vol. 44, no. 6
Primary tabs
Volume XLIX a
Abortion bight MovesOn'T eeceiks
Choice Groups
Lobby Solons
The ACLU and other pro-choice
organizations ate staging an intense
lobbying campaign to take advantage of
"a half-a-loaf second chance" for Medi-
Cal funded abortions.
The "`half-a-loaf' is $12.5 million,
enough for six months full funding, set
in reserve by the legislature's: joint
ACLU members can help fight for
full Medi-Cal funding. Here's how:
Write your state representatives and
tell them to support a full funding bill.
The address is State Capitol,
Sacramento 95814.
If you live close to Sacramento,
organize a few friends and visit your
legislators. Also, many legislators are in
their home districts Thursday af-
ternoons and all day Friday.
Sign-up for the Civil Liberties Lobby
so you can receive regular information
on this and other issues critical to
ACLU members. See the coupon on the
back page.
budget conference committee. This
"reserve" fund was a device developed
by the conference committee as the only
way of getting past the abortion
deadlock which threatened to prolong
the legislature's 1979 budget process.
even further into the new fiscal year.
(The budget was eventually passed 12
days beyond the deadline.)
For the reserve funds to be released,
starting January 1, 1980, the legislature
must pass a _ separate bill.
For the second year running, the
legislature cut 90 percent of the Medi-
Cal funding for abortions. However, the
abortions have continued as the result
-of a series of legal actions brought by
the ACLU along with other BUORUEyS
(see story p. 1).
August 20, the day the legislature
returns from its post-budget break, is
the day picked for the Civil Liberties
Lobby (see coupon back page) and
others to rally in Sacramento for a day
of face-to-face lobbying. The bill to
allow for full-funding in January must
be passed in four weeks, by September
15, when the legislature retires for the
year.
The harder fight is expected in the
state senate. Lobbyists have identified
the following northern California
senators as key: John Garamendi (D,
representing a large section of the
Sierra from Sacramento south); John
Nejedly R, Contra Costa); Jim Nielson
(R, Napa, Solona, Sacarmento, Yolo);
Jerry Smith (D, Santa Clara); Rose Ann
Vuich (D, Fresno); and Ken Maddy (D,
Fresno).
ACLU Helps Lead Campaign
To Defeat Proposition 1
The Boards of Directors of the
American Civil Liberties Union of
Northern and Southern California have
initiated the formation of a state-wide
coalition to oppose State Senator Alan
Robbins' anti-integration amendment,
which will appear on the November
ballot as Proposition 1.
Following the ACLU's Board of
Directors meeting, representatives from
more than SO civil. rights, labor,
For Prop 1 background see page 3. A
look at school integration issues 25
years after Brown.
religious, political, and community
organizations pledged their support to
defeat Proposition 1 at a meeting held
in Los Angeles on July 17. Groups
represented included the N.A.A.C.P.,
the YWCA, the League of Women
Voters, MALDEF (Mexical-American
_ Legal Defense and Education Fund),
California Federation of Teachers/
AFL-CIO, the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations, and_ the
California Democratic Council.
Plans to organize a_ northern
California campaign are currently
underway, with Eva Jefferson Paterson,
Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors,
and Executive Director Dorothy
Ehrlich serving on the state-wide
steering committee.
The initiative, which was scheduled
originally to appear on the general
election ballot in June of 1980, was
moved up to the November ballot when
Governor Brown signed a bill in June to
call for a special election. ACLU and
other organizations had previously
succeeded in stopping the state con- -
stitutional amendment from reaching
the ballot in 1978 through legislative
action. In 1979, two-thirds majority of
both houses supported the legislation
allowing the measure to be placed on
the upcoming ballot.
Proponents claim that Proposition 1,
commonly referred to as the "Robbins
Amendment", would halt school
desegregation throughout California.
Temporary campaign headquarters
have been established in San Francisco.
ACLU members who are interested in
working against Proposition 1 in their
committees are urged to send in the
coupon located on the back page of the
ACLU News.
`Aug-Sept 1979
Justices Stay
Medi-Cal Cut
For the seventh time, a California
court blocked the implementation of
legislative restrictions to choke off
abortion funding for poor women in
California. The latest action, a tem-
porary stay issued by the state Supreme
Court on August 9, came just six days
before the cut-off date of August 15.
ACLU's Staff Counsel Margaret
Crosby brought the request for a
temporary stay to the state Supreme
Court on August 6, claiming that ``the
`concrete effects of the new restrictions
will be devastating for the poor women
in California.'' The restrictions ap-
proved of by the legislature, as a result
of a political compromise reached on
July 13, would have cut out funding for
over 8,000 women each month.
This is the second year in a row that
the legislature has passed restrictions
cutting off 90% of abortion funds. Then,
as now, the ACLU and six public interest
law firms went to court and successfully
stopped the implementation of the
restrictions. A series of court orders
maintained the funding, resulting in the
E `No. 6
case finally winding its way up to the
California Supreme Court.
_ For the first time, 2.8 million Medi-
Cal beneficiaries were officially notified
by mail that they could no longer
choose to terminate a pregnancy, except
in a few extraordinary cases, which
would allow for fewer than 10% of the (c)
abortions ordinarily performed.
The notices brought the prediction of
poor women seeking back-alley
abortionists close to reality. Among a
number of declarations submitted to
the court, the following story was told
by a Los Angeles family pi Eese
counselor:
"On Friday, July 27 1979, I received
a telephone call from a woman, whom I
will call Sue, who was three weeks
pregnant. She was quite obviously
extremely upset. She wanted me to refer
her to a physician for an abortion. I
informed her that I know of no
physician who would terminate a
pregnancy at such an early stage, that
she would have to wait. At that point,
Sue brought up the Medi-Cal funding
cut-off and insisted that she had to have
an abortion before funds became
unavailable. I repeated that I knew of
no one who would do an abortion so -
early and suggested that she wait until
her pregnancy was further advanced
and borrow the money.
continued on page 3
Nuclear Power
adults, $22 for children.
CHAPTER -
CONFERENCE
"Civil Liberties in the 80's"
BOARD
Criminal Justice Repression
Rights of Disabled and Elderly
Gun Control: Yes or No? :
Anti-integration Initiative: Prop. 1.
Come to Point Bonita Outdoor Center in the Marin County Head-
lands overlooking beaches, bay and ocean, and join chapter acti- |
vists, local and national staff, NC board members, and some just
plain civil libertarians for a weekend of discussion, reflection,
companionship and fun. Open to all ACLU members. $32 for
For registration information contact Michael P. Miller, ACLU NC,
814 Mission St., S.F. 94103, 415-777-4880.
`Sept. 28, 29 and 30
Aug.-Sept. 1979
aclu news
Suit Supports Eatiployee Rights:
When most cripleee in private
businesses go to work, the right to free
speech does not go with them. This may
change as the result of a lawsuit filed by
the ACLU of Northern California last
month on behalf of an attorney fired for
being a member of a_ political
organization. :
According to a complaint filed in the
Contra Costa Superior Court by the
ACLU, attorney David Weintraub was
recently fired by a Contra Costa law
firm solely because of his affiliation and
activities with the National Lawyers
Guild. -
"Employers cannot contre "the .
political beliefs and activities of their
employees,'' according to Alan
Schlosser, ACLU Staff Counsel
representing Weintraub. "Just as |
discrimination on the basis of race and
sex is illegal, the state legislature has
also prohibited (in Sections 1101 and
1102 of the Labor Code) retaliation by
employers against their employees that
is motivated by an employee's political.
activities and affiliations," Schlosser
said.
The ACLU's own policy, recently
adopted by the national Board, asserts
that employees should not be forced to
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leave fundamental rights at home each
day when they report for work.
`In all cases, the employee's right to
free speech and association should be
limited only by minimal and
traditionally acceptable time, place and
manner regulations, provided that the
employee's exercise of the right does not
substantially, materially, and directly
interfere with his or her bona fide job
performance, or _ substantially,
materially, and directly obstruct other
employees. This should not protect
speech which directly interferes with the
ability of the Su OE adequately to
perform his/her job."'
The lawsuit brought last month
requests that the Superior Court
declare that the Legal Clinic of Worrell,
Martelle, Pappas and Mulling had
violated David Weintraub's rights, and
Weintraub be awarded compensatory
and punitive damages.
The NLG has been particularly active
in defending the rights of workers,
minorities, women, and the poor.
During this initial interview,
Weintraub explained his active
membership in the Bay Area NLG since
1976. In fact, the resume he gave the
firm showed that he was employed by the
Bay Area NLG during 1977 and 1978 as
the staff coordinator at the chapter
office in San Francisco and that he was
president of the San Francisco Lawyers
Guild Bar Association.
On March 7, 1979, a little over a
week after the initial interview,
Weintraub went to work for The Legal
Clinic. On March 8, he was told that the
law firm had decided to discharge him
because of his affiliation and activities
with the NLG.
Street Sweeping Slows
The streets of San Francisco are safer
for punk rock fans, street musicians,
First Amendment pamphleteers, gays,
tourists, and even the natives as a result
of an ACLU law suit filed last May.
After more than a year of monitoring
and several months of research with
local. court records, ACLU lawyers
concluded that city police, the district
attorney, and the sheriff had neatly
swept away several constitutional rights
through their vigorious enforcement of
two San Francisco ordinances relating
to blocking sidewalks and doorways.
- ACLU attorneys and researchers
alleged that during the first three
months of this year, at least 750 people
were arrested for violating local Police
Code sections 20A and 20B, which
prohibit obstructing sidewalks and
standing in doorways without the
owner's consent. In nearly all those
cases, charges were dropped by the
prosecutor and none went to trial.
After the ACLU brought forward
these allegations in a taxpayers' suit
asking that the ordinance be repealed,
the number dramatically reduced in
which those suspected of blocking
sidewalks and doorways, were arrested,
held in jail or forced to post bail, and
had charges dropped.
Shortly after the suit was filed,
arrests dwindled from 75 per week
under 20A and 20B to five a week.
Negotiation between ACLU attorneys
and city law enforcement officials
named in the suit have led to legislation
proposed to the Board of Supervisors to
repeal the two ordinances.
The Board is also considering new
legislation to deal with sidewalk and
doorway blocking. ACLU attorneys are
taking a ``wait-and-see"' attitude
toward the new proposed ordinances.
"The ordinance itself is un-
constitutional because its terms cover
everything from obstructing a sidewalk
while waiting for a bus, to standing ina
doorway to get out of the rain, leading
the police to arrest people on the basis
of status or appearance rather than -
conduct,"
Schwartz.
_ The suit also alleges that the patterns
of enforcement - arrest followed by
custody and the summary dismissal -
is also unconstitutional because the
arrests cannot be reviewed by the
courts.
ACLU attorneys were aided in their
research by law interns Betsy Wolkin
said staff attorney Amitai
and Liz Symonds, and the ACLU's -
volunteer complaint desk counselors.
Court Deletes
Arrest Records
Law enforcement agencies may no
longer provide public employers with ~
the arrest records of potential job
applicants where no conviction has
resulted from the arrest.
The practice violates
the state
constitutional right to privacy, ruled a
state Court of Appeal in early August.
`The case developed out of a practice
in which the state Department of
Justice distributed so-called ``rap
sheets" to any public agency which
wanted to check the criminal records of
potential employees. These rap sheets
included incidents where individuals
were detained or arrested by the police,
but no court conviction resulted.
The court said that while the
Department of Justice can for law
enforcement purposes legally keep
arrest records, even when no conviction
results, the department cannot freely
give that information out. Potential
public employers may continue to
obtain data on convictions, but arrest
information must be deleted from the
criminal history : sheets compiled by the
_ State. -
The ACLU, represented by aitoracy
Robert Knox of Steinhart, Goldberg,
Feigenbaum and Ladar, intervened as a
friend of the court to argue that law
enforcement agencies were indeed
violating the California Constitution i in
giving out arrest information.
The ACLU theory, which | the court
adopted, was that arrest, not followed
by a conviction, is no evidence of
wrongdoing. A record of arrest can, -
however, hurt people seeking jobs.
Employers do not distinguish between
merely being charged with a crime and
being found guilty after a trial.
Bill of Rights Day
Save the date
Sunday
~ December 16, 1979
Sheraton Palace Hotel
San Francisco
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
ee Ban on Synanon Speech Challenged
For over a year, a large-scale legal
war has been waging between the
controversial Synanon Foundation and
various members of the news media.
Two of the many pending law suits
involve Synanon and ABC television
plus. their local affiliate KGO-TV,. |
channel 7. Synanon sued ABC and
KGO for defamation. KGO responded
_with its own suit charging Synanon and
all its members with a "series of threats,
intimidation, harassment and other
abusive acts against plaintiffs" (KGO
news reporters and executives).
KGO had broadcast a series of
reports on Synanon and its leaders.
Synanon responded by publicly
claiming the reports were unfair and
-untrue, and Synanon members
launched a program of informational
activities to attack and challenge KGO
and its reporters. For example,
Synanon put up posters attacking KGO
on utility poles throughout the Bay
Area, including the neighborhoods ot
the KGO plaintiffs.
The result of the KGO counter suit
was an injunction issued by the San
Francisco Superior Court prohibiting
all Synanon members from continuing
many of their attempts to respond to
KGO. The banned activities include
communicating with the KGO em-
ployees at their residences (this covers
telephone calls also), posting signs in
their neighborhoods, sending `"`an-
noying mail," and speaking or ap-
proaching the KGO employees on the
public streets.
The ACLU of Northern California
joined Synanon's appeal from this
injunction in early July by submitting a
friend of the court brief, prepared
by cooperating attorney Steven
Stathatos, in support of the
organization's members. The ACLU is
challenging the constitutionality of the
court order, arguing that the injunction
is an overboard restraint on a wide
range of protected free speech activities.
KGO employees complained of
mysterious vexing incidents - blinking
lights outside their windows and un- -
wanted pizza deliveries. But, they could
not prove that the anonymous mischief
was perpetuated by Synanon members.
The only "harassment'' definitely
linked to Synanon were the signed
posters, letters, and flyers attacking the
KGO news reports on Synanon itself.
These, the ACLU asserts, are all classic
forms of protected expression. The
targets of prime time news attacks have
a constitutional right to make un-
favorable remarks about the media. In
fact, the media should expect it.
Even if there had been evidence of -
legal wrongdoing by a few Synanon
- members, the ACLU brief points out
that acts committed by a handful of
people could not justify the court
directing a sweeping legal restraint
against all other 900 Bay Area residents
who belong to or support Synanon. To
base an injunction solely on mem-
bership in any organization, however
unpopular, clearly violates the con-
stitutional guarantee of freedom of
association.
Aug.-Sept. 1979
aclu news
By Tomas J. Lewis
In May, 1954, the United States Supreme Court
ruled in Brown vs. Board of Education that racial dis-
crimination in the public school system was unconsti-
tutional.
In its unanimous decision, the high court, then
under the leadership of Chief Justice Earl Warren, |
reversed a Topeka, Kansas, trial court and ordered @
the school district there to begin the complete desegre- 0x00A7
gation of its entire school system.
The practical effect of this landmark decision was
that segregated school districts throughout the @
country were required to desegregate their schools.
Today the Topeka school district still is segregated.
And according to experts, so are many other school
districts around the country - including at least six in |
and around the Southern California area.
In Los Angeles, for example, the school district has |
been under court order to desegregate since 1970.
However, according to experts, the district - like its :
counterpart in Topeka, Kansas - is no closer to dese- |
gregating its schools today than it was when the courts
first ordered desegregation.
A crucial test
In fact, a limited plan now being used in Los 0x00A7
Angeles, although considered far from adequate by |
those who favor desegregation, may face a crucial test
in November.
At that time the electorate will be asked to vote on
Proposition 1, an anti-integration measure which, if
passed, purports to limit. the scope of school desegre-
gation in California to that which is peace by the
federal constitution.
Its author, State Sen. Alan Robbins, admittedly
drafted the constitutional amendment in an effort to
stop the school desegregation process from being
carried out in Los Angeles.
However, according to experts, the amendment
would not have any effect in Los Angeles because the
California Supreme Court said that the school district
here had been intentionally segregated.
Gert
ae
Toate ae co ragarta)
If approved by voters, Proposition 1 would amend
the California Constitution and require school
districts to follow federal, rather than state, guidelines
on school desegregation.
Federal guidelines require school districts to deseg-
regate only in cases where the segregation was inten-
tional, while California standards require
desegregation of schools regardless of the cause.
Unintentional segregation
Thus, if the measure becomes law, school districts
which can prove that any segregation was uninten-
tional would be exempt from desegregating their
schools.
But supporters of school integration claim other-
wise. They say that if the so-called Robbins Amend-
ment is passed, it will result in the resegregation of
schools now being desegregated and this would
amount to an intentional act of segregation.
Even those who oppose school integration appear
divided on the wisdom of Proposition 1. Some of these
say the measure, rather than stopping busing for
school desegregation, may actually increase it.
Tomas J. Lewis is the editor of the Open Forum, the
ACLU of Southern California's monthly newsletter. 7
Hilary Crosby
Joms Staff
Managing the ACLU's Mission
Street offices for eleven staff and many
volunteers requires administrative skill,
continued from page |
science.'
Justices Stay Cuts
She cried, `There is no money. I'm
_going to do what women used to do, I'm
going to use something to help myself
and you will have me on your con-
Sue, by this point in tears,
IDraft Update
Ever since hundreds of ACLU
members. attending the national
Biennial Conference swarmed all over
Capitol Hill in mid-June, the draft has
been scheduled to come up in the House
attention to detail, accounting. prowess
- and a good sense of humor.
From ordering supplies to preparing
financial statements, the office
manager cum bookkeeper at the ACLU
of Northern. California i is responsible for
the `nuts and bolts" operations of the
office, as well as more complex ac-
counting procedures, and also serves as
staff to the board's Budget
Management Committee.
New office manager Hilary Crosby,
who replaces Les Schmidt, brings a
diverse background in managing
resources and finances - from a
restaurant, to a theater troupe, to a
NASA contractor.
Crosby owned and operated the
Underdog restaurant in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, for four years. She said,
"I devised systems for dealing with day-
to-day problems of supply and
maintenance which kept drudgery to a
minimum.' The restaurant also won
awards from the Boston Magazine and
the Boston Real Paper.
Before the Underdog, Crosby was a
bookkeeper for a geological research
firm with NASA and Air Force con-
tracts.
Crosby's interest in theatre led her
to New York, classes at the American
Mime Theater, and a _ subsequent
position as general manager with a
Cambridge-based theatre group. The
theatre position demanded ability in
fund raising, publicity, box office
management, plus technical theatre
skills. ;
In 1978, California (``no snow or ice')
beckoned and Crosby moved to the Bay
Area. "`Though I had dreams of a big
corporate paycheck, I quickly became
disillusioned,' she related, and found
herself doing door-to-door canvassing
for the Citizens' Action League, next-
door neighbors to the ACLU.
Temporary assignments followed the
CAL experience until, in July, Crosby
noticed the ACLU's ad for an office
manager in a San Francisco paper.
Schmidt, who preceeded Crosby for
three years, is planning a career in
accounting and needed to work directly
for a C.P.A. firm in order to get his
license. However, he is not lost to the
ACLU. Schmidt will continue to serve
ACLU as a new member of the Board's
Budget-Management Committee.
hung up. I took the clear implication of
her statement to be that she would use
some object to attempt to induce an
abortion herself."
Two petitions are currently before the
Supreme Court, asking that the
Supreme Court ultimately declare
unconstitutional the legislature's
decision in 1978 and 1979 to turn back
the clock on the poor women in
California who choose to exercise their
right to terminate a pregnancy.
of Representatives "`next week."
However, the House adjourned
August 3, without voting on H.R. 4040,
the Defense Department authorization . :
bill, which contains the draft
registration provisions. The
representatives will not return until
September 5.
Anti-draft forces, with strong ACLU
leadership in Washington and in many
states, are cautiously optimistic that the
registration bills will lose in this session
A decision about whether the court
will accept the petition for hearing is
expected within the next two months,
and during that period, the temporary
stay will allow for the funds to be
maintained.
of Congress.
A likely compromise will be to delete
the actual registration provisions in the
House bill, but to call on the President
to study various registration alter-
natives.
aclu news
8 issues a year, monthly except bi-monthly in January-February, June-July,
August-September and November-December
Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California
Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
Drucilla Ramey, Chairperson Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Director
Michael P. Miller, Acting Editor '
ACLU NEWS (USPS 018-040) Hy
814 Mission St. - Ste. 301, San Francisco, California 94103 - 777-4545
Membership $20 and up, of which SO cents is for a subscription to the aclu news
and 50 cents is for the national ACLU bi-monthly publication, Civil Liberties.
ia}
Aug.-Sept. 1979
oe news
By Michael P. Miller
"Don't we have rights? We had it
under control. Now the place is a mess
again. The members of the ACLU don't
live here." That's from an angry San
Jose resident talking about the ACLU's .
challenge to the local "hooker patrol.''
When, in its. efforts to stop street
prostitution and alleged harassment of
residents, does a volunteer citizens
group start stepping on constitutionally
protected rights? When does official co-
operation with the group become of-
ficial misconduct? When does wat-
ching, monitoring, and verbal per-
suading become intolerable
harassment?
Last May, citizens from central San
Jose formed a group to drive prostitutes
out of their neighborhood. Like many
central city residential areas, they felt
overrun by `"`prostitutes, pimps, and
pushers."' The group received official
encouragement from the City Council
and extensive help from the local police.
One City Council member, Tom
McEnery, even joined the patrol.
The group's basic method is to join
police officers in walking the streets in'
an effort to discourage prostitutes and
- their customers.
Alerted to the Be members of
the Santa Clara Valley ACLU Chapter,
looked at what the citizens group,
dubbed the `"`hooker patrol," and the
police were really doing. According to
chapter board member Paul Jenson,
here is what they found:
o Police stopping people on _ the
street and making personal iden-
tification information available to the
private patroi.
(c) Police forcing individuals on the
street to face patrol members' cameras.
o Patrol members, in the company of
police, vigorously harassing people on
the street through threats of verbal
violence, close and prolonged following,
taking photographs, and writing down
car license numbers.
One newspaper reporter wrote, "I
watched the police stop seven suspected
prostitutes. In every case, the officer did
the talking and told the women to leave,
while members of the citizens' patrol
stood off a few feet, took pictures and
made what could be called jeering and
harassing remarks."
This conduct, concluded the
chapter, was an inexcusable invasion of
privacy and deprived people of their
rights to due process. If the alleged
prostitutes were breaking the law, they
should be arrested or cited. If not, then
the police sanctioned harassment, and
punished suspees without any chance
of a trial.
Police even stopped ACLU's Jenson,
seized his tape recorder, took his
identification and turned it over to the
patrol, then wrestled with him so the
patrol could try to take his photograph.
The ACLU chapter started their
protest with San Jose Police Chief
Joseph McNamara. The story was soon
picked up by local media. And the
chapter went to the city counsel.
Neither McNamara, nor the counsel,
admitted any wrong doing.
A local newspaper published an
article sympathetic to the patrol with
ae CALENDAR
MT. DIABLO
ANNUAL MEETING and PICNIC
Sunday, August 26, Larkey
Park, 2271 Buena Vista Ave., Walnut
Creek. Swimming and sociability at 3
p-m., program at 5 p.m., picnic at 6
p:m.; board elections; Bring your
own picnic; BBQ _ available;
beverages provided. ACLU NC Field
Rep. Michael P. Miller speaker. (Mt.
Diablo Chapter includes eastern
Contra Costa County.)
SONOMA
ANNUAL PICNIC Sunday, Sept. 2,
noon to 6 p.m., Villa Chanticlear,
1248 N. Fitch Mt. Rd., Healdsburg.
$5.00 admission includes food and
board elections.
drawing chance on case of wine;
singing, magic, ventriloquist, and
Conclave Features Shattuck.
Film, Panels, Debate ( Fun)
John Shattuck, national ACLU
legislative director, will be the featured
participant at this year's annual
Chapter-Board Conference, _ titled
"Civil Liberties in the 80's," September
28, 29, and 30. :
Shattuck will join panels on "`Nuclear
Power and Civil Liberties,' ""Repressive
Trends in Criminal Justice," and
deliver a keynote speech looking at
ACLU membership action and _ lob-
bying.
Joining Shattuck will be Linda
Valentino, coordinator of the AFSC Los
Angeles-based Police Surveillance
Program. Valentino, recently featured
in Time and People for her work to stop
police abuse, this month helped plan
several days of legislative hearings on
eee re
against Prop. 1.
Name
Fight For Your Rights
Eo Yes, | want to join the Civil Liberties lobby and work.
with other ACLU members on issues such as the
draft and Medi- Cal abortion funding.
L] Yes, | want to help in the pecoming campaign
Address
City
Telephone (home)
S.F. 94103.
Return to: Lobby, ACLU-NC, 814 Mission St., Suite 301,
(office)
Ban a a a ce ee a et ee
law enforcement misconduct.
Also speaking on repressive trends in.
criminal justice will be Monterey
Chapter president Richard (Dick)
Criley. Criley, also Northern California
co-ordinator for the National Com-
mittee Against Repressive Legislation,
has spoken widely on FBI and CIA
abuses, criminal code reform, and the
FOIA.
Michael Vader, ACLU NC Board
member and director of the state's
affirmative action for the disabled
program, heads the panel on disabled
and elderly rights. Vader also founded
the Sacramento Legal Center for the
Elderly and Disabled.
Joining Vader will be Cy Hubbard,
executive secretary for the Governor's
Committee for Employment of the
Handicapped, and attorney Jim
Donald, deputy director for the State
Department of Rehabilitation. _
"Gun Control: Civil Liberties Issue
or No?'"' will be debated by San Jose
attorney Dan Hoffman, vice-president
of the California Coalition for Handgun
Control, and author Irving Cohen,
member of the ACLU NC and national
ACLU boards. Hoffman says yes,
Cohen no.
To compliment the nuclear power
discussion, there will be a film featuring
a late friend of the ACLU called `Paul
Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang."
The conference site is accessible to
the handicapped and child care. will be
available.
The conference will start Friday
evening and run through Sunday af-
ternoon. The cost is $32 for adults and
$22 for youths. This includes two nights
lodging and six meals. A meals-only
rate will be available for Marin County
residents.
the angry statement against the ACLU
which opens this story. But, behind the
denials and newspaper publicity, the
chapter's charges and proposals were
being taken very seriously. :
City officials and patrol represen-
tatives have had two _ negotiating
sessions with the chapter. Chief
McNamara, Council member McEnery,
Sessions, and a representative of the
city attorney joined the sessions.
The chapter has offered guidelines
for both the police and the patrol so
that they may act in a manner con-
sistent with the constitution. The
negotiations are going slowly, but some
agreement has been reached and a third
session is planned.
The chapter members recognize that
the neighborhood has a problem. But, if
_ people on the streets. are involved.in
illegal conduct which disturbs the
neighborhood, then there are legal
procedures which the police should
follow rather than encourage extra-
legal practices by organized citizens
groups. Concludes Jenson, `"The issue
isn't prostitution. It's whether people
_ who are in a community can use illegal.
means to effect. the results they . are.
after."
Other chapter members involved in
the negotiations are chairperson Tom
Ferrito, Howard Anawalt, Lynn Yates-
Carter, Lisa Kalvelage, Marilyn. Spiller,
and Diane Frank.
Chapter (ice
Carstens Dies
Arthur Carstens, long-time ACLU
activist and chapter leader, died June 2
at his home in Pebble Beach. He was
74.
Art had a long history of . work
through the ACLU in both. northern
and southern California, primarily at
the chapter level, consistent with his
beliefs in grassroots democracy and
participation.
In 1973, when the Monterey Chapter
had almost ceased to function, Art
organized the board and membership
and, in the words of. another, board
member, ``gently and. firmly en-
couraged, made suggestions and gave -
his time to bring the chapter back to.
`life.""
Art was born in Butte, Montana, in
1905. He received a masters degree
from the University of Chicago and (c)
joined the early New Deal ad-
ministration. 3
A one-time member of the Industrial _
Workers of the World (Wobblies), Art
had a long-time involvement with the
American labor movement . For many
years he worked as an administrator at
the Institute of Industrial Relations at
UCLA, retiring in 1970. One friend
from UCLA said Art was the univer- |
sity's `"`ambassador plenipotentiary to
the whole labor movement."
"In his persistent, yet gentle and
humorous manner, Art Carstens added
concepts, expanded our horizons, and
poked `holes in any pomposity which
reared its unwelcome head,"
remembered one Monterey Chapter
board member.
Art's family asked that contributions 0x00B0
be made to the ACLU.