Art

Goldberg, attorney for the Inte-

gration Project, whose two young

children were included in the

group.

"That's reasonable and feasible,"

Eglvy said with a smile.

When Goldberg got up to speak

for the Integration Project, which

favors a strong desegregation plan,

he agreed with the judge. "Isn't

there a real world out there?" he

asked. "How are kids going to

learn to get along with each other

unless they start at an early age?"

for study at the ACLU office.

REPORT READY ON L.A. INTEGRATION

Titled A Generation Deprived, Los Angeles School Desegre-

gation, a 246-page report is available free from the U.S. Commis-

sion on Civil Rights, 312 N. Spring, telephone 688-3437. Copies of

the report and other materials on school integration are available

Pasadena Fundamental Schools Cannot

Require Parents to Consent to Spanking

' Consent to corporal punishment

cannot be made a condition of en-

rollment in California public

schools, the California Court of

Appeal ruled last month in an

ACLU student rights case.

A 1975 legislative amendment

to the Education Code prohibited

paddling without the written con-

sent of parents. School districts

were given the option of not en-

gaging in corporal punishment at

all or administering such punish-

ment only to children of `parents

willing to consent. The Los Ange-

les Unified School District took the

first option and swatting is not per-

mitted in Los Angeles schools.

The policy of the fundamental

schools of Pasadena was the sub-

ject of the ACLU suit brought by

volunteer counsel Mary Ellen Gale.

Stressing traditional curriculum

and teaching methods, a dress code

and strict discipline, the funda-

mental schools wished to make

parental consent to corporal pun-

ishment a requirement for atten-

dance and attempted to transfer

students whose parents refused or

withdrew permission for corporal

punishment after enactment of the

state legislation.

The school district claimed that

since admission to fundamental

schools is by request, parents op-

posed to corporal punishment

should enroll their children in the

regular public schools.

The court held that "The `fun-

damental school,' as a public school,

has no more nor less right to re-

quire consent for corporal punish- -

ment than a `regular school.' It is

clear that the Legislature has de-

-creed that the.3 R's are not taught

from the bottoms up."

Stating that spanking is not a

prerequisite to strict discipline,

the court pointed out "Its elimina-

tion as a mandatory requirement

does not mean an end to the disci-

plinary phase of the fundamental

schools program. Discipline can be

accomplished by other forms of

punishment such as detention, sus-

pension or transfer to a non-funda-

mental school within the district."

As a result of the ruling, parents:

may enroll their children for the

fundamental curriculum without

having to agree to spanking.

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Board Policy Proposal -

ACLU Studies U.S. Intnteraton

- Policy and Civil Liberties

By Rodolfo Alvarez

The ACLU of Southern Califor-

nia will consider civil liberties im-

plications of United States immi-

gration policy at its July Board of

Directors meeting.

The ACLU Committee on Im-

migration has proposed a_ policy

covering a broad range of civil lib-

erties issues affecting the rights of

potential immigrants, undocument-

ed persons, United States citizens

and resident aliens. Indeed, it ap-

pears that most policies heretofore

suggested by either the Immigra-

tion and Naturalization. Service

(INS) or the Department of Labor

are more notable for what they

contribute to the erosion of civil

liberties than for what they accom-

plish in curtailing the flow of so-

called illegal aliens.

In the controversy regarding un-

documented persons, an important

observation came from INS Com-

missioner Leonel Castillo that we

have no reliable evidence as to

actual numbers of undocumented

persons in the U.S., the rate at

which they come into the country,

or the countries from which they

originate. We only know how many

persons are reported as "detained."

The media is regularly filled

with numerical assertions less re-

flective of fact than of the views

and purposes of those who so eas-

ily release figures ranging from the

insignificant to the inflammatory.

These figures remind us of the re-

cent "official" body counts that

would have had us believe the en-

tire population of both North and

South Viet Nam had been de-

stroyed several times over.

Among the issues that entered

into deliberations of the Commit-

tee on Immigration Policy are the

following:

The Right to Humane Working

Conditions and to Equal Pay

For Equal Work

The ACLU-Southern California

should oppose re-introduction of

the Bracero Program or any tem-

porary worker plan, such as the

one recently approved by Presi-

dent Carter for Presidio, Texas.

These programs deprive both alien

and domestic workers of their right

to a fair wage and humane work-

ing conditions. Workers are ex-

ploited under temporary programs

in that they are not paid the price

their labor is worth in this country.

Their. condition of poverty, ignor-

ance, and willingness to work is ex-

ploited by the lure of any wage at

all. There is considerable hypoc-

risy in the government's blaming

undocumented~ workers for eco-

nomic problems in the U.S. while,

on the other hand, importing large

numbers of temporary workers.

The effect of bringing in tempo-

rary foreign workers is to deprive

domestic workers of the right to

organize for enforcement of laws

for wages and working conditions.

It is not too idealistic a principle to

hold that all workers have a right

to equal pay for equal work regard-

less of the legality of their stay in

this country.

The Right to Non-

discriminatory Treatment

_and Equal Protection

a5 We

Efforts by bureaucrats and poli-

ticians to create heavy sanctions

against employers who hire undoc-

umented workers may result in

massive employment discrimina-

tion against United States citizens

and legal resident aliens of His-

panic heritage. Seeking to avoid

penalties, employers would simply

not hire those that "look foreign."

The Right to Privacy

Illegal: immigration appears to

be only: the latest pretext for cre-

ating a national identity card by

converting the social security num-

ber to a counterfeit-proof univer-

sal identifier. Such a card com-

bined with modern computer

methods makes it virtually impos-

sible to insure the privacy of one's'

medical, marital, income, religious

or political history. A universal

~ oN

identifier would essen

a "domestic passport" to be pro-

duced on demand to employers

and law enforcement officials. This

kind of card so seriously compro-

mises everyone's right to privacy

and freedom of movement that it is

an unacceptable price to pay.

The Right to Due Process and

to Maintain Family Integrity

A considerable number of per-

_sons currently classified as "illegal

aliens" are so classified only be-

cause of the bureaucratic ineffi-

ciency of INS in processing their

applications, since they qualify for

permanent residence and are fully

documentable. INS procedures re-

quire that an "immediate relative"

petition be processed in five days.

Such a petition takes eighteen

months to process in Los Angeles,

seven months in Arizona and about

twelve months in New York.

This hardship is created by the

INS's assignment of personnel to

law enforcement rather than to

processing the backlog of applica-

tions. Consequently, because of

the unprocessed cases, the popula-

tion of so-called illegal aliens is

artificially increased; persons are

denied due process in adjudication

of their status and are subject to

deportation if apprehended, not-

withstanding their pending appli-

cation and qualification for docu-

`mentation.

The U.S. has a national policy

for the unification of families. In-

consistent with this position are

1976 amendments to immigration

law which prohibit children under

21 being considered as an "imme-

diate relative" for purposes of per-

mitting immigration of their par-

ents.

Rodolfo Alvarez, a member of

the ACLU Board of Directors,

teaches Sociology at UCLA and is

co-chairperson with Jessica Heinz

of the ACLU Committee on Immi-

gration Policy.

Update on National Legislation

Call for Summertime Lobbying

By Joseph Friedman and Frank Wilkinson

Legislation gravely detrimental to the American system of individ-

ual rights is due to be acted upon when Congress completes its scheduled

summer recess. ACLU-Southern California's Civil Liberties Lobby has

issued a legislative alert to all ACLU members-both individually and

through their chapters-to contact members of Congress and Senators

Cranston and Hayakawa when they return home in August regarding

the following bills:

_ 0x00A7. 1437 (S. 1)-Criminal Code

Reform Act of 1977

Having introduced the most

complicated omnibus bill ever con-

sidered by Congress, S. 1427's

sponsors, Senators McClellan (D.-

Ark.) and Kennedy (D.-Mass.),

allowed only five days of hearings

on this amended version of the

notorious Senate Bill No. 1 of last

year. ACLU's Aryeh Neier and

John Shattuck were allowed three

minutes by the Judiciary Subcom-

mittee Acting Chairperson, Sena-

tor Strom Thurmond (R.-S.C.), be-

fore their 50-page critique was

filed.

In addition to the Neier/Shat-

tuck analysis (available at ACLU-

Southern California office), a de-

tailed summary of 12 categories of

repressive features in S. 1437 was

presented to the Subcommittee by

Professor Thomas I. Emerson (Yale

Law School), drafted with Profes-

sors Vern Countryman (Harvard

Law School) and Carole E. Gold-

berg (UCLA Law School), argu-

ing:

"S. 1437 retains a large number

of provisions which, individually

and in totality, are gravely detri-

mental to the American system of

individual rights. We must there-

fore oppose it... . There are im-

provements in S. 1437... . These

advantages over S. 1, however, can-

not be grounds for supporting S.

1437 so long as so many objection-

able provisions remain. It is unlikely

that the bill can be successfully

amended. Omnibus legislation of

this nature is subject to very lim-

Page 2

Pa se peeaest cmon,

meee"

ae Sue ci Cie

ited change in the course of the

legislative process. Hence, the-only

satisfactory procedure is to start

with an acceptable bill. We believe

the Kastenmeier bill, introduced in

the House last year as H.R. 12504 -

-in this Congress: H.R. 2311-

Cohen (R.-Maine)-can serve the

function. ...

"S. 1 was designed to impose a

Watergate-type straitjacket upon

the people of this country. S. 1437

retains too many of those provi-

sions to be acceptable. They are

still framed with an eye toward

affording the government appara-

tus meticulous protection against

every possible form of conve-

nience, while forgetting the needs

of a healthy and dynamic citi-

zenry."

In introducing detailed exam-

ples of S. 1437's repressive fea-

tures, Emerson/Countryman/

Goldberg make the following gen-

eral point: "Drafters of a provision

may be concentrating on a specific

form of conduct and may not mean

to cover other forms of activity

within their prohibition. The ac-

tual impact... however, cannot be

judged on the assumption that

prosecutors or juries will make re-

fined distinctions about the mental

state of the accused, especially an

unpopular accused. . . . If we are

to preserve our system of individ-

ual rights, a far more demanding

standard must be applied."

S. 1566-Foreign Intelligence

Surveillance Act of 1977 -

This bill purports to provide

legislative control over "national

S.1 IS NOW S. 1437

oe "RS 1437

Tho

es A BILL

Z| To codify, revise, and reform title 18 of the

s United States Code; and for other pur-

poses,

By Mr. McCuetian and Mr. Kennepr

Max 2,1977 5

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the

Judiciary

~

An analysis of S. 1437 pre-

pared by law professors Emer-

son, Countryman and Goldberg

is available as an 8-page booklet

from the National Committee

Against Repressive Legislation

(NCARL): 1250 Wilshire

Blvd., Los Angeles, - Calif.

90017; (213) 481-2435.

security" wiretapping, presently

carried on at the discretion of the

President. Introduced by Senator

Kennedy on behalf of the Carter

Administration, and co-sponsered

by Senators Eastland (D.-Miss.),

Inouye (D.-Hawaii), McClellan

(D.-Ark.), Mathias (R.-Md.), and

Thursmond (R.-S.C.), S. 1566

closely parallels S. 3197 of the last

Congress, effectively opposed by

ACLU last year.

The Senate Judiciary Subcom-

mittee on Criminal Laws and Pro-

cedures held hearings on June 13-

14, including opposition testimony

from ACLU's John Shattuck and

Morton Halperin. The highlight of

those hearings was the unanimous

demand by the Carter administra-

tion's heads of CIA, FBI, and the

Defense and Justice Departments

that the "certification" (in lieu of

warrant) must not include any

form of a "criminal standard";

when pressed for justification of

this unprecedented authority, the

administration leaders declined to

do so except in "executive session"!

Approval by the Judiciary Com-

mittee is expected shortly, with the

bill then being considered by the

Senate Intelligence Committee un

der Senator Inouye.

ACLU-Supported Legislation

H.R. 5400-Uuiversal Voter

Registration Act

Providing for universal voter

registration, H.R. 5400 is due for

a House vote any day. This bill

would make it possible for unregis-

tered voters to register and vote on

election day at their polling booth.

ACLU has always fought for ex-

pansion of voter rights and the

greatest participation of citizens in

the election process. North Dakota,

where there is no registration, and

Minnesota, which permits regis-

tration the day of election, had the

highest voter turn-out in the 1976

elections.

S. 995-Pregnancy Disability

Legislation

This bill has been drafted to

overcome the Gilbert decision of

the Supreme Court, by prohibiting

employment discrimination on the

basis of pregnancy. Warning: Sen-

ator Eagleton (D.-MO.) and oth-

ers are attempting to attach an

anti-abortion amendment to the

bill.

H.R. 6051-F ederal Intelligence

Control Act of 1977

Twenty-three representatives

have now joined in co-sponsoring 0x00B0

this ACLU-supported legislation

to curb the intelligence abuses of

the FBI/CIA et al. In Southern

California, Representative Jerry

Patterson of Orange County has

now joined Reps. Hawkins, Brown,

and Roybal, as a co-sponsor. Warn-

ing: the Carter Administration is

actively pressing within the Senate

its own draft "National Intelli-

gence Reorganization Act of

1977," which, in many sections, is

aimed at giving legislative sanction

to many of the intelligence abuses

which H.R. 6051 would curb.

Joseph Friedman and Frank

Wilkinson, with UCLA law pro-

fessor Carole E. Goldberg, co-chair

ACLU-Southern California's Na-

tional Legislation Committee.

Published by the

American Civil Liberties Union of Co. Calif.

Monthly except

July/August Issue Fred Okrand*

Officers of the Legal Director cent

Board of Directors Marvin Schachter

F Assoc. Exec. Director

Joyce Fiske Vict -

: oF Ludwig

Seapes Assistant Director

Aris Anagnes |= Ruth Abraham

irst Vice Presiden :

Chapter Director

Ben Karpman Carol Sobel

Second Vice President Development Director

Vern Bullough Cathy Davis

Third Vice President Editor

Lena Friedman EDITORIAL BOARD

Fourth Vice President Mary Ellen Gale

Edgar Edwards a

Secretary-Treasurer

Jim Frankel

Joba Abbett

Recording Secretary Ber Bycel

: Mel Fiske

Ramona Ripsten*

Executive Director * Also on Editorial Board -

Published at 633 S$, Shatto Pi.- Los Angeles 90005. Phone

(213) 487-1720. Memberships $15 and up, of which 0x00A72 is

the annual subscription fee for Open Forum. Entered as

second-class matter April 24, 1946 at the post office at

Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879.

tially become

ee

ys

ay

Te

ee

Sense

ACLU GROUPS TACKLE LO

JAIL AND PRISON CONDITIONS

Women's Rights Committee Finds

ee Roe eT

Terminal Island Discriminates

-ACLU's Women's Rights Com-

mittee has joined in:a newly

formed project at Terminal Island

Federal Prison conducted by the

Beach Cities chapter of N.O.W.

and UCLA law students. ACLU

representative Sherrill Kushner is

at the facility every second Friday

evening to give ACLU assistance

to women inmates.

"The prison had previously been

all male," explained Kushner, "and

though it was thought progressive

to make it co-ed, in some respects

having men and women together

has made it more difficult for

women. There are 100 to 150

women with about 800 men in the

facility. The women are finding

that they are denied access to cer-

tain kinds of jobs, not because they

can't do the work, but because the

administration says that additional

supervision is needed when men

and women work together and

they don't have the staff. Their

solution is to exclude women from

the jobs. `Supervisory problems' is

frequentiy given as the explana-

tion for situations at the prison

that seem to discriminate against

women. For example, women don't

have as frequent access to the li-

brary as the men."

Kushner is developing rapport

with the women and working on

channels of communication with

the administration in the hope that

many problems can be resolved

without litigation.

ACLU chapters are a particular-

ly good resource for tackling local

jail and prison conditions, Kushner

pointed out. "A woman protested

to us that she was being given med-

ication in contradiction to her be-

liefs as a Jehovah's Witness. Before

we were able to take legal action

for her, she was sedated and sent 0x00B0*

to a West Virginia prison. We im-

mediately sent all the information

to the ACLU in West Virginia."

Kern Chapter Attacks Overcrowding

Jail conditions were brought to

the attention of Kern County

ACLU by seventeen inmates who

sent a letter describing intolerable

conditions.

About the same time, the County

Public Defender brought a suit,

Hopkins v. Sheriff Lousalot, which

was supported by ACLU and ex-

panded to a class action focusing

on the overcrowding in the facility.

The 325-person capacity had been

stretched to 450 prisoners.

"Information comes to us by let-

ter or messages from friends of in-

mates," said Gene Clark, who with

Phyllis Benham, has worked to get

the project underway.

Notes from the Docket

Libel Suit Threatens Citizens'

Right to Criticize Police

. Following the killing of a youth in Pacoima by the police, a group of

citizens circulated a petition and pamphlets criticizing the conduct of the

police and protesting against it. Suit was filed against them by the

policemen, charging libel and mental distress. The ACLU with Will .

Smith acting as volunteer counsel is defending against the suit, Lindquist

and Rumple v. People United.

Affirmative Action Case Will

Have Far-Reaching Effect:

Amicus Brief Filed

In what many observers are de-

scribing as the most important case'

since the United States Supreme

Court's historic Brown v. Board of

Education school desegregation

Case, the national ACLU and the

ACLU of Northern and Southern

California have filed a friend of

the court brief in support of the

university in Regents of the Uni-

versity of California v. Bakke.

h The California Supreme Court

ad struck down the university's

. Minority admissions program at its

UC Davis Medical School as being

Violative of the Fourteenth Amend-

ment equal protection clause. The

high court granted a hearing. The

brief argued that unless such pro-

grams are sustained, the promise

of the equal protection clause will

never be fulfilled. Paul Hoffman

and Dale Gronemeir participated

in the preparation of the brief for

the Southern California ACLU.

Another Newspaper Rack

Ordinance Held Invalid

Socialist Labor. Party v. City of

Glendale. In the seemingly never-

ending quest by municipalities to

keep prospective purchasers from

being able to buy publications the

city fathers don't like, another anti-

newsrack ordinance has been

struck down. The Los Angeles Su-

perior Court held unconstitutional

an ordinance which established

priorities among publications as to

E LOCAL -

Orange County

Tests Prison

Mail Delivery

Occupant as the title of the

prison newsletter produced by Or-

ange County ACLU is not only a

symbol for confinement, but is sig-

nificant in the effort to have mail

delivered to prisoners when names

are not available for addresses.

"We are researching the law on

the right of prisoners to receive

`occupant mail," said Brian Hud-

son, project coordinator with Gary

Donahue who, with the help of

`Nancy Phelps, turn out the news-

letter.

ACLU Member's

Jail Stay Spurs

San Diego Project

The San Diego jail project grew

out of attorney Rick Sundeen's

firsthand experience in the county

facility. He was arrested and incar-

cerated for four days shortly after

he moved to Southern California

from the Midwest.

The project has been continued

by San Diego volunteer attorneys,

law students and area coordinator

Ceil Podoloff. Chairperson Alex

Landon said ACLU litigation es-

tablished law library facilities for

inmates. "Our current focus is on

confinement conditions in the

county jail," said Landon in de-

scribing another suit under prepa-

ration.

Attorneys Tom Adler, Jerry Rus-

sell and Bob Lynn are among those

active on the committee.

Santa Barbara ACLU Aide Naive

Americans in Lompoc Prison

to deal with," said Rubin. "They

are less amenable to our having

access to prisoners." The chapter

has handled problems at Lompoc

for Native American prisoners re-

garding religious rituals, After an

incident in which the prison staff

took a peace pipe and locked it

away, the Indian prisoners re-

trieved and hid it. Prison authori-

ties retaliated with solitary confine-

ment. "The ACLU was able to re-

The Santa Barbara Chapter jail

project started five years ago fol-

lowing a public meeting at which

doctors described the death of a

prisoner for lack of prompt-medi-

cal care. "The revelations shook up

the Board of Supervisors," ex-

plained Bill Rubin, who coordi-

nates the Santa Barbara project.

"Medical technicians are now on

duty and a doctor calls every day.

The ACLU was granted visiting

privileges enabling us to learn of

conditions needing attention and

to see that the new improvements

are carried out."

The federal prison at Lompoc

has also received attention from

Santa Barbara ACLU. "The ad-

ministration there is more difficult

medicine man go in, explain the

try to work out solutions for Indian

needs," explained Rubin, who said,

however, there is still much im-

provement to be made in the atti-

toward Native American inmates.

"ARE NEW JAILS NEEDED?

By Kris Ockershauser

The U.S. metes out the harshest sentences in the world, except

- those for political prisoners in totalitarian countries.

The idea that prisons protect society from criminal behavior, deter

potential criminals, rehabilitate and punish others needs to be examined.

With one person incarcerated for every 800 felonies committed, prisons

obviously don't protect or-deter. A recent study showed rehabilitation

within prison has not worked. Punishment does occur with the long U.S.

prison terms.

However, we know also the longer that someone is imprisoned, the

more likely he is to return. The recidivism rate of California's prisons

is 50 percent.

There are alternatives to imprisonment that should receive serious

support. Job programs are an obvious one as there is a 94 percent cor-

relation between unemployment levels and federal prison admissions. A

job diversion program costs $1500 a year per person, compared to

$43,000 per new cell, with over $17,000 in maintenance costs per year.

Expanded probation with adequate support services is a safe and

cheap alternative-$550 a year. Restitution and expanded half-way

house programs are additional under-used and under-funded alterna-

tives which could greatly reduce overcrowded conditions in present jails

and prisons.

In light of this, should we increase the numbers of prisons and jails

either in the name of reform or retribution? The National Council on

Crime and Delinquency, the President's Crime Commission, the Cali-

fornia Board of Corrections have all called for reducing incarceration.

Currently in California, the Coalition for Prison Alternatives has

defeated Governor Brown's call for four new prisons here. However,

he'll request them next year. The Federal Bureau of Prisons wants to

build a 500-person pre-trial jail in Los Angeles, supposedly due to over-

crowded conditions in the county jail. Sheriff Pitchess wants 10 addi-

tional jails here, also due to overcrowded conditions, even though he just

opened up 2500 new cells. Almost 10,000 people are under lock and key

in Los Angeles County; about 70 percent of them pre-trial because they

can't post bail or meet current standards for release on their own recog-

nizance.

Kris Ockershauser, Director of the Unitarian Universalist Sservice

Committee of Southern California, 633 So. Shatto Pl., L.A. 90005, can

supply additional information. Telephone 381-6144. ACLU is a partici-

' pant in the coalition for prison alternatives.

which of them might sell from

newsracks on the public sidewalks

and also limited the number of

racks allowed.

The City of Glendale has ap-

pealed the ruling. Robin Meadow

and Mark S. Spiegel are handling

the case for the ACLU as volun-

teer counsel.

Pasadena Desegregation Case

Back in L.A. Federal Court

The Pasadena desegregation case

has returned to the United States

District Court in Los Angeles after

its long journey to the United

States Supreme Court. The high

court held that the requirement in

the court approved "Pasadena

Plan" that there be no majority of

any minority in any of the Pasa-

dena schools, when interpreted to

mean that yearly redistricting of all

the schools was mandated, would

not be sustained.

Other issues in the case were re-

turned to the trial court for further

`consideration. "These include:

whether the trial court should re-

linquish its jurisdiction over the

district, whether the injunction is-

sued in 1970. prohibiting the dis-

trict from discriminating on the

basis of race in the operation of the

district is to continue, whether a

"free-choice" plan should be per-

mitted to replace the Pasadena

Plan, and whether the establish-

.

States Supreme Court, the Califor-

nia Supreme Court has given the

go-ahead to the legal clinic type of

practice for lawyers. In the same

opinion the Court also said that

lawyers cannot be disciplined for

talking to the press about their

type of practice and what it offers.

The ACLU filed friend of the court

briefs in both the administrative

proceedings and before the Su-

preme Court.

ment of a fundamental school in an

area which placed a greater bur-

den on black studens than on white

should be rescinded and the school

returned to its original regular

school status. Gary M. Paul is act-

ing as co-counsel with ACLU's

legal director in prosecuting the

case.

Legal Clinic Concept Sustained

Meyers and Jacoby v. State Bar.

Anticipating action by the United

ANOTHER WAY TO HELP

In recent months, a number of supporters of the ACLU have in-

formed us that in revising their wills they have named the ACLU as a

beneficiary. Past bequests have added greatly to the effectiveness of the

ACLU's program. Many more bequests are needed to strengthen our

future efforts in defense of liberty.

Suggested wording for a specific bequest which is a gift of a given

amount of money or certain property is:

"I devise and bequeath to the American Civil Liberties Union of

Southern California, 633 South Shatto Place, Los Angeles, California

(insert amount of money or description of property) to be used for its

work as its Board of Directors may designate."

_ Suggested wording for a residuary bequest, which gives whatever is

left of your estate after you have provided for others, is:

"I devise and bequeath (enter the word "all" or a percentage) of the

rest of my estate, of whatever kind and wherever situated, to American

Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, 633 South Shatto Place,

Los Angeles, California, to be used for its work as its Board of Direc-

tors may designate.

For further information or assistance, write to: American Civil

Liberties Union of Southern California, 633 South Shatto Place, Los

Angeles, California 90005, attention Marvin Schachter. c

Page 3

lieve the situation by having a-

rituals to the administration and -

es

Garden Party Draws

Large and Festive Crowd

ACLU's 18th Annual Garden Party was at the

home of writer David W. Rintels, a beautiful setting

for a successful event enjoyed by more than 1,200

ACLU members and, guests Sunday afternoon, June

12,

ACLU President Joyce Fiske, in honoring the work

of ACLU Foundation presidents, presented awards to

Irving Lichtenstein and Stanley K. Sheinbaum. Bea

Arthur, TV's "Maude," accepted for honoree Norman

Lear and Irv Lichtenstein accepted for Burt Lancas-

ter (near right photo). The ACLU Foundation is the

legal arm of the ACLU.

The program included Mike Farrell of "Mash,"

actress Beah Richards, and actress Teri Garr as auc-

tioneer. C.W. and Company entertained the crowd (far

right photo). Music was by Buddy Collette, John

Collins, Frank dela Rosa, Shelly Manne and Flip

Peres;

What's Happening

In ACLU

Feel free to call the ACLU Office for information, 487-1720:

Chapter Activities: Ruth Abraham, Chapter Director

Chapter Notices: Jim Frankel, Chapter Page Editor

_ Announcements for the next issue must be received by Aug. 15,

ACLU Office, 633 South Shatto Place, Los Angeles, Calif. 90005.

aceusvceussees

BEVERLY HILLS-

WESTWOOD

There will be an expanded

Steering Committee meeting on

Monday, July 25, at the home of

Doris and Werner Selby, 2138

Glendon Avenue, West Los An-

geles, at 7:45 p.m. Of special inter-

terest will be a discussion by Don

Levy, second vice-president of the

Gay Rights Chapter, on the issues

surrounding the Anita Bryant cam-

paign to curtail gay rights. Please

plan to attend. For further infor-

mation call Doris Selby, 474-8861.

day, July 20, from 5 to 7 p.m.

(preceding the Board of Directors

Meeting) at the ACLU office.

Brown bag, please.

The regular Chapter Council

meeting will be held Wednesday,

August 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the

ACLU office, 633 S. Shatto Place.

The agenda will include a discus-

sion of chapter-affiliate relations

and the role of the Chapter Coun-

cil. Specific requests from chapters

for agenda items will be honored.

Each chapter is urged to have at

least two representatives at council'

meetings. For further information,

call Ruth Abraham, chapter direc-

tor, at 487-1720.

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

On Sunday, July 17, the chap-

ters ninth annual fund-raising

Garden Party will feature a talk on

corrections by Richard Alatorre,

Assemblyman for the 55th District.

Also scheduled is Mrs. Sandy Bal-

donado, vice-chairperson for the

Southern California Democraic

Party, speaking on the Equal

Rights Amendment. Music and en- (c)

tertainment will be provided by

Karen Martinez and Phillies Mar-

tinez. There will be a no-host bar.

Contributions are $5 per couple,

$10 per sponsor. The program will

be held at the home of John and

Jackie Snavely, 19811 Covina Hill

Road, Covina, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Call Herman Perdomo, (213) 969-

2807, for more information.

Page 4

HOLLYWOOD

On Friday, August 5, at 8 p.m.,

Frank Wilkinson of the ACLU and

the National Committee Against

Repressive Legislation (NCARL)

will speak on the latest version* of

the Criminal Code Reform Act of

1977. The meeting will be held in

the Community Room of Great

Western Savings, 310 No. Fairfax

(near Beverly Blvd.) Refreshments

will be served. For further infor-

mation call Rick at 462-8094 or

Pat at 258-6176.

On Friday, September 2, at 8

p.m. (also in the Community Room

of Greast Western), Paul Perlin,

Secretary-Treasurer of the South-

ern California District Council of

the Longshoremen and Ware-

housemen's Union, will speak on

current labor issues and their rela-

tion to civil liberties.

Steering committee meetings

during the summer will be held on

Mondays, August 8 and Septem-

ber 12, at 8 p.m. at the home of

Mary Ellen Weiss, 4331 Ambrose

Avenue. Call Rick or Pat (see

above) to confirm these dates.

{

WESTSIDE

A special 13-minute film strip

and guest speaker Dr. Stuart Bern-

stein of the Los Angeles Unified

School District will be featured at

a special meeting of the Westside-

Brentwood Desegregation Project

Thursday, July 21 at 7:30 p.m.,

1744 Reedvale Lane (east of Man-

deville Canyon, north of Sunset

Blvd). For further information call

454-6707 or 487-1720. Everyone

is invited to attend and take an

interest in the project.

BRENTWOOD

On Saturday evening, July 23,

at 8:00 p.m., a wine and cheese

party is scheduled at the home of

Madelyn and Eugene Goodwin at

139 Thurston Ave. in West Los

Angeles. The topic for the evening

is "Violence on TV." Speakers in-

clude a screen writer, a member of

the National Association for Better

Broadcasting (NABB), a represen-

tative from the PTA, and a speaker

from the ACLU. Donation is $3.

For more information call Joan

Scott, 472-8315.

Photos by Anne Marie Staas

sueseecen

The' Lawyers Committee will

meet Tuesday, July 26, and Tues-

day, August 23, at 12:15 p.m., in

the eighth floor conference room,

" 401 Civic Center Drive, Santa Ana.

The Executive Board will meet

Monday, August 1, and Monday,

September 12, at the ACLU office,

2009 N. Broadway, Santa Ana.

The board meetings are open to

the general membership.

The newly formed Legislative

Committee will. be meeting regu-

larly in the coming months and

invites participation by interested

members. The next meeting will

be Thursday, July 28 at 8 p.m. at

619 Narcissus, Corona del Mar.

Plans are being made to estab-

lish a Gay Rights Committee and

a Singles Unit.

For information on any of these

activities, call the Orange County

ACLU office at (714) 973-0344.

FILIPINO

COMMUNITY

Regular chapter meetings are

held the first Saturday of the

month at 4:00 p.m. at 1740 W.

Temple Street, L.A. For more in-

formation call Raul Daza, 274-

8891 or Bert Mendoza, 274-8891.

POMONA _

There will be a garden party on

Sunday, July 31, at 7:30 p.m, at

the home of Julia and John Hutch-.

ison, 473 Blaisdall Drive, Clare-

mont. To be honored are special

guests Marvin Schachter, associate

executive director, ACLU-SC, and

Martin Weinberger, editor of the

Claremont Courier, Call John

Hutchison, 624-1307.

Chapter elections were held on

June 12 with the following results:

President, John Hutchison; Vice-

President, David Levering; Secre-

tary, Irving Fishlow; Treasurer,

Minna Taylor.

-SAN FERNANDO

VALLEY

Ed Asner, actor and humanitar-

ian, will be the special guest at a

wine and cheese party on Sunday,

September 11, from 3 to 6 p.m. at

15924 Valley Vista Blvd:, Encino.

Donation is $3 per person for all

the wine and cheese you can han-

dle or $2 for students, retired per-

sons and those of limited means.

For reservations call Ruth Abra-

ham, 487-1720 (day) or Victor or

Betty Jean Kivel, 789-0687 (eve-

nings). All are welcome; bring

your friends.

WILSHIRE

The August Steering Committee

meeting will be on Tuesday, Au-

gust 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the home of

Rick Cabral, 1226 Muirfield Road

(between Sears-Pico and L.A.

High). All members welcome.

RIVERSIDE

An office has been opened at

4255 Main Street, Suite 11, to han-

dle complaints about police and

other -violations of civil liberties.

The phone number is (714) 682-

1530. Currently open part time,

the office needs additional volun-

teers to man the telephone and

process complaints. A desk and an

office typewriter are also needed.

Watch for the next chapter

newsletter announcing the upcom-

ing election and a_wine-tasting

party. For further information call

Nancy Sheehan, (714) 682-9380.

Seaneeces

naseennee

SINGLES

The July meeting will be held

on the beach at Playa Del Rey

Sunday, July 24. The beach is at

the west end of Imperial Highway

where the fire pits are located.

Look for the large banner. There

will be hot dogs, marshmallows

and soft drinks. Other food and

libations are your responsibility.

Don't forget your athletic equip-

ment, frisbees, etc.

The chapter will not meet in

August. Watch this space for notice

of September's meeting.

Community Lobby Wins Support

This June, the California Assembly passed SB 155, the present -

death penalty bill by 54 votes, the exact two-thirds necessary to over-

ride Governor Brown's now realized veto. A broad-based coalition of

community organizations, including the ACLU, then met with Assem-

blyman Curtis Tucker (D-Inglewood) to attempt to persuade him not to

support the override.

Later in the month, in response to a letter written to Assemblyman .

Tucker by Ramona Ripston, Tucker said, "As a result of the Governor's

veto, the capital punishment controversy has been sent back to the Legis-

lature for an override vote. Having given this measure further considera-

tion and because of my support of Governor Brown, I have at this time,

decided not to vote for an override of the veto."

Photo by Miriam Ludwig

Meeting with Assemblyman Tucker are (from left to right): Mary Louise

Aubry, National Council of Negro Women; Ann Potter, Holy Faith

Episcopal Church; Professor William Doyle, Assistant Executive Secre-

tary, AFT College Guild; Beatrice Kuykendall, ACLU; Assemblyman

Tucker; Victor Ludwig, Assistant Director, ACLU; Sister Rita Anger-

man, C.S.J.; Stella Biber, ACLU; Sister Linda Snow, Daniel Freeman

Hospital. Present but not in the photo: Miriam Ludwig, Amalgamated

Clothing and Textile Workers Union; Burrell Miller, businessman; Pat

Scott, Director, Centinella Valley YMCA.

Aug. 2

DAY IN SACRAMENTO

Learn about legislative procedures and watch the

legislature in action. Attend legislative committee

hearings and sit as a guest on the floor of the Assembly

and Senate. $66 covers the full package of plane fare

up and back, limousine service, coffee and donuts

upon arrival, lunch at Ellis's restaurant and the infor-

mational kit. Note! In order to insure your reservation,

call Ruth Abraham, 487-1720, IMMEDIATELY!

DAY AT CITY HALL

Each year ACLU has a "Day in Sacramento." This

year, in addition, the Wilshire chapter is planning the

first ACLU "Day at City Hall." The program is open

to ACLUers from all over Southern California, but

should be especially exciting to members of Los An-

geles chapters. Plans include a tour of City Hall, visits

with Council members, a brown-bag lunch on the

lawn, committee meetings, a full Council meeting,

and a special visit with Mayor Bradley. For more in-

formation call Rick Cabral, 935-7555, Steve Cooper,

388-4668, or Ruth Abraham, 487-1720.

+