vol. 55, no. 7
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Volume LV
December 1991
No. 7
Bicentennial Celebration
Artists Celebrate Bill of Rights Day
he joyous voices
of the Oakland
Interfaith Gospel
Choir greeted a capacity
crowd at the annual
ACLU-NC Bill of Rights
Day Celebration on
December 15.
"Today is a_ historic
occasion," said ACLU-
NC Chair Milton Estes as
ACLU supporters to the
event. "It is the 200th
birthday of the Bill of
Rights, a living, changing
document that promises
freedom and equality to
all of the people of the
United States."
In paying tribute to the
"courageous individuals
the law and the landscape of
this country in regards to
equality, race relations, crimi-
nal justice, freedom of
expression, legislative appor-
tionment and separation of
church and state in 1954,
when the era of the Warren
Court, personified by the two
men we honor today, began,"
Estes said.
Justice Brennan, appear-
ing on a videotaped interview
created especially for the
Celebration by Connecticut
ACLU Executive Director
Bill Olds, thanked the
ACLU-NC "for this most
prized award." Recalling his
early days and long experi-
ence on the Warren Court,
Brennan urged every one
who have stood up to ful-
fill the promises of the
Bill of Rights," Estes
99
introduced a videotape protect me.
Comic Marga Gomez said she appreciated the Bill of Rights
but `there aren't enough amendments to the Constitution to
Ric Rocamora
Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti: "We at City Lights
will always be grateful to the ACLU for
Ric Rocamora
defending us."
"not to jump ship" because
there will always be people
on the nation's courts who
"are wedded to the goals of
collage, created for the
ACLU-NC by San Francisco State film
students, featuring ACLU-NC clients tell-
ing their own stories.
Estes also presented the Earl Warren
Civil Liberties Award to retired United
States Supreme Court Justices William
Brennan and Thurgood Marshall, whose
combined tenure on the nation's court
"created a body of law that made the
Supreme Court a refuge for all Americans
seeking to exercise their rights.".
"Tt is difficult to remember the state of
the ACLU."
An interview with Justice Marshall,
produced by WUSA in Washington, D.C.,
resounded with wisdom and _ humor.
Continued on page 3
to INS Raids
_ Latino Workers Reach
Historic Settlement with INS
historic settlement culminating
A nine years of legal battles on
behalf of Latino workers through-
out northern California whose rights were
violated during INS workplace raids was
approved on December 11 in U.S. District
Court in San Francisco. The settlement
comes in Pearl Meadow Mushroom Inc. vy.
Nelson filed by the ACLU-NC, the
Employment Law Center of the Legal Aid
Society of San Francisco (ELC), the
Mexican American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund (MALDEF), California
Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) and coop-
erating attorneys from Orrick, Herrington,
Sutcliffe.
The suit, originally filed in 1982,
charged that the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) violated the
rights of employees and employers
through a pattern of discriminatory
enforcement tactics and unlawful searches
and seizures in workplace raids.
The settlement states that INS agents
must have a valid warrant or consent
before entering a worksite, that the INS
may not detain anyone without reasonable,
individualized suspicion, and that the INS
cannot detain or arrest anyone "solely on
the basis of ethnic characteristics or
appearance." The settlement also bars the
use of excessive or unnecessary force.
Monitor and enforce
To monitor and enforce the terms of
the settlement, new complaint procedures
have been established through the Office
of Professional Responsibility of the
Justice Department in Washington, D.C.
and the INS Central Office.
According to lead counsel John True,
senior staff attorney with the ELC, "This
settlement will place significant limita-
tions on INS conduct during workplace
raids. The agency will be closely moni-
tored to ensure that excessive force, gutter
language and singling out of Mexican
Americans - all of which used to charac-
terize INS behavior - remain vestiges of
the past."
"The protections of the Fourth
Amendment - the requirement of a war-
rant or consent to search a private busi-
ness, and of probable cause to detain or .
arrest a person - are bedrock principles
of our Constitution," said ACLU-NC
attorney Alan Schlosser. "In the past, INS
agents have persistently acted as if these
_ principles do not apply to immigrants and
persons who look like immigrants.
"The settlement in this case reaffirms
that these fundamental civil liberties pro-
tect all persons in this country - regard-
less of their immigration status. Plaintiffs
and their attorneys are committed to insur-
ing that the settlement is rigorously
enforced so that these rights become a
reality," Schlosser added.
Workers' sacrifice
According to Manuel Romero,
MALDEF regional counsel in San
Francisco, the settlement provides greater
protection to the Latino community from
abuses of the INS. "This settlement is a
testament to the sacrifice and courage of
scores of workers who stood up for jus-
Continued on page 3
Club Patrons Receive
Damages from INS Raid
atrons and employees at a Mission
District nightclub whose rights
were violated during a 1989 INS
raid will be awarded $83,000 as a result of
a settlement approved by the U.S. District
Court.
Just before midnight on July 22, 1989,
approximately 20 agents from the
Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) and the California Alcohol and
Beverage Control Bureau (ABC) raided
the popular Hispanic-owned nightspot
Club Elegante in San Francisco's Mission
District. Without a warrant or consent,
they blocked exits, prevented patrons from
leaving, and interrogated all the patrons,
the band members and club employees.
A class action suit, Aguayo y. Ilchert,
was filed in U.S. District Court in
December 1989 by the ACLU-NC and
attorneys from Heller, Ehrman, White and
McAuliffe charging that the raid violated
the constitutional rights of everyone
present in the Club.
In October, U.S. District Court Judge
James Ware granted preliminary approval
to the settlement and issued an order certi-
fying the class of plaintiffs. The settlement
received final approval from Judge Ware
on December 6. Approximately 35 mem-
bers of the class stepped forward to
receive proceeds from the settlement.
Speaking at a press conference to
announce the settlement, attorney Sergio
Garcia-Rodriguez of Heller, Ehrman said,
"We believe that this is a very favorable
result for our clients and for the Latino
community in San Francisco. The raid at
Club Elegante had a major negative
impact throughout the Mission District -
folks in the neighborhood believed that if
this could happen at Club Elegante, it
could happen again at any other business
establishment patronized by Latinos.
"When we filed this action, we hoped
to curb a disturbing pattern of discrimina-
tory conduct against the Latino community
by the INS and the ABC. The damages
we've obtained here vindicate everyone
present at the Club during the raid and,
more importantly, the Latino community
at large," Garcia-Rodriguez added.
ACLU-NC staff attorney Alan
Schlosser agreed. "The raid at Club
Elegante was a perfect example of why the
INS has such a sinister reputation in immi-
grant and ethnic communities. Persons out
for a Saturday night of dancing and social-
izing were subjected to a mass round-up in
flagrant disregard of the U.S. Constitution.
Although this was one incident, it is part
of a persistent pattern of governmental
lawlessness that INS in particular has dis-
played over the years. We hope that this
award of monetary damages not only com-
pensates the victims but serves as a deter-
rent to future INS and ABC misconduct."
At the press conference, club patron
Debra Guzman, recalled the terrifying inci-
dent, "The whole thing was a nightmare.
Two years later I still see the faces of the
people who were led out the doors. I
remember young women crying and men
in shock. I kept thinking this can't be hap-
pening, this is America - this doesn't
happen here. Those people came to
America for freedom, safety and refuge,
Continued on page 3
aclu news
dec 1991
SAY WHAT??!! Conference Draws 1,000 Students
ore than 1,000 high school stu-
M dents from around northern
California gathered in San
Francisco's Fashion Center December 11
for Say What??!! Students Celebrate
Freedom of Expression. The response to
the conference, organized by the Howard
A. Friedman First Amendment Project of
the ACLU-NC, was overwhelming - and
not just because of the numbers. Everyone
involved, from students to teachers to the
diverse array of speakers, described the
day as an incredible learning experience.
"The students were very tuned into
how limitations on their speech and dress
and other First Amendment rights are tied
into issues about race and repression,
which are very much a part of their lives,"
said Marcia Gallo, Director of the
Friedman Project. "They were not at all
afraid to spark discussions on complicated,
emotional topics."
San Francisco School Board Vice-
, President Tom Ammiano, who also is a
professional educator, stand-up comedian,
and gay activist chaired the conference.
After a multimedia presentation on
Freedom of Expression, developed by
Nanci Magoun, a communications expert
who serves on the Advisory Committee of
the Friedman Project, and Chuck Farnham
of Nextworld, Inc., Ammiano introduced
keynote speaker Eva Jefferson Paterson. |
Paterson, who spoke on "Students' Rights
from the '60s to the '90s," is the Chair of
the Bay Area Civil Rights Coalition.
Paterson, who was a well-known anti-
war and civil rights activist during her stu-
dent days at Northwestem University,
spoke of the continuing need for loud dis-
sent and direct action in the '90s. "People
who've been in the vanguard of the fight
for civil rights and free speech were your
change that have proven effective, from
building coalitions among student groups
to taking over administration offices.
A panel discussion on Censorship of
Dress and Music was chaired by Diane
Chin, a member of the Lawyers'
Committee for Urban Affairs. Panelist
Dominique Di Prima, a rap musician and
host of KRON-TV's "Home Turf," urged
students not to limit their understanding
by refusing to listen to the views of others.
The panel also featured music critic
Danyel Smith, Chiyuka Carlos, one of the
young men represented by the ACLU-NC
when they were denied entrance to Great
America theme park because their clothing
fit a so-called gang profile, ACLU-NC
staff attorney Alan Schlosser and Polly
Ramos, an East Bakersfield High School
student who organized a student protest
against the school's ban on hats. Ramos
said even though they ultimately lost the
Students from San Francisco's Wallenberg High School spoke up about racism,
dress codes and censorship of hate speech.
Laura Trent
"The way you get information is through
expression," she said. "Censorship limits
the information you can get, which is why
you have to have freedom of expression.
Whether I agree with it or not, you have
Court Enjoins Concord's
Anti-Gay Rights Measure
he Contra Costa Superior Court
: issued a preliminary injunction on
November 21 to prevent enforce-
ment of Measure M, the Concord anti-gay
rights initiative, until the validity of the
measure can be decided by the court.
Measure M, passed by only 42 votes in the
November 5 election, repealed portions of
the City of Concord's Human Rights
Ordinance that prohibit discrimination
based on sexual orientation. Opponents of
Measure M fear that people who live,
work, shop, do business, or use services in
Concord will be subject to discrimination
and harassment on the basis of sexual
orientation if the measure goes into effect.
The preliminary injunction was
ordered in response to a suit filed on
November 20 by the ACLU-NC and coop-
erating attorneys from the Walnut Creek
office of the law firm of Morrison and
Foerster on behalf of several community
organizations and Concord residents. The
suit, Bay Area Network of Gay and
Lesbian Educators v. City of Concord,
alleges that Measure M violates numerous
provisions of the state and federal
Constitutions and would cause irreparable
injury if enforced during the time it will
take the courts to decide the legality of the
initiative. A hearing on the merits has
been scheduled for February 28, 1992.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Bay Area
Network of Gay and Lesbian Educators
(BANGLE), the Mt. Diablo Peace Center,
the Contra Costa Chapter of NOW, and
several Concord residents charge that
Measure M is unconstitutional because it
authorizes arbitrary discrimination in
employment, housing, city services and
other matters on the basis of sexual orien-
tation. This discrimination violates state
and federal equal protection guarantees,
the suit charges.
The lawsuit also asserts that Measure
M violates the constitutional rights of free
speech and due process. Kathy Bagdonas,
lead counsel at Morrison and Foerster, said,
"Measure M could prevent a city council
member from speaking in favor gay rights,
or the use of city facilities by an organiza-
tion that provides educational materials
about AIDS."
The suit also contends that Measure M
violates state law regarding a city's author-
ity to enact legislation, and that it conflicts
with state law protecting the right of lesbi-
ans and gay men to be free from arbitrary
discrimination.
Guy Stark of the Mt. Diablo Peace
Center testified in a declaration submitted
to the court that members of his organiza-
tion were subjected to verbal harassment
during recent peace demonstrations in
Concord, including being called "faggots"
and "queers." Stark stated that he fears if
Measure M is enforced "people who
engage in these verbal assaults may turn
them into physical assaults. Measure M
would prevent the City of Concord from
acting to prohibit such acts."
Barbara Hannafan, a member of the
City of Concord's Human Relations
Commission, testified in her declaration
that she feared she could be removed from
her position on the Commission because
she has publicly supported gay rights. The
Commission may "no longer be able to
encourage AIDS education and awareness,
fair treatment of people with HIV infec-.
tion, or any other policy that is perceived
as a `homosexual issue,"" Hannafan added.
In addition to Bagdonas, other attor-
neys working on the lawsuit are ACLU-
NC staff counsel Matthew Coles; and Ruth
Borenstein, Gregory Dresser, Erica Grubb,
and Alisa Wynd, all of Morrison and
Foerster.
fight against the dress code, she and her
classmates gained something just as
important: a common cause. "We realized
that we do have the power to fight these
things," said Ramos. "It brought people
together who otherwise would never know
each other. Even members of rival gangs
came together over this protest against the
dress code."
Following the panel, students split up
for small discussion groups and talked
about how First Amendment issues affect
them in their schools, on the streets and at
home. Racism, and the lack of understand- -
ing among even well-meaning members of
different ethnic groups, dominated most
discussions. Learning about freedom of
expression, one student said, helped him to
"get over name-calling, and really sit down
and talk about things."
chaired by ACLU-NC Public Information
Director Elaine Elinson, featured John
Stewart, an editorial page writer at the San
Francisco Chronicle; Bill Wong,
Associate Editor at the Oakland Tribune;
Daniel Alejandrez, founding editor of
Barrio Warrior, and Lori Radzikowski, a
student journalist at Redwood High School
in Marin whose story on sexual harass-
ment was threatened with censorship.
Many of the students attending worked
on their own school newspapers, and some
had experienced censorship first-hand.
"Our school newspaper is limited to
things that are good about our school,"
complained one student journalist. "so it
makes it seem like everything is great, but
it's not. We even had to start an under-
ground paper to get the real news out."
The students showed a high degree of
sophistication about what they read and
watch in the news, noted Elinson. "They
asked questions about many ethical and
`moral issues that experienced journalists
struggle with every day," she said. "The
issue of press censorship during the Gulf
War provoked very heated dialogue among
the students and panelists."
ACLU-NC Executive Director Dorothy
Ehrlich moderated a discussion on Limits
on Speech. The panelists were ACLU-NC
staff attorney Ann _ Brick; Margaret
Russell, a law professor at Santa Clara
University and a member of the ACLU-
NC Board of Directors; and Doreena
Wong, a staff attorney at the Asian Law
Caucus.
"What most impressed me," `said
- Ehrlich, "was the incredible diversity of
the young people. We had students from
rural schools near Healdsburg with stu-
. dents from inner-city schools.. There were
students from the extremely competitive
academic program at Lowell High School
and students from continuation high
schools. One teacher told me it was the
first time those students had ever been to a
program with Lowell students."
"It is very heartening to me," said
Paterson, "to see 1,000 young people try-
ing to keep their minds open, trying to
make a difference."
A 20-minute videotape of the confer-
ence, produced by San Francisco State
film students Lydia Szajko and Caitlin
Manning, will be shown in high school
classrooms by the Friedman Project.
Jean Field is an assistant in the Public
Information Department.
Harris Appeals to U.S.
Supreme Court
owing to. seek review from the
V U.S. Supreme Court to correct a
"fundamental miscarriage of jus-
tice,' attorneys for San Quentin Death
Row inmate Robert Harris responded to
the latest denial from the Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals.
On November 8, the Ninth Circuit
refused to reconsider its previous uphold-
ing of the U.S. District Court's denial of
habeas relief to Harris.
Harris's attorneys had asked the full
Court of Appeals to vacate the August 21,
1991 opinion that held Robert Harris was
not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on
his claims. Harris had argued that he was
denied due process because his court-
appointed psychiatrists failed to undertake
any meaningful examination of his severe
mental impairments. As a result, the jury
that sentenced Harris to death was not
Continued on page 4
aclu news
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Membership $20 and up, of which 50 cents is for a subscription to theaclu news and 50
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gore
aclu news
dec 1991 3
Civil Rights Bills, Axed by Governor, to be Reintroduced
by Francisco Lobaco
ACLU Legislative Advocate
alifornia's long standing reputa-
tion for strong and effective civil
rights laws protecting victims of
discrimination has been seriously tar-
nished. In the past few years a series of
California Supreme Court decisions have
essentially gutted the authority of
California's civil rights agency - the Fair
Employment and Housing Commission -
from awarding meaningful relief to victims
of employment and housing discrimina-
tion. Other court decisions have substan-
Latino Workers
Continued from page |
tice. More than sixty workers came -
forward and testified in U.S. District
Court about the abuse they suffered at the
hands of the INS - abuses which we
hope will not recur."
One of the workers, Francisco Rivera,
was working at a Petaluma poultry
processing firm during a 1982 INS raid.
Agents handcuffed him and roughed him
up, and verbally abused him even though
he had proper immigration documents.
"They put me in their van and they later
dropped me off at a parking lot several
miles from my worksite - I had to get
back to work on foot," Rivera explained.
"I think this suit is a big step towards
recognizing individual rights."
Plaintiff Randolph Ferguson, an
employer who runs a small business in
Sacramento, said, "The INS agents told
me bluntly that they had the right to come
onto my property if they saw Mexicans in
plain view from the street. I asked them
for a warrant and they said they didn't
need one."
Noting that one agent started to draw a
gun, Ferguson added that he testified
because although "I felt threatened, but no
matter what the cost, I was willing to go
through with it."
The case was originally filed on behalf
of five employers and hundreds of
workers of Hispanic origin in 1982
following a nationwide INS sweep called
"Operation Jobs" and subsequent INS
raids. The lawsuit charged that in northern
California the INS systematically violated
the constitutional rights of employees and
employers.
During a four-month trial before U.S.
District Court Judge Robert Aguilar,
plaintiffs presented scores of witnesses,
including workers who spoke about their
detention, arrest, racial harassment and
the use of excessive force by INS agents.
tially limited victims of arbitrary discrimi-
nation from obtaining relief under the
Unruh Civil Rights Act.
These court decisions prompted the
ACLU and other civil rights organizations
to seek passage of legislation overturning
these decisions and to support enactment
of meaningful civil rights laws. The good
news is that a majority of the Legislature
recognizes that all California residents are
entitled to effective relief from unlawful
discrimination. | The bad news is that
Governor Pete Wilson demonstrated that
his commitment to civil rights is no better
than his predecessor George Deukmejian
- every important civil rights bill that
The plaintiffs charged
that the INS ~ entered
private worksites without
warrants or voluntary
consent, used unlawful
general warrants to seize
workers, arrested workers
without reasonable suspi-
cion that they were
undocumented, subjected
workers to physical and
verbal abuse and targeted
Latino workers for arrest
and abuse.
Injunction
During the course of
the lawsuit, a preliminary
injunction was issued in
1985 prohibiting INS
agents from _ entering
worksites without a valid
warrant or consent and
from unlawfully detain-
ing workers without rea-
sonable suspicion that the
person is unlawfully in this country.
In addition to True, Romero, and
Schlosser, the plaintiffs' litigation team
includes Denise Hulett of MALDEF,
reached the Governor' s desk in 1991 was
vetoed.
SB 827 (Bergeson) would have over-
turned the two Supreme Court decisions of
Peralta v. FEHC (1990) and Dyna Med v.
FEHC (1987) by reauthorizing the Fair
Employment and Housing Commission the
right to grant compensatory damages and
limited civil penalties in cases of employ-
ment discrimination. The Governor's veto
of SB 827 was particularly insensitive
coming in the midst of the sexual harass-
ment charges raised by Professor Anita
Hill against Supreme Court nominee
Clarence Thomas.
Francisco Garcia-Rodriguez, formerly of
MALDEF and currently with Santa Clara
County Legal Aid, David Grabill of
CRLA, and Steven Brick and Barbara
Public outrage
The public outcry surrounding the veto
of AB 101 (Friedman) was heard through-
out the country. The bill would have pro-
hibited discrimination in employment on
the basis of sexual orientation. The
Governor's veto was especially dishearten-
ing coming after clear indications that he
would sign the legislation and despite
widespread support from all segments of
California society including employer
groups.
The Governor also demonstrated a lack
of sensitivity to the language minority
community by vetoing SB 834 (Marks).
Continued on page 4
ACLU-NC staff attorney Alan Schlosser (I.), translator and legal worker Diana Velez, plaintiff
Francisco Rivera, and ELC attorney John True announce the historic settlement with the INS.
Ric Rocamora
Moses of Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe.
The settlement also provides for the pay-
ment of plaintiffs' attorneys fees and
costs.
Club Elegante ...
Continued from page I
then they went out one night and look
what happened. I don't think government
can ever pay enough for what they caused
in human suffering.
"Tt was so important that people were
indignant and did come forward.
Otherwise, this terrible raid would have
gone unnoticed. The government made a
real mistake that night - and they thought
_ Russ of GSD M The billboad 5
jets possible because of a genero
ice _ donation from | Fran and Anselm Strat
_ in honor of
no one would care. They learned that we
won't sit by and stand for this," Guzman
added.
Another plaintiff, local television pro-
ducer Patricia Aguayo, said, "I hope that
by us winning this suit it sends a clear mes-
sage to immigration and other government
officials, that Latinos and Chicanos, those
born here and those born in other Latin
American countries, will not sit back and
tolerate inhumane abuses against our peo-
ple, whose only reason for coming to the
United States is the promise of a better life
for them and their family.
"How dare this country criticize other
countries for their violations of human
rights, when immigration raids conducted
with the blessing of our government here
clearly abuse human rights. I want to say
that our community will continue to fight
the injustices put upon our people,"
Aguayo added.
This settlement represents a culmina-
tion of favorable court rulings for the
plaintiffs. The Court twice rejected defen-
dants' attempts to dismiss the action.
"After the Court validated our clients'
claims, all parties believed that it would be
in everyone's interest to negotiate a satis-
factory settlement," Garcia-Rodriguez
said.
In addition to Schlosser and Garcia-
Rodriguez, plaintiffs in Aguayo were also
represented by Charles N. Freiberg,
Charles F. Robinson, and Gia L. Cincone
of Heller, Ehrman; Manuel Romero of the
Mexican American Legal Defense and
Education Fund, and attorneys from La
Raza Centro Legal and the Immigrant
Legal Resource Center.
Bill of Rights ...
Continued from page 1
Addressing the Georgia sodomy case,
Marshall said, "You let Big Brother in
your bedroom and I don't know any place
you can keep him out."
ACLU-NC Executive Director Dorothy
Ehrlich told the audience that other "very
painful" videotaped images from this year
- the Los Angeles police beating of
Rodney King, the censored images of a
war fought in the Persian Gulf and pack-
aged in yellow ribbons, and the CHP attack
on peace demonstrators during the Gulf
War - remind us that many of the free-
doms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights are
threatened. Ehrlich also presented the Lola
Hanzel Courageous Advocacy Award to
Joe Mayberry, an outstanding volunteer
who has served on the ACLU-NC
Complaint Desk since 1983.
The second half of the program, "A
Tribute to Freedom of Expression," was
emceed by poet and gay rights activist
Carmen Vazquez. A timely poem from
June Jordan, "Letter to Mrs. Virginia
Thomas, Wife of What's-His-Name,
recently appointed to the Supreme Court," -
was read by Ayesha Jenkins. Performances
by modern dancer June Watanabe and jazz
pianist Jon Jang, and a side-splitting, icon-
oclastic look at the Bill of Rights from
comic Marga Gomez thrilled the audience
and vividly portrayed the wide range of
. artists who are fighting for freedom of
expression. The program closed with a call
to fight censorship from renowned San
Francisco poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who
recalled his own charges of obscenity for
distributing Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" in
1957 and graced the event with a poem,
"Civil Rights Dog," who "will not be muz-
zled, Congressman Doyle [of HUAC] is
just another fire hydrant to him."
aclu news
dec 1991
How Your Money Works
for Civil Liberties
Membership Contributions v.
Tax-Deductible Donations
The ACLU was founded in 1920 as a
non-profit organization supported by its
membership. Membership contributions
are essential to the ACLU's existence,
providing about 25% of the ACLU of
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because a significant part of ACLU's
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county boards of supervisors). The IRS
places restrictions on the use of tax-
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The ACLU Foundation of Northern
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ACLU-NC Foundation.
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The ACLU-NC Foundation conducts
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Contribution? (c)
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send their gifts to the national ACLU
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please write or call:
Sandy Holmes
Membership Department
ACLU-NC
1663 Mission Street, #460
San Francisco, CA 94103
415/621-2493
Civil Rights ...
Contnaed from page 2 2
Co-sponsored by the ACLU, SB 834
would have codified existing regulations
prohibiting discrimination for speaking a
language other than English in the work-
place unless justified by a business neces-
sity.
These vetoes establish a clear pattern
demonstrating the Governor's lack of sen-
sitivity and compassion to the civil rights
of employees.
While disheartening, the vetoes should
be interpreted as a call for action by the
ACLU and other civil rights advocates.
New legislation
The three Wilson-vetoed civil rights
bills are all expected to be reintroduced
when the Legislature reconvenes in
January. Additionally there are other
important civil rights bills which will be
acted upon in 1992.
AB 531 (Polanco) is intended to bring
California into compliance with the
Federal Fair Housing Act. The Fair
Housing Act authorizes the federal
enforcement agency to award compensa-
tory damages and assess civil penalties to
victims of housing discrimination. The Act
also provides new protection for families
with children and the disabled. AB 531
would effectively overturn the Supreme
Court decision in Walnut Creek v.FEHC
which held that the Commission was pro-
hibited from awarding compensatory dam-
ages to victims of housing discrimination.
SB 1257 (Roberti) would overturn
another bad civil rights case recently
decided by the Supreme Court. In Harris v.
Capital Investments (1991) the court over-
tured 20 years of precedent by holding
that the Unruh Civil Rights Act does not
protect all victims of arbitrary discrimina-
tion.
AB 1077 (Bronzan) and AB 1286
(Vasconcellos) seek to bring California
law into compliance with the federal
_American with Disabilities Act of 1990
(ADA). The ADA extends federal protec-
tion against discrimination with disabili-
ties, including persons with AIDS and HIV
infection, in the private workplace and in
places on public accommodation. The bills
are intended to strengthen California law
where it is weaker that the ADA and to
maintain the strength of California law
where it offers higher protection for per-
sons with disabilities.
The ACLU will make passage of these
civil rights bills one of its legislative priori-
ties in 1992.
Harris...
Continued from page 2
aware that he suffered from organic brain
damage, post-traumatic stress disorder,
fetal alcohol effects, and a myriad of other
mitigating mental health problems.
Michael Laurence, Director of the
ACLU-NC Death Penalty Project and one
of Harris's attorneys, condemned the
Court of Appeals' decision as "further evi-
dence that the federal judiciary has turned
its back on poor people in this country."
"This decision sends a clear message in
this Bicentennial year of the Bill of Rights
that due process is guaranteed only to
those who can afford it," Laurence said.
To support his claim, Harris presented
swom affidavits from ten highly regarded
mental health experts and requested the
Opportunity to prove his claim at an evi-
dentiary hearing.
Despite the powerful affidavits, a panel
of the Court of Appeals rejected the peti-
tion by a 2 to 1 vote on procedural grounds
in August. The Court retroactively applied
the U.S. Supreme Court decision in
McCleskey v. Zant to conclude that Harris
should have presented the claims earlier.
Attorneys for Harris argued to the full
court that applying McCleskey in this man-
ner required Harris to foresee in 1982 that
the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991 would
Overturn years of precedent and violates
every precept of due process.
According to Laurence, "Even the most
fundamental tenets of federalism do not
permit the state unjustly to forfeit the lives
of its citizens.
"Robert Harris stands ready to prove
that he was neither legally nor morally cul-
pable for capital murder. He should be
afforded an evidentiary hearing,"
Chapter Meetings
(Chapter meetings are open to all interested
members. Contact the chapter activist listed
for your area.)
B-A-R-K __(Berkeley-Albany-Richmond-
Kensington) Chapter Meeting: (Usually
fourth Thursday) Volunteers needed for
the chapter hotline -- call Florence
Piliavin at 510/848-5195 for further
details. For more information, time and
address of meetings, contact Julie Houk,
510/848-4752.
Earl Warren (Oakland/Alameda County)
Chapter Meeting: (Usually second
Wednesday) Meeting on Wednesday,
January 8, 1992. The Earl Warren Chapter is
sponsoring a high school essay contest. For
time and address of meetings, please call Irv
Kermish, 510/836-4036 or Abe Feinberg,
510/451-1122.
Fresno Chapter Meeting: (Usually third
Monday) Meeting on Monday, January 20,
1992 at San Joaquin Law School. New
mation, call Nadya Coleman at 209/229-
7178 (days) or A.J. Kruth at 209/432-1483
(evenings).
Gay Rights Chapter Meeting: (Usually
first Thursday) Meet Thursday, January 2,
1992 at the ACLU Office, 1663 Mission,
460, San Francisco at 7:00 PM. For more
information, contact Teresa Friend, 510/
272-9700.
Marin County Chapter Meeting: (Third
Monday) Meet Monday, January 20, 1992 at
7:30 PM, Westamerica Bank, East
. Blithedale and Sunnyside Avenues, Mill
Valley. For more information, contact
Harvey Dinerstein, 415/381-6129.
Mid-Peninsula (Palo Alto area) Chapter
Meeting: (Usually first Thrusday) Meeting
on Thursday, January 9, 1992 at 7:30 PM at
the California Federal Bank, El Camino
Real, Palo Alto. New members welcome!
For more information, contact Harry
Anisgard, 415/856-9186 or call the Chapter
Hotline at 415/328-0732.
Monterey County Chapter Meeting:
(Usually first Tuesday) Meeting on
Tuesday, January 7, 1992 at 7:30 PM at the
Monterey Library, Community Room,
Pacific and Madison Streets, Monterey. The
Monterey Chapter will hold its Annual
Meeting on Saturday, January 25, 1992 at
1:00 PM. at the Monterey Library,
- Community Room, Pacific and Madison
Streets, Monterey. For more information,
contact Richard Criley, 408/624-7562.
Mt. Diablo (Contra. Costa County)
Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth
Thursday) Meeting on Thursday, January
23, 1992 at 7:30 PM. For more information,
contact Mildred Starkie, 415/934-0557.
North Peninsula (San Mateo area)
Chapter Meeting: (Usually third Monday)
Meeting on Monday, January 20, 1992 at
7:30 PM at the offices of Planned
Parenthood, 2211 Palm Avenue, San Mateo.
Note: The North Pen Chapter has a new
Hotline number: 579-1789. The Chapter is
seeking volunteers to help with the Hotline.
To volunteer on the Hotline or for more
information, contact Emily Skolnick at 340-
9834.
Field Program Monthly
Meetings
members always welcome! For more infor- -
North Valley (Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehema,
and Trinity Counties) Chapter Meeting:
(Usually third Wednesday) The North
Valley Chaper will have a Bill of Rights
Phone Nite on Tuesday, January 7, 1992 at
7:00 PM at the law offices of Eric Berg,
1308 Placer Street, Redding. For more infor-
mation contact interim Chairperson Tillie
Smith at 916/549-3998.
Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter
Meeting: (Usually third Monday) The new
Redwood Chapter will meet on Monday,
January 20, 1992 at Humboldt State
University, Science B Building, Room 135
at 7:15 PM. For more information contact
Christina Huskey at 707/445-7634.
Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting:
(Usually second Wednesday) Meeting on
Wednesday, January 8, 1992 at 7:00 PM at
Hearing Room 1, Sacramento County
Offices, 700 H Street. Meeting will focus on
Church/State issues. For more information,
contact Ruth Ordas, 916/488-9956
San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Usually
third Monday) Meeting on Monday, January
20, 1992 at 7:00 PM. at ACLU office, 1663
Mission, 460, San Francisco. For more
information, call the Chapter Information
Line at 415/979-6699.
Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting:
(Usually first Tuesday) Contact John Cox,
408/226-7421 for more information.
Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting:
(Usually second Wednesday) Chapter will
continue to work on combating Hate
Crimes. Contact Keith Lesar, 408/688-1666,
for further information.
Sonoma County Chapter Meeting: (Third
Thursday of the month) Meet Thrusday,
January 16, 1992. All members welcome.
Contact Len Bronstein at 707/527-9018.
Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Third
Thursday of the month) Meeting on
Thursday, January 16, 1992. ACLU
National President Nadine Strossen will
speak on Free Speech on Campus at U.C.
Davis Main Theater on Tuesday, January 14,
1992 at 7:30 PM. For more information,
contact Alan Bronstein at 916/752-2586.
Field Action
Meetings
(All meetings except those noted will be held
at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission
Street, Suite #460, San Francisco.)
Student Outreach Committee: (Usually
third Saturday) Contact Marcia Gallo, at
ACLU-NC 415/621-2493.
Civil Rights Committee: (Fourth Saturday)
Meeting on Saturday, January 25, 1992 from
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. RSVP to Nancy Otto
at the ACLU-NC 415/621-2493.
First Amendment Committee: (Fourth -
Saturday) Meeting on Saturday, January 25,
1992 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM. RSVP to
Nancy Otto at the ACLU-NC 415/621-2493.
Pro-Choice Action Campaign: Contact
Nancy Otto at the ACLU-NC 415/621-2493.
Laurence added.
He noted that the Ninth Circuit opinion
conflicts sharply with the opinions of other
state and federal decisions.
The Ninth Circuit order did not reveal
the vote of the full Court, however, articles
in the Los Angeles Times and New York
Times revealed that the vote was 13-13 |
with one judge not voting.
In a powerful dissent, Judge Stephen
Reinhardt noted, "I believe the people have
a right to know if an individual is being
executed notwithstanding the fact that a
substantial number of judges who have
examined the constitutionality of the
state's proposed action believe further judi-
cial review is necessary - and I believe
that there is no justification for concealing
the actual division in the court. There are
good reasons why history should fully
record the judicial votes in death penalty
cases."
Judge Reinhardt further stated in his
15-page dissent, "When a human life is at
stake, we should provide en banc review in
all cases in which legitimate questions
exist concerning a panel's decision in favor
of the state. Harris most certainly qualifies
under that standard.
"Common decency and fairness - as
well as due process - require that we
rehear his case en banc. In the absence of
such a hearing, the state of California
should not be permitted to execute him. I
deeply regret that we have decided other-
wise," Judge Reinhardt concluded.
Following the order, Harris's attorneys
filed a motion to stay the mandate pending
the filing of a petition in the U.S. Supreme
Court. The motion was granted, giving the
defense team 60 days to file the writ of
certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Although state Attorney General Dan
Lungren made a last ditch effort to vacate
the stay, the U.S. Supreme Court denied
his motion without dissent on December 9.
"The Supreme Court properly rejected the
patently frivolous application by the
Attorney General," said Laurence. "The
State's application provided no legitimate
reasons why Harris should not be afforded
his right to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Court's action fully supports our view
that this case involves substantial constitu-
tional questions of due process and fair-
ness."
S WE COMMEMORATE THE
Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights, those who cherish
the freedoms embodied in that document may not
find much cause for celebration. For although the
Bicentennial comes at a time when Americans enjoy
more rights than at any time in our history, it also
occurs at a moment when the United States Supreme Court is on
the verge of abdicating the role it has played, as protector of the
Constitution, for most of the past three decades.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in an unprecedented assault on the
First Amendment, upheld the "Gag Rule" prohibiting federally
funded family planning clinics from even mentioning the word
"abortion." Restricting Fourth Amendment bans on unreason-
able search and seizure, the high court ruled that passengers on
buses can be randomly searched as part of the War on Drugs.
Death Row inmates whose lawyers missa filing deadline may not
appeal the case - thus ensuring a greater practice of the most
cruel and unusual punishment. Police can now detain a suspect
for up to 48 hours before bringing the suspect before a judge, the
court decided. A series of Supreme Court rulings swept away
decades of hard-won civil rights cases, undermining
equal protection guarantees at the workplace. NJ LL
And on it went. cy
Here in northern California, the
ACLU-NC has witnessed and
challenged many violations of ee
fought for freedom of ny
expression for anti-war Re
demonstrators, AIDS
activists, environmental- =
ists and students. We
have challenged illegal
individual rights. We have
LX searches by police, im-
migration agents and
corrections officials. We
have fought discrimination
R against minority youths ac-
cused of fitting a "gang pro-
O file," against people infected with
s HIV, against homeless people whose
C A ay only "crime" is sleeping out of doors, against
those who wish to speak their native language.
Justice William Brennan noted the potential of state constitu-
tions to serve as a "font for individual liberties." In California, we
have relied on our state Constitution to protect many rights. The
privacy right embodied in Article 1, Section 1 of the California
Constitution has served to uphold a woman's right to choose,
even as the U.S. Supreme Court whittles away at reproductive
freedom. As the national ACLU looks more and mote to state
courts for advances in civil liberties litigation, we at the ACLU of
Northern California have an increasingly important role to play.
This report does not list every case on our legal docket. It
includes those cases in which there was significant activity this
year, as well as other forms of legal advocacy in our priority areas.
(A complete listing of our cases and thetr current status 1s available from
the Legal Department.) With this report, we hope to share with you
some of the highlights of our legal program of the ACLU-NC
during 1991.
We celebrate the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights by continu-
ing to be the leading civil liberties advocate in northern Califor-
nia. In doing so, we remember well the words of Justice Brennan
as he left the Supreme Court, "The goal of universal equality,
freedom and prosperity is far from won and .. . inequities
continue to mar the face of the nation. We are surely nearer the
beginning than the end of the struggle."
6
Anne Heitbrink and Patrisha Vestey.
THe ACLU-NC LeGAL
Department is staffed by five
attorneys, Ann Brick, Edward
Chen, Matthew Coles, Margaret
Crosby and Alan Schlosser. The
responsibilities of the Managing
Attorney are rotated among the staff counsel yearly; in
1991, the Managing Attorney is Margaret Crosby. In
addition, the Legal Department includes the Police
Practices Project, directed by attorney John Crew and the
Death Penalty Project, headed by attorney Michael
Laurence. The attorneys are ably assisted by Frances Beal,
The Legal Department also oversees the work of the
Complaint Desk, which is supervised by Lisa Maldonado.
The Desk, staffed by a dozen volunteer counselors,
receives more than 200 calls and letters each week from
people who feel their rights have been violated. Assisted
_by the staff attorneys and law students who clerk for the
ACLU-NC during the year, these lay counselors screen
requests for assistance and often provide the advocacy
needed to resolve particular grievances.
We share the accomplishments of the legal program
with over 100 dedicated lawyers who donate their
services to the ACLU-NC as cooperating attorneys. Half
of our cases this year were handled by cooperating
attorneys working with staff counsel. Without their
expertise and advocacy, the ACLU-NC would not be able
to address many pressing civil liberties issues. A list of
the 1991 cooperating attorneys and firms is on page 8.
the ACLU argued that
the head shaving was a
malicious and retalia-
tory measure designed
toinflict injury to pun-
ish the political views
of the demonstrators.
The four won a
$100,000 settlement
and a change in jail
policy which now pro-
hibits the cutting or
shaving of hair of any
pre-trial detainee for
the purposes of lice re-
moval unless all other
less intrusive methods
have failed, and the
shaving is specifically
recommended and su-
pervised by a medical
professional.
AIDS Activists
An ACT-UP dem-
onstration in San
Francisco's Castro Dis-
trict against the
government's AIDS
policies turned into a
Demonstrators
In times of war, the govern-
ment will often crack down on
dissent and on the press in the
name of "national: security."
This year, the ACLU-NC took
on battles to defend freedom of
POMEL YE
expression for anti-war dem-
onstrators and for groups fight-
ing for such diverse causes as
preservation of the redwood
forests, government funding for
AIDS, and support for students
in China.
mG
a - |
can
eS
"
)
fame
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|
FoR aes oer ee
Anti-War Protestors
The ACLU-NC filed a suit,
Lamperti v. California Highway
Patrol, on behalf of three anti-war protesters
who were beaten by CHP officers during
two separate non-violent demonstrations
against the Persian Gulf War.
The suit asks for damages against the
individual officers for the beatings, as well
as against the CHP supervisory officers for
failing to provide adequate crowd control
training and supervision. We are also seek-
ing an injunction to prevent the recurrence
of such unlawful acts.
The ACLU asserts that peaceful acts of
civil disobedience never can justify the use
of violence by law enforcement agencies.
Such acts of violence jeopardize the First
Amendment rights of individuals express-
ing controversial points of view.
AN as
Environmentalists
Other legal action centered on the war
raging over the forests of northern Califor-
- nia. The ACLU-NC successfully represented
four Redwood Summer protesters in a fed-
eral lawsuit filed against the Humboldt
County Sheriff's Department in 1990. The
suit charged that the demonstrators' consti-
tutional rights were violated when their
heads were forcibly shaved in jail after being
arrested for trespassing during a civil dis-
obedience action against lumber company
logging practices that threaten old growth
forests.Sheriff's Department officials claimed
that the protesters' heads were shaved to rid
them of lice. However, as they were never
examined by qualified medical personnel,
nightmare when hun-
dreds of police officers
attacked demonstrators and passers-by alike,
blockading streets, and trapping people
against their will in stores and restaurants in
the area. The ACLU-NC 1s joining a team
of attorneys in representing those who were
the victims of police abuse before a special
hearing of the Office of Citizen Complaints.
ACLU-NC attorney Ann Brick represents a
Catholic priest who was caught up in the
police sweep.
aS
Cyclists
A group of bicycle-riding protesters,
seeking to commemorate the anniversary of
the Tienanmen uprising by cycling through
downtown San Francisco, were nearly pre-
vented from holding their protest when the
city demanded that they obtain an expen-
sive athletic event permit. A phone call
from the ACLU-NC was
all it took to ensure the
cyclers could carry their
message on wheels
through thestreets of San
Francisco.
BART Ads
The ACLU inter-
vened on behalf of the
The ACLU-NC's War Emergency Desk responded to over 50 callers a week
ranging from conscientious objectors to those who were told they could not wear
a peace button - or a yellow ribbon - at work.
tractual two-week period.
a]
Anti-choice Demonstrators
Demonstrating its commitment to all
forms of expressive freedom, the ACLU-
NC publicly criticized the arrest of anti-
choice demonstrators at a street fair in Al-
bany. The demonstrators, who were carry-
ing large photo-posters of dead fetuses,
were arrested under statutes prohibiting
the display of obscenity to children and
barring display of naked children. Charac-
terizing the charges as a misuse of the
obscenity laws to suppress political speech,
the ACLU offered legal assistance to the
arrested demonstrators. The charges were
dismissed; and the anti-choice demonstra-
tors never responded to the ACLU's offer.
Press Freedom
In the longest running press freedom
case on our docket, the California Supreme
Court rejected two separate requests by law
enforcement officials to reinstate a libel
judgment and reopen a libel suit, McCoy ",
Hearst Corporation, against journalists Lowell
Bergman and Raul Ramirez for a series of
articles on a Chinatown murder published
in the San Francisco Examiner. In a 1986
opinion, the Court ruled that the articles
were protected under the Constitution; this
year's decisions end a fifteen-year-old legal
battle over the articles. Though
the Court's ruling upheld the ACLU posi-
tion, such protracted libel suits can have a
chilling effect on a free press.
Two other press freedom cases illustrate
the dangers that small newspapers face when
they voice dissenting views.
The ACLU-NC is representing a small
Santa Cruz newspaper in a libel suit,
Hartmann v. Solar Powers, brought against it
by a local political activist. The paper re-
fuses to reveal the source of the challenged
article, which claims the plaintiff was fired
from a city job because he was "potentially
dangerous" and "unstable."
The ACLU argues that because the ar-
ticle involves a public figure and is a matter
of important local political controversy, the
plaintiff should be required to prove consti-
tutional malice. The paper claims that the
article is accurate, and that there is no
evidence of malice in its publication. The
paper also claims a privilege for the identity
of its source.
Asserting that an article critical of a San
Francisco welfare worker was clearly a pro-
tected statement of opinion, the ACLU-NC
is representing the General Advocacy As-
sistance Project (GAAP) and Judith
Blowchiak, a GAAP staff member, against
charges of libel in San Francisco Superior
Court in the case of Tepper v. Regents of the
University of California.
Although the article included expres-
OVER THE PAST
70 years, the ACLU has
learned that in times of
war, the government will
use the excuse of
protecting national
the "largest draft counseling workshop ever held"
was presented to more than 700 participants at
UC Berkeley.
Demonstrators' Rights: The ACLU provided
assistance when permits were denied or unreason-
able insurance or fee requirements were being
Middle East Peace Network
when the group's political
poster ads were covered up
in BART stations because of
their controversial content.
The Network had entered
into a contract to display
theirads - which criticized
U.S. policy with respect to
Israel and the actions of Is-
rael in the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip - in BART
stations. The ads were cov-
ered over when BART and
the advertising company
received complaints about
the message of the ads. The
ACLU-NC wrote a letter
protesting the action as a
clear case of censorship in
violation of the First Amend-
ment. In response to the let-
ter, it was agreed that the
Network would be permit-
ted to display posters at 15
BART stations for the con-
security interests as a
weapon to deny civil liberties. During the Persian
Gulf War, the ACLU-NC established a War
Emergency Desk to help prevent civil liberties
from becoming domestic casualties of the war.
Working in concert with our national office and
affiliates around the nation, the ACLU-NC
became part of a national network to monitor and
challenge violations to civil liberties. The War
Emergency Desk dealt with many civil liberties
violations on behalf of active duty military
personnel; people arrested at demonstrations; press
freedom; and Arab-Americans interrogated by the
FBI.
Directed by staff attorney Alan Schlosser who
was assisted by two legal interns, the War
Emergency Desk responded to over fifty callers a
week ranging from victims of police abuse to
employees who were told they could not wear a
peace button-or a yellow ribbon-at their work.
Conscientious Objection: Many active duty
and reserve military personnel were concerned
about their rights. The ACLU recruited volunteers
to train in counseling enlistees and reservists, and
provided in-depth training for lawyers, law
students and volunteers. In conjunction with the
ACLU-NC Field Department and the Central
Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO),
imposed. The ACLU also represented demonstra-
tors who were beaten by California Highway
Patrol officers during anti-war demonstrations.
The ACLU-NC complained to the Public
Utilities Commission about the exclusion of
passengers wearing peace buttons from municipal
buses; the PUC agreed that the exclusions were
impermissible
Discrimination against Arab-Americans:
The ACLU-NC protested the FBI's investigation
of Arab-Americans as discriminatory on the basis
of national origin. Among the many calls that
came through the War Desk was the case of a
school administrator who forced an Arab-
American student to be sent out of a local
community college classroom to report for an FBI
interrogation.
Press freedom: Press guidelines issued by the
Department of Defense came under fire from the
ACLU as a restriction of the media's ability to
cover the war. The ACLU-NC recruited 64 Bay
Area reporters and editors to sign a national
statement protesting the stringent Pentagon
restrictions on reporting; we also recruited media
outlets to be part of an amicus brief filed by the
national ACLU to challenge the government's
exclusion of freelance journalists from covering the
Gulf War.
sions such as "criminals" and "the Hitler of
General Assistance,' - for which retrac-
tion was demanded, the ACLU-NC argues
that government officials must expect to
have their official actions criticized in harsh
rhetorical languageas it is part of the Ameri-
can political tradition.
Free Expression on Campus
Racismand diversity are important pub-
lic issues that have emerged as an emotional
topic on many campuses. These issues in-
variably involve strong expressions of opin-
ion and fiery rhetoric, which must be pro-
tected under the First Amendment. The
ACLU-NC has striven to create a policy
that accommodates free speech and rights of
equality in the context of college rules
regulating hate speech. Our representation
of a UC Santa Cruz bursar in the case of
Vandenburg v. Kimura underscores the im-
portance of that policy.
Ruling that a letter written to a univer-
sity official calling him a racist is constitu-
tionally protected speech, the California
Court of Appeal dismisseda libel suit against
the author of the letter, UC Santa Cruz
Budget Director Victor Kimura.In his
letter, Kimura had written that the official
demonstrated "an incredible level of big-
otry" when he agreed to cancel a Filipino
ethnic theme event solely because it
coincided with the anniversary of Pearl
Harbor Day.
High School Students
Students in high schools also find that
their rights to freedom of expression are -
curtailed when they enter the schoolhouse
door. ACLU-NC attorney Alan Schlosser
has complained to numerous principals and
school officials on behalf of students who
were told they could not wear a certain T-
shirt, could not perform a play, or could not
publish a critical article in the school news-
paper. At Redwood High School in Marin
County, for example, the school newspaper
published an article charging that an un-
named teacher had been sexually harassing
students. The principal and the District
Superintendent said they thought it was
libelous and threatened to stop
publication. Afteraphone call from
the ACLU, the principal checked
into the story and finally agreed to
its publication. School officials
ended up praising the young
journalist's reporting skills.
After a letter from the ACLU-
NC, a San Francisco high school
principal agreed that a student
could remain quietly seated dur-
ing the Pledge of Allegiance, and
that the school would refrain from
requiring him to either stand or
leave the room. The ACLU also
protested the actions of a Moun-
tain View high school official in
confiscating pamphlets in the pos-
session of a student that criticized
the government's War on Drugs
as an assault on civil liberties; the
school subsequently agreed that a
student's free speech rights could
not be infringed based on the con-
troversial nature of the message.
The Sonoma Chapter of the
ACLU protested the policy of the school
district which banned distribution ofanony-
mous publications, including an under-
ground newspaper. The Board of Trustees
of the school district subsequently revised
its policies, deleting the requirement that
all articles and publications be signed.
cept
Dress Codes
One emerging battle in this arena is the
question of highly restrictive school dress
codes. In Oakland, the School Board has
proposed a sweeping new dress code which
would bar students from wearing fancy
sneakers, fashion jewelry, or even any cloth-
ing "designating membership in non-school
or private clubs." Questioning whether this
draconian policy would even prohibit the
wearing of an ACLU T-shirt, the ACLU
protested the policy by letter and testimony
before the school board. Although the ACLU
arguments were joined by parents, stu-
dents, and even school officials who object
to the dress code, the policy was passed by
the Oakland School Board in November.
Loyalty Oaths
Although loyalty oaths are clearly un-
constitutional, oaths that prohibit mem-
bership in groups that advocate the over-
throw of the government are still periodi-
cally presented to jobapplicants. The ACLU
Monterey Chapter wrote a letter to the City
of Monterey when it learned that such an
oath was being used as part of the applica-
tion for city employment. The city agreed
that the language in the oath was patently
unconstitutional and agreed to delete it.
Minors' Rights
As the assault on a woman's
right to choose continued in
the United States Supreme
islatures throughout the coun-
try, the ACLU-NC went to
trial in the most significant
reproductive rights case in Cali-
fornia-A merican Academy of
Pediatrics v. Lungren.
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On October 1, attorneys
representing a coalition of
medical organizations and
health-care providers delivered
opening arguments in San Francisco Supe-
rior Court challenging California's 1987
law requiring teenagers to obtain parental
consent ora court order before they can have
Court, Congress, and state leg--
as adult women. The law has never taken
effect because of the court orders issued in
the lawsuit.
In 1989, the state Court of Appeal up-
held the lower court order enjoining the
law. The Court ruled that the California
Constitution provides a right independent
of the federal Constitution to choose abor-
tion, which the state can infringe only if it
shows a compelling purpose.
Inthe month-long trial before San Fran-
cisco Superior Court Judge Maxine Chesney,
more than twenty expert witnesses pro-
vided extensive testimony on teenagers'
capacity to make informed decisions about
pregnancy and about the devastating im-
pact parental involvement laws have on
young women's health. Counselors, medi-
cal workers and judges from states that have
parental consent laws testified about the
physical, mental and emotional damage
suffered by teenagers who are forced to
confront unsympathetic or abusive parents.
Confronting a complex and intimidating
judicial system to obtain a court-authorized
abortion is not a realistic option for many
young women, the experts further testified.
Inaddition, medical personnel and coun-
selors from various hospitals and clinics
within California testified that the current
health care system in California promotes
adolescents' health by encouraging family
communication and ensuring informed con-
sent. The new law would treat abortion
differently from all other comparable health
services - including contraception, prena-
tal care and childbirth. After almost 20
years of experience with the current adoles-
cent health care system, the state cannot
show that teenagers need compulsory over-
sight in making reproductive decisions.
The two cases decided by the U.S. Su-
preme Court in 1990 (Hodgson and Akron)
upholding parental notification laws in
Minnesota and Ohio will not have an effect
in California because of the independent
state Constitution. But with the departure
of Justices Brennan and Marshall from the
Supreme Court, federal constitutional pro-
tection for the right to choose is in serious
jeopardy. American Academy of Pediatrics v.
of the Norplant contraceptive device as a
condition of her parole. This order, issued
only three weeks after Norplant was ap-
proved by the federal Food and Drug Ad-
ministration, was the first coercive use of
the contraceptive in the nation.
Arguing that government control of
human reproduction is inherently repres-
sive, the ACLU-NC filed an appeal on
behalf of Darlene Johnson in People v. John-
JON.
Johnson, a 27-year old mother of four
who was convicted of child abuse and sen-
tenced to a year in jail, suffers from high
blood pressure, diabetes and a heart mur-
mur - conditions for which the newly
approved Norplant is contraindicated. Five
days after the sentencing she filed a motion
to reconsider the probation order, stating
that she had accepted the condition out of
fear that she would be sent to state prison if
she refused. The trial court refused to modify
the conditions of probation.
In appealing the Norplant condition of
probation, the ACLU argues it invades
several dimensions of the right to privacy:
procteative choice, bodily integrity and
medical self-determination. In addition the
ACLU charged that state-coerced contra-
ception will promote neither Johnson's abil-
ity to be a better parent nor the state's
interest in protecting her.
Staffattorney Margaret Crosby, who has
litigated the major abortion rights cases in
California, also has prepared briefing papers
and conducted training sessions through-
out the country on state constitutional liti-
gation to protect reproductive rights.
RE
Addicted Women
Through measures like the "gag rule"
prohibiting doctors in federally funded fam-
ily planning clinics from even mentioning
abortion as an option, the government and
the courts continue to restrict women's
freedom of choice while limiting their ac-
cess to education and reproductive health
care. Pregnant women and new mothers
who have substance abuse problems are
increasingly being subjected to an array of
punitive measures. In the guise of protect-
While the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the "Gag Rule" prohibiting counseling about abortion in federally funded clinics,
the ACLU-NC went to trial in California to protect teenagers' reproductive rights.
an abortion.
After the parental consent law was passed
by the Legislature and signed by the Gov-
ernor in 1987, the ACLU-NC and the
Adolescent Health.Care Project of the Na-
tional Center for Youth Law filed a chal-
lenge in superior court seeking to block the
law. The plaintiffs argued that under the
California Constitution, minors have the
same right to privacy in reproductive choice
Lungren could provide an important prece-
dent for state constitutional protection for
women's reproductive rights. A decision is
expected in 1992.
aa
Norplant
California courts became the battle-
ground for another attack on women's te-
productive rights when a superior court
judge in Tulare County ordered a young
mother to undergo a surgical implantation
ing "fetal rights," drug addicted pregnant
women and addicted women who give birth
are criminally prosecuted and denied cus-
tody of their children. The ACLU argues
that prosecution is both cruel, in light of the
almost total unavailability of treatment
programs, and counterproductive, since it
deters women from obtaining prenatal care.
The ACLU-NC is monitoring these cases
and preparing a manual on legal support for
drug addicted pregnant women.
The ACLU-NC responded to
the AIDS crisis in this, the
tenth year of the epidemic, by
lending its legal resources to
those HIV infected persons
mostat risk of losing their civil
rights to intrusive and irratio-
nal government actions.
Health Care Workers
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
issued a significant decision in the case of
Dr. Doe v. FBI, ruling that a medical doctor
with AIDS can sue the FBI for discrimina-
tion under the Federal Rehabilitation Act.
The agency stopped sending its employees
to-Dr. Doe for routine physical examina-
tions when it learned that he had AIDS. All
experts in the case agreed that routine physi-
cals, like most non-surgical procedures,
present no risk of HIV transmission.
Though the Act classifies AIDS as a
disability, the U.S. District Court ruled in
1989 that federal agencies cannot be sued
under the Rehabilitation Act. The appeal,
filed by the ACLU-NC and the Employ-
ment Law Center, challenged that ruling; it
also charged that Dr. Doe's privacy was
invaded when the FBI used the information
that he has AIDS to stop sending agents to
him.
This appellate court ruling in favor of
health care workers is particularly timely in
face of a recent congressional demands for
mandatory HIV testing of all health care
workers and patients. Experts agree that
adherence to universal precautions and in-
fection control is the best solution for mak-
ing the health care environment safer.
The government has filed a petition for
rehearing ev banc in the Court of Appeals.
Confidentiality
In coalition with East Bay AIDS groups
and public health professionals, the ACLU-
NC persuaded the Union City Police De-
partment to halt the practice of gathering,
storing, and disseminating information
about HIV-infected citizens. The Depart-
ment said it had added HIV status to its
data base on residents so that police, fireand
other emergency personnel dispatched to
those residences could take precautions.
Upon learning of the computer fie,
attorney Matthew Coles wrote a letter de-
manding an end to the practice, pointing
out that it violated the right to privacy and
did nothing to prevent the spread of the
disease.
The most serious danger in the practice,
the letter explained, is that it gives the
officers a false sense of security. Since most
people with HIV do not know themselves
that they are infected, public safety officers
must treat all individuals they encounter as
infected, and use a few simple "universal"
precautions. The letter also said that keep-
ing the data confirms fears people hold
about lack of confidentiality of govern-
ment, and would, in fact, dissuade people
from getting tested.
The police and AIDS rights groups now
are working together to ensure that health
authorities understand the specific kinds of
exposures the police and firefighters face
and to devise policies which will both pro-
tect the officers and the rights of HIV
infected people.
The ACLU-NC has been providing train-
ing and advice to AIDS service providers
trying to cope with the maze of complex and
sometimes contradictory rules about confi-
dentiality of HIV infection. Our staff pre-
pared a chapter on confidentiality for the
"San Francisco AIDS Knowledge Base," a
medical text published by the New En-
gland Journal of Medicine.
In coalition with other public interest
law firms, the ACLU-NC prepared and
distributed a set of comments on the em-
ployment provisions of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, seeking to ensure that
these provisions are equitably and effec-
tively applied to people with AIDS.
Needle Exchange
In addition, perceiving thealarming rise
in HIV infection among intravenous drug
users, the ACLU-NC prepared a memo for
San Francisco city authorities explaining
why the Health Department has the legal
authority to operate a needle exchange pro-
gram to stop the spread of HIV. A decision -
on this matter by the City is pending. We
have also agreed to join an amicus brief to be
filed in People v. Halem, a criminal prosecu-
tion in Berkeley for operating a needle
exchange program. The brief argues that in
view of the unavailability of treatment and
the growing spread of HIV through needle
sharing, the defendant should be allowed to'
present the defense of necessity to the jury.
Nursing Homes
This summer, the ACLU-NC learned
that for several years, no skilled nursing
home in Marin County had accepted a
single AIDS patient. Working with local
AIDS service providers, hospitals and com-
munity groups, the ACLU-NC sent a letter
to all nursing homes in the area warning
that the refusal to accept patients with HIV
would violate state
James Camarillo filed a class action lawsutt to stop the segregation of
HIV positive inmates at the CMF in Vacaville.
and federal law, and
explained the law
in detail. After the
process began, a
number of patients
were admitted, and
community groups
are cautiously opti-
mistic that the
problem may be at
an end.
Inmates
A prisoners'
rights class action
suit, Gates v.
Deukmejian, which
was settled in U.S.
District Court, has
paved the way for
Major improve-
ments at the state's
2 largest medical and
psychiatric correc-
tional facility.
The ACLU-NC repre-
sented HIV-infected prison-
ers at the California Medical
Facility (CMF) in Vacaville
who challenged the state's
policy of segregating HIV
infected inmates in the state
prison system as a violation
of the Federal Rehabilita-
tion Act which prohibits dis-
crimination against the dis-
abled. The suit charged that
the segregated inmates were
denied access to virtually all
prison programs, jobs and
facilities. Other aspects of
the suit handled by the
Prison Law Office and a
group of private firms fo-
cused on overcrowding, in-
adequate medical treatment,
psychiatric care, recreational
Chiyuka Carlos -barred from Great America for allegedly
fitting a "gang profile' -is joining 17 other minority youths
in suing the amusement park for discrimination.
and educational facilities.
Under the terms of the Consent Decree,
a pilot program was launched with the
eventual goal of limiting segregation to
prisoners who posed a significant risk of
infecting others, and improving access and
programs for those who remained segre-
gated. The decree also provides for better
AIDS counseling and education as well as
improved medical care.
The Department of Corrections issued a
report in February which called the pilot
program a success and extended it as part of
the regular prison program. However, the
ACLU has concerns about the criteria used
to decide who will be segregated, and the
quality of programs for segregated inmates.
The ACLU also opposes the continued ex-
clusion of HIV-infected inmates from the
overnight visiting program for children
and families and from jobs in the food and
medical departments of the prison. These
concerns are being addressed through a
mediation system created by the Consent
Decree.
A similar class action lawsuit, Jane Does
v. Department of Corrections, filed in 1989 by
the ACLU-SC and the ACLU-NC on behalf
of six women inmates infected with HIV,
charges that the California Institute for
Women's "AIDS Isolation Unit" violates
inmates' rights to privacy, to decent condi-
tions of confinement, and toadequate medi-
cal care. The suit charges that the segrega-
tion policy illegally discriminates on the
basis of physical disability.
Womencurrently confined inthe "AIDS
Isolation Unit" are faced with overcrowded
and unsanitary living conditions and are
not permitted to participate in prison voca-
tional education and alternative programs.
They live in quarantine, causing them to be
publicly identified as "AIDS carriers." A
trial is set for October 1992.
Arguing that Proposition 96, the ballot
initiative passed in 1988 that requires health
care workers in jail to the report the names
of all HIV-infected inmates to corrections
officers who in turn disseminate it to most
staff, constitutes an invasion of privacy and
violates the Federal Rehabilitation Act, the
ACLU-NC is representing six San Fran-
cisco County jail inmates in Capaldiniv. San
Francisco Sheriff's Department.
In addition to violating the prisoners'
constitutional rights, the measure discour-
ages inmates from being honest with their
physicians and gives jail workers a false
sense of security.
The prisoners' position is supported by
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and by
most prominent experts on AIDS in correc-
tional facilities, including all of the physi-
cians who work in the jail. The plaintiffs
request for a preliminary injunction was
denied, but the case is proceeding to trial.
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The racially discriminatory use
of "gang profiles" was brought
out very sharply when the
ACLU-NC teceived numerous
complaints from African
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tn
American, Latino and Asian
teenagers whohad been thrown
out of Great America amuse-
ment park in Santa Clara be-
cause the park's security guards did not like
their "dress" or "attitude."
The ACLU-NC filed suit against Great
America Amusement Park on behalf of 16
minority youths who were ejected from or
denied admission to the amusement park.
The lawsuit also seeks damages against the
Santa Clara Sheriffs Department, which
worked closely with Great America in for-
mulating the "gang profile" policy.
~The suit argues that the exclusion of
these youths solely on the basis of their
appearance violates their civil rights, par-
ticularly in light of the fact that similarly
dressed non-minority youths were not ex-
cluded from the park.
Although Great America agreed to ter-
minate its "gang profile" policy, and base its
exclusions solely on conduct rather than
appearance, the lawsuit was filed as the
company refused to offer an adequate mon-
etary settlement to the youths.
This is not an isolated incident: the
ACLU also has protested the use of "gang
profiles" at county fairs, restaurants and
other sites throughout California. When
officials at the Sonoma County Fair issued a
policy banning the wearing of "colors" and
congregating in large groups, the Sonoma
Chapter of the ACLU criticized the rules as
vague and discriminatory. As a result, the
Santa Rosa Police Department and park
officials agreed to scrap the "gang profile"
and use only conduct-based admittance
regulations.
Eee
Police Mug Book
The ACLU-NC joined a number of civil
rights and Vietnamese organizations in pro-
testing the San Jose Police Department's
use of an all-Asian mug shot book. The
book contained pictures of Asian men be-
tween the ages of 18 and 25, most of them
Vietnamese, some of whom had never been
arrested or convicted of a crime. Because of
0x00B0
this mug book, one young man was falsely
accused of a crime and kept in jail for three
months. He now faces $20,000 in attorney
fees.
The ACLU charged that the mug book
perpetrates racial stereotypes, exacerbates
_ racial tensions, and violates individual rights.
As a result of the protests, the Department
agreed to abolish the book.
Language Minorities
Through litigation, research and coali-
tion-building, staff attorney Ed Chen has
become a national leader in the movement
to fight English Only laws, ordinances and
workplace rules. This campaign has be-
come especially important in California,
where, following the passage of a statewide
"English Only" initiative in 1986, such
laws have proliferated.
The ACLU won a major victory when
USS. District Court Judge Robert Schnacke
ruled in October that a meat processing
plant's "English-only" rule for production
workers discriminates illegally on the basis
of national origin.
The ACLU-NC, in conjunction with
the Employment Law Center, filed a com-
plaint with the Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Commission against the Spun Steak
Company on behalf of Priscilla Garcia and
Maricela Buitrago, challenging an English-
only workplace rule instituted in 1990.
Garcia and Buitrago, who have worked
for Spun Steak for 18 and seven
ees and employers during a nationwide
series of raids, "Operation Jobs," and subse-
quent workplace raids.
Attorneys for the ACLU-NC, MALDEF,
CRLA and the Employment Law Center
presented nearly 100 witnesses in the class
action lawsuit. During the six-month trial,
witnesses spoke about the racial slurs and
physical abuse suffered by Latino workers at
the hands of INS and Border Patrol agents.
In 1985, an injunction was issued by the
USS. District Court forbidding INS agents
from. entering worksites without a valid
warrant or consent, and from questioning
and detaining workers without reasonable
suspicion that the person was unlawfully in
the country. The court ruled that INS use of
a "general" warrant to search, seize, and
arrest persons who were not specifically
named in the search warrant was "patently
invalid."
The settlement, which was given pre-
liminary approval by the U.S. District Court
in November, forbids the INS from sin-
gling out and detaining individuals be-
cause of their race or appearance. Any arrests
made during a workplace search must be
based on a valid warrant or probable cause
that the person is an undocumented alien
and would escape before a warrant could be
issued. Under the settlement agreement,
people who felt they had been subjected to
illegal search or harassment could file a
complaint through a newly established ad-
During the Persian Gulf crisis, anti-war
demonstrators faced suppression of their
First Amendment rights.
final settlement is expected in December.
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Club Raids
In a lawsuit concerning INS raids out-
side of the workplace, Aguayo v. Ichert, the
US. District Court granted preliminary
approval toa monetary settlement of a civil
rights suit filed by the ACLU-NC to protest
a 1989 raid on a San Francisco nightclub
with a predominantly Hispanic clientele.
The class action suit was on behalf of all
persons who were present at Club Elegante
at the time of a joint raid by agents of the
and Beverage Control.
The lawsuit charged that the agents
violated the patrons' and employees' Fourth
Amendment rights by detaining every per-
son in the club for up to two hours without
having any reasonable or individualized
suspicion that the persons were involved in
any illegal activity or were unlawfully present
in the United States. It also charged that the
raid on the Hispanic-owned and primarily
Hispanic-patronized club violated equal
protection laws.
The final settlement is expected in De-
cember; each member of the class will re-
years respectively, each re-
ceived warnings for violating
the rule by speaking to each
other in Spanish.
The ACLU argued that
without some legitimate busi-
ness or safety reason, the only
purpose of sucha rule can be to
disadvantage persons who
speak languages other than
English. Such laws not only
create isolating and oppressive
work environments, they also
violate civil rights laws that pro-
hibit discrimination based on na-
tional origin.
Unfortunately, within two
weeks of that landmark decision,
Governor Wilson vetoed a bill by
Senator Milton Marks that would
have barred English-only rules at
the workplace absent a compel-
ling business necessity. That same
week a federal court in Los Ange-
les upheld a rule which prohib-
ited Filipino nurses from speak-
ing their own language at a
Pomona hospital.
Workplace
Raids
A landmark settle-
ment negotiated by a
coalition of public in-
terest law firms sets
standards for INS
conduct
workplace searches,
and sets up a new
complaint procedure
for workers whose rights have been
violated. Thesettlement caps Pear!
Meadow Mushroom Farms v. Nelson,
which was filed in 1982 and a
lengthy trial, which began in
1989. The plaintiffs charged the
Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) with violating the
constitutional rights of employ-
during |
ministrative procedure. The
INS and the state Department of Alcoholic
WHEN THE IMAGE
of Los Angeles police
officers brutally beating
Rodney King flashed on
TV screens across the
country in early March,
the kind of work that the
ACLU-NC Police Practices Project engages in on
a daily basis garnered national attention. The
videotaped police beating put police abuse back
on the front pages of the nation's newspapers after
what seemed like an absence of at least a decade.
However, as ACLU affiliates around the country
know, the absence of headlines did not mean the
persistent police abuse problem had been solved in
the interim.
For the last six years, the ACLU-NC Police
Practices Project, directed by attorney John Crew,
has focused on this problem and developed :
comprehensive strategies that, when combined
with our litigation program, can lead to lasting
reforms. As a unique effort within the ACLU
nationwide, the ACLU-NC Police Practices
Project became a key resource in the furor around
the country created by the King incident. As
police abuse grew into a nationwide issue, the
demand for information about and from the
Project intensified. Crew responded to a flood of
media calls from reporters from around the
country who were seeking basic information on
police abuse and accountability.
As a more long-term response, Crew co-authored
a national ACLU report on police abuse, Oz the
Line, addressing a comprehensive approach to the
problem. That report has now been widely
circulated by the national ACLU to activists,
community groups, ACLU affiliates and police
administrators around the country.
This valuable report stresses that simplistic
answers to police abuse-for example, firing a
police chief or instituting sensitivity training -
may provide the short-term illusion of reform but
are unlikely to produce lasting reductions in
police abuse. Instead, On the Line argues that five
key areas must all be considered and addressed if
brutality and abuse are to be minimized.
First, our society must be more realistic about
the mission of local police departments. Pretend-
ing that police can win a "war" on the overwhelm-
ing problems of drugs and crime, leads to
desperation tactics and the "us vs. them" mentali-
ty that pervades many police officers as they
confront "the enemy."
Second, police leaders must set an unmistakable
tone in words and deeds that police abuse will not
be tolerated. Ifa police chief shows contempt for
community concerns or downplays brutality when
it occurs, officers will reflect that contempt in
their behavior toward the civilians they are
supposed to be serving.
Third, police departments must reflect the
diversity of the communities they serve. Depart-
ments that are disproportionately composed of
white and male officers risk becoming out of
touch and isolated from the public.
Fourth, police policies and training must not be
the sole province of police insiders-but instead
should be set and conducted openly with public
participation. If police policies and tactics cannot
withstand public scrutiny, they should be
abolished or reformed.
Finally, there must be an open, independent and
credible system of accountability that will ensure
that violations of policies and standards will be
handled appropriately. Effective civilian oversight
mechanisms must be established and faithfully
implemented to combat the intolerable reality in too
many communities of the "police policing the police."
In addition, the Project worked with ACLU
lobbyists in Washington, D.C. on federal
legislation and in Sacramento on state legislation
that emerged in response to the incident.
The Project also continued its reform efforts on
the local level. For example, the Project participat-
ed in a special committee in San Francisco
convened by Mayor Agnos to identify needed
reforms in the police disciplinary and civilian
oversight systems. In Berkeley, the Project was
asked by the City Council to participate in a task
force which studied law enforcement issues related
to the homeless population.
During the Gulf War, the Project coordinated
with the ACLU-NC "War Desk" to respond to
complaints of police abuse during anti-war
demonstrations. The Project also helped defeat a
proposal before the San Francisco Recreation and
Park Commission to close Civic Center Plaza
overnight that would have removed people who
were holding vigils against the war across the
street from City Hall.
ceive monetary damages for the
violation of their constitutional
rights.
A
Affiliations
In the case of Price v. INS, the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
upheld a ruling by the INS deny-
ing citizenship to a British-born
permanent resident of the United
States who has been living and
working in this country for al-
most 30 years. The man refused to
answer one question on the natu-
ralization application that asked
him to list present and past mem-
bership in or affiliation with every
organization, association, club,
party or society in the U.S. or
another country. The ACLU-NC
represented the applicant, argu-
ing that the inquiry violated his
First Amendment right to free-
dom of association.
By adivided vote, the Court of
Appeals ruled in favor of the gov-
ernment, finding the application
and the underlying statute con-
stitutional. The ACLU-NC has
requested the federal appeals court
to consider the issue ev bane .
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Job Protection
In Castrejon v. Tortilleria La
Mejor, a federal judge ruled that
undocumented workers are pro-
tected from discrimination under
civil rights laws.
The suit was brought against
a food company on behalf of an -
- undocumented worker who was
fired from her assembly line job
after her maternity leave. In an
amicus brief with other public in-
terest law firms and labor unions,
the ACLU-NC argued that un-
documented workers are covered
by laws prohibiting employment
`discrimination in light of new
immigration laws.
This ruling underscores the
fact that all workers in this coun-
o)