vol. 36, no. 5
Primary tabs
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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