vol. 41, no. 8

Volume XLI ~ November-December 1976 No. 8

Bil of Rights Day Celebration to honor -

Ju ustice Wilkiam O. Douglas with award

Foundation of Northein California will.

present the fourth annual Earl Warren

Civil Liberties Award to. retired

Supreme Court Associate Justice

William O. Douglas at its Bill of

Rights Day Celebration in the Grand

Ballroom of San Francisco' 'S Sheraton

Palace Hotel.

Mr. Justice Douglas, an influential

and inspirational leader in the ad- .

vancement and protection of civil

liberties as a jurist, author and educator

for over half a century, retired this year

after serving on the Court since 1939.

The award was established. in 1973 to

honor individuals who have made great

contributions to the cause of civil

liberties and individual freedom.

_ Previous recipients have been Stanford

University Law Professor Anthony G.

Amsterdam, former California

Supreme Court Justice Roger J.

Traynor,

and ACLU-NC founders

Morton H. Halperin.

Jerome B. Falk

The evening' S program, which marks

the 185th anniversary of the Bill of

Rights on Dec. 15, is scheduled to begin |

at 8 p.m., following a no-host bar at

.. 6:30 p.m.

Following welcoming cena by

Richard De Lancie, chairperson of the

foundation's Board of Governors, |

Dorothy Smith Patterson will introduce

the first speaker Morton H.

Halperin.

Halperin, Director of the National

ACLU's Project on Civil Liberties and

National Security, will speak on the

topic: ""The Executive and the Con-

stitution - A Bicentennial Reflection."'

A second address will be given by Duke

University Professor of Constitutional

3

Law William Van Alstyne on_ the -

subject: "The Courts and the Con-

stitution - A Bicentennial Reflection." _

Jerome B. Falk, Jr., a former law

clerk for Mr. Justice Douglas and a

"continued on page 2

William Van Alstyne

Anthony Amsterdam

Mr. Justice William O. Douglas

WELCOMING

REMARKS:

MISTRESS OF

CEREMONIES:

ADDRESS -

"The Executive and

the Constitution

-- A Bicentennial Reflection"

ADDRESS -

"The Courts and

the Constitution

- A Bicentennial Reflection"

Mrs. Cathleen H. Douglas

PROGRAM- |

RICHARD DE LANCIE, Chairperson, Board of

Union Foundation of Northern California

DOROTHY SMITH PATTERSON, Board of

Governors, American Civil Liberties Union

Foundation of Northern California

MORTON H. HALPERIN, Ph.D., Director,

Project on National Security and Civil Liberties

of the ACLU Foundation and the Center for

National Security Studies of the Fund for Peace |

WILLIAM VAN ALSTYNE, Professor of

Constitutional Law, Duke University; Board of

Directors, National ACLU

PRESENTATION OF THE EARL WARREN CIVIL LIBERTIES AWARD TO:

THE HONORABLE WILLIAM 0.DOUGLAS By JEROME B. FALK, JR.

RESPONSE: |

CLOSING REMARKS:

MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS

ANTHONY G. AMSTERDAM, Professor of

Law, Stanford University, Board of Governors,

ALCU-NC Foundation

Music: Mimi Gina and her Medicine Men

Fae eer Se Ce ST SONG SN aN NE SA AO MY ED NE YY ANE A EY SO PY PR OD ES

Bill of Rights Day Celebration

Ticket Order

Please send me- tickets at $5 each. | am enclosing

an additional contribution to the Foundation of $__.

`Enclosed is my check for-$___.

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

Please make checks payable to ACLU-Foundation;

N.C. and mail to 814 Mission St, San Francisco, Calif.

94103.

Please enclose a seltaddressed: stamped envelope.

Gc en GS EE ERE RS ED SO GE GG ER GE GS GE ee Ge ee Se

STATE ZIP. aes

Nov.-Dec. 1976

aclu news

LEGAL

Richard De Lancie

Dorothy Smith Patterson

Alvin H.. Baum, Jr.

Frances Strauss

Halperm, Van Alstyne

will be guest speakers

The guest speakers at the Bill of

Rights Day Celebration on December

12, Morton H. Halperin and William

Van Alstyne, have much more in

common than a devotion to civil

liberties, as just brief biographies will

illustrate. Among other activities, both

men have served in the federal

government, taught at distinguished

universities and written extensively on a

variety of political topics.

Halperin is currently directing a

National. ACLU Project on National

Security and Civil Liberties which

_ engages in a number of activities

designed to prevent spurious claims of

"national security" from being used to

erode constitutional ploceauie(R) or civil

liberties.

From 1966- 1969, he served in the

Federal Government, first as a Special

Assistant for Planning in the Defense

Department, later as a Deputy

Assistant Secretary of Defense with

responsibility for political-military

planning and finally, as a Senior Staff

member of the National |

Council.

Prior to holding those posts, Halperin

was associated for six years. with

Harvard University where he was an

Assistant Professor of Government and

a Research Associate of the Harvard

Center for International Affairs. He is

the author of numerous books and has

contributed articles to

publications as the New York Times,

the New Republic and Harpers.

In the time between his government

Security

`such (c)

service and current position, he directed

a study for the Twentieth Century Fund

on Information, National Security and

Constitutional Procedures and served

as a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy

Division of the Brookings Institution.

Van Alstyne is currently a Professor

of Constitutional Law at Duke

University. He has served as Deputy

Attorney General in California (1958)

and as an attorney with the Civil Rights

Division of the U.S. Justice Department

(1959).

The author of about 40 articles on

constitutional law in various law

journals, Van Alstyne is a member of

the ACLU National Board of Directors

and the immediate past president of the

American Association of University

Professors.

He is also a member of the Carnegie

Council on Policy Studies in Higher

Education and has acted as a con-

sultant to the U.S. Senate Judiciary

Committee (and Subcommittee on

Separation of Powers) and the House of.

Representatives Judiciary Committee

`Committee.

Dorothy Smith Patterson, chair-

person of the program committee, Alvin

Baum, chairperson of the Bill of Rights

fundraising drive, and Fran Strauss, co-

ordinator of the fundraising drive, offer

their special thanks to the volunteers

who. are working so hard to make the

event a success. They are Marlene De

Lancie, Noma Faingold, David Hyman,

Asa Mooney, Meryl Schmidt, Jane

Scribner, Glen Stultz and Pat Wally.

Police misconduct:

~ Civilian office

sais acceptance -

As aresult of a year's work by Amitai

Schwartz, Legal Director of the Nor-

thern California Police Practices

Project, and the San Francisco Bar

Association, an independent. civilian

office may replace the City police agency.

_ which investigates charges of police

misconduct by June of next year.

On November 10, the Police Com-

mission voted 4-1 to accept in "prin-

ciple" a proposal, prepared by Sch-

wartz and a special Bar Association -

committee, which would establish a

unit of citizen investigators and hearing

officers. The commission directed

Police Chief Charles Gain to begin

studying the best way to implement the

plan.

Currently, allege tions of police -

misconduct are investigated by the

police Internal Affairs Bureau. The

bureau has been criticized in the past

for failing to deal with complaints

against the police impartially.

Schwartz, who is optimistic that the

civilian complaint office can be im-

plemented without budget problems,

described the proposal "as a model

complaint procedure which will make

San Francisco a forerunner among

cities of its size in coming up with a

modern, progressive approach."

He emphasized that the plan not only

provides for civilian investigators and

hearing officers but guarantees due

process to police officers and citizens

who want to testify before the complaint

is resolved.

The citizen complaint office, which

would be responsible to the police

commission, would divide complaints

into three categories: 1) officer

misconduct in connection with the

rights of citizens or performance of

police duties; 2) improper acts in

connection with internal police

department procedures and deport-

ment; and 3) challenges to department

policies, rules procedures or. practices.

The office would maintain a com-

plaint register which would be available

for public `inspection and would

describe each complaint and the action

taken.

The proposal also insures prompt

Bill of Rights

continued from page I

- former member of the ACLU-NC Board

of Directors, will make the award

presentation. The closing remarks will

be made by Amsterdam, a member of

the foundation's Board of Governors.

Music will be provided by Mimi Gina

' and her Medicine Men. Tickets are $5

and can be obtained at the ACLU

offices, 814 Mission St., San Francisco.

Ticket sales finance the celebration

so that funds contributed to the work of

the ACLU Foundation can be reserved

exclusively for that purpose.

The Foundation is the litigation and

educational arm of the ACLU-NC, and

is really the core of the organization's

work. The impact on civil liberties

which the ACLU-NC Foundation can

accomplish is directly tied to the

contributions received in conjunction

with the Bill of Rights Day celebration.

conduct . and

action iti each case by setting a 30-day

time limit on the investigation of all

complaints. That period could be

extended only in special circumstances.

Complaint investigators would be

charged with the investigation of all

complaints regarding officer mis-

police regulations.

Complaints involving internal police

matters will be investigated by the

commanding officer of the department.

member the complaint was lodged

against. |

The proposal represents a significant

step.in increasing police accountability

to the public and copies may be ob-

tained from the Police Practices Project

or the San Francisco Bar Association.

Berkeley wins

release of

riot study

By Jim Babb

`The Berkeley- Albany- Kensington

Chapter of the ACLU succeeded last

month in obtaining the release of a riot-

control study after the Berkeley city

attorney had rejected a request for a

copy from the Police Review Com-

mission.

Although the commission's chair-

person, Jim Chanin, had attempted to -

`secure a copy for over a month, it was

not until the Berkeley chapter's in- -

tervention that the report, which was

completed in 1971 for Berkeley and

Alameda county police, was released.

The Chapter's interest stemmed from

apprehension over the report's possible

advocacy of civil liberties violations by

the police. ""The study was commenced

not too long after Peoples Park," ex-

- plained chapter chairperson Marjorie

Gelb, ``and there were certainly in-

fringements of civil liberties there."

Chanin noted that disclosure of the

study was due largely to the efforts of

the ACLU chapter and credited Ginger

Gould, an attorney for the Berkeley

chapter, with writing a ``good letter that

saved a lot of time in litigation."'

Gould, who was given full power by

the chapter's board to pursue whatever

steps were necessary to obtain the

study's release, stressed that the city

was bound by California statute to

release the report.

Chanin, who was' prepared for

lengthy litigation, had asked for the

ACLU's help in order to initiate court

action. He had previously approached

~ City Auditor Florence McDonald for a

copy, but city attorney Michael Lawson -

rejected a request from McDonald

because the report concerned the

collection of ``security intelligence

data" and should not be released

without approval of Alameda County

officials.

City manager Elijah Rogers,

however, agreed to release the report

within a week after receiving Gould's

letter of request.

_ LEGISLATIVE

Nov.-Dec. 1976

aclu news

~ Animal Protection Bill. defeated in committee

By Mary Willans-Izett

Administrative Assistant

Legislative Office |

SB 778 (Roberti, D-Hollywood) was a

bill "`unusual, if not unique,"

United States Supreme Court said in

Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697 (1930),

striking what was apparently the only

similar statute ever enacted.

The bill provided for suppression by

injunction of motion pictures during _

the making of which animals were

tormented or killed. Fish were killable,

as were insects; we could never pin

`down the status of frogs. Human beings

were added to the protected. list the

as the |

eighth time the bill was amended, 14

months after it was introduced.

Content of the movies was not an

issue; they would be banned even if the

offending scene was deleted, and they

would not be banned if the most lifelike

simulation of animal torture were

included. The backers of the bill in-

tended to dissuade producers of movies

- made outside California, and therefore

not subject to the 35 California penal

sections prohibiting cruelty to animals,

from allowing such incidents during

production, lest the product be enjoined

and abated, and money lost thereby.

The old hit-'em-in-the- poet oc'

argument.

admittedly laudable end,

_ Executive Director

Proposition 14

by David M. Fishlow ~

The election debate on Proposition .

14 produced constitutional problems |

beyond the basic right of farm workers

to organize unions of their own

- choosing.

ACLU of Northern California en-

dorsed Proposition 14, and we did what

we could to help see it passed. Our puny

efforts, and the heroic efforts of the

United Farm Workers, were, un-

fortunately, insufficient.

Clearly, the concentrated campaign

_ by 14's opponents, with vast sums spent _

on radio, TV, and newspaper ad-

vertising, was successful in confusing

the public about the potential threat to

"property rights" represented by the so-

called "`access rule."'

In point of fact, the family farmers

who were put forward in the ads as

typical representatives of California

agriculture, were the least likely to be

affected by the rule. Had Proposition 14

passed, it would merely have added to

the Labor Code the - present

Agricultural Labor Relations . Board

regulations allowing previously

identified labor organizers to talk to

workers in the fields during certain

specific non-working hours during the

period immediately preceding ALRB-

sponsored elections. (c)

The anti-Prop. 14 forces produced a

great deal of misleading advertising,

giving the impression that hordes of

strangers would somehow have

unlimited rights of trespass on the

family farms of California. Other ads

gave the impression that the access rule

was somehow unconstitutional, when it

had been upheld by the California

Supreme Court in a decision which the

U.S. Supreme Court refused to review.

The new constitutional issues were

raised, however, not by the rule itself, or

by other provisions of the law, but

rather by the advertising itself.

Some television stations refused to

-

Representatives of the Berkeley

`and Oakland chapters are con-

sidering the possibility of a wine

auction.

If any of you are willing to donate

~ access-to-the-media

run the anti-prop. 14 ads because they.

were misleading. Supporters of the

union position were asked to put

pressure on other radio and TV stations

as well, asking them to do likewise. And

there's the rub.

If pro-14 forces had had'the money to |

counter anti-14 advertising with equal

amounts of broadcast time and

newspaper space, the battle would have

been less one-sided. They did not,

however, have the money to.do so.

The unfair odds faced by the poorer

side in an election are truly lamentable.

The various methods for evening the

odds now in vogue as "campaign

reform'' all seem to compound the

issue. 8

The danger of public financing 1s _

demonstrated by the

campaign, in which a

clearly

presidential

- legitimate minority-party candidate was

seriously hampered by finance laws and

laws. favoring

Democrats and Republicans.

Analogous difficulties would arise if the

public were asked to finance the debate

on ballot propositions, where minority

views are even more likely toarise. __

Asking editors and station managers

to censor ads, even for the purpose of

limiting misleading ones, is intolerable

if free political debate is to survive in

the electronic age.

_ As a long-time personal supperter of

the Farm Workers, not only as a civil

libertarian, I was heartsick at the anti-

14 movement's success in garbling the

issue and scaring the pants off

. Californians whom pro-14 forces were

never able to reach.

Censoring the content of the growers'

ads and commercials, however, is not

an acceptable alternative. Harry Kubo

is wrong; he may even be a "dupe";

but it would be too bad for free debate

if he were denied the right to

speak-even on somebody else's money.

one or more bottles of wine, please

contact Michael Coppersmith at 648-

0128 (day) or 865-1024 (night) or

drop us a note at ACLU, P.O. Box

1865, Oakland 94604.

Legislative Counsel's opinion

managed to find a federal district court

case, decided before movies were

declared to be a form of expression

`protected by the First Amendment,

that said that Congress could forbid the

_ importation (but not the distribution) (c)

of boxing movies because boxing was

illegal. From that 1916 case, in which

the First Amendment argument was not

advanced, they extrapolated that the

movies now in question could be

banned, ignoring the entire body of

First Amendment law.

Unfortunately for the proponents'

the First

Amendment doesn't allow suppression _

of expression to be used as a means.

Almost unfortunately for the First

Amendment, the proponents couched

the argument in terms of whether

cruelty is protected, and the bill was

barely defeated (5-6). in the Assembly

Committee on Judiciary by an almost

solid Republican vote (Badham,

Bannai, and Maddy, led by Vice-

chairman Frank Murphy, who

reportedly explained that Republicans

can recognize a constitutional issue

when they see one), plus Chairman John

Miller and Walter Ingalls of Riverside.

All the votes in favor of the: bill (Beverly,

Chel, McVittie, Torres, Wilson) were

from "`liberals."

Younger assails

ACLU `influence'

State Attorney General Evelle J.

Younger seems to be sore at the ACLU.

Last month, for instance, he told

`audiences in Santa Rosa and Stockton,

that the Assembly Criminal Justice

Committee is "controlled by the

ACLU"

Younger is a co- -defendent in an

ACLU suit for access to documents

which are expected to reveal illegal

spying and record collecting by the state

Justice Department's Organized Crime

and Criminal Intelligence Branch

(OCCIB).

The Assembly Criminal Justice

Committee is also interested in the

OCCIB and its connection with the Law

Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU),

which appears to link together local

police "`intelligence'"' units from all over

the country.

Younger seems to be working hard at

building an image fo: himself as a

political martyr.

"Y don't want to control the

ACLU or the criminal justice

committee," the former Los

Angeles District Attcrney told 650

Decision

expected on

death statute

The California Supreme Court heard

~ arguments last month from ACLU-NC.

board members Jerome B. Falk, Jr. and

Anthony Amsterdam which challenged

the constitutionality of the state's death

penalty statute. A ruling i is expected by

early December.

"My confident prediction," said

ACLU-NC_ Legal Director Charles

Marson, "`is that they will rule the state

statute unconstitutional."

The challenge is based on U.S.

Supreme Court decisions of last July,

and the state court has agreed to

determine if Stephen Rockwell, charged

with murder in Ventura County, can be

tried for a capital offense.

Falk and Amsterdam argued that the

_ State's death penalty statute violates the

federal constitution because it does not

permit the sentencing judge to take

mitigating circumstances under

consideration and evaluate each case in

the light of its own particular facts.

persons in the Stockton Civic

Auditorium. "I just want a fair

shake."'

According to Younger's analysis of :

current social problems, the ACLU is

indirectly responsible for a massive

increase in crime. The result of the

ACLU's "`influence,'' explained

Younger, is legislative resistance to

capital punishment and laws calling for

mandatory prison terms for drug

pushers, armed felons and repeaters,

which' in turn explains why `your

chances of being raped, robbed or

murdered in 1970 was just twice what it

was in 1960."

Younger, speaking in Santa Rosa,

conceded that ``the ACLU, in many

ways, is a fine organization.'' He added,

however, that "`they are not realistic.

- They. want to close the prisons because

they don't improve people."'

At the same time, Younger, the

highest ranking elected Republican in

California, said he will challenge

Democratic Gov. Edmund Brown Jr. in

two years if he is "within closing

distance."

Oakland

Alameda County Superior Court

Judge Spurgeon Avakian will speak to

the Oakland Chapter on Wednesday,

Nov. 17, at 8 p.m. at the Lakeview

Elementary School auditorium, Grand

and MacArthur avenues, Oakland.

Please park around back of the school

by entering from Grand Avenue, and

enter the auditorium from the top of the

stairs, also in back of_the school. A

member will be in the parking lot to

give directions.

A notice to our horticulturists: plant

your seeds and trimmings now for the

May-June 1977 fundraiser and plant

sale.

To celebrate the Bill of Rights Day,

the Oakland Chapter is planning ac-

tivities in the Oakland public schools by

invitation of Superintendant Love.

Interested? Contact Geoff at 547-1955.

The next Oakland Board meeting

will be on Dec. 1 at the Reimers'. For

more information, call Louise or Davis

Reimer at 547-1267.

Volunteers? We need a typist for

_address labels and daytime minions for

postal chores.

Nov.-Dec. 1976

aclu news

CHAPTERS

e

Marin

The Marin Chapter netted close to

$1,000 from its

liberties fair on Oct. 23 and wants to

thank `all those who did sO much to

make it a success.

Russell Chiosso opsrated the flea

market (and mysteriously got rid of all

sunsold items). Ken Karpman prepared |

and sold lots of gourmet food and wine.

Bill Luft ran the art auction with

auctioneers Alice Yarish and Martin

Stoelzel, and others, too numerous to

mention by name, sold raffle tickets,

plants, silk screen prints, cheese cake

tickets and what- have-you. A musician

sang and a magician ene the

`kids.

In the formal program, Virginia

Franklin, a San Rafael High, School

teacher and two students, Katy Welch

and Ray Baker, discussed the program

of the Student Lobby to codify the

rights of students, improve the voting

rights of young people and promote

equal pay for athletic coaches regard-

less of sex. Rollin Post of KQED

discussed the role of civil rights in the

election, and Irv Cohen went over the

civil rights positions of candidates as

revealed in questionnaires distributed

by the chapter.

Chair Fran Miller, who video-taped :

`much of the activity, expressed her

pleasure with the success of the affair

and issued a statement of sincere

thanks to all those who helped - from

those who contributed articles for sale

to those who cleaned up the peu

mess.

Res pap

Kensington

The annual meeting of the Berkeley-

Albany-Kensington Chapter will take

place on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 1976 at 8

p-m. at All Soul's Church, Ceder and

Spruce Streets in Berkeley.

The speaker will be law professor

Frank Newman. He will talk on ``The

Carter Administration, the United

Nations and Human Rights."" Newman

_ is the former dean of Boalt Law School.

He has been active with Amnesty In-

ternational, the United Nations Human

Rights Committee and the ACLU. After

the talk, the chapter's new board

members will be announced. Please

vote in the board elections and come to |

the annual meeting.

The first board meeting after the

election will be conducted on Dec. 9 at

the home of board member Pam Ford,

45 Edgecroft in Kensington, at 8 p.m.

At that time, the history and

organization of the ACLU will be

reviewed and the chapter will start to

formulate goals and projects for the

coming year. All chapter members are

welcome.

fund-raising civil.

S.F. Chapter forms new committee -

Issues And Action Committee

The newly-organized_ Issues and

Action Committee will work a little

differently than most committees. It

will not decide what other people

should do; the work and the energy will

come from the committee itself.

The Committee will meet regularly

Mt. Diablo

The Mt. Diablo Chapter has elected

officers for the 1976-77 year. Zachary

Stadt was chosen to succeed Johnson

Clark as president.

Other officers elected were: Guyla

Ponomareff, first vice president;

Milciades Morales, second vice

president; Mary Grah, secretary; Jim

Hupp, treasurer.

Board of Director members are:

Clarence Anderson, Sava Ateljevich,

Chuck Boatman, Rose Bonhag, David

Bortin, Louise Clark, Johnson Clark,

Joseph Disch, Winona Harvey, Helen

Grinstead, Rooly Katz, Harlan Lewis,

Jack Newton, Gladys Schmidt, Dianna

Patrick and James Corey. Some of the

committees for which the board

members are responsible include:

telephone (referral service), students'

rights, women's rights, right to privacy, (c)

legislation, speakers bureau and legal.

In other news: A "`jail'' committee

was actively involved in attempting to

stop construction of a maximum

security county jail that was designed

without windows and mostly six-person

cells.

November ballot initiative titled

_ Measure "B'"', which stated that the -

county must follow national guidelines

requiring single occupancy cells with a

window each. The Board voted to

endorse the measure.

Unfortunately, the measure was

defeated. But many people are now

aware of jail concerns and approval of

"good little jails'' over "big bad jails"

may develop.

The 24-hour-a-day answering service

averages about 30 calls per month.

Calls are screened and non-ACLU calls

are referred to the approriate agency.

ACLU calls are referred to volunteer

attorneys who are usually able to reach

a Sassen settlement.

M. jd-Peninsula

The

Thursday, Dec. 9, at the All Saints

Episcopal Church on the corner of

`Hamilton and Waverly in Palo Alto.

For further information, contact -

Edwards at 287-6193.

We will

Efforts were concentrated on the (c)

Mid-Peninsula Chapter has

scheduled an 8 p.m. meeting for

aclu news

9 issuesa ee pionihly except bi-monthly in March-A pul July-August

and November-December

Published by ther American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California

Richard De Lancie, Chairman of the Board,

David M. Fishlow, Executive Director

Michael Antonucci and Jim Babb, Editors for this issue

814 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94103 - 777-4545

Membership $15 and up, of which.50 cents is the

annual subscription fee for the News

on the second Monday of each month at

7:30 p.m. at the ACLU Chapter offices.

814 Mission St., San Francisco.

The committee will serve as a

resource - the individual members will

pursue the "`issues," do the research

and report back to the Board with their

recommendations for action.

There will be two types of work:

continuing projects and special

projects. The following were selected for

immediate attention under `continuing

projects: |

Complaint investigation - following

up on complaints received by the af-

- filiate's phone desk that require in-

vestigation. and then determining the

merits. We will respond to requests -

from the affiliate for assistance.

Demonstration observers - frequent

requests come to us for ACLU observers

at demonstrations, public meetings, etc.

assistance. _

Watchdogging Municipal

mittees, Boards and Commissions -

what is there to be monitored? How are

we informed of official meetings?

Labor Practices - investigation of

labor practices in different

organizations, including the U.C.

system.

S.F. Jails - to keep informed of jail

operations as they affect civil liberties.

For further information, please call

Sonoma

The annual ACLU dinner will be

held Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Veterans

Memorial Building in Santa Rosa. No-

host cocktails will be served at 6:30.

p-m. with dinner-at 7:30.

Nancy Belden, Executive Director of

the Sonoma County Commission on the

Status of Women, will be the guest

speaker. There will also be a short |

business meeting to elect new board

members.

Dinner price will be under $3.50 and

final menu details are being worked

out.

Another event of interest for Sonoma

`County ACLU members will be the

appearance of Daniel Schorr, former

CBS correspondent, at the Santa Rosa

High School auditorium at 7:30 p.m.,

_ Tuesday, Nov. 23. Last month, many

ACLU members were in the audience to

hear comments by I.F. Stone on

government secrecy and other crucial.

issues.

In a final political note, Eric

Koenigshofer, current Sonoma County

_ ACLU board chairman, was elected to a

seat on the Sonoma County Board of

Supervisors for a four-year term

starting in January.

Fresno

The Fresno Chapter announces the

election: of its new officers: Bernie

Meyerson - president; Mike Moss -

vice president; Polly Victor -

secretary; and Bill Young - treasurer.

The new telephone contact numbers is

227-2802.

"Is Your Home Your Castle" - a

discussion program about property

rights as they relate to access and

condemnation - will be conducted by

the Fresno Chapter on Monday, Dec. 13

at 8 p.m. in the Unitarian Church at

4144 North Millbrook.

. for Federal

respond to requests for

Com-_

the Chapter office at 777-4880.

Essay Contest

The Third Annual -Essay-Poetry

Contest for all high school students in

the City will commence next month.

The topic selected is: Does Your Vote

Really `Count? Details to be published

- next issue. -

Santa Clars

The Committee for Open Media has

begun work to increase media access for

local voices in the Bay Area. COM .

claims there are virtually no local voices

on Bay Area television: programming is

essentially national or statewide.

The reason for the increased focus on

the problem is the current preparation

`Communications Com-

mission license renewals in the fall of

1977. This group is the initial fact-

finding group leading to review of

license applications of the various

stations in the fall of 1977. |

Phil Jacklin, COM chairman, reports

that meetings are being held every two .

weeks at his home is Les Gatos. Three .

meetings have already been conducted -

on `Local Voice Access', and the -

committee could use about 10 more

people. People from every chapter in

the Bay Area are invited to participate.

Phil says that about two hours every

_two weeks, plus the meetings, is all that

is required of each participant.

Members are monitoring stations,

visiting stations, interviewing station

managers, etc.

directions to the Jacklin home, call 277-

2871 or 867-1945.

People in the Sacramento area might

be interested to know that similar work

is being done by some non-ACLU

people in their area. Jacklin will be

pleased to put interested members in

touch with them. Se.

Board member Steve Siner recently

demonstrated that correcting a civil

liberties violation can sometimes be a

matter of untangling bureaucratic

processes to find the source of the

problem. The chapter received com-

- plaints from Elmwood Prison inmates

who had.been denied work furloughs,

visitor rights and other privileges, such

denials being based upon evalu-

ation reports from. a_ federally

_ funded program called "Differential

Diagnostic Treatment.'' The psycho- "

logical evaluation by DDT is part of the -

Adult Probation prisoner processing. It

is voluntary and the convicted

defendant signs a release giving the

sentencing judge and the probation

officer sole access to ie evaluation

report.

Attorney Siner wrote to fece

Raconelli, chairman of the Criminal.

- Justice Reform Committee, regarding

the invasion of privacy and _ illegal

seizure issues involved. Judge Raconelli .

brought the violations to the attention

of the prison administration and, upon

investigation, it was discovered that the

evaluation reports were being stapled to

the prisoners' records and going to

Elmwood with the accused, instead of

back into the files of DDT.

The corrective measure taken was

that the report is no longer being

stapled to prisoners' records; hence, no

longer goes into the hands of jailers who

are not trained to properly interpret

such a study.

For information on _