vol. 36, no. 5

American

Civil Liberties

Union

Volume XXXVI

No. 5

SAN FRANCISCO, MAY 1971

JAY A. MILLER

illinois ACLU Head

Jay H. Miller

Elected Northern

Calif. Ex.

Dir.

The Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties

Union of Northern California last month announced the elec-

tion of Jay A. Miller, 43, of Chicago, Illinois, as its execu-

tive director to succeed Ernest Besig, who will retire on June

30 after 36 years of service.

With ACLU in Mlinois

On July 1, Miller will transfer

from the Illinois Division of

ACLU in Chicago, where he has

been executive director since

1965.

Prior to 1965, Miller served as

Peace Education Secretary of the

American Friends Service Com-

mittee in Illinois and Wisconsin

from 1961-65.

Labor Organizer

At the outset of his career, in

1950, he was a labor organizer

for two years, first for the Amal-

gamated Clothing Workers of

America and then for the United

Packinghouse Workers, He was

also Business Agent and Educa-

tion Director of the Pennsylvania

Joint Board of the Amalgamated .

Clothing Workers of America

from 1955-1961.

Newspaper Experience

From 1952-1955, Miller was a

police reporter and feature writ-

er for the Cleveland Press. He

received his college education at

the University of Illinois, from

which he holds a B.S. in Social

Science. He is married and has

three children by a previous mar-

riage.

Successful Tenure

During his five-year ACLU

tenure in Illinois, the branch has

grown from 4400 to 9,300 mem-

bers and its budget has increased

from $55.000 to $322 900. It op-

erates a Special Legal Project as

well as a Ghetto Project under

the auspices of a tax-exmept

Foundation of which Miller is

also the executive director.

"Anti-Propaganda' Law

Struck' Down By Sac. Judge

California Education Code Sec-

tions 9012 and 9013 prohibit the

distribution of "propaganda" on

high school campuses, Last fall

a three-judge federal district court

sitting in San Francisco found

the sections an infringement on

First Amendment rights and held

them unconstitutional.

The San Juan Unified School

District in Sacramento, however,

was unimpressed by the decision

of the San Francisco federal

court; it prohibited the distribu-

tion of a high school newspaper,

Downwind, at El Camino High

School citing the code sections

as its authority. The student pub-

lishers, Theresa and David Paxon,

sought ACLUNC's assistance and

volunteer attorney John M. Pos-

wall brought suit on their behalf

in the Sacramento Federal Dis-

trict Court.

Last month Federal District

Judge Philip Wilkins, following

the San Francisco precedent,

held the sections unconstitutional

and the prohibition of the news-

paper distribution unlawful, Nor-

mally a three-judge federal court

is convened to consider a chal-

lenge on the constitutionality of

a state statute. But, Wilkins,

ruled the "anti-propaganda" sec-

tions are so blantantly unconsti-

tutional that no "substantial"

argument could be made on their

behalf and consequently, a three-

judge court need not be im-

paneled.

Job Applicant

Wins Loyalty

Clearance

After responding to an inter-

rogatory concerning "certain un-

evaluated information of a derog-

atory nature,' an applicant for

a position with the International

Labor Organization has received

a clearance from the Internation-

al Organizations Employees Loy-

alty Board of the U.S. Civil Serv-

ice Commission.

Derogatory Information

The information which the

Board received was to the ef-

fect that the applicant had "made

statements and engaged in acti-

vities which indicate that you

support the communist move-

ment." Five items were speci-

fied,

1. In December, 1964 the ap-

plicant was arrested at Sproul

Hall during the sit-in sponsored

by the Free Speech Movement at

U.C., Berkeley.

Signed Scroll

2. That in or around February,

1965 "your name appeared as a

signer of a statement that you

would refuse to fight against the

people in Vietnam, which state-

ment was on a large scroll pre-

- sented to local Selective Service

Board in Berkeley, Cal., during

a demonstration against United

State foreign policy sponsored by

the May 2nd Movement.

3. That in or around October,

1965 "you wrote a letter to the

`National Guardian' in which you

expressed doubt of United States

willingness to make peace in

Vietnam through negotiation,

and in or around January, 1967

- you (with your wife) wrote an-

other letter to the `National

Guardian' in which you expressed

admiration, sympathy, and sup-

port of the National Liberation

-Continued on Page 3

Court of Appeal

Late Maturing Conscience "

Conviction of

Ehlert Affirme. -

By High

ae

~~ iF

oF og

te

By a 6 to 3 vote the United States Supreme Cot a

held the conviction of William Ward Ehlert for refusal to ~~

submit to induction into the United States Armed Forces.

Ehlert is a conscientious objector whose defense at trial

was that his local draft board had improperly refused to

consider his application for con-

scientious objector status, an ap-

plication he made after receiving

his order to report for induction.

Ehlert contended that he had not

become a conscientious objector

until after receiving his notice

to report for induction and that

the board should have considered

his recently "crystallized" views

pursuant to a regulation which

permits draft boards to re-open a

classification when it determines

"that there has been a change

in the registrant's status resulting

from circumstances over which

the registrant has no control."

Convenient Conscience

The United States Court of Ap-

peals for the Ninth Circuit af-

firmed Ehlert's conviction on the

theory that becoming a con-

scientious objector was not a

"circumstance" over which Ehlert

had no control, That theory

seemed to contradict the very

nature of conscience and

ACLUNC urging that "a con-

cience that makes know its pres-

ence only at propitious moments

is hardly worthy. of the name,"

asked the Supreme to review and

reverse the conviction. The pe-

tition also noted that the Court

of Avneals rule created a "no-

mans' land" for conscientious ob-

jectors whose views matured af-

ter the receipt of their order to

report for induction but before

they entered the service. Neither

Anti-Newspaper Vendor

Law Found Invalid

The Sacramento District of the State Court of Appeal has

found Sacramento County Ordinance No. 409 unconstitutional

and has issued a writ prohibiting the prosecution of Jack

Westley Young, a Berkeley Barb vendor, pursuant to the

ordinance.

No. 409 prohibits peddling or

giving away goods or. wares

"along or upon" public roads and

highways in the unincorporated

area of Sacramento County.

Young was arrested while sitting

on the sidewalk where he was

holding up copies of the Berke-

ley Barb, displaying them to on-

coming motorists. A police of-

ficer testified that Young was

creating a "traffic. hazard" be-

cause `"`vehicles were slowing to

see what Mr. Young was selling."

2-1 Decision

Volunteer attorney Clyde

Blackmon of Sacramento, repre-

senting Young, asked the Sacra-

mento Municipal Court to de-

clare the law unconstitutional.

That court, declining the invita-

tion, held that it was a "reason-

able traffic' regulation. Black-

mon then asked the Superior

Court to issue a writ prohibiting

the trial, arguing that a "`reason-

able" regulation was not good

enough where First Amendment

_values are concerned. But the

Superior Court turned him down

also. Blackmon then took the

case to the Court of Appeal

which, by 2 to 1 vote, has agreed

with him, Writing for the ma-

jority, Justice Friedman says:

"Streets, sidewalks and parks

are historically associated with

exercise of the rights of com-

munication protected by the

First Amendment; access to

them for the purpose of exer-

cising these rights cannot be de-

nied broadly and absolutely.

The First Amendment's guaran-

tee of freedom of the press in-

cludes circulation and distribu-

tion as well as publication."

Since distribution is aq First

Amendment protected activity,

the Court held, a traffic regula-

tion can only be upheld where it

prohibits distribution in the

streets. By also prohibiting dis-

tribution `along the streets" the

ordinance inhibits distribution on

the public sidewalks and, the

Court said "the public sidewalks

of America, particularly in busi-

ness districts, are an accepted

and traditional locale for the

sale of newspapers and the dis-

tribution of printed appeals."

Sidewalks Liberated

The consequence of the Court

of Appeal decision is that it has

liberated the sidewalks of Sacra-

mento for the distribution of un-

derground newspapers. The es-

tablishment press has never had

a problem with its distribution

on public sidewalks. For some

reason, the police have never

- been of the opinion that the side-

walk exhibition of the Sacra-

mento Bee creates a traffic haz-

ard.

the draft boards nor the Army

would consider their claims.

Army Shifts Position

The United States Supreme

Court accepted the case last

spring and oral argument was

held in January of this year. At

that argument the government

urged that late maturing con-

scientious objectors would not,

as ACLUNC contended, be de-

prived of any opportunity to raise

their claim because the Army

would consider their claim after

they submitted to induction. In

fact, the Army had previously

taken the position that it would

not hear such claims but only -

claims of conscientious objectors

whose views matured after they

were inducted into the Armed

Forces. In a letter submitted af-

ter the case had been argued,

Robert E. Jordan, III, general

counsel to the Army. assured the

court that claims like Ehlert's -

would be heard and considered

by the Army after submission to

induction,

"No Man's Land" Problem'

Because of this "assurance" by

the Army, Justice Potter Stewart,

speaking for the majority, held'

that:

"Requiring in-service pres-

entation of post-notice claims

would deprive no registrant of.

any legal right and would not -

leave a `no man's land' time pe-

riod in which a claim then

arising could not be presented

in-any forum. ._ .

"Tt would be wholly arbitrary

to deny the late crystallizer a

full opportunity to obtain a de-

termination on the merits of

his claim to exemption from

combatant training and service

just because his conscientious

scruples took shape during a

brief period in legal limbo. A

system in which such persons

could present their claims af-

ter induction, with the assur-

ance of no combat training or

service before opportunity for

a ruling on the merits, would

be- wholly consistent with the

conscientious objector statute."

Since the "no man's land"

problem had been obviated by

the Army's new policy, the court

concluded that the government's

interpretation of the Selective

Service regulation providing for

a reopening when there has been

a change of "circumstances" be-

yond one's control need not be

disturbed. The government con-

tends that a ``circumstance" is a

determinable event.

Three Dissenters

Three members of the court

dissented in two opinions. Jus-

tice William O, Douglas objected

to leaving to the Army the de-

cision whether someone is a valid

conscientious objector: "The mili-

tary mind is educated to other

values; it does not reflect the

humanistic, philosophical values

most germane to ferreting out

First Amendment claims that are

genuine." Justice Douglas also

noted that the majority decision

still leaves a "no man's land"

for those who, because of con-

scientious scruples, are unable

to submit to induction at all.

Just for the Litigation

Justice William Brennan and

Thurgood Marshall dissented on

the grounds that the Army's new

~--Continued on Page 2

ad

Radio, TV and

the ACLU

By Howard C. Anawalt, Law Professor, Univ. of Santa Clara

and Phil Jacklin, Professor of Philosophy,

San Jose State College.

On April 8, Professors Anawalt and Jacklin addressed the

regular meeting of the Branch Board and argued that the

ACLUC should take vigorous action to secure radio and tele-

vision as modern First Amendment forums. The Board then

adopted the following resolution:

Be it resolved that the Board of the ACLUC of north-

ern Calif. express concern with the new problem of

free speech, the problem of access to TV and radio

for spokesmen of every substantially-shared view-

point; Be it further resolved that the Board establish

a special committee on open media, including both

Board members and citizens knowledgeable in the

field of communications, to propose appropriate new

policies to the Board and to explore possible action to

establish and protect public rights of access.

The Board also directed that

the ACLU News should be used

to stimulate discussion of the

need for civil liberties action in

radio and television, This is the

first of a two part presentation.

Is the ACLU Obsolete?

Radio and television have fan-

' tastic power to shape attitudes

and opinions, We see the media

making and breaking political

careers, creating stereotypes,

generating pressure for ecology

action, and molding opinion on

a variety of crucial issues. - It

is no secret that the President

and the soap and auto manufac-

turers understand the power of -

the broadcast media. -Our soci-

ety is largely a product of media -

image making - the heavy re-

liance `on cars, the reliance on -

drugs as problem-solvers, the ac-

cepted roles of women, the ur-

gency of getting the wash spot-

less at. all costs, the notion that

material progress is our most im-

portant product - these atti-

tudes and many others are

shaped: by the electronic media.

But if the electronic media

dominate modern - communica-

tion, then to protect freedom of

speech and other constitutional

rights, the ACLU should become

actively engaged with media

problems. If it does not do so,

its defense of the First Amend-

ment will be obsolete.

The Right of Access

The freedom to speak is quite

useless, if there is no effective

place to exercise it, no oppor-

tunity to reach whole audiences.

One can not influence opinion by

wailing in a closet or even on a

street corner.

Since radio and television are

essential modern forums _ for

ideas, it is essential that they

be opened fully to the variety of

views and concerns of our peo-

ple. A right of access must be

accorded to the variety of groups

in our society. :

Fortunately the legal founda-

tions of the First Amendment

right to get on radio. and televi-

sion exist alreadv. The United

States Supreme Court has recog-

nized repeatedly that the First

Amendment protections of

speech and assembly include

rights of using public places. In

1969 the Court stated that the

First Amendment applies to tele-

vision, The Court stated:

Because of the scarcity of

radio frequencies, the Govern-

ment is. permitted to put re-

straints on licensees in favor of .

others whose views should be ex-

pressed on this unique medium.

But the people as a whole retain

their interest in free speech by

radio and their collective right

to have the medium function con-

sistently with the ends of the

First Amendment. It is the right

of the viewers and listeners, not

the right of the broadcasters,

which is paramount , . . It is the

right of the public to receive

suitable access to social. political.

esthetic, moral. and other ideas

and experiences which is crucial

Page 2

ACLU NEWS

MAY 1971

here. The right may not consti-

tutionally be abridged either by

Congress or by the FCC. Red

Lion Broadcasting Co. v. F.C.C.

395 U.S. 367.

(An article by Howard Ana-

walt spelling out the specific

legal basis of rights of access will

appear in the Spring issue of the

Santa Clara Lawyer.)

A few years ago, groups like

CORE discovered they could

gain access to the media by dem-

onstrating, AS pressures _ in-

creased, it became necessary to

break the law to get any atten-

tion and so there was a system

of access by civil disobedience.

Now the price has become ex-

orbitant. But when commu-

nication is impossible or self-

destructive, one either gives up

altogether or turns to violence.

The judgment of the authors is

_ that the ACLU can take the lead

in establishing the kind of com-

munications system which makes

law-breaking and violence illegiti-

mate. Democracy as a kind of

non-violence requires it.

What is needed

Rights of free speech and access

in radio and television will only

come into being by thoughtful

and prompt action by groups

like ours. Radio and TV has the

potential to become the forum

which we need right now to de-

bate and resolve our many press-

ing social problems. ACLU was

an active participant in the Red

Lion case. Now it needs to be

active in the Bay Area to open

up the media right here.

ACLU Inaction

The problem of media access

is the First Amendment prob-

lem of our time. This is clear-

ly and explicitly recognized by

the ACLU in a variety of policy-

statements.

"The ultimate purpose of the

freedom of speech provision of

the First Amendment is to pro-

mote the public circulation of di-

verse thought on political. and

social issues. In simpler times

than. our own, it was possible to

reach the public with such

thought by methods which are

relatively ineffective in our com-

plex society.

a public park and the printed

pamphlet or handbill reach a

very small portion of the public

and are too often regarded as

the province of the lunatic

fringe.'. Today's market place

of ideas is found for the most

part in books, magazines, news-

papers, radio, and television. The

idea which is denied access to

this market: place is unlikely to

be given serious consideration by

any substantial part of the pub-

lic." Bluebook Policy 9, 1965.

Yet there is at present nothing

like a right of access to TV for

social and political messages.

Neither the ACLU nor anyone

else has been able to open the

media to full and diverse com-

munication on political and so-

cial issues, No one in our socie-

ty, except the President, is as-

sured access for messages ex-

pressing his viewpoints. Nor is

Oakland

Meeting

Mon., May 24

The Oakland Chapter of

ACLUNC will hold a public

meeting on Monday, May 24,

at 8 P.M. at the Lake Merritt

Sailboat House, 568 Bellevue,

Oakland, "Can Justice Be

Had?" is the subject of the

meeting.

The speakers include

Charles Gain, Oakland Chief

of Police, Tom Garner, mem-

ber of Chrysalis, an organiza-

tion of former prisoners, Fort-

ney H. Stark, Jr., President of

the Security National Bank,

and Paul Cobb, Chairman of

the Black Caucus.

Questions from the audience

will be invited after presenta-

tions by the panelists.

Admission is free.

is action. -

Thus, today the-

speech on a street corner or in

there access for groups and or-

ganizations. With the exception

of the six o'clock news only cor-

porations and the President have

access; and the six o'clock news

is under mounting pressure from

corporate sponsors and from the

government.

The ACLU is not persistently

involved in action to provide

Media access for diverse view-

points. Why? We think there

are two reasons why this is so.

ACLU policies on access are in-

adequate in two ways,

First of all, no existing ACLU

policy statement asserts a guar-

anteed or unconditional right of

access for spokesmen of every

substantially-shared view. Only

Policy 22 asserts any uncondi-

tional right of access, viz. a mini-

mum time for all political can-

didates. Policy 9 is almost ex-

clusively concerned with politi-

cally motivated discrimination by

stations which deny access to

some non-commercial advertizers ,

while granting access to others.

It. opposes discrimination, but

does not assert the right of ac-

cess of anyone who can pay for

it, much less the right of free

access as a public service to be

provided by the station as lessee

of a public broadcast frequency.

Policy 21 endorses the Fairness

Doctrine, which doctrine estab-

lishes the right of reply, ie., the

right of access by persons or

groups who have been attacked

in earlier broadcasts. Unfortun-

ately, by exposing stations to crit-

icism for being "unfair", the Fair-

ness Doctrine encourages stations

to avoid messages on social and

political issues. It does not guar-

antee a diversity of such mes-

sages, because it does not guar-

antee any,

Secondly, ACLU policy state-

ments provide no guide to suc-

cessful action against stations

and networks which deny access.

The Bluebook contains only two

weak suggestions: (i) Policy

21(d) specifies that "the Union

may now (1963), upon-the ad-

vice of its Radio-TV Commit-

tee ... write to stations and net-

works urging that they seriously

consider specific `fairness' com-

plaints" and provide copies of

these letters to the FCC. (2)

Policy 16, the last paragraph,

(1969) reads as follows: "ACLU

seeks the establishment of an in-

dependent, adequately financed,

non - governmental citizens ad-

visory commission whose sole

task would be to evaluate on a

continuing basis whether the

mass media are denying access

to competing views ,.. . at all

times there should be a particu-

lar person or department desig-

nated to hear individual com-

plaints."

Next month Part II: How re- "

cent developments have cleared

the way for effective ACLU ac-

tion, including an introduction to

the innovations of the Commit-

tee for Open Media (COM), a

report on the programming and

"access demands of the South Bay

Coalition for Media Change, and

some COM proposals to the

ACLU for establishing regular

access for community spokesmen

and party spokesmen in the Bay

Area, .

Due Process For Prisoners

Refix Sentence

Because

of

`Contraband Lit.

_ Alfonso Frank Alvarez is a San Quentin inmate who has

maintained an excellent disciplinary record since his parole

date was set on March 26, 1970. The date for release then

set was May 10, 1971.

But in October Alvarez was moved from San Quentin

Prison to a hospital in San Fran-

cisco for medical treatment. In

his absence a routine search of

his cell was made by prison au-

thorities, The search revealed

that Alvarez had in his posses-

sion two copies of the Berkeley

Tribe, one hand written copy of

a set of "demands" for penal re-

form, and miscellaneous ideologi-

cal literature of chicano political

groups. Prison officials decided

the literature was "inflamma-

tory" and charged him with vio-

lating a prison regulation pro-

hibiting "contraband." Alvarez

was found guilty of the charges

and sentenced to a term in the

prison's isolation unit. In addi-

tion his case was referred to

the Adult Authority with the rec-

ommendation that his parole date

be cancelled and his term re-

determined because of his "in-

fraction."

Counsel Denied

Upon learning of the proposed

revocation of the parole date

and prior to Alvarez' appearance

before the Adult Authority, he

wrote to a lawyer associated with

the Mexican-American Legal De-

fense and Educational Fund re-

questing assistance. Mario Ob-

ledo, chief counse] for MALDEF,

wrote to the chairman of the

Adult Authority requesting per-

mission to appear on `Alvarez' be-

half at the time that the question

of parole cancellation was to be

considered. His request wes de-

nied.

Order Rescinded

Alvarez' case was heard by an

Adult. Authority panel in Feb-

ruary of this year, The panel re-

scinded the order setting Alvarez'

parole release in May and auto-

matically re-set his sentence at

the statutory maximum, life im-

prisonment,

In March, Alice Daniel, attor-

ney for the NAACP Legal De-

fense and Educational Fund in

San Francisco, filed a petition

for writ of habeas corpus in the

State Supreme Court seeking Al-

varez' release. That court issued

an order requiring the state to

show cause why Alvarez should

not be released. Staff counsel

Paul Halvonik has filed a friend-

of-the-court brief in support of

Alvarez urging the court to re-

lease Alvarez because his con-

tinued incarceration violates the

First, Fifth and Sixth Amend.

ments.

Unwholesome Ideas

In that brief Halvonik notes:

"Petitioner is being incar-

cerated because prison authori-

ties fear that he has been in-

fected with unwholesome ideas.

His sentence has not been re-

fixed at life because of any-

thing he did or even anything

which he communicated to an-

other. The offense for which

the state asserts the power to

hold him for life, instead of

releasing him a few weeks

from now, is his possession of

certain writings not approved

by governmental officials."

Revolutionary Literature

Answering the state's conten-

tion that the literature is "revo-

lutionary'", ACLUNC quotes the

rhetorical question of the late

Justice Robert Jackson:

"Can we say that men of our

time must not even think about

the propositions on which our

own revolution was justified?

Or may they think, provided

they reach only one conclu-

sion-and that the opposite of

Mr. Jefferson's?"

Right to Counsel

The contentions that the Adult

Authority has violated Alvarez'

Fifth and Sixth Amendment

rights center around the denial

of counsel to Alvarez at the

Adult Authority hearing. The

United States Supreme Court last

term held that at proceedings

where welfare recipients may

lose their benefits, they are en-

titled to be accompanied by coun-

sel, Alvarez' loss of his liberty is

at least as great a loss as one's

welfare benefits and due process

should demand that he too be

accompanied by a lawyer at such

a hearing. Furthermore, the hear-

ing was really nothing but a sen-

tencing hearing and the Sixth

Amendment right to counsel] in

criminal proceedings should have

guaranteed Alvarez the right to

assistance by counsel.

The Alvarez case will not like-

ly be argued until next Septem-

ber. However a companion case,

raising some of the issues will

be argued by Alice Daniel be-

fore the Supreme Court on May

5, 1971.

Conviction of

Ehlert Affirmed |

Continued from Page 1-

policy seemed to be fashioned

only for purposes of litigation

and should not be relied upon in

interpreting Selective Service

and Army regulations, "I cannot

defer to an interpretation I can-

not discover. All of the cases

cited by the Court make clear

that judicial interpretation of an

ambiguous regulation is to be

informed by reference to ad-

ministrative practice in interpret-

ing and applying a regulation,

not by reference to positions

taken for the purpose of litiga-

tion."

Compromise of Sorts

The majority decision in Eh-

lert seems to be a compromise

of sorts, The government's in-

terpretation of the Selective

Service regulation in question

has been upheld but the govern-

ment has had to provide late

maturing claims to conscientious

objection with a forum, And it

was the acquisition of a forum

for such claims which was one

of the principal purposes for the

litigation, The compromise is

not of much comfort to Bill Eh-

lert who did not submit to in-

duction and then raise his claim

but failed to submit to induction

and was sentenced to two years

in prison. Ehlert's lawyers, staff

counsel Paul Halvonik and volun-

teer Stanley J. Friedman of San

Francisco, will move to have

Ehiert's sentence modified on

the ground that he could not fair-

ly have anticipated the new

policy announced by the Army.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION NEWS. __.

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California

ERNEST BESIG.. . Editor

593 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94105, 433-2750

Subcription Rates -- Two Dollars and Fifty Cents a Year

Twenty-Five Cents Per Copy -

Four Years Later

Probation for

Jack Peet, Draft

Card Burner

In 1967 Jack Peet burned his draft card as a protest

against United States involvement in Viet Nam. The draft

card burning, in addition to being a federal felony, was a

violation of Selective Service regulations and Peet's draft

board after classifying him "delinquent," ordered

report for induction. Peet re

fused to submit to induction and

was then charged by the United

States Attorney with two felo-

nies.

After a jury trial Peet was con-

victed of both offenses and sen-

tenced to concurrent terms un-

der the Youth Corrections Act

(up to four years in custody).

- Both Convictions Upheld

ACLUNC appealed the convic-

tion to the United States Court

of Appeals where two United

States Supreme Court precedents

seemd to control the case. The

Supreme Court had upheld the

draft card burning law and thus

affirmance of that conviction

seemed assured. But since the

Supreme Court had also declared

unlawful the Selective Service

"delinquency" regulations, it

seemed certain that Peet's con-

viction for refusal to submit to

induction would be reversed, The

Court of Appeals, however, up-

held both convictions. It ruled

the draft card burning conviction

valid and then refused to upset

the failure to submit to induc-

tion conviction on the theory

that since Peet was sentenced

concurrently on the two counts

and was suffering no prejudice

by virtue of the second convic-

tion it need not consider the va-

lidity of the other. conviction.

Supreme Court Reverses

ACLUNC staff attorneys Paul

Halvonik and Charles Marson

asked the Ninth Circuit to recon-

sider the case, urging that Peet

might receive a very different

sentence if the judge had before

him only a draft card burning

conviction, But the Court of Ap-

peals refused to reconsider the

ease and a petition was filed in

the U.S. Supreme Court. At the

end of last year's term the Su-

preme Court summarily reversed

_the conviction for failure to sub-

`mit for induction and remanded

the matter to the District Court

for re-sentencing.

Peet Doesn't Show

Re-sentencing was scheduled

in August but Peet, as a matter

of conscience, refused to appear.

He did not go into hiding, he

just did not show up, A fugitive

warrant for Peet was issued and

about three months later, when

the F.B.I. had time to get around

to the case, Peet was appre-

hended. :

Two Snafus

Two incredible bureaucratic

snafus then occurred. The F.B.L,

instead of bringing Peet to San

Francisco for re-sentencing,

somehow managed to get him

directly into the Federal prison

at Lompoc where he began serv-

ing sentences on both the

charges, including the one re-

versed by the United States Su-

preme Court. Halvonik com-

plained to the United States At-

torney about this "irregular"

procedure and the U.S. Attorney

agreed to submit a writ to Fed-

eral Judge Stanley Weigel which

would bring Peet before the

judge for sentencing. But the

U.S. Attorney presented Judge

Weigel with the wrong writ. In-

stead of being brought to San

Francisco for~sentencing Peet

was released from Lompoc and

advised to appear in court the

following week. Peet hopped a

bus to San Francisco and the

federal fugitive ambled into

him to

ACLUNC's office to discuss his

next federal court appearance.

Probation Granted

Peet's attitude toward appear-

ing before the federal court had

changed since August and this

time he willingly appeared at the

sentencing hearing. The mis-

taken releasing of Peet provided

him with an opportunity to re-

deem himself after his earlier

failure to appear and, evidently,

Judge Weigel was impressed.

Peet was sentenced to two years

probation on the draft card burn-

ing conviction with minimum re-

strictions and minimum report-

ing responsibility.

Unfashionable Action

Draft card burning no longer

seems fashionable and we hope

this case will end the expendi-

ture of energies in attempts to

keep out of federal prison peo-

ple who have done no more than

perpetrate an outrage on a piece

of cardboard, ACLUNC defended

two draft card burners, Jack

Peet and Burton Marks; both re-

ceived probation. :

Three Wins, Two

Losses in

Credential Cases

Three teaching credentials

have been secured and two lost

or delayed during the last month.

Bernardo Garcia - Pandevenes,

who is an instructor at Merritt

College and has been litigating

his right to a teaching credential

for some months, was finally

granted a credential by the Com-

mittee of Credentials operating

for the new Community Colleges

Board of Trustees

Free Speech Movement

Elizabeth L. Rivard, of Canyon,

was arrested in the free speech

movement in 1964 and was grant-

ed a credential after a hearing in

Sacramento, Donald Brunn,

while a professor at the Univer-

sity of Hawaii, participated in a

sit-in demonstration and a take

over of an administration build-

ing in a protest concerning the

denial of tenure to a faculty

member. He, too, was granted

a teaching credential after a

hearing in Sacramento.

Confidential Information

David Kotz who has been ar-

rested once in Mississippi while

registering Blacks to vote and

once at Moses Hall while pro-

testing the Regents denial of

credit to course 139X because one

of the instructors was Eldridge

Cleaver, was denied a credential

after the Committee of Creden-

tials received information it

would not disclose about Mr.

Kotz from the Department of

Justice.

Advertising Abortions

Richard Orser, who has been

convicted of advertising for abor-

tions in San Mateo Superior

Court, has for some time been

supplying information concern-

ing available abortion options to

needy women. The Committee of

Credentials, after quite lengthy

consideration of this case. voted

to deny his application, thereby

requiring that he undergo a for-

mal administrative hearing in

order to test his right to the

credential.

All of the applicants were rep-

resented by Assistant Staff Coun-

sel Charles Marson.

"Love Book"

Conviction

Overturned

Almost four years ago a San

Francisco jury found Allen

Cohen guilty of distributing `ob-

scenity." A clerk in the Haight-

Ashbury's Psychedelic Shop,

Cohen sold a copy of Lenore Kan-

del's 6-page erotic poem, the

"Love Book," to Officer Sol

Weiner of the San Franciso Po-

lice Department. Weiner arrested

him in November of 1966,

ACLUNC agreed to represent

him and the trial, which con-

sumed over five weeks, occurred

in the Spring of 1967.

"Average Man" Test Applied

At the trial a number of lit-

erary scholars testified that the

poems had artistic merit. But the

trial judge, Lawrence Mana, over

the vigorous objections of ACLU

attorney Marshall Krause, ruled

that expert testimony about the

"redeeming social importance" of

the "Love Book" was immaterial

and that the "Love Book" should

be found obscene unless it had

"social importance for the aver-

age man."

. Zirpoli Reverses

On appeal to the Superior

Court, staff counsel Paul Halvo-

nik contended that Mana had in-

terpreted the law incorrectly and

that suppressing sexually exnlicit

literature that was not considered

valuable for the "average man"

would reduce available literature

to the level of mediocrity. The

Superior Court affirmed the con-

viction, the State Court of Ap-

peal refused to disturb the verdict

and the State Supreme Court, by

4-3 vote, declined to hear the

case. But Federal District Judge

Alfonso J. Zirpolj has now ruled

that Mana did incorrectly apply

the law and that Cohen was im-

properly convicted.

"Any Social Importance"

Judge Zirpoli issued a writ of .

habeas corpus vacating Cohen's -

conviction and relieving him of

the obligation to pay a $50.00

fine. In doing so, he held that

an artistic work may not be

deemed obscene if it has any so-

cial importance. The First

Amendment must be so _inter-

preted. Judge Zirpoli wrote. in

order "to protect those works be-

yond the understanding of the

average man and unembraced by

the morals of the dav. Without

[this] vrotection, serious works

ahead of their time might fall vic-

tim to the censor."

Significant Victory

Halvonik hailed the decision as

a significant victorv for free ex-

pression. "An artist." he ob-

served. "must be free to express

himself without concern for the

povularitv of his work. If he

must fashion his work to avoid

irritating the average man, the

product will not be an accurate

reflection of the insight he is

attemoting to convev. When the

law requires the artist to censor

himself the public is the loser.

In liberating the artist. Judge

Zirvoli has enhanced the freedom

of communicating for all of us."

Loyalty

Clearance

Continued from Page 1-

Front against United States

forces in Vietnam."

Politica] Contribution

4. "That in or around Septem-

ber, 1966 you were a contributor

to the political campaign of Rob-

ert Truehaft, who was a candi-

date for a local office in Califor-

nia." Truehaft was running for

District Attorney in Alameda

County.

5. "That between 1967 and

1969 you orally expressed your

support of the North Vietnamese

and the National Liberation

Front."

The applicant's written answer

undertook to correct and explain

the foregoing information. No

hearing was required.

The applicant was represented

by Ernest Besig, ACLUNC execu-

tive director.

Alien's Draft Exemption

Highest Court

Hears Argument

In Astrup Case

Last month staff counsel Paul Halvonik presented oral ar-

gument on behalf of Ib Otto Astrup to the Supreme Court of

the United States. Astrup wishes to become a citizen of the

United States but his naturalization petition has been denied

by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Federal

District Court and the United

States Court of Appeals; His pe-

tition has been denied not be-

cause he lacks good .character

nor because he is unattached to

the principles of the Constitution

but because, in 1950, he executed

an Alien's Exemption from Mili-

tary Service which relieved him,

for a short time, from the draft.

Law Amended

Astrup signed the exemption

in the year when he came here

from his native Denmark. He had

just finished a 14 month tour of

duty with the Danish Navy and

was not at all certain that he

would settle in the United States.

The exemption form which he .

signed clearly stated that he was

forfeiting his right to become a

United States citizen but it also

- said that he would be relieved

from liability for military serv-

ice. Astrup was not in fact re-

lieved because in 1951 Congress

amended the draft law to make .

resident aliens conscriptable.

Astrup's draft board then re-

moved his 4C_ classification

(alien not currently liable for

military service) and reclassified

him 1-A, Astrup received an or-

der to report for induction,

wound up his personal affairs,

and reported for his physical ex-

amination. Astrup flunked the

physical and it is his failure to

pass the physical examination

that has kept him from citizen-

ship.

Some Naturalized

All aliens who signed requests

for exemption from military

service have not been excluded

from citizenship, Those who, like

Astrup, signed the exemption but

were later drafted and, unlike

Astrup, actually served in the

armed services have been admit-

ted to citizenship pursuant to a

1952 law which provides that

aliens are only ineligible for

citizenship if they 1) sign the ex-

emption and 2) are relieved from

military service by virtue of

their exemption.

_ Halvonik's Contentions

In his argument to the court,

Halvonik contended that Astrup,

as well as those who actually

served in the Army, is eligible

for citizenship, Astrup was not

"relieved" at all. And it was not

-because of the exemption that

he did not actually put on a uni-.

form but because of the physical

disability. In light of that fact,

`the government's interpretation

of the law presents a number of

constitutional questions, In- de-

nying Astrup citizenship because

of his failure to pass a physical

examination the government is

extending citizenship on irration-.

al conditions and working a for-

feiture because of an_ illness.

That, ACLUNC contends, vio-

lates the Fifth Amendment's due

process clause and the Eighth

Amendment's - proscription of

cruel and unusual punishment.

Denial of Fair Choice

Halvonik also asked the court

to find that Astrup had not

made a knowing waiver of his

right to become a citizen when

he executed the exemption from

military service. Astrup was of-

ficially misled as to the nature

of the bargain he was making.

He was told he could not become

a citizen but that he would not

be liable for military service.

The agreement was illusory; he

became liable for military serv-

ice, thus he should not be held.

to the bargain. The manner in 0x00B0

which it was presented to him

deprived him of the opportunity

to make a fair choice between ex-

emption and forfeiture,

Government's Argument

The government's argument in

the Astrup case was presented

by Assistant Solicitor General

Richard Stone, Stone maintained

that Astrup knew what he was

doing when he signed the re-

quest ofr exemption and that be-

cause Astrup had never actually

served in the Armed Forces he

had been "relieved" from liabil-

ity within the meaning of the

1952 law. ;

A decision on Astrup is ex-

pected by June when the Su-

preme Court concludes this

year's term.

Berkeley Barb

Editor Must

Go to Trial

Max. Scherr, sometime editor

of the Berkeley Barb, must go

to trial in the Berkeley/Albany ._ :

Municipal Court on a charge of

obscenity arising out of an issue

of the Barb that is now-years

old. Scheer was originally charged

with publishing obscene material

because of a photograph found

objectionable by authorities in an

issue of the Barb. In the Mu-

nicipal Court the District Attor-

ney charged that the newspaper

was obscene because it contained

an obscene picture. Scherr, rep-

resented by staff counsel Paul

Halvonik, demurred to the com-

plaint on the ground that an ob-

scenity prosecution of a newspa-

per could not be sustained by

showing that only an isolated part

of it was obscene, but that the

`newspaper had to be regarded as

a whole. The demurrer was sus-

tained, and an amended com-

plaint was filed charging that the

entire issue of the Barb was ob-

scene.

At this point ACLUNC filed a

petition for a writ of prohibition

in the Alameda Superior Court,

contending that on its face the

entire issue of the Barb contained

material of redeeming social im-

portance and political significance

and could not possibly be regard-

ed as obscene. The petition was

denied, and the denial was ap-

pealed. Recently the Court of

Appeal in San Francisco ruled

that the denial of ACLUNC's pe-

tition was proper, and that Scherr

must go to trial. The Court ruled,

contrary to several outstanding

federal decisions, that a newspa-

per can be charged with obscenity

because only isolated portions of (c)

it are obscene, on the theory that,

unlike a book, it is not an inte-

grated whole but a collection of

separate articles and bits of in-

formation, Scherr will therefore

be required to stand trial some-

time this spring.

ACLU Is Needed

Editor: Herewith a $10 dona-

tion. I don't agree with you hav-

ing taken a stand on the war, but

don't feel our organization should

be penalized. ACLU is needed

now more than ever!

Carolyn Household, Arcata.

ACLU NEWS

MAY, 1971

Page 3.

Legislative Report

Deluge of Bills

In the State

Legislature

Legislators, like school children, take a week's vacation to

celebrate Easter. They compensate for this by introducing at

least half the session's legislation during the first two weeks

in April. That period saw the introduction, among many

hundreds of other bills, of bills to establish the right of the

prosecution to demand a change

of venue (as was unsuccessfully

attempted in the Soledad Broth-

ers case) to allow local govern-

ments to condition the right to

assemble on the posting of a

bond for all costs of police pro-

tection, to require a Superior

Court hearing before any prison-

er is put in the "hole," which is'

called in prisons the "adjustment

center" for more than 29 days, to

_ repeal present statutes permit-

ting a criminal defendant to rep-

resent himself rather than ac-

cept the services of a court-ap-

pointed lawyer, and to impart

due process rights into the proc-

ess of parole revocation, These

are only a few of the numerous

bills affecting civil liberties that

have been sent to the state

printer and are now filtering in-

to the hands of the public.

Last month did see some activ-

ity on bills already pending:

Advocacy of Crime

Two bills dealing with the ad-

vocacy of criminal acts were con-

sidered last month. One of them,

by Senator Lagomarsino of Santa

Barbara, would make it a felony

to advocate the killing of a po-

lice officer under circumstances

making it "likely" that such a

killing might occur, The bill has

cleared the Senate Judiciary

Committee but will have much

rougher going in the Assembly.

The other, A. B. 720 by Assem-

blyman Ketchum, was suggested

to the author by Raymond Pro-

cunier, the head of the Depart-

ment of Corrections, A. B. 720

would have punished as a felon

any person who, while on the

grounds of any state prison or

institution, advocated the viola-

tion of any law, rule, regulation,

or order of any person connected

with the facility. The bill was

easily defeated in the Assembly

Criminal Justice Committee.

Integration

It is probably ironic that in the

same month that the United

States Supreme Court not only

refuses to hear any appeal from

the California Supreme Court's

narrow interpretation of the

Wakefield anti-busing act, but

also rules that busing for the

purpose of integration is a per-

missible too] to dismantle dual

school systems, that: the more

progressive of the two houses of

the California Legislature does

not have the votes to repeal the

-Wakefield anti-busing act. As-

semblyman William Bagley from

Marin County authored a bill to

repeal the Wakefield Act, which

was rendered useless by State

Supreme Court a few months

ago, and succeeded in having it

reported favorably from the

Assembly Education Committee

but could not summon sufficient

votes on the floor to pass the re-

"pealer to the Senate. This is

largely a symbolic fight, since

under the court's interpretation

the bill cannot have any effect

on any school assignments made

for the purpose of achieving ra-

cial balance in schools.

Drugs

Legislation by freshman As-

semblyman Ken Meade of Berke-

ley has passed the. Assembly

Criminal Justice Committee and,

if successful, will play an im-

portant role in bringing a slight

bit of reason to the generally

ACLU NEWS

MAY 1971

Page 4

hysterical penalties for drug of-

fenses in California, One set of

legislation by Meade alters the

law of dealing with prior of-

fenses, Under present law the

penalty for such offenses as pos-

session of narcotics goes up

steeply if the offender has a pri-

or record of the same or similar

offenses, On the third and sub-

sequent offense the statute re-

quires a minimum of 15 years in

prison, Meade's bill makes an ex-

ception to those escalated penal-

ties where the defendant can

prove (at a later sentencing hear-

ing) that he is addicted to the

drug and that he possessed only

enough of the drug for his per-

sonal use. If he can do that, the

prior conviction may not be used

to effect his sentence.

Another bill by Assemblyman

Meade in the same area, also

successfully passed the Criminal

Justice Committee, also deals

with prior offenses. That bill says

that prior offenses may be used

to increase sentencing in the nar-

cotics and dangerous drugs areas

only if the prior offenses were

all separately brought and tried.

This means that if a defendant

has been arrested and tried and

convicted once before for drug

offenses but was convicted at

once of one count of possession

of marijuana, for example and

another count of possession of re-

stricted dangerous drugs, that en-

tire incident can only be regard-

ed aS One prior conviction in-

stead of two. Both these bills are

courageous attempts to bring a

little reason jnto an area charac-

terized by hysteria,

Tenure

` Nobody, it seems, is happy

with the institution of tenure ex-

cept tenure teachers. Legislators

from both sides of the aisle now

express the view that they and

their constituents regard tenure

as'a shelter for incompetence

and as something to be measur-

ably altered as soon as possible.

A number of pending pieces of

legislation attempt to alter the

tenure system, One simplistic ap-

proach has been offered by Sena-

tor Clark Bradley, R-San Jose,

whose bills would simply abolish

the whole notion of tenure and

substitute four year contracts for

teachers, At the end of the four

years, of course, the school dis-

tricts would be free not to renew

the contract at its will, Bills to

accomplish this purpose have

been defeated in the Senate Ed-

ucation Committee.

A more sophisticated and more

dangerous approach is that of-

fered by Assemblyman John

Stull, R-Leucadia. Under present

law, if a school wishes to fire a

tenured teacher for incompe-

tence, the school must file an ac-

tion in the Superior Court and

prove specific charges brought

against the teacher. The Superior

Court has the final say as to

whether the teacher may be fired.

Stull's legislation eliminates the

Superior Court action and places

the determination in the hands

of a hearing officer, together

with a panel of three teachers

who will rule on a teacher's pro-

fessional competence. The panel

is to be selected by both the

teacher and the school board. If

the panel and the hearing officer

disagree the governing board re-

tains the right to decide the

case, Three times this legislation

has come up for a vote in the |

Insane Person

Challenge to

Revocation

Of Parole

In 1960 Ronald Grimshaw was

convicted on several counts of

first degree robbery and _ sen-

tenced to state prison. After hav-

ing served about six years of his

term he was paroled by the Adult

Authority. In the same year he

was released, Grimshaw attempt-

ed to rob a grocery store. He

was arrested and charged with

armed robbery, attempted mur-

der and possession of a concealed

weapon.

Ordered Committed

Grimshaw was brought to trial

in February 1967, but, on the

basis of medical reports sub-

mitted by court-appointed doc-

tors, the Contra Costa Superior

Court found that he was insane

and not competent to stand trial.

He was therefore committed to

Atascadero State Hospital until

such time as he was competent

to stand trial.

-In 1968 the criminal proceed-

ings against Grimshaw were re-

instituted and, on the basis of

undisputed medical reports, the

court found that he was not

guilty of the grocery store rob-

bery by reason of insanity. Grim-

shaw was then transferred from

the Atascadero State Hospital to

the State Hosvital at Napa where

he is presently committed,

Parole Cancelled

After Grimshaw had _ been

found incompetent to stand trial,

but before the reinstatement of

the criminal proceedings which

resulted in a not guilty verdict,

the California Adult Authority

cancelled his parole, refixed his

sentence at life and ordered that

he be returned to prison. Grim-

shaw was given no prior notice

of the Adult Authority's action

nor any opportunity to appear.

And it seems he would not have

been able to make much of an

appearance anyway because at

the time he was being held as

incompetent to stand trial.

The Adult Authority now has

a "hold" on Grimshaw. Upon his

release from Napa State Hos-

pital. Grimshaw will be sent to

prison to serve his life sentence.

State Supreme Court.

Because Grimshaw will likely

be released from Napa in the near

future, ACLUNC has filed a pe-

tition for writ of habeas corpus

in the State Supreme Court on

his behalf urging that the "hold"

upon him be declared illegal and

unconstitutional.

The writ, prepared by volun-

teer attorney Robert H. Mnookin

of San Francisco, maintains that

the Adult Authority has violated

due process by cancelling parole

without notice and without a

hearing and that, in any event,

Grimshaw's parole may not, con-

sistent with the Constitution and

statutory law, be revoked on the

basis of actions for which he was

not legally responsible.

Assembly Education Committee

and each time it has narrowly

failed. There are now indications

that it, or some version of it,

may shortly succeed.

- Juvenile Rights

The Assembly Criminal Jus-

tice Committee has passed two

bills by Assemblyman Willie

Brown, Jr, of San Francisco de-

signed to improve the due proc-

ess rights of juveniles. Assembly

Bill 910 provides that a peace of-

ficer may not take a juvenile in-

to custody for the commission of

a misdemeanor unless committed

in his presence, that is the cur-

rent law with respect to adults.

A. B. 910 and A. B. 911 require

that arresting officers and inter-

viewing probation officers advise

minors of their rights to counsel,

to remain silent, and that any-

thing they say may be used

against them.-Charles C. Mar-

son, Ass't Staff Counsel and Leg-

islative Representative.

Ban ""Good News

Gathering"

Club

At Lowell HLS.

Barton H. Knowles, Principal of San Francisco's Lowell

High School, decided last month to "withdraw official status

and sanction of the Good News Gathering Club and termi-

nate Mr. Andrew Korba's assignment as sponsor."

The declared goal of the particular club, according to

Mr. Knowles, "is the sharing of

faith in Jesus Christ. Its meet-

ings are open to any person wish-

ing to join in the meetings. Its

program proposal denies any in-

tention of being `sectarian or ex-

clusive.' "

Established a Year Ago

The club was established about

a year ago when "A group of

Lowell High School students pe-

titioned the Lowell Co-Curricular

Council (composed of elected

student representatives) for au-

thorization to organize into an

on-campus club known as the

`Good News Gathering'. The Co-

Curricular Council, in accordance

with powers delegated it by the

principal, granted such authori-

zation, and the club has been

meeting, after regular school

hours, under the sponsorship of

a member of the Lowell faculty."

Following receipt of a com-

plaint from a faculty member,

the issue was considered by the

ACLUNC's Legal Committee and

then the branch board of direc-

tors. The latter decided that the

activities in question constitute

a violation of separation of

Church and State.

ACLUNC's Objections

In a letter -to Mr. Knowles,

ACLUNC's executive director,

Ernest Besig, stated that the

board's position was based on two.

considerations. "1) It appears

that no student group may en-

gage in activities at your school

without securing the approval of

the Lowell Curricular Council.

Such council acts pursuant to

powers delegated to it by you.

In our judgment, such sanction

constitutes an approval by the

state of devotional exercises

which apparently take place at

meetings of the group in ques-

tion. 2) Further state interven-

tion and approval of the group

is reflected in required atten-

dance of a member of the Lowell

faculty who, we assume, partici-

pates to a certain extent in the

meetings of the group."

Discussion On Own Time

The ACLUNC said it saw no

objection "to students assem- (c)

bling on their own time - for

example, at noon in the cafeteria

- and engaging in prayer and

religious discussion, This to our

mind would be an exercise of

freedom of speech and we would

intervene in support of such ex-

pression. We think, too, that

under the recent Rowe decision

students have a right to express

their religious opinions in writ-

ing so long as the state does

not participate in any way in

such actvities."

No Use of School Media

In his decision, Mr. Knowles

agreed with the ACLUNC posi-

tion. He said he would protect

the students in their right of

self-expression, "but I am con-

strained against giving you ex-

press institutional approval to

carry on religious activities."

And, "Since the use of bulletin

boards and communication me-

dia such as the school bulletin

entail express administrative ap-

proval, I cannot allow you the

use of facilities or media to pub-

licize your meetings or activi-

_ ties."

Citizenship for

Marijuana

Smoker

Last July the ACLU NEWS

reported that the Naturalization

Service was holding up the peti-

tion of a student because he had

on two occasions had a puff of

a marijuana cigarette. On both

occasions he was one of a group

when someone passed around a

marijuana cigarette.

When he was asked whether

he had ever smoked marijuana

he freely admitted it, His ad-

missions were reduced to a

signed statement and a special

naturalization hearing was called

at which he was represented by

Ernest Besig, ACLUNC execu-

tive director,

After deliberating on the mat-

ter, the Naturalization Service de-

cided the petitioner was not a

person of bad moral character

and he was eventually sworn in

as a citizen.

Weakening the ACLU

Editor: Like most ACLU mem-

bers, I agree with the position

taken regarding the Vietnam

war. But, like many, I view this

issue as outside the domain with-

in which the ACLU purports to

operate. I believe such activities

can only injure the organization.

While I would expect some or-

ganizational deterioration, I am

very much surprised and disap-

pointed by the strength of the

reaction. I never would have

guessed that so many of my fel-

low members would pick up their

toys and go home.

Those of you who may be con-

sidering resignation in protest

ought to reflect upon the rea-

sons. If what you desire is that

the ACLU more strictly adhere

to its stated objectives, be care-

ful: You should ask yourselves

whether your absence or your

presence is more likely to

achieve this. If your intention

is to weaken the ACLU, to di-

minish its influence in all areas,

then you should resign-Gerald

Lippey, San Jose.

The first right of a citizen

Ts the right

To be responsible

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