vol. 60, no. 3

Wortume LX

this state.

nant teenagers.

en William Bonin became the

first person in California to be

executed by lethal injection,

reporters and other witnesses to the

February 23 execution were prevented by

prison officials from observing the com-

plete execution procedure. On April 9,

ACLU-NC attorneys filed suit on behalf of

journalists and First Amendment advo-

cates in U.S. District Court in San

Francisco challenging the secrecy of the

prison's execution procedures.

According to ACLU-NC managing

attorney Alan Schlosser, "The witnesses

were not permitted into the observation

room adjoining the San Quentin execution

chamber until after Bonin had been led in,

sKe)iNmusis

ACLU-NC

CONTINGENT

i

The Court has relegated |

teenagers to the status of second-class citi- |

zens in their ability to make decisions that |

NEWSPAPER OF THE AMERICAN Civil LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

aclu news

May/June 1996

will profoundly affect the rest of their lives:

whether to become a parent."

With that statement, ACLU-NC staff

counsel Margaret Crosby opened a hastily-

called press conference on April 4 to

respond to the 4-3 ruling issued by the high

MarIA ARCHULETA

Dian Harrison (1.) of Planned Parenthood and ACLU-NC staff attorney Margaret Crosby |

charged that the Supreme Court's ruling, if not reversed, will endanger the health of preg-

Journalists Sue San

Quentin over Secret

Execution Procedures

strapped tightly to a gurney, and intra-

venous tubes had been inserted into his

arm. Therefore, the witnesses were unable

to offer first-hand accounts of the execu-

tion procedures, including the difficulties

prison officials admitted it encountered in

connecting Bonin to the lethal injection

apparatus, the beginning of the procedures

which led to death."

Terry Francke, Executive Director of

the California First Amendment Coalition

(CFAC), an association representing over

200 news organizations, explained, "Journa-

lists were not afforded a meaningful oppor-

tunity to witness, cover or report on William

Bonin's execution because witnesses were

Continued on page 3

court upholding the state law requiring

minors to obtain parental or judicial con-

sent before they can get an abortion.

Crosby announced that the ACLU-NC

would ask the Supreme Court to rehear the

case and reconsider an opinion that is con-

stitutionally flawed. [See sidebar "ACLU

Petitions Court..."| In addition, the ACLU-

NC is asking the Court to delay implemen-

tation of the law for six months so that

health providers, lawyers and the juvenile

courts can set up the mechanism to hear

the teenagers' petitions.

The challenged law _ restricting

teenagers' access to abortion was passed

by the state Legislature in 1987 but has

never gone into effect because of court

orders issued in this lawsuit, American

Academy of Pediatrics v. Lungren, filed on

Non-Profit

Organization

US Postage

PAID

Permit No. 4424

San Francisco, CA

ACLU Seeks REviEW - LAW Is NoT IN EFFECT

California Supreme Court Denies

Minors' Access to Abortion

66 oday, the California Supreme |

Court issued a devastating blow

to thousands of young women in |

| behalf of a prestigious coalition of health

care providers. The law is still not in effect

and cannot be put into effect for at least

thirty days following the ruling. The Court

has a minimum of 80 days to decide

whether to grant the rehearing; the jus-

tices can extend the ruling for another 60

days. :

"This law injures those that it purports

to protect," charged Crosby. "The Court

upholds a law that will send thousands of

pregnant teenagers, from difficult homes,

through a stressful, humiliating court pro-

cedure to persuade judges to grant them

permission to terminate an unplanned

pregnancy.

"The California Supreme Court majori-

ty incredibly concludes that judges with

Continued on page 6

INSIDE: How the New Anti-Terrorism Act Threatens Civil Liberties cent What's Happening in Sacramento?

New Counter-Terror Law Compounds

the Tragedy of Oklahoma City

BY Dororuy M. EHRLICH

ACLU-NC Executive Director

n April 19, 1996, the media marked

Oi one-year anniversary of the

Oklahoma City bombing with scores

of stories from the tragic epicenter, while

the Congress did not even stop for a

respectful pause. They had work to do.

They were rushing a final version of the

counter-terrorism bill to the President's

desk for a signing to mark the occasion. A

deadline met.

What emerged on that historic anniver- |

sary is a piece of legislation which inflicts

yet another tragedy: the loss of fundamental

protections for all |

Americans. The new law that was signed by |

President Clinton on April 24 will profound- |

ly diminish civil liberties, yet do absolutely |

constitutional

nothing to combat future acts of terrorism.

This is not the first time in the history of this

country that a crackdown on civil liberties

has been paraded as a panacea to combat

threats to national security. Yet, with his

signature, President Clinton managed to do

what the last three Republican Administra-

tions were unwilling to do - eviscerate the

great writ of habeas corpus.

DEATH ROW APPEALS

The habeas "amendment" to the counter-

ACLU On-Line

Visit Constitution Hall

he ACLU is making the most of our

[Te on the information super-

highway. An on-line ACLU forum

and cyber-liberties newsletter can now

easily be accessed by those dialed in to the

cyberspace network.

ACLU EXPANDS TO THE WORLD

WIDE WEB

The ACLU now has a web page where

you can find information on civil liberties

issues ranging from reproductive rights to

the counter-terrorism bill and the death

penalty, as well as access to ACLU legisla-

tive testimony, press releases, letters to the

editor and policy papers. Check the follow-

ing address to find the ACLU:

http://www.aclu.org.

Visit "`CONSTITUTION HALL," THE

ACLU AMERICA ONLINE FORUM

Forum visitors can participate in

national legislative efforts, find out about

ACLU affiliate activities around the coun-

try, purchase ACLU materials, join the

ACLU and chat about civil liberties issues

with other on-line activists in the Free

Speech Zone.

To access Constitution Hall, just go to

keyword "ACLU." To get free America

OnLine software, call 1-800-652-4488.

CyYBER-LIBERTIES UPDATE

The "ACLU Cyber-Liberties Update,"

our on-line newsletter, focuses on the lat-

est developments in the emerging debate

over issues of privacy, free speech, and

access to on-line computer services. It is

distributed bi-weekly via e-mail to thou-

sands of civil rights advocates and com-

puter users free of charge, and provides

up-to-date information and analyses of

federal and state initiatives seeking to

restrict civil liberties in cyberspace, as

well as make calls for citizen-led actions.

This publications is especially useful in

the wake of the passage of the

Telecommuni-cations Act - and the cur-

rent ACLU lawsuit challenging its censor-

ship provisions.

To subscribe, to "ACLU Cyber-Liberties

Update", send an e-mail message to infoa-

clu@aclu.org with "subscribe ACLU" in the

subject line of your message.

America OnLine users can also access

the newsletter through the ACLU on-line

forum. Use the instructions above to get

into Constitution Hall, and the newsletter

text will be found in "Downloadable

Documents" and "Software Library."

Fee te ee

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

he thoughtful, rugged face of long-

[Nine ACLU activist Dick Criley

greeted readers of the Coast Weekly

- and beneath his cover photo was the

caption "Lifetime Achievement Award."

Monterey's weekly newspaper paid tribute

to Criley's lifelong dedication to civil rights

and equality by naming him a Local Hero of

1995.

ACLU members will not be surprised by

this new honor for Criley, the executive

director of the ACLU Monterey Chapter.

From his activism during U.C. Berkeley's

first Free Speech movement in 1934, to his

defiance of the House Un-American

Activities Committee, to his work today on

reproductive rights and affirmative action

- Criley has dedicated unis life to civil

rights and liberties.

The Coast Weekly and its 100,000 read-

ers in Monterey County were on the mark

to pick Criley for his lifetime of achieve-

MICHAEL MILLER

ment. But we knew we had something spe-

cial more than a decade ago: in 1985 the

ACLU-NC honored Criley with the Earl

Warren Civil Liberties Award for his out-

standing contributions to the battle for jus-

tice.

|

|

|

|

terrorism law threatens to remove the fed-

eral courts from their historic duty to

check the lawfulness of state criminal pro-

ceedings. The law imposes impossible time

limits for even indigent prisoners to bring

their appeals, and restricts almost all

death row inmates to only one federal

review of their sentence. Even prisoners

who uncover strong evidence of their inno-

cence after an original habeas proceeding

would be forever barred from court unless

`they could demonstrate their innocence by

"clear and convincing evidence."

Beyond the devastating dilution of

habeas corpus, the counter-terrorism legis-

lation itself includes drastic provisions to

expand the FBI's authority to infiltrate and

eavesdrop on any domestic group by lower-

ing the threshold of evidence needed to jus-

tify such invasive measures. The new law

gives the government the power to deport

aliens who have not been accused of com-

mitting a crime, based on secret informa-

tion, not available to the individual facing

deportation. The Executive Branch will

now have new power to declare any foreign

group a "terrorist" organization, and with

that label turn a charitable gift to a peace-

ful lawful group engaged in, for example,

earthquake relief or children's health care,

into a criminal act. What's more, an organi-

zation would not even be afforded a hearing

to determine why they are designated as a

terrorist group, or to appeal such a finding.

Acts of terrorism clearly are already ille-

gal under current law. Ironically, before this

legislation was even signed, law enforce-

ment had an arsenal of tools to respond to

terrorist acts - and such acts already were

on the decline. There was no need to sweep

away our civil liberties to achieve this phan-

tom goal. In fact, scholars who study terror-

ists believe that the reason the U.S. is

relatively free of terrorism compared to

many other areas in the world, is precisely

because of the freedoms we enjoy. Countries

where the most repressive laws are imposed

in the name of combatting terrorism and

where controversial political groups are

banned, such as Israel and northern

Ireland, have experienced an increase, not

an abatement, of acts of terrorism.

HOMEGROWN TERROR

One might have presumed as a result of the

indictments of U.S. citizens that followed

the bombings in Oklahoma City, that the

government's immediate rush to judgment

- the xenophobic call for further protec-

tion from foreign terrorists embodied in this

legislation - would have quickly subsided.

After all, what do homegrown militia

men, committed to challenging with vio-

lence the authority of the federal govern-

ment, have to do with the threat from

"foreign terrorists?" How will summary

deportations stop the native sons who

allegedly blow up federal buildings? How

will banning donations to childcare cen-

ters in Cuba or clinics in Palestinian

refugee camps keep our own neighbors

from building bombs in Michigan,

Montana or Oklahoma?

EMPTY PROMISES

The legislation President Clinton signed on

April 24 is filled with empty, cheap political

_ promises made at the expense of funda-

mental liberties. Could Oklahoma Senator

Don Nichols actually not understand, as he

escorts grieving victims to another press

conference, that his impassioned call for

wholesale restrictions on the ability to chal-

lenge state court convictions has virtually

nothing to do with the federal prosecutions

related to the Oklahoma City bombing?

Does President Clinton actually not under-

stand that? Will California Attorney

General Dan Lungren continue to lobby in

Washington to speed up federal death

penalty appeals, when nearly one-third of

the men and women awaiting execution on

California's Death Row do not even have

counsel appointed to represent them?

USUAL SUSPECTS

There is a long and dishonorable history in

this country of politicians using tragedy to

steer us on a collision course pitting civil

liberties against national security.

Seventy-six years ago the ACLU was

founded in response to a similar tragedy,

the 1920 Wall Street Bombing. Attorney

General A. Mitchell Palmer rounded up

thousands of the "usual suspects," people

whose names sounded foreign or who were

deemed anarchists. Thousands of people

fled; hundreds were deported. No suspect

was ever found.

After another bombing, the attack on

Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. government

responded by incarcerating over 120,000

US. citizens based solely on their ethnic

origin. During the McCarthy era, the civil

rights movement and the anti-war move-

ment, law enforcement officials broke the

law and destroyed people's lives by illegal-

ly infiltrating groups with whom they dis-

agreed.

This legacy endures with the

President's signing of today's counter-ter-

rorism law. Our government has once again

invoked the name of national security and

fighting crime to do violence to our civil lib-

erties. They will shut down our democratic

institutions, in order to save them.

Abandoning these bedrock principles will

not, however, make us safer. It will only

compound the tragedy of Oklahoma City.

ACLU News a= May/June 1996 = Pace 2

BY MARIA ARCHULETA

66 T's ACLU Student Advisory

Committee members believe it is

very important to involve your-

self in the issues that affect your life as stu-

dents, and ultimately as human beings.

When you walk out these doors at the end

of the day, we hope you take back a differ-

ent perspective, a deeper understanding

and a feeling of empowerment," said Shaffy

Moeel from Albany High School, opening

the ACLU-NC's fifth annual "Say What??!!

Students Celebrating Freedom of

Expression Conference."

On March 19, nearly a thousand high

school students from all over northern

California gathered on the U.C. Berkeley

campus, famed for igniting the Free

Speech Movement, to speak out on issues

facing young people today. This year's stu-

dent-run forum featured debates, music

and workshops during which the teenagers

addressed current controversial topics

including affirmative action, welfare

reform, school prayer, gay marriage, abor-

tion, censorship, school violence, immigra-

tion, and students' rights.

day, ACLU Student Advisory Committee

members Preetmohan Sabharwal of San

Jose's Live Oak High School and Natalie

Adona of Solano Community College debat-

ed whether student athletes should be sub-

jected to random drug testing. At the open

mike session following the debate, stu-

dents continued the debate - one the U.S.

Supreme Court addressed last session -

with candor and enthusiasm.

The student participants displayed not

only deep concern about the issues on the

Say What!!?? agenda but also a great sense

_ of responsibility to do something about the

problems the conference addressed. In the

workshop on school violence, moderated by

ACLU-NC Field Representative Lisa

Maldonado, one student pointed out that

teens themselves need to play a major role

in keeping campuses safe: "We didn't start

this [the cycle of violence], but every time

something happens they point to us. It's up

to us to do something about it."

Although the students shared concern

for the issues at hand, they did not always

agree on how to resolve them. In the ses-

sion on drug legalization, for example,

views on how to deal with drug abuse dif-

fered radically. One student reasoned, "If

you legalize marijuana, the jails won't be

full. Money won't be wasted on new jails."

To open the |

Students Tpa let

POV MU

The movers and shakers behind the conference - the ACLU-NC Student Advisory

Committee

Students Bobby Cowat of Vallejo High,

Minshu Liu of UC Berkeley, Yi-Yi Chang of

Albany High, and Divina Ojascastro of

Oakland Tech take a break between work-

shops.

Journalists Sue ...

Continued from page |

not permitted to observe Bonin's demeanor

or the manner of administration of lethal

injection. Instead, journalists were forced

to rely on prison officials for information

about these critical parts of the execution."

CFAC is a plaintiff in the suit.

"Death by execution is more than a pho-

to op or sound bite," said Peter Sussman,

President of the Northern California

Chapter of the Society of Professional

Journalists (SPJ), another plaintiff in the

suit. "Executions are the ultimate criminal

sanction, and we journalists owe it to the

public to tell that story as thoroughly and

accurately as possible. But we cannot do so

when secretive prison officials stage-man-

age executions to hide them from public

view.

"It is the responsibility of the conscien-

tious journalist to tell the public what is

going on behind those drawn curtains," said

Sussman, who represents 250 northern

California journalists in the 14,000-mem-

ber SPJ.

The suit, California First Amendment

Coalition v. Calderon, argues that the pub-

lic and the media have a First Amendment

right to have witnesses observe the com-

plete execution. "The right of public wit-

nesses and the media to be present at an

execution is established by more than 140

years of historical practice - and by the

importance of independent observation and

Others, vehemently opposed to this stance,

argued that drug abuse would escalate if

drugs were to be legalized.

Whatever their widely-differing opin-

ions, all of the participants took advantage

of the opportunity to express their views

freely without fear of adult censure. To

CNN reporters - who covered the entire

day's events - ACLU Student Advisory

Committee member Sabharwal said,

"When we ask students to evaluate the

conference, they say I'm really glad that I

had a chance to say what | wanted to say or

to ask the question that I had really been

wanting to ask about a whole myriad of

issues."

ACLU-NC Friedman Project Director

Nancy Otto added, "Say What??!! was.

planned by students for students. The

young people who worked on the confer-

ence put in a lot of effort to make it an

event in which ideas were exchanged

amongst the teenage participants, not

forced on them by adults." :

The conference was organized by

members of the ACLU's Student Advisory

Committee and the Howard A. Friedman

First Amendment Education Project and

sponsored by the ACLU-NC and the ACLU

Berkeley Student Caucus.

Members of the organizing committee

include Natalie Adona and Julie Stovall of

Solano Community College; Omega

Aquisap, Bobby Cowat, Dan Grevious,

Michael Lucas, Jennifer Seidenberg and

Nikki White of Vallejo High School; Rini

Chakraborty, Jennifer Cheng, Minshu Liu,

Shannon Morzov and Carletta Price of UC

Berkeley; Yi-Yi Chang, Raha Jorjani,

Mahsa Khodabakhsh, Shaffy Moeel and

Brian Schweitzer of Albany High School;

Juila Deutsch, lesha James and Julie

Pacheco of Alameda High School; Ogai

Haider of Ygnacio Valley High School,

Leslie Jang, Patrick Lapid and Edmund

Lee of Hogan High School; Jaiva Larsen of

Lick Wilmerding High School; Pamela Ann

Misa of Oceana High School; Divina

Ojascastro of Oakland Technical High

School; Claire Pierce of Briones High

School; Preetmohan Sabharwal of Live

Oak High School; Thelmisha Vincent of

Wallenberg High School; and Andrea Wang

of Tufts University.

Additional reporting by Marvin Lew

and Jennifer Green.

allowed to actually witness most of the

execution because it was and remains my

opinion that the steps we were not being

allowed to witness are among the most

critical parts of the execution. The limita-

tions placed on what we were allowed to

observe marked a dramatic departure

from past executions.

"T believe most of the process was hid-

den from witness view and instead was fil-

tered through prison officials. I had no

choice but to rely on prison officials for

much of the information I needed to report

to the public regarding the execution. In

turn, the public had no independent obser-

vation or reporting of many important

aspects of the execution such as Bonin's

demeanor, the process of preparing Bonin

for lethal injection, and any possible prob-

"We cannot tell the complete and accurate

story when secretive prison officials stage-

manage executions to hide them from _

public view."

- Peter Sussman, President

Society of Professional Journalists

reporting for an informed public debate,"

explained ACLU-NC cooperating attorney

David Fried of Friedman, Ross and Hersh. P.C..

Print, radio and television journalists

who covered the Bonin execution have pro-

vided declarations for the lawsuit; they

include: Jason Beaubien of KQED-FM, Mark

Hedlund of KXTV News in Sacramento,

Dennis McCarthy of the Los Angeles Daily

News, and Anthony Moor of KRON-TV News.

According to radio reporter Beaubien, "I

was surprised to learn that we would not be

lems with the process or apparatus,"

Beaubien stated.

KRON-TV news reporter Moor stated,

"As a result of the limitations placed on

which portions of the execution would be

witnessed, it was extremely difficult for me

to adequately perform my responsibilities

of reporting the first lethal injection exe-

cution in California. As a result of those

limitations, | was unable to provide inde-

pendent and objective perspectives on the

process of the execution to the people of

the State of California."

Attorney Fried said, "The witnesses

have always watched the inmate being

restrained and attached to the execution

apparatus, which is a necessary step in the

process. The purpose of having witnesses

is undermined by refusing to permit the

witnesses to observe the insertion of IV's

into a restrained inmate, which is when

most problems in other lethal injections in

other states have occurred. But whatever

the facts are about lethal injection, our

interest is in letting the public get the facts

from the witnesses," he added.

Because there is an execution sched-

uled at San Quentin for May 3, the ACLU is

seeking an immediate injunction to pre-

vent the prison from imposing the same

kind of restrictions that it did during the

Bonin execution.

"This case raises the classic First

Amendment issue - the extent to which

the government can use its power and dis-

cretion to deprive the public of its right to

receive important information on an issue

of paramount public concern," said

Schlosser.

"Unless the court acts, prison officials

will have the power to carry out

California's first two lethal injection exe-

cutions without providing the public with

information critical to maintain an inde-

pendent check on the acts the State car-

ries out in the public's name," he added.

The plaintiffs, the California First

Amendment Coalition and the Society of

Professional Journalists, are represented

by ACLU-NC managing attorney Alan

Schlosser and staff counsel Kelli Evans;

cooperating attorneys Jeffrey S. Ross, Jill

Hersh, David M. Fried and Michael J. Kass

of Friedman Ross and Hersh, P.C.; and coop-

erating attorney Lynne S. Coffin of the Law

Offices of Coffin and Love.

ACLU News = May/June 19968 Pace3

Contract on California

The Assembly's New "Enemies List''

BY VALERIE SMALL NAVARRO

ACLU Legislative Advocate

` ) yith about 40 percent of the regis-

tered voters making it to the polls,

election year politics and politi-

cians' greed set the stage for the Contract

on California targeting women, children,

and people with disabilities.

Aides to Assembly Speaker Curt

Pringle (R-Garden Grove) and Assembly-

member Scott Baugh (R-

Huntington Beach) pled

guilty to misdemeanor

charges of falsifying cam-

paign documents. They had

recruited a woman to run as

a decoy Democrat to siphon

votes from the real

Democrat in Baugh's Orange

County race. District

Attorney Michael Cappizzi,

a Republican, . indicted

Assembly member Baugh on

four felony and 18 misde-

meanor counts in connec-

tion with his election.

The slim Republican

Assembly majority (41

Republicans, 38 Democrats,

and 1 Reform Party mem-

ber) inspires the right wing

of the party to marshall the

more moderate members'

support for bills that in the

past would not have passed

even the "laugh test." In

front of the cameras,

Speaker Pringle discusses

tax cuts and the need to

keep business in California,

while his colleagues launch frontal

assaults on civil liberties and basic rights.

THE ENEMY: WOMEN AND PEOPLE

OF COLOR

The new anti-affirmative action bill AB

2468, Assemblymember Bernie Richter

(R-Chico), flew out of the Republican-con-

trolled Assembly Judiciary Committee.

This bill prohibits public entities from con-

sidering gender and race for hiring or

admissions to educational institutions. In

a perverse attempt to add teeth, the bill

imposes felony penalties - including one

year in state prison - on any public

employee who fails to comply with its man-

date. In addition, the three other bills that

would amend the California Constitution

to prohibit affirmative action are still pend-

ing (ACA 2 - Richter, R-Chico; SCA 30 -

Senator Ray Haynes, R-Murietta; and

SCA 10 - Senator Quentin Kopp, I-San

Francisco).

We expect a mean fight on the floor of

the Assembly on Richter's AB 2468 -

implement affirmative action, go to jail bill.

We urge ACLU members to continue

informing their assemblymembers on the

need for affirmative action to remedy gen-

der and race discrimination. The key

Republicans to target are those that we and

other civil rights advocates successfully

held on a similar bill that would have elimi-

nated the minority and women business

enterprise program; they include:

Assemblymembers Jim Cunneen (R-San

Jose), Peter Frusetta (R-Tres Pinos),

Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), Jim

Morrissey (R-Santa Ana), and Brian

Setencich (R-Fresno). In addition,

Assemblymember Dominic Cortese (Reform

Party-San Jose), a former Democrat who

failed to cast his vote with the Democrats

last time, needs to hear from ACLU mem-

bers in his district.

THE ENEMY: WOMEN'S

REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM

Mimicking their Washington D.C. counter-

parts, conservative Republicans introduced

two bills AB 2984 - Assemblymember Bob

Margett, R-Arcadia and SB 1999 -

Senator Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta pro-

hibiting a certain type of abortion, intact

dilation and evacuation (D and E) usually

used in late term abortions. This method is

a variation of the most commonly used sec-

ond-trimester abortion procedure.

These bills would further victimize

women and families who find themselves in

the most heartbreaking of circumstances:

the medical tragedy of a wanted pregnancy

gone hopelessly wrong.

These bills are unconstitutional on at

least three independent grounds. They bana

vaguely-described type of abortion while

making no exception for a procedure neces-

sary to preserve a woman's health. The sec-

ond error lies in the bills' failure to

acknowledge the pregnant woman's consti-

tutional right to an abortion prior to viability

- banning a method of abortion, without

regard to the stage of pregnancy when the

abortion is to occur. Finally, these measures

are unconstitutional because they prohibit a

safer medical procedure and necessitate the

use of amore dangerous one instead. All who

believe that a woman's health must be the

paramount consideration should write let-

ters to their Senators and

Assemblymembers. The Assembly bill, AB

2984, already passed the Health Committee

April 4"March Fight Right" in San Francisco demonstrated the powerful opposition repressive and

scapegoating politics on issues ranging from affirmative action to reproductive rights and immigration.

and we anticipate a dramatic floor fight.

Other measures that would severely

restrict reproductive choice include AB

2665 - Assemblymember' Bruce

Thompson, R-Fallbrook would prohibit

state funds for abortions; and AB 2774

from the Chair of the Assembly Judiciary

Committee Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside)

which would require a 24-hour waiting

period with state-scripted "informed con-

sent" information before a woman could

obtain an abortion.

In addition, the conservatives are

attempting to bar state funds from being

used to promote birth control to unmarried

minor women AB 3459 - Assemblymember

Bruce Thompson, R-Fallbrook.

ACLU members should write letters

supporting women's - and especially

young women's - access to affordable

reproductive health care in anticipation of

Assembly floor skirmishes.

Finally, Governor Wilson once again

zeroed-out funding for prenatal care for

undocumented women in the state budget.

We will be repeating last year's

battle to ensure that the

funds are provided.

THE ENEMY:

CHILDREN, THE AGED,

BLIND, AND DISABLED

The Governor called a special

session to make permanent

cuts to assistance and stop

the automatic restoration of

the cost-of-living increases

for families who receive Aid

to Families with Dependent

Children (AFDC) and the

aged, blind, and disabled

Californians who receive sup-

plemental Social Security

checks. Simultaneously, the

Governor demanded a 15 per-

cent reduction in personal

income, and bank and corpo-

ration tax rates.

With some small changes

to protect the elderly, blind

and disabled, ABIxxxx -

Assemblymember Tom

Bordonaro, R-Paso Robles,

passed the Assembly.

However, after contentious

hearings and a fiery floor debate, the

Senate narrowed the bill to extend only

until November 1, 1996 the cuts and the

freeze on the cost-of-living increases.

Therefore, all the issues will be considered

in the context of the 1996-97 Budget Act.

Senators and Assemblymembers need

to hear what ACLU members think about

cutting bare maintenance payments to

poor children, the elderly and people with

disabilities while cutting taxes to the

wealthy.

We should ask them, "Whose `family val-

ues' are these?" :

Davip BACON

Governor Thwarted in Bid to

Halt Suit

Against UC Regents' Vote on Affirmative Action

n April 15, San Francisco Superior

O Court Judge William Cahill denied a

motion by Governor Pete Wilson to

dismiss the ACLU lawsuit charging that the

U.C. Regents' vote dismantling affirmative

action was planned behind closed doors

and is therefore null and void.

The ruling came in Molloy and the

Daily Nexus v. UC Regents filed in February

on behalf of the U.C. Santa Barbara student

newspaper and its political reporter Tim

Molloy by the ACLU affiliates of Northern

and Southern California, the First

Amendment Project, Equal Rights

Advocates and the Lawyers' Committee for

Civil Rights.

The suit charges that Governor Wilson

and the Regents violated the state's Bagley-

Keene Open Meeting Act that requires pub-

lic bodies to meet and take action in open

session. "The Governor and a quorum of

the UC Board of Regents in a series of tele-

phone calls secretly committed to elimi-

nate affirmative action in the U.C. system

prior to the July 20 meeting at which the

formal vote was taken," explained ACLU-

NC staff attorney Ed Chen.

The Governor sought to dismiss the

suit claiming that it was filed beyond the

legal deadline, more than 30 days after the

July 20 vote. But, the plaintiffs responded,

Wilson's office had engaged in "fraudulent

concealment" by denying he had called any

of the Regents about the vote and by

stalling on the student reporter's repeated

requests for the Governor's phone records

to document any calls he made to Regents.

Judge Cahill agreed with the student

journalists. "An absolute time period leaves

the public without a remedy if the govern-

ment decides to take an action behind

closed doors and conceal such facts from

the public for 30 days after taking such

actions," he ruled.

"Judge Cahill's decision affirms the

public's right to know and to participate in

public decisions that have a far-reaching

impact on the people of California," said

ACLU-SC attorney Dan Tokaji. "The

Bagley-Keene Act safeguards the right of

all Californians to information about the

action taken by the Board of Regents. The

Governor and the Regents cannot get away

with violating the act simply by concealing

their wrongdoing for 80 days," he added.

Governor Wilson has vowed to appeal

_ the ruling. If the order is upheld, the ACLU

and other civil rights and First Amendment

lawyers will undertake discovery to prove

Wilson and the Regents formed a covert

"agreement to agree" on the vote to abolish

affirmative action in advance of the public

meeting.

ACLU News a May/June 1996 = Pace 4 :

here is no way this

anti-civil liberties jug-

gernaut in the state

Legislature can be stopped

without your active support.

Here are just some of the bills

the ACLU 1s targeting for

defeat. So pick a bill, or a civil

Fight the Right

1996 ACLU Target Bills

liberties area and let your legislators know how you feel on these key issues.

Because the Assembly committees are skewed to the right so heavily and

virtually every bad bill will make it to the floor of the Assembly, civil liber-

ties advocates should write to their own Assemblymembers. However,

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Unless noted otherwise:

AB bills: Letters should go to your

Assemblymember.

SB bills: Letters should go to the Senate

Criminal Procedure Committee.

1. THREE-STRIKES

AB 880 (Morrissey) - Eliminates judicial

discretion to strike priors and to sen-

tence wobblers as misdemeanors.

Passed the Assembly. Letters should go

to the Senate Criminal Procedure

Committee.

2. DEATH PENALTY

Each of these bills creates a new spe-

cial circumstance warranting the

imposition of the death penalty for the

following acts:

SB 1404 (Ayala) - Killing of a victim

under the age of 14.

SB 1376 (Peace) - Attempting to kill more

than one person.

AB1741 (Bordonaro) - Carrying out a

murder to further gang activities.

3. INMATES' RIGHTS

SB 1221 (Calderon) and AB 411

(Bordonaro) eliminate the rights of

prisoners to visits from family mem-

bers. SB 1221 has passed both houses

of the Legislature. Write members of

the Conference Committee (ask us for

list, if interested). Letters on AB 411

should go to the Senate Criminal

Procedure Committee.

AB 2044 (Granlund) - Implements chain

gangs in prison system.

SB 1616 (Leonard) - Establishes hard

labor program in and out of prisons

wherein inmates wear leg-irons, manu-

ally break rocks, and are not compen-

sated for work.

4. POLICE PRACTICES

SB 282 (Petris/or another author) -

Imposes a 1-year deadline to file a com-

plaint of police abuse and mandates

that "unfounded" complaints (which is

not defined) shall not be maintained in

a police officer's personnel file. Write

letters to Assemblymembers.

AB 2637 (Bowler) - Creates the crime of

filing a frivolous lawsuit against a

peace officer, chilling an individual's

right to make police abuse complaints.

AB 2276 (Thompson) - Prohibits recovery

for injuries suffered by felons injured

during certain crimes. Permits, among

other things, the police to beat and/or

kill felons and escape liability.

AB 3128 (Boland) - Similar to AB 2276.

AMENDMENT

Unless noted otherwise:

AB bills: Letters should go to your

Assemblymember.

SB bills: Letters should go to the Senate |

Criminal Procedure Committee.

1. DEFAMATION

AB 2603 (Hawkins) - Criminalizes defama-

tion (currently only civil liability). -

SB 2051 (Calderon) - Criminalizes

defamation where the person makes a

profit.

2. MEDIA ACCESS

AB 2131 (Rainey) - Criminalizes the con-

tinuing of a live broadcast after being

told to stop by a peace officer.

a ST GACOUEHIVE0x2122.

RIGHTS

Unless noted otherwise:

AB bills: Letters should go to your

Assemblymember.

1. ABORTION

AB2665 (Thompson) - Prohibits state

funds from being used to perform,

assist, or encourage abortions, except

to the extent required by federal law.

AB2984 (Margett) and SB 1999

(Haynes) - Prohibit the D and E proce-

dure. AB 2984 passed the Assembly

Health Committee.

AB 2774 (Morrow) - Enacts the Woman's

Right to Know Act that would require a

state scripted "informed consent"

process and a 24-hour waiting period

for women seeking abortion services.

2. YOUNG WOMEN'S HEALTH

CARE

AB 3459 (Thompson) - Prohibits state

funds from being used to promote birth

control devices to unmarried minor

women.

3. PRENATAL CARE FOR

UNDOCUMENTED WOMEN

See Immigrants' Rights, below.

IMMIGRANTS?'

RIGHTS

AB bills: Letters should go to your

Assemblymember.

1. ENGLISH-ONLY

AB 1998 (Knight) - Requires that all vot-

ing materials used in the conduct of

elections for public office be printed

only in English. This bill has already

passed Assembly Elections Committee.

AB 2183 (Margett) - Implements the 1986

ballot measure that amended the

California Constitution to state "English

is the official language of the state of

California" requiring that all political

subdivisions take reasonable steps to

preserve, protect, and enhance the role

of English as the official language.

AB3017 (Hoge) - Recognizes English as

the common language of the state and

mandates that no public school may

offer bilingual instruction to an indi-

1

|

because we have a greater

chance of stopping bills once

they get to a Senate policy com-

mittee, we have listed those

committees. (Unless noted oth-

erwise, the bill has not yet been

heard in the policy committee

of its house of origin. )

Remember that you can access all bills and find out where each is

in the legislative process through the Senate web page at

hitp://www.sen.ca.gov.

vidual for more than 2 years.

2. PRENATAL CARE FOR

UNDOCUMENTED WOMEN

Governor's Budget - Eliminates state

funding for pregnancy-related health

care - including prenatal care - for

undocumented women.

Assemblymember and your Senator.

aoe Evi eee

Unless noted otherwise:

AB bills: Letters should go to your

Assemblymember.

SB bills: Letters should go to your Senator.

1. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

ACA 2 (Richter), SCA 30 (Haynes) and

SCA 10 (Kopp) - Eliminate affirmative

action and are similar to the California

Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI).

AB 2468 (Richter) - Eliminates affirma-

tive action in employment and admis-

sion to public educational institutions.

Passed Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Write your

AB 2476 (Baugh) - Eliminates considera-

tion of race for admission to any public

educational institution.

AB 3307 (Brewer) - Eliminates participa-

tion goals in public contracting (one

section of a larger bill).

2. RECOGNITION OF

LESBIAN AND GAY

MARRIAGES

AB 1982 (Knight) and AB 3227 (Knight)

- Prohibit California from recognizing

same sex marriages entered into in oth-

er states. AB 1982 passed the

Assembly; write letters to Senate

Judiciary Committee; write letters on

AB 8227 to your Assemblymember.

3. HIV ISSUES

AB 2812 (Bordonaro) - Adds HIV infec-

tion to list of diseases that are required

Health Services.

exposing another to HIV. Includes fail-

ure to inform sexual partner of HIV +

status even when engaged in protected

sex.

to be reported to the Department of

AB 2147 (Rainey) - Creates new crimes of

Be Prepared...

to Fight for

Affirmative

Action

READ UP-.

New Brochure' 0x00B0

on Affirmative

Action

DavID BACON

The new ACLU brochure Affirmative

Action California: Why It Is Still Necessary, a

collaborative publication of the state's three

ACLU affiliates, is full of useful facts on the

history and impact of affirmative action as

well as powerful arguments in defense of

the programs.

The 6-page pamphlet is an informative,

asy-to-use tool for speakers and organiz-

rs. More than 10,000 copies have already

been distributed around the state.

To order your copy, send in the coupon

AND SIGN uP!

below.

I Support Affirmative Action

Keep me posted on ACLU activities

Send me acopy of Affirmative Action California

NAME

ADDRESS

City STATE Zip

PHONE (DAYS) ee)

FAX E-MAt.

PLEASE FILL OUT AND RETURN TO

FieLtD DEPARTMENT, ACLU-NC, 1663 Mission STREET, #460, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103.

ACLU News = May/June 1996 8 Pace 5

BY MariA ARCHULETA

City Manager of Mill Valley sent a

"request" to the Mill Valley Art

Commission that no nude artwork be dis-

played as part of the City's regular exhibits

of local artists. The issue was thrust into

public view when, as a result of the policy,

the then-Chair of the Art Commission

informed artist Juliana Jensen that her

exhibit of 80 charcoal drawings of nudes

could not be shown at City Hall. However,

after a public outcry and a letter from the

ACLU, the City Manager rescinded his ban

on nude art.

The City Manager claimed he decided

to ban artwork depicting nudes in the City

Hall and public library to avoid sexual

harassment lawsuits.

In response, ACLU-NC staff attorney

Ann Brick wrote Mayor John Leonard and

the City Council denouncing the ban as

unconstitutional: "It now appears, that out

of fear of giving offense to some undefined

and undetermined segment of either its

workforce or the public, Mill Valley may

Pp referring naked walls to nude art, the

Naked in Mill Valley

Artist Juliana Jensen and her drawings.

retreat from its support for the arts by out- |

lawing the nude figure from the art shown

in public buildings. Fear of giving offense,

however, must not overshadow the impor-

Mitt VALLEY HERALD

tant principles of freedom of expression

that are at stake here."

ACLU-NC Marin Chapter representa-

tives met with the Mayor to discuss the

issue, and Chapter activist Eileen Siedman

wrote a letter to the editor published in

local papers, "By focusing the debate

around whether their meeting room is a

workplace or a public facility, the City

Council is diverting attention from the real

issue: censorship of context, a violation of

the First Amendment to the Constitution,"

Siedman charged.

In response to protests over the "no-

nudes' policy, the Art Commission spon-

sored a public forum on March 20, at which

ACLU representatives joined Mill Valley

residents, public officials, and a panel of

experts to address the ban.

In the meantime, City Attorney Craig

Labadie reviewed the ban at the City

Council's request and reported that Mill

Valley could either eliminate public art

shows altogether or relocate city employ-

ees offended by nude drawings. It could

not, however, ban nude art. Labadie told

the Marin Independent Journal, "The city

is under no obligation to host art shows, but

once it does so it must abide by constitu-

tional freedom of speech and expression."

8

Seamstresses Win

Worker Protections

BY Marvin Lew

n March 18, Asian Immigrant

(ions: Advocates (AIWA) signed

an agreement with San Francisco

dress designer Jessica McClintock which

"ensures workers' rights and promotes

awareness of fair labor practices," accord-

ing to the U.S. Department of Labor which

announced the settlement.

AIWA, a community based non-profit

Supreme Court ...

Continued from page |

crowded dockets are in a better position

than doctors to evaluate whether a teenag-

er is capable of giving informed consent for

reproductive health care, and that judges

should decide whether it is in the best

interest of an immature adolescent to

force her to become a parent," she added.

About 30,000 teenagers each year seek

abortions in California. According to a

1987 legislative estimate, more than 11,000

pregnant teens will go to court to seek the

judicial bypass.

OVERWORKED JUDGES, MANY

TEENS

"Tt is inconceivable that overworked judges

will be able to grant these petitions in a

timely manner. Judicial review endangers

young women because of the delay it will

cause in carrying out the procedure," said

Charlotte Newhart, Chief Administrative

Officer of the American College of

Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "When

young women are denied access to an abor-

tion, their lives are endangered."

Planned Parenthood President Dian

Harrison announced, "We want young

women to know that they can still come to

Planned Parenthood for services. For at

least the next thirty days, the law will not

take effect."

The 60-page Supreme Court decision

was authored by Justice Stanley Mosk, and

joined by Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas,

Justice Marvin Baxter, and recently retired

Justice Armand Arabian. Separate dis-

sents came from the incoming Chief

Justice, Ronald George, and the two

women Justices Joyce Kennard and

Kathryn Mickle Werdegar.

Justice Kennard's dissent charged that

advocacy group, launched a campaign two

years ago on behalf of twelve seamstresses

who had not been paid for work they had

completed for a garment manufacturer

contracted by McClintock. The seamstress-

es were owed $20,000 in back wages by the

contractor who had declared bankruptcy.

For two years, the displaced workers

peacefully picketed at McClintock's San

Francisco retail outlet and her Pacific

the majority relied on "assumptions

grounded in nothing more than comfort-

able platitudes and folk wisdom.

"The benevolent

parental involvement is deceiving," Justice

Kennard wrote, adding that in other states

"the laws have serious adverse effects and

yield few benefits for children or society."

[There are 38 other states with parental

notification laws; they are enforced in 29 of

those states. |

"The majority arrives at this decision

only by ignoring the most comprehensive

trial record, and trial court findings, in the

country on the real effect of government-

coerced parental involvement in a teenag-

er's abortion decision," Crosby noted. "That

evidence, from distinguished experts from

around the country, proved that coerced

parental involvement laws represent a

failed experiment with young girls' lives."

PRIVACY RIGHTS

The lower courts have ruled that the law

violates teenagers' rights of privacy and

equality under the California Constitution.

After a month-long trial in October

1991, San Francisco Superior Court Judge

Maxine Chesney ruled that the law violat-

ed teenagers' rights of privacy and equality

under the California Constitution and

issued a permanent injunction in June

1992 barring the state from enforcing the

law. During the trial more than twenty

expert witnesses - including doctors and

appearance of |

Heights residence in an effort to make the |

designer pay the wages due to them. In an |

attempt to stop the picketing, McClintock |

sued AIWA in San Francisco Superior Court

and in July 1994, she was granted a limited

Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), limit-

ing the noise level of the pickets and the

size of the residential picketing.

The ACLU-NC, joined by the Asian Law

Caucus and cooperating attorney Arthur

Brunwasser, defended the picketers. "The

suit was an attempt to infringe upon core

First Amendment rights" said ACLU-NC

staff attorney Ed Chen. In June 1995

McClintock dismissed her case against

AIWA, marking a free speech victory for

the picketing workers.

other health care providers who work with

teenagers, psychologists and judges from

states where similar laws are in effect -

testified about the disastrous effect of such

laws on the physical, mental and emotional

health of teenagers who are forced to con-

front unsympathetic parents or navigate a

formidable judicial system to obtain a

court order for an abortion. In addition,

California physicians and counselors testi-

fied that the state's current system insures

informed consent. National experts also

testified that adolescents are capable of

making informed decisions about their

reproductive health care.

The Court of Appeal upheld Judge

The March 18 agreement, announced

by U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich,

calls for the establishment of a garment

workers' education fund, scholarships for

students and garment workers, and bilin-

gual publications educating garment

workers on fair labor standards. The agree-

ment also provides for two toll-free phone

lines, in English and Cantonese, to facili-

tate worker complaints of wage and hour

laws violations, a provision of the agree-

ment AIWA Campaign Coordinator Stacy

Kono describes as "empowering for gar-

ment workers."

Marvin Lew ts an intern in the Public

Information Department.

Chesney's ruling, stating, "The evidence

was nothing less than overwhelming," that

the California law would injure the very

interests in purports to promote: the wel-

fare of young women and the harmony of

their families.

Plaintiffs are represented by ACLU-NC

staff attorneys Crosby and Ann Brick,

Abigail English of the National Center for

Youth Law, and Linda Shostak, Annette

Carnegie, David Robertson and _ Lori

Schechter of Morrison and Foerster who

have litigated the case on a pro bono basis

as cooperating attorneys for the ACLU-NC

and the NCYL.

The suit was filed on behalf of the

American Academy of Pediatrics

(California District IX); the California

Medical Association, the American College

of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

(District IX); Planned Parenthood of

Alameda/San Francisco and Philip Darney,

M.D., former Director of Family Planning

at San Francisco General Hospital.

The case was argued before the

California Supreme Court on January 10. @

Gay Teens No Longer

Stigmatized

AT SACRAMENTO JUVENILE HALL

BY MarIA ARCHULETA

of violence, a gay teen detained at

S ubjected to harassment and threats

Sacramento County Juvenile Hall

called the ACLU-NC to reclaim his rights to |

privacy, equal protection, due process and |

ACLU News = May/June 1996 = Pace 6

freedom from cruel and unusual punish-

ment.

During booking, juvenile hall staff

questioned the young man about his sexu-

al orientation and learned that he was gay.

Because of this information, given in

Continued on page 7

Strauss

BY CHERI BRYANT

_ Development Director

Fran Strauss was honored with a sur-

prise award and standing ovation at

the Founders Circle dinner on March 17 at

Greens restaurant. The event marked the

finale of the annual fundraising campaign.

Donors to the ACLU Foundation Founders

Circle (donors of $1,000 or more) gather

each year at the dinner to celebrate the

work of the ACLU and to recognize out-

standing contributors and volunteers.

"This award is only a small symbol of

our love for and gratitude to Fran Strauss',

said Davis Riemer, Chair of the

Development Committee. "Present at the

creation of the development program, she

has, with unfailing but gentle persistence,

continually led us with humor, with love,

and with her unique, special grace. Fran

has helped to build our organization, to

increase our strength and to ensure our

future". Anselm Strauss, prominent soci-

ologist at UCSF, lauded his wife's astute

ability to manipulate organizational sys-

tems to get the job done, as well as her

vision and energy in the initiation of such

innovative ACLU-NC programs as the hot-

line/complaint desk, student outreach pro-

ject, grassroots chapter structure and Bill

of Rights Day celebration.

ACLU-NC Board member David

Oppenheimer spoke briefly on the ACLU's

many activities to preserve affirmative

action and defeat the deceptively-named

California Civil Rights Initiative.

| ongtime ACLU activist and volunteer

Flonored at Founders Dinner

Development Chair Davis Riemer honors

Fran Strauss for her fundraising commit-

ment and "moxie."

ACLU-NC General Counsel Stephen Bomse

(r.) with Founders Circle member Doron

Weinberg.

"This is a pivotal moment for equal

opportunity," said Oppenheimer, and urged

all ACLU supporters to get involved in the

No on CCRI campaign.

Board Chair Dick Grosboll thanked the

guests for providing the vital support that

keeps the ACLU functioning. "Because of

your generosity, we are able to maintain

our legal and educational programs. We

are inspired by your tremendous commit-

ment to human rights and civil liberties,"

he said.

Grosboll explained that the ACLU's

fundraising is based on personal contact

between Board members and volunteers,

and donors. "One-on-one conversations, by

phone or in-person, allow comments and

concerns from ACLU supporters to be

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heard at the highest levels of the organiza-

tion. At the same time, donors can be per-

sonally thanked for their support and

participation.

"The volunteers who do this work truly

contribute to the ACLU's program, for they

make that program possible through their

fundraising efforts," Grosboll added.

This past year, volunteer solicitors at

the Founders Circle level included: David

Balabanian, Al Baum, Bernice Biggs, Jim

Blume, Max Bollock, Tracy Brown, Luz

Buitrago, Angelo Butler, Kimo Campbell,

Bob Capistrano, Bill Carpmill, Jim Chanin,

Marlene De Lancie, Milton Estes, Phyllis

Friedman, Paul Gilbert, Dick Grosboll,

Marina Hsieh, Lenny Karpman, Jenny Kern,

Marshall Krause, Howard Lewis, Dennis

McNally, Phil Mehas, Susan Mizner, Jim

Newman, Ray Ocampo, Maria Ontiveros,

David Oppenheimer, Nancy Pemberton,

Wayne Phillips, Davis Riemer, Louise

Rothman-Riemer, Margaret Russell, John

Rutherford, Millicent Rutherford, Zona

Sage, Tom Sarbaugh, Ethan Schulman,

John Schweizer, Eileen Siedman, Emily

Skolnick, Roberta Spieckerman, Fran

Strauss, Beverly Tucker, Ruth Vurek,

Burton Weiss, Micki Welsh, Rebecca

Westerfield, and Julius Young.

"Our gratitude is due to each and every

fundraising volunteer for their efforts -

which raised 6% more this year than last!"

said Grosboll. "We are pleased to be able to

thank our donors with the Founders Circle

dinner - more than 100 ACLU supporters

enjoyed stimulating conversation, a gor-

geous sunset, and the exemplary cuisine." and

S9OSHOHSSHSOHSHSSHSHHSHSHSHSHSHHSHSHSHSHHSHSHHSHSHSHSHHHSHHHHSHSHHHSHHHHHHSHHHSHHHHHHHHHSHHHHSHHHHSHEHHSHHHHHHHHHTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOE

The DeSilver

Legacy Lives On

A Family's Continuing Support for the ACLU

BY Eve M. BIGELOW AND

MICHELLE A. WALSH

National ACLU Staff

0 recognize supporters who have

[Msi for the ACLU's future

through life income gifts or their

wills, the ACLU recently formed The

DeSilver Society.The Society is named for

Albert DeSilver, an amazing man who

began a family tradition of civil liberties

advocacy and support.

During World War I,Albert DeSilver

gave up a prestigious New York law prac-

tice to defend conscientious objectors and

immigrants facing unconstitutional perse-

cution.An ACLU founder, DeSilver became

its first Associate Director, spearheading

legal,public education and lobbying efforts

in defense of the Bill of Rights.He also pro-

vided more than half of the ACLU's operat-

ing funds on an annual basis, and extended

a standing offer to make up any organiza-

tional deficit.

__ Albert's passion for civil liberties was

fueled in part by his wife Margaret.She

came from a Pennsylvania Quaker family

with strong convictions about individual

rights.Once, when Albert went to court

Margaret in Philadelphia, she swept him

along to march in a suffragette parade! After

Albert's untimely death at age 36, Margaret

honored his wishes by generously contribut-

ing annually to the ACLU.Margaret also

served on the ACLU Board of Directors for

many years.

The DeSilver Society's newest members

are Albert and Margaret's son, George

Burnham DeSilver ("Burnie") and his wife

Claire, who recently included the ACLU

Foundation in their estate plans through a

charitable trust.Burnie credits his parents

for leaving him a legacy of activism.Burnie

Gay Teens...

Continued from page 6

confidence, a red square was prominently

displayed behind the minor's name on a ros-

ter visible to all the detainees. The minor

discovered that the mark was used to iden-

tify gay wards and that the only others simi-

larly marked faced sexual assault charges.

The minor's charges were completely

unrelated to sexual assault. In fact, the

minor did not have any type of criminal

history.

Decrying the dangers of such discrimi-

natory action, in a letter to Chief Deputy

Elwin Jobe of the Sacramento County

Juvenile Hall, ACLU-NC staff attorney

Kelli Evans wrote, "By placing a distinct

mark behind the minor's name on the

board at the front of the unit, juvenile hall

staff publicized the minor's sexual orienta-

tion to the other juvenile detainees. This

action invaded the minor's constitutional

right to privacy...and stigmatized the

minor in the eyes of other detainees.

"Juvenile hall staff, by carelessly alert-

ing other detainees to the minor's sexual

orientation, unlawfully placed the minor

at significant risk of physical and sexual

violence from other detainees," charged

Evans.

In response, Deputy Jobe contacted

Evans and admitted that the detention

facility had erred in using such a visible

and stigmatizing classification system, and

assured her that it would no longer be used.

In addition, the facility held a training ses-

sion for the entire staff, educating the

employees on the problems related to the

former identification procedures and on

how to better accommodate the detainees'

rights to privacy and protection.

was an active member of the War Resisters

League and worked closely with Roger

Baldwin in the International League for the

Rights of Man.

Claire DeSilver also fostered her own

tradition of social activism.A native of

Florida, she became a student activist in

response to the discrimination she wit-

nessed while growing up.Claire's hunger for

social justice led her to many cities as part

of the labor movement, including New York,

where she unionized department store

employees, and St. Louis, where she orga-

nized African-American taxi drivers.

_ Because civil liberties remain near and

dear to their hearts, Burnie and Claire

established a charitable remainder trust

which gives them income for their lifetimes

and attractive tax benefits while providing

generously for the ACLU Foundation.Like

many other ACLU supporters who have

made similar life income gifts, the

DeSilvers received additional benefits by

using securities to make their gift.By fund-

ing the trust with securities that had great-

ly appreciated in value, the DeSilvers were

able to avoid all capital gains taxes.As a

result, the securities were invested at their

full value, resulting in more income for the

DeSilvers.Claire imagined that it might be

hard for people to give up control of their

assets, but she stressed, "It's really a rather

painless way of giving; you get more income

by doing this than you do by just letting

[the securities] sit there."

The ACLU continues to be a DeSilver

family tradition - Burnie and Claire's

daughter Susie has been an ACLU member

for many years.In fact, Claire has already

suggested to her granddaughter Margaret

that she should not forget the ACLU when

it comes time to plan her estate.

Readers who share the DeSilvers'

convictions and want to learn more

about becoming members of The

DeSilver Society should fill out the form

below and send it to the ACLU, 1663

Mission Street #460, San Francisco, CA

941083 or call Robert Nakatani, ACLU-

NC Director of Planned Giving, at

415/621-2493.

ACLU News = May/June 1996 = Pace 7

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CHAPTER

ola n

y NOUS

invites you

WHITE WATER RAFTING

on the Tri

HE DATE

FOR THE ANNUAL

_ACLU-NC AcTIVvIsT

} CONFERENCE!

Saturday,

September 7

Information on site and

agenda will be

forthcoming.

For details, call Field

Representative Lisa

Maldonado at 415/621-2493

ext. 46.

Chapter Meetings

(Chapter meetings are open to all interested mem-

bers. 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 Tom Sarbaugh at

510/526-6376 for further details. For more

information, time and address of meetings,

contact Jim Chanin at 510/848-4752 or

Rachel Richman at 510/540-5507.

Earl Warren (Oakland/Alameda County)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually _ first

Wednesday) NEW MEETING LOCATION Meet

at 7:30 PM at Claremont House/Activity

Room, 4500 Gilbert Street, Oakland (nr.

Rockridge Shopping Center). We encour-

age new members to join us as we work

on the Oakland civilian review board,

affirmative action and ending drug prohi-

bition. For more information, call David

Gassman at 510/835-2334.

Fresno Chapter Meeting: (Usually second

Wednesday) For information on date and

time of meetings, call Nadya Coleman at

209/229-7178.

Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter Meeting:

(Usually first Thursday) ACLU-NC office,

1663 Mission Street, Suite 460, San

Francisco. Mailings and other activities start

at 6:30 PM. Speakers at 7:00 PM. Business

meeting starts at 7:30 PM. For more infor-

mation, contact Jeff Hooper at 510/460-

0712 or Burton Weiss at 510/524-6073.

Marin County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Monday) For information on meeting

times and location, contact Greg

Brockbank at 415/491-0616.

Mid-Peninsula (Palo Alto area) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually fourth Thursday) Meet

at 7:30 PM at the California Federal Bank,

2180 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. For more

information, contact Les Earnest at

415/941-3984.

Monterey County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Tuesday) Meet at 7:15 PM,

Monterey Library. For more information,

contact Richard Criley at 408/624-7562.

North Peninsula (San Mateo area)

Lively ACLU Group

Joins "Fight the

pee Darn

BY LisA MALDONADO

"Vote Against Hate,"

"Yes to Justice, Yes to Equality, NO

TO CCRIP

"Stop the Civil Wrongs Initiative!"

hese messages - painted on Day-

L's: orange and green signs - were

held aloft by the large and diverse

delegation of ACLU-NC staff, board mem-

bers, chapter activists and high school stu-

dents marching in the massive "Fight the

Right March' on April 14 in San Francisco.

The ACLU-NC contingent was one of

650 groups that lined the waterfront route

on the crisp, sunny San Francisco Sunday

_to oppose the increasing tide of divisive

scapegoating in the country and to kick-off

a vigorous campaign to defeat the decep-

tively-named California Civil Rights

Initiative (CCRI). ACLU activists -

including members of the San Francisco,

Marin, Mid-Peninsula and Lesbian/Gay

Rights Chapters - joined the crowd of

nearly fifty thousand demonstrators,

according to march organizers from the

National Organization for Women. At the

Crissy Field rally, speakers including San

Chapter Meeting: (Usually third Monday)

Meet at 7:30 PM, at 700 Laurel Street, Park

Tower Apartments, top floor. For more

information, contact Marshall Dinowitz at

415/595-5131.

Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Thursday) Meet in

the Arcata Jacoby Storehouse at the

Bonvenir Ice Cream Parlor at 7:30 PM. For

information on upcoming meeting dates

and times, contact Christina Huskey at

707/444-6595.

Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting:

(Usually first Wednesday) Meet at 7:00 PM

at the Java City in Sutter Galleria (between

29 and 30, J and K Streets) in Sacramento. For

more information, contact Ruth Ordas at

916/488-9955.

San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Tuesday) Meet at 6:45 PM at the

ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission Street,

Suite 460, San Francisco. For more infor-

mation on chapter meetings, call the

Chapter Information Line at 415/979-6699.

Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting:

(Usually first Tuesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at

the Community Bank Towers, 3rd Floor .

Conference Room, 111 West St. John

Street, San Jose. Join us for our ANNUAL

DINNER, FEATURING AUTHOR ISHMAEL REED,

MariA ARCHULETA

Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, women's

rights leader Gloria Steinem, NOW

President Patricia Ireland, United Farm

Workers leader Dolores Huerta and

Reverend Jesse Jackson exhorted the

demonstrators to become more involved in

politics and the fight for social justice on

the local, state and national level.

"It was thrilling to see so many people

representing all backgrounds and commu-

nities united against the forces of division

and scapegoating that are tearing this

country apart," said Rini Chakaraborty, a

student activist with the U.C. Berkeley

ACLU, who held a protest sign with the slo-

gan "No Special Preferences for Regents!"

"The march was well timed to give us

the energy and enthusiasm we need to

defeat this anti-civil rights initiative. I

now feel that, come November, we can -

and will - put this country back on track,"

Chakaraborty added.

The ACLU-NC Field Committee, fueled

by that energy, planned a Chapter Summit

on How To Defeat CCRI for May 4 to train

-advocates in organizing against the

November initiative. For more informa-

tion on how you can join the fight to

defeat CCRI call Lisa Maldonado

415/621-2493 ext.46. @

on May 24. For further chapter information

contact Catherine Wiehe at 408/226-

7421.

Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Thursday) Meet at 7:00 PM

at the Louden-Nelson Community Center,

Santa Cruz. Contact Lucille Desjardins at

408/425-5828.

Sonoma County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Wednesday) Meet at 7:30 PM at the

Peace and Justice Center, 540 Pacific

Avenue, Santa Rosa. Call Steve Thornton at

707/544-8115 for more information.

Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Thursday) Meet at 7:30 PM, 2505 5th

Street 154, Davis. For more information,

call Natalie Wormeli at 916/756-1900 or

the Chapter Hotline at 916/756-ACLU.

Field Action Meetin

(All meetings except those noted will be

held at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663

Mission Street, 460, San Francisco.)

Student Advisory Committee: Open to all

high school students interested in civil lib-

erties and student rights. Help plan con-

ferences and other activities. For more

information, contact Nancy Otto at

415/621-2006 ext. 37.

Ne a ee 2) ee :