vol. 64, no. 1
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aclu news
PUL Ute dls 2000
NEWSPAPER OF THE AMERICAN Civil LIBERTIES eda or NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
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San Francisco, CA
Two Key Victories on Police Complaints
Officer Must Pay Attorneys Fees
Under "Anti-SLAPP" Law (c)
n October 15, a San Francisco
O Superior Court Judge ordered San
Francisco Police Sergeant Joseph
McCloskey to pay $52,000 in fees and
costs to the attorneys who represented
Betty Evans, the defendant in his defama-
tion Sit, The judge found that
McCloskey's defamation suit against Betty
Evans, who filed a misconduct complaint
against him, had no basis.
Attorneys Alan Schlosser and John
Crew of the ACLU-NC, Mark Goldowitz of
the California Anti-SLAPP Project and
Matthew Kumin, an attorney recruited
by Bay Area Police Watch, defended
Evans, who filed the misconduct com-
plaint against Officer McCloskey with
Dam Mranciseos Oiice of Citizen
Complaints (OCC).
"If law enforcement officers bring
retaliatory lawsuits against people who
file legitimate police misconduct com-
plaints, they may be held personally
responsible for the defendant's attorneys
fees and costs," said Mark Goldowitz of
the California Anti-SLAPP Project in.
Oakland. "The California anti-SLAPP law
was designed to end and prevent such
retaliatory SLAPP suits, and we intend to
help people use it whenever possible.
"Officer McCloskey should fever have
filed this suit in the first place. It was a
blatant act of retaliation against a woman
fulfilling her civic duty by officially report-
ing the police misconduct that she had
observed," Goldowitz said.
"Let this case be a fair warning to all
California law enforcement officers,"
added ACLU-NC Managing Attorney
Schlosser. "If you interfere with citizens'
First Amendment right to file official com-
plaints, you can be held personally
responsible for their attorneys fees and
costs. The ACLU will not tolerate police
attempts to bully and intimidate citizens
who make police misconduct complaints."
The case stemmed from an incident on
September 8, 1997, when Betty Evans
heard a commotion outside her apartment
door in San. Francisco. Through the peep-
hole she watched Officer McCloskey
repeatedly kicking in the groin a hand-
cuffed person who was on the floor. She
opened her door and yelled at the officer,
"Don't kick him," and he then stopped.
Concerned for the man's life, she immedi-
ately called 911 to report the incident.
Continued on page 2
Court Strikes Down Law
Allowing Police Suits against
Complainants |
n October 20 victory in a suit
Apes by the ACLU affiliates of
Southern and Northern California
overturned a California law allowing
police to sue individuals who lodge com-
plaints against them.
The ACLU suit, Gritchen v. Collier, chal-
lenged California Civil Code 0x00A7 47.5, a law
that gave police officers a special right to
sue citizens who file complaints of miscon-
Liberties Award. See page 3. @
Poet Ferlinghetti Honored at
Bill of Rights Celebration
San Francisco's Poet Laureate Lawrence Ferlinghetti has been making books, making
news and making waves for more than half a century. Forty years after he was prose-
cuted for publishing Allan Ginsberg's Howl, he joined the ACLU lawsuit to challenge
censorship on the Internet. Through it all, he has documented the political and social
history of his time with incisive, illuminating poetry and painting that capture the
pulse of America in the last half of the twentieth century.
For his courage and commitment to freedom of expression, Ferlinghetti was hon-
ored at the Bill of Rights Day Celebration on December 12 with the Earl Warren Civil
duct against them. It was the only law of
its kind in the country.
"This ruling affirms the basic right of
all citizens to speak out about police mis-
conduct, said ACLU-SC staff attorney
Dan Tokaji who argued the case in feder-
al district court. "No longer will citizens
with legitimate complaints against police
officers worry that they could lose their
life savings or their home because they
have the courage to speak out."
The case stemmed from a 1997 inci-
dent when a motorist filed a complaint
with the Long Beach Police Department
against an officer who treated him dis-
courteously. Later that year the officer
threatened to sue the motorist for filing
the complaint.
"The ACLU has always contended
that citizen complaints are protected
speech guaranteed under the First
Amendment of the Constitution," said
John Crew, Director of the ACLU-NC
Police Practices Project.
"We challenged the legality of the
California Code because it singled out
citizen complaints against police for dis-
favored treatment. Under this statute,
police, but no other public officials, were
allowed to bring defamation claims
based on citizen complaints. Clearly, the
court agreed with our argument that this
law was unconstitutional."
The court determined that the 17-
year-old law violates the First Amend-
ment by specially targeting speech
critical of peace officers. U.S. District
Court Judge Gary Taylor ruled that,
"Section 47.5 has... (a chilling) effect,
since it imposes greater risk upon citi-
zens who report claimed police miscon-
duct and thereby discourages the filing
of complaints." 0x00B0
Continued on page 2
Inside: New ACLU-NC Board Chair-Page 2; Sacramento-What's on the Agenda for 2000-Page 4
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Russell Elected New Board Chair
onstitutional law pro-
C fessor and civil rights
activist Margaret
Russell is the new Chair of
the ACLU =Board. of
Directors, taking over from
Dick Grosboll who has
served as Chair for the past
four years.
Russell, an Associate
Professor of Law at Santa
Clara University, has been
actively involved in the
= ACLU-NC since 1986 when
2she joined the Board of
the San Francisco Chap-
eter. As an affiliate Board
Newly-elected ACLU-NC Board of Directors Chair Margaret 0x2122ember, she has chaired
Russell presents out-going Chair Dick Grosboll with an .
orchid in thanks for his leadership of the organization. -
both the Legal and the
Legislative Policy
San Francisco Tenants
Win aVictory in Court
BY STELLA RICHARDSON
n November 18, the ACLU and the
QO Tenderloin Housing Clinic won a
victory for tenants who were
being evicted because they violated a
landlord's blanket no-overnight-guest
rule. Following a two-week trial in San
Francisco Superior Court, the jury in
the case of Harrell v. Juan Avalle-Arce
IT et al, ruled in favor of one of the ten-
ants and against another for reasons
largely unrelated to his having violated
the no-overnight-guest rule. (During the
trial Superior Court Judge James
McBride threw out the eviction cases
against two other tenants.) The tenants
live at Yerba Buena Commons, a 257-unit
building, at 88 Perry Street in San
Francisco. The four tenants faced evic-
tion because they violated a rule that
categorically prohibited them from hav-
ing overnight guests.. The tenants were
represented by the ACLU-NC and the
Tenderloin Housing Clinic.
"We represented the tenants not only to
preserve their housing, but because we
believe that under the state constitution,
tenants have a fundamental right to privacy
in their homes that encompasses the right to
have overnight guests" said Robert Kim,
ACLU-NC staff attorney. Under the current
rental agreement and house rules, all guests
must leave the building by 10:00 p.m. and
cannot return until 8:00 a.m. the next day.
Although the case was not decided on
privacy grounds, Kara Portnow of the
Tenderloin Housing Clinic noted, "The
jury - a cross section of San Franciscans -
sent a clear message to the landlord that
prohibiting overnight guests is unreason-
able and cannot be enforced. Implicit in
the jury's verdicts is the recognition that
the right to have overnight guests is funda-
mental to the meaning of the home and
cannot be abrogated by a landlord's unrea-
sonable visitor policy. il ae
Stella Richardson is the ACLU-NC
Public Information Associate.
Federal Court Strikes
Down English-Only
Driving Test
BY STELLA RICHARDSON
he Court of Appeals for the 11th
|" Circuit ruled on November 30 that
Alabama's practice of giving its dri-
vers license examinations only in
English was a violation of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964. The November 30 ruling
upheld a 1998 district court order in a
class action brought by the Southern
Poverty Law Center on behalf of Martha
`Sandoval and other immigrants who can-
not speak English fluently enough to take
a written test in English. The Language
Rights Project, co-sponsored by the
ACLU-NC and the Employment Law
Center, assisted in the challenge to the
law, because the impact of the suit is
potentially very broad.
"The Court's decision is a: giant step
forward for the civil rights of the immi-
grant community in America, and for its
ability to participate fully in all of the
rights and opportunities the United States
has to offer, " said ACLU-NC staff attorney
Ed Chen who co-directs the Language
Rights Project.
"Tt is an important victory," said Richard
' Cohen, legal director of the Southern
_ Poverty Law Center, "not only because of the
_ legal principles at stake, but also because of
| the lives it will touch. It will help immi-
grants overcome their isolation and become
full participants in the economic and social
__ life of this country." While Alabama does not
_ have a large immigrant population, the
_ Bureau of the Census projects that in the
next decade the Latino population in
Alabama is estimated to grow 32.4 percent
(a gain of nearly 9000 persons).
"In California -one of the most linguisti-
cally diverse states in the country - this rul-
ing puts state and local agencies on notice
that they have to take affirmative steps to
provide fair and equal access to all those
they serve," added Christopher Ho, co-direc-
tor of the Language Rights Project. Hi
ACLU News = January-Fesruary 2000 = Pace 2
| Committees and served as well on the
Executive, Development and Long-
Range Planning Committee.
_ Russell also serves as a Vice-President
of the National ACLU.
A graduate of Princeton University
and Stanford Law School, Russell has
taught constitutional law, civil proce-
dure and contemporary legal theory at
Santa Clara since 1991. She is also a
participating scholar at the University's
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. In
1991, Russell traveled to South Africa
with a delegation of legal workers to con-
sult with the African National Congress
on the drafting of a new post-apartheid
constitution. `
At the December 9 Board meeting,
Grosboll received numerous accolades
from his colleagues as he handed the
Chair's gavel to Russell. A former
Chapter activist and co-chair of the
ACLU-NC Pro-Choice `Task Force,
Grosboll was credited by Field Committee
Chair Michelle Welsh as a leader who
brought a great deal of attention and care
to the local ACLU Chapters and nurtured
their grassroots efforts. Grosboll was also
thanked for his leading role in the cam-
paign to oppose Proposition 209.
_ New Board Members, Officers
he following were elected by the
[nent to serve on the Board of
Directors of the ACLU-NC (incum-
bents are marked with an "*"): Luz
Buitrago*, Scott Burrell*, Milton Estes,
David Fermino*, Aundre Herron%,
Dennis McNally*, David Oppenheimer*,
Millicent Rutherford*, Zona Sage, and
' Pamela Samuelson*.
: NEw BoarpD OFFICERS
The new ACLU-NC Board officers -are:
Margaret Russell, Chair (see article this
page), Luz Buitrago, Vice Chair (Chair of
the Legislative Policy Committee; Quinn -
Delaney, Vice Chair (Chair of the
Development Committee) ;Steve Mayer,
Vice Chair (Chair of the Legal
Committee); Michelle ("Mickey") Welsh,
Vice Chair (Chair of the Field
Committee); and David Salniker,
Treasurer.
These officers will comprise the
Executive Committee along with Dick
Grosboll, Aundre Herron, Dermis McNally,
Susan Mizner, and Fran Strauss.
Officer Must Pay Attorney Fees...
~ Continued from page |
The OCC investigated the incident,
using Evans as a witness, and sustained a
finding of excessive force against
McCloskey. McCloskey then sued Evans on
September 1, 1998 for $25,000 damages
based solely on her complaint to the OCC.
Evans' attorneys filed a motion in
Superior Court, to dismiss the lawsuit,
McCloskey v. Evans, under a special state
law (Code of Civil Procedure, Section
425.16) enacted in 1992 to protect
Californians from defamation and other
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public
Participation (SLAPP's). The statute allows
lawsuits to be quickly dismissed if they are
based on a citizen's exercise of First
Amendment petition and free speech rights.
Without bothering to contest the
motion, Officer McCloskey dismissed his
lawsuit. Under the anti-SLAPP statute, a
party who has been improperly sued for
exercising First Amendment rights "shall
be entitled to recover his or her attorneys
fees and costs." In McCloskey v. Evans,
Superior Court Judge David Garcia found
that McCloskey had no basis for filing the
defamation suit and ordered him to pay |
Evans' attorneys the $52,000 in fees.
"Given the unique powers delegated to
police in a free society - the power to use
force, to take lives and to deprive us of
our freedom- it is particularly impor-
tant that the First Amendment right to
petition our government about griev-
ances involving police officers not be
abridged in any way," added Schlosser.
"I will never forget what I saw and
`what Officer McCloskey's lawsuit has put
me through," said Betty Evans. i
Court Strikes Law
_ Continued from page |
Crew, who served as co-counsel along
with Tokaji and ACLU-NC Managing
Attorney Alan Schlosser, concluded,
"There has been a long-standing and
statewide problem of police officers filing
retaliatory lawsuits against people who
lodge misconduct complaints. For exam-
ple, there have been at least four such
cases brought by San Francisco police
officers. While the ACLU has succeeded
in defeating each of those cases, the chil-
ling effect of the threat of being sued for
merely filing a complaint has remained.
"This ruling should end that intimidat-
ing practice once and for all," Crew added.
An appeal has been filed in the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeal.
Poet Ferlinghetti Honored at
Rights Day Celebration
Honoree Lawrence Ferlinghetti (left) and fellow poet Piri Thomas.
keep the First Amendment alive
through constant struggle," said
former ACLU-NC staff attorney Al Bendich
as he presented the 80-year old San
Francisco Poet Laureate with the Earl
Warren Civil Liberties Award at the ACLU-
NC Bill of Rights Day Celebration on
December 12.
The 500 ACLU-NC members and sup-
porters in attendance were treated to a
moving reunion of two veterans - lawyer
Bendich and bookseller Ferlinghetti - of
the 1957 landmark How! trial. "Fools rush
.in, where angels fear to tread," was how
Ferlinghetti characterized the trial whose
decision reverberated throughout the
country. "I just wanted to publish books.
We didn't have acent...Ifit hadn't been for
the ACLU, we'd be out of business.
"IT want to publicly thank the ACLU and
Al Bendich - I haven't done that before -
for defending me," Ferlinghetti added, and
then read a poem about Waco, the FBI and
government violence "If There Had Been
One Buddha."
Bendich noted that in more than 20
years of the Earl Warren Award, this was
the first granted to a poet. And in a fitting
tribute to the power of the poet and his
voice for justice, the audience heard
astounding poetry that spanned six
decades: Ferlinghetti's Autobiography
and J Am Waiting, Piri Thomas's riff
against "the drops of acid known as bigotry,
hatred and rejection," and Ten Poets Plus a
Mic's spirited song-stories condemning
Proposition 21 and a society that aims to
criminalize its youth.
66 awrence Ferlinghetti has helped'
VOLUNTEER HONORED
The Celebration also included the pre-
sentation of the Lola Hanzel Courageous
Advocacy Award to Pauline Sherman.
Sherman, who has served as a-volunteer
Complaint Desk counselor for twelve
years, was awarded by ACLU-NC Chair
Dick Grosboll: "Pauline is on the frontlines
of our civil liberties work. Her patience,
knowledge and understanding are tremen-
dous assets to the difficult task of respond-
ing to the many people who call the ACLU
because they believe their rights are violat-
ed." (See sidebar)
ACLU-NC
Executive Director
Dorothy Ehrlich's State of the Union.
address focusing on the new Racial
Justice Project, and a presentation from
the Howard *A. Friedman _ First
- Amendment Education Project on youth
homelessness highlighted the key work
of the ACLU this year.
Ehrlich also thanked Field Represen-
tative Lisa Maldonado and Program
Assistant Melissa Schwartz who organized
the Bill of Rights Day Celebration.
POET AS ADVOCATE
Born in 1919 in New York, Ferlinghetti
earned a doctoral degree in poetry at the
Sorbonne in Paris and served in the U.S.
military. He was sent to Nagasaki only six
weeks after the U.S. dropped a nuclear
bomb, destroying the city. That is where he
became a pacifist.
In 1953, Ferlinghetti came to San
Francisco and in 1955, with Peter Martin,
founded City Lights, named for the Charlie
Chaplain film, now one of the most famous
bookstores in the world. Less than three
years after its opening, a San Francisco
police officer came in the door and, for 75
cents, bought a copy of Allen Ginsberg's 44-
page "Howl`and Other Poems." That pur-
chase was the basis for the arrest of
Ferlinghetti and bookstore worker
Shigeyoshi Murao for selling obscene
material, and the landmark trial.
Ferlinghetti wrote at the time, "It is not
the poet but what he observes which is
revealed as obscene. The great obscene
wasters of Howl are the sad wastes of the
mechanized world, lost among atom bombs
and insane nationalisms."
In 1958, Ferlinghetti published A Coney
Island of the Mind, a volume of poetry that
had a great impact on American youth, and,
over the next four decades, more than two
dozen books of poetry and prose. Through 0x00B0
City Lights Bookstore's publications, distrib-
ution and literary readings, he also gave
Rick ROCAMORA
Poet Toussaint Haki of Ten Poets Plus a
Mic wowed the audience with a musi-
cal, rhyming description of the impact
of Proposition 21 on youth.
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ACLU News = January-Fesruary 2000 = Pace 3
voice to many new poets and writers, includ-
ing those of the Beat Generation - Jack
Kerouac, `William Burroughs, Herbert
Huncke, and Ginsberg.
In 1997, Ferlinghetti joined the lawsuit
ACLU v. Reno, because, in his words, "This
new law to censor the Internet would have
a chilling effect on the First Amendment.
It's upsetting and it's also un-American.
We are still publishers of Allen Ginsberg's
poem "Howl." "Howl" was judged not
obscene in a landmark trial, but we fear
that the book could now be at risk again,
more than forty years later. We publish
excerpts from our books and interviews
with our authors on our web site and we
would feel threatened by new legislation.
We do not consider our books obscene, but
others might."
When Ferlinghetti was named San
Francisco's first Poet Laureate in 1998,
@e2e2e0e00
he called for poetry to be a force for
change in the world and called on "poets
to stop mumbling in their beards to pri-
vate audiences and say something impor-
tant to the world."
Ferlinghetti has taken up his own chal-
lenge by writing a regular column "Poetry
as News" in the San Francisco Chronicle
Book keview. Ina recent column entitled,
"Unleashing Uncensored Thought," he
wrote "Today, raw thought as poetry is
everywhere, at every festival, every open
mike, every poetry slam, from rap to hip-
hop and back - black and. white and Latino
poets and the latest youth movements
poets, from Manhattan's Nuyorican Cafe to
Wednesdays at La Pena in Berkeley, and on
Youth Radio on FM stations late at night.
"The poets of the world are speaking
up and speaking their mind," Ferlinghetti
wrote. :
auline Sherman is not afraid to
Pex up for what she believes in.
She was the first woman graduate
of the Engineering Mechanics
Department of the University of Michigan
and the first (and for almost two
decades) the only female engineering
professor at the University of Michigan.
But she joined the ACLU even before
that. "In 1951 I was a student at the
University of Michigan," Sherman said.
"T went to a campus lecture by Patrick
Malin Murphy, leader of the national
ACLU. I joined the ACLU right there and
have been hooked ever since."
Sherman, now retired from three
"neering, is still a staunch member and
volunteer with the ACLU. As a com-
plaint counselor, she has spent every
Friday for the last twelve years on the
ACLU-NC Complaint Desk, listening to
people's civil liberties problems and
steering them to help. Sherman is
often on the frontlines -- people call
seeking answers on a wide range of
issues from discrimination on the job, to
police harassment and high school lock-
er searches. Sherman's patience and
resourcefulness are tremendous assets
in this demanding volunteer position.
decades of teaching aeronautical engi-
Complaint Desk Counselor Pauline Sherman was honored with the Lola Hanzel
Courageous Advocacy Award at the ACLU-NC Bill of Rights Day Celebration.
_would apply to an engineering school!"
_ to find volunteers that have been work-
Rick ROCAMORA
In her weekly day-long sessions on .
the Complaint Desk, Sherman says that
she hears about so many desperate situ-
ations from the callers that she has
become acutely aware of the necessity to
protect individual's rights when govern-
ment agencies abuse them. She knows
the sting of discrimination herself. In
the 1940's, Sherman entered the engi-
neering school of the City College of New
York with the first group of women stu-
dents, after a lawsuit was brought to
admit females. "No one thought women
Sherman explains.
"Pauline is phenomenal," said ACLU-
NC Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich. -
"Answering phones on our Complaint
Desk is a really hard job - you hear so
many sad stories and there are so many
people out there who need our help, it
can really get depressing. But Pauline
never seems to get weary, she just keeps
on coming in and helping as many folks
as she can.
"Pauline's dedication, loyalty and
commitment are outstanding. It's rare
ing that hard every week for over ten
years! We are so lucky to have her,"
Ehrlich added.
66 Ress the brand name of an |
exceptionally toxic herbicide,
aptly describes Governor Davis'
- approach to many of the civil liberties/civil
rights bills that made it to his desk. In the
Governor's attempt to position himself as a
"moderate," who will "save the Democrats
from themselves," his veto of bills that had
broad bipartisan support demonstrates
that he might pose a grave danger to our
core civil liberties issues.
Davis deliberately triangulates almost
every issue. In fact, in the criminal justice
arena he positioned himself to the right of
former Governor Pete Wilson - and possi-
bly to the right of former Attorney General
Dan Lungren - by repeatedly vowing never
to parole individuals who. had been con-
victed of murder regardless of age, infirmi-
ty, rehabilitation, etc. The Los Angeles
Times reported that of the 1,489 parole
hearings held since Davis took office in
January through September, the parole
board granted parole only 13 times. The |
Governor revoked eight of those paroles
and returned the five others to the board
for reconsideration. The board then -
reversed those decisions denying the indi-
viduals parole. The Governor's now-infa-
mous quote from early in his campaign
regarding violent crime and the death (c)
penalty has lost its irony: referring to |
Singapore's criminal justice system, Gray _
Davis stated that it is "a good starting point
in terms of law and order. I think there
ought to be clear rules. You can't punish
- people enough, as far as I'm concerned."
DRIVING WHILE BLACK/BROWN
In this context and given the strong finan-
cial support of the police unions, the
Governor's veto of the ACLU-sponsored
"Driving While Black/Brown' bill (SB 78,
Murray, D-Culver City)that passed the
Legislature with broad bipartisan support
did not come as any great surprise.
However, the howls of protest from the
community that greeted the Governor
upon his veto surely surprised him and
may be the catalyst for a better outcome
this year.
Similarly, his veto of the "Media Access
to Prisons" bill (AB 1440, Migden, D-San
Francisco) was roundly criticized by jour-
nalists and free speech organizations.
On the other hand, Governor Davis
showed his support for women's right to
choose abortions and certain gay and les-
-bian issues. Governor Davis' adamant
inaugural address pledge -"And to those
who would seek to deny a woman her right
Don't waste the Legislature's time . . ." -
has not actually been tested because all
anti-choice bills were killed in committee.
However, he signed a measure requiring
that sex education be medically accurate
and free of race, gender, and ethnic bias
(AB 246, Cunneen, R-Campbell).
In a major victory for lesbian and gay
rights, the Governor signed AB 1001,
(Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles) that culmi-
_ nated a 20-year long battle to move the
prohibition against employment discrimi-
nation on the basis of sexual orientation
from the Labor Code to the Civil Code
(into the Fair Employment and Housing
Act (FEHA)) which is more protective of
individual's rights. | Assemblymember
Sheila Kuehl's (D-Encino) five-year battle
Legislative Review
system of HIV reporting
to choose, let me offer this suggestion:
to prohibit harassment and
discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation in pro-
grams, opportunities, and
activities in schools and uni-
versities finally paid off (AB
537, formerly AB 222). In
addition, the Governor
signed a pared-down domes- -
tic partnership measure that
creates a statewide domestic
partnership registry for gay
and lesbian couples, guaran-
tees hospital visitation
rights, and allows partners of
gay state employees to
receive health benefits (AB |
26, Migden). However,
Davis refused to sign a mea-
sure that would implement a
5
based on the use of a unique
identifier (instead of using
an individual's name).
At the end of the ses-
sion, the Governor signed the ACLU-
sponsored "California Civil Rights
Amendments of 1999" (AB 1670, Kuehl)
that included numerous changes to civil
rights statutes including increasing the
cap' on damages under the Fair
Employment and Housing Act from
Paul ANCE
Preview of the Year
lections for all the Assembly seats
BK and half of the Senate seats in this
final year of the two-year session
absorb most of the attention of the politi-
cians and color their bills and votes. In
addition, the presidential race and the
redistricting battle add further to the con- 0x00B0
fusion. 0x00B0
The Governor's intransigence on key
issues has created a new challenge for the
civil rights community. We must now show
the Governor that the policies we advocate
for are not only right, they also have an
important impact on the voters he wants to ~
woo. Furthermore, we must overcome the
inevitable pressure of the more than $10
million estimated by the Sacramento Bee
that will be sitting. in Governor Davis's
campaign treasury by the end of 1999.
Civit RIGHTS
: "RIGHT TO KNow"' BILLS
The ACLU and other civil rights organiza-
. tions will be working on a package of civil
rights "right to know' bills. At the hearings
on a new version of the DWB bill, we hope
to illustrate to the Governor the depth of
the Driving While Black/Brown problem in
this state, since he expressed skepticism
about the extent of the problem (See artt-
cle on Gallup poll, page 5).
In.addition, we will be working on
measures to collect race and gender data
for government contracting, as well as race
and gender data for disciplinary suspen-
sion in public schools to ensure enforce-
ment of our anti-discrimination statutes.
In the employment arena, the ACLU will
continue to try to enact legislation that
would ensure that people who are victims
ACLU News = January-Fesruary 2000 = Pace 4
Sacramento Roundup - 1999
BY VALERIE SMALL NAVARRO
ACLU LEGISLATIVE ADVOCATE
$50,000 to $150,000, prohibiting employ-
ers or other entities from requiring test-
ing for a genetic characteristic, and
creating a civil action for injunctive or
other equitable relief against agencies or
entities that receive state funds and
engage in discrimination..
of employment discrimination have access
to the courts and are not bound by arbitra-
tion clauses.
The public's right to know what hap-
pens behind prison walls will again be
raised in another "Media Access to Prisons"
bill.
PRIVACY RIGHTS
Scott McNealy, the chairman and chief
executive of Sun Microsystems stated "You
already have zero privacy-get over it."
We are not prepared to get over it. To patch
the holes left by federal financial privacy
legislation, we will be working with the
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and others
on ensuring consumer's privacy in the
information provided to financial institu-
tion. In addition, we will be working on a
bill regarding the monitoring of electronic
communication by employers. The
Governor vetoed a simple measure requir-
ing that employers notify employees that
their electronic communication may be
monitored (SB 1016, Bowen, D-Redondo
Beach).
EXONERATING THE INNOCENT
Permitting someone who has been convict-
ed of a crime to ask for fingerprint, DNA, or
However, he vetoed another key civil
rights bill (SB 44, Polanco, D-Los
Angeles), a measure that would have
insured that women and people of color
were informed about educational and
employment opportunities offered by the
state.
2000.
other forensic testing that was not avail-
able at the time of trial, either because the
evidence was not discovered or the tech-
nology did not exist is the subject of a bill
drafted by the ACLU and other criminal
justice organizations that will be intro-
duced this year. According to the Los
Angeles Times, DNA evidence has exoner-
- ated 64 inmates in the United States and
Canada, including nine who were on death
row in this country.
_ INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT
The ACLU will be involved in protecting
the civil liberties of individuals with men-
tal illnesses. The enduring standard for
involuntary commitment - that a person is
a danger to himself or herself or others -
faces a tremendous challenge spurred by
Assembly Member Helen Thomson (D-
Vacaville) and several organizations of
family members of people with mental ill-
nesses. AB 1028 frames the problem as an
inadequate ability to force people into
treatment when they don't realize they
need it. In reality, people who need treat-
ment and know they need treatment are
the primary ones who are being failed by
the inadequately funded and designed
mental health system. il =
"ibe
ACLU Expands DWB Lawsuit Against CHP
harging civil rights violations as a
CG: of racially motivated traffic
stops by California law enforcement
officers, the ACLU-NC filed a federal class
action lawsuit on November 30 against the
California Highway Patrol (CHP) and
Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement (BNE).
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court
in San Jose on behalf of the California
Branches of the NAACP, the California
League of United Latin American Citizens
(LULAC), and three motorists of color.
The action amends the earlier law-
suit filed in June by the ACLU-NC on
behalf of Curtis Rodriguez against the
California Highway Patrol and the
Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement charg-
ing race discrimination.
"This lawsuit challenges the racially
discriminatory practices of the CHP and
BNE in their drug interdiction efforts.
Pursuant to Operation Pipeline, people of
color are routinely stopped, searched and .
treated like criminals by law enforcement
officers when they have done nothing more
than commit a minor traffic violation or no
violation at all," said Michelle Alexander,
Director of the ACLU-NC Racial Justice
Project. "These racially biased practices
cannot be justified by the hope that if offi-
cers stop and search enough people of color
they will eventually find some drugs. Law
enforcement based on racial stereotypes is
immoral and illegal," said Alexander.
The complaint alleges that the CHP
and the BNE instruct officers to use minor
traffic violations as an opportunity to inter-
rogate motorists and search for drugs, even
when there is no evidence that the motorist -
is engaged in criminal activity. This policy
and practice has a grossly disparate impact
on people of color, who are far more likely |
to be viewed as suspicious or likely drug
couriers. Thousands of innocent motorists
are subjected to humiliating interrogations
and searches of their vehicles every year
based on false racial stereotypes.
"Studies of racial profiling in other
states have shown that, contrary to popular
belief, people of color are not more likely
than whites to be carrying drugs or other
contraband in their vehicles. Yet, officers
continue to rely on racial stereotypes when
deciding whom to stop, question and
search in connection with minor traffic vio-
lations," explained Alexander. -
"The time is long overdue for these
racially biased police practices to come to
an end," said Walter Wilson, Vice President
of the California NAACP. " These practices
undermine faith in the criminal justice sys-
tem and cause severe harm in police-com-
munity relations." -
"The Latino community in California is
gravely concerned about racial profiling,"
said Marcos Contreras, Statewide Director
of the California LULAC. "In front of our
families and loved ones, we are being
humiliated and interrogated for no good
reason. We joined this lawsuit because
these practices have got to stop."
Joining the ACLU in filing this action is
Keker and Van Nest, a major law firm in San
Francisco that is donating its services pro
bono. "It is critical for us, as members of
the private bar, to play an active role in
bringing to an end race-based police stops
in California," said Jon Streeter, a litigation
partner at Keker and Van Nest. "What the
- CHP and the BNE are doing is discrimina-
tory and illegal. People of color have an
equal right to travel our streets and free-
ways without fear of unjustified stops,
searches and interrogations by government
officials. The defendants' drug interdiction
practices violate federal civil rights laws,
the U.S. Constitution, and are inconsistent
with out democratic values."
RACE-BASED STOPS ON HicHway 152
One of the plaintiffs, Curtis Rodriguez, a
Latino attorney from San Jose, was stopped
and searched by the CHP on June 6, 1998,
just minutes after he witnessed a slew of
race-based stops of Latino drivers within a
10-mile stretch of Highway 152. The CHP
officer told Rodriguez that he stopped them
because his car has touched the line, and
because he had turned his headlights on.
| search the car for weapons,"
| Rodriguez. "I refused permission for the
_ search. Since I'm an attorney, I know my
_ rights. The officer had no probable cause
in December on racial profiling, the
ACLU-NC called on Governor Davis to
support mandatory data collection legis-
lation next year. The Gallup Poll reports
that in a national survey, approximately
60% of adults aged 18 and older say that
racial profiling is widespread, and 81% of
all adults believe the practice is wrong.
The poll further indicates that 77% of
African Americans believe that racial pro-
filing is widespread, and that 4 out of 10
African Americans have been victims of
the practice. (The poll did not compare
the attitudes of Latinos and other ethnic
groups with respect to racial profiling. )
"The poll shows that Governor Davis is
out of touch with mainstream America in
claiming that racial profiling is not a
widespread problem," said Michelle
Alexander, Director: of the ACLU-NC
Racial Justice Project. "The question now
is whether he will continue to listen to
| n light of Gallup Poll findings released
Gallup Poll - Most
_ Americans Believe
Racial Profiling Wrong
ACLU CALLs ON GOVERNOR TO
SIGN DWEB BILL Next YEAR
extremist police unions that donate to his
campaigns, or whether he will listen to
the clear majority, who recognize that
racial profiling is widespread and must be
stopped."
In October, Governor Davis vetoed
SB78, the California Traffic Stops
Statistics Act that would have required
law enforcement agencies to collect data
regarding the race and ethnicity of
motorists who are stopped. The bill,
authored by Senator Kevin Murray, had
overwhelming bipartisan support.
In an open letter to the Governor,
Alexander urged Davis to "demonstrate
leadership" and "to support the data col-
lection bill when it is reintroduced next
year. Communities of color have waited
long enough for politicians to offer more
than rhetoric when it comes to discrimi-
natory police practices. We hope that you
will choose to be on the right side of histo-
ry on this issue."
| ACLU-NC Racial Justice Project Director Michelle Alexander joined Alameda County
Supervisor Keith Carson (left) and other political, community and religious leaders on
the steps of Oakland City Hall to condemn the Governor's veto of SB 78, the "Driving
While Black or Brown" bill.
_ (Drivers are advised to turn on their head-
_ lights in this section of Highway 152). 0x00B0
"The officer told me he was going to
said
to search the car, so I refused consent to
search. Unfortunately, the officer refused
to respect my legal rights. He ordered me
out of the car and searched the car, with-
out my permission. Of course, he found
nothing illegal. The officer then checked
out my license, my passenger's license
and my insurance papers, and after ten
minutes, he ordered us back into the car.
Finally he told us we could go. He didn't
issue me a ticket, because I didn't do any-
thing wrong."
" WHAT ARE YOU DOING
WITH THAT MAN?"
Another plaintiff, Jose Lopez, was stopped
by the CHP while traveling with his com-
panion and the mother of his son,
Stephanie Gevorkian, who is white. They
were stopped near the intersection of
Highway 152 and Interstate 5. The CHP
officer said that he stopped them because a
small crystal was hanging from their
rearview window. Gevorkian immediately
apologized, took the crystal down and put
it in the glove department. Instead of tick-
eting Lopez or allowing the couple to go on
their way, however, the officers ordered
Lopez out of the car. The couple was then
interrogated separately for approximately
30 minutes. One officer repeatedly asked
Gevorkian "what are you doing with that
man?" According to Gevorkian, his tone was
angry and accusing, and she understood
~ him to be asking why she was with a Latino.
One of the officers searched their vehicle,
but the search turned up nothing. After
being interrogated and subjected to a vehi-
cle search, Lopez and Gevorkian were
finally allowed to go. No citations were
issued and no arrests were made.
MacArthur Washington, who - is
African American, was stopped on May 26,
1999 and searched illegally by the CHP
and BNE near the intersection of Highway
ACLU News = January-FesrRuary 2000 = Pace 5
152 and Interstate 5. He was on his way to
pick up a co-worker and go to work.
Washington lives in an agricultural area,
and has worked for about four years bal-
ing hay, a task that must be performed
early in the morning. On his way to his co-
worker's house, a CHP vehicle spotted
him, made a U-turn and stopped him. The
officers told Washington that he had been
stopped because the light illuminating his
rear license plate light was broken (that
was not true). Fo
No CONSENT FOR SEARCH
The officers then searched his vehicle
without his consent or probable cause.
Although the search turned up nothing,
and Washington had not committed any
traffic violation, the officers did not.allow
Washington to leave. Instead, they began
to administer field sobriety tests to him
and subject him to continued harassment
despite the fact that he was innocent of
any crime.
The lawsuit charges that the California
Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Bureau of
_ Narcotics Enforcement (BNE) violated the
plaintiffs' rights secured by the Fourth,
Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, includ-
ing the right to travel as protected by the
Commerce Clause and the Privileges and
Immunities Clauses of Article IV and the |
Fourteenth Amendment.
In April, the ACLU-NC launched a bill-
board and radio ad campaign in English
and Spanish to publicize the toll-free
"Driving While Black or Brown" hotline, 1-
877-DWB-STOP. (The Spanish Language
hotline is 1-877-PARALOS.) More than
2000 persons have called to report their
stories of discriminatory traffic stops. Hi
Correction
In the November-December 1999 issue,
the article on the Activist Conference
misstated a statistic on race and crimi-
nal justice. The correct figure is as fol-
lows: In California, one in three African
American men between the ages of 20-
29 is in the criminal justice system - in
jail, prison, or on parole or on probation.
Youth Conference Focuses on Rights,
Building a Movement
Student Geis G cer from left) Angelina Valentin of the Vallejo High School ACLU ee
Chapter, Jacinta Cruz of Camptonville Academy, Cindy Dowling of San Francisco State
University, Luis Ramirez of Berkeley High School and Myriam Bouaziz of Vallejo High School
at the 1999 Student Rights Conference.
By SHAYNA GELENDER
that could incriminate our generation.
More than 1,000 students from high
schools throughout northern California +
VIVIANE SCOTT -
attended the conference.
"I was delighted to see the interest
and thought radiating on everyone's
faces," said SAC member Sirena
Putnam, a senior at Castro Valley
High School in Castro Valley.
"Everyone seemed genuinely con-
cerned about the issues we
brought up and interested in
helping make things right."
Keynote speaker Taj
- James . from Coleman
Advocates for Youth in San
Francisco stressed the necessity of build-
ing a grassroots movement to fight for the
rights of youth.
A series of workshops on a variety of |
choolmates not Cellmates! This is one
S: the slogans being used to campaign
against Proposition 21, the juvenile
justice initiative slated for the March 2000
ballot. And juvenile justice - with
Proposition 21 as a focal point - was the
main item on the agenda at the ACLU
Student Rights Conference on October 26 at
UC Berkeley. The Conference was organized
by the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of
the ACLU-NC Howard A. Friedman First
Amendment Education Project.
At the opening session, YAC members
put on a comedic skit to demonstrate the
shocking reality that would confront youth
if Prop 21 were to pass. The skit and follow-
ing presentations sent a clear message to
the students that their efforts are central to -
fighting anti-youth measures like Prop 21, |
issues provided the information and skills
training to help build that movement. The
-~ACLU Defends Library Against
Parent Seeking Internet Censorship
October 18 in the California Court of
Appeal, the ACLU joined unique legal
battle over whether a parent can force a
public library to censor Internet access of
all its patrons in order to control her own
child's use of the Internet.
A lower court dismissed "Kathleen R."s
original complaint in 1998, in which she
argued that the library's open-access policy
constituted a "public nuisance." In an
amended complaint she argued that the
library has a constitutional obligation to
censor the Internet access of its patrons.
Both her claims are now at issue before the
|: a friend-of-the-court brief filed on
California Court of Appeal in Kathleen R. v.
Livermore Labrary.
"As the court recognized, it is no more
legal for a parent to compel a library to cen-
sor the Internet than it is for the govern-
ment to do so," said ACLU-NC staff attorney
Ann Brick, who filed the brief on behalf of |
the ACLU of Northern California, the
national ACLU, People for the American
_ Way and the Freedom to Read Foundation, |
part of the American Library Association.
-"The Livermore library's policy enables |
each family to be sure that its children use |
_ the Internet in a manner that is consistent _
_ with its own values, without imposing -
those values on other families," she added.
Brick noted that this position has long
been espoused by the American Library
Association and the majority of libraries
across the country.
Last year, in a related case, a federal
appeals court in Virginia held that a
library's policy of using blocking software
to censor materials online "offends the
guarantee of free speech." The ACLU repre-
ACLU News = January-FesRuArRy 2000 = Pace 6
sented Internet content providers in that
case against the trustees of the Loudoun
County, Virginia library.
In voiding the Loudoun County library's
blocking policy, the judge noted that the
software, which claimed to "filter" out only |
obscene material, blocked sites includ-
ing the San Francisco Chronicle and
Examiner as well as the web, site of the
Maryland "affiliate of the American
Association of University Women.
"The Livermore Library Board recog-
nizes, as the Virginia Library Board did not,
that requiring the use of blocking software in |
libraries creates, rather than solves, consti-
`tutional problems," said ACLU national staff
attorney Ann Beeson. "If Kathleen R. has her
way, the Internet will become as bland and
homogenized as daytime television. I doubt
other parents will thank her for it."
workshops included Gangs and Gang
Violence; Trying Youth as Adults; Student
Press: Can I Really Write That?; Race and
Schools-Reading, `Riting, and Racism;
Gay Rights on Campus; Rights of
Homeless Youth; Native American
Political Prisoners; the Prison Industrial
Complex; Knowing Your Rights with the
Police; Media Portrayal of Youth;
Investigative Journalism; Parental
Consent for Abortions, Gay Marriage: No
On Knight; and Needle Exchange
Programs: Promotion of Prevention?
YAC facilitator Kandyce Wilson, a
senior at Vallejo High School in Vallejo,
said she learned, "about needle
exchange, how it got started, what its
purpose is, and who it helps."
She noted that the workshops were
enriched by a wide spectrum of expert
speakers including representatives of
Horizon's Unlimited Street Outreach
Program, the Third Eye Movement, the
Beat Within, the S.F. Foundation AIDS
Prevention Project, the Bay Area Gay-
Straight Alliance Network, and several
public defenders, attorneys, journalists
and youth organizers. The students also
enjoyed the talents of Mind Tricks, a
Hip-Hop and dance troupe
from the Bay
Area.
The
confer-
ence was
possible by
the joint ef-
forts of stu-
dents and
expert youth
advocates. Nancy
Otto is the Director of the Friedman
Project and William Walker is the Project
Fellow. Members of the Student Advisory
Committee include: Rachel Aoanan,
Myraim Bouaziz, Jamie Christainsen,
Cindy Downing, Eric Elems, Kathleen
Flanagan, Shayna Gelender, Alex Green,
Chris Jones, Sanam Jorjani, Jed Kinnison,
Jeannie Lee, Gab Martinez, Dan Melleno,
Saba Moeel, Shaffy Moeel, Zac Moon,
Lucia Mortiz, Adam Nielsen, Sirena
Putman, Luis Ramirez, Lani Riccobuono,
Ana Sauceda, Viviane Scott, Suemyra
Shah, Chris Uyeda, Jose Vargas, Marlene
Williams, Kandyce Wilson, and Jenn Wu.
The YAC organizes two confer-
ences a year, selecting themes and
issues that focus on the rights of
youth. If you are interested in partici-
pating in the Youth Advisory
Committee, please contact Project
Director Nancy Otto or Project Fellow
William Walker at 415/621-2493. Hi
Shayna Gelender is a senior at Castro
Valley High School and a member of the
Youth Advisory Committee.
irtually without exception, obituar-
/ ies of former California Chief
Justice Rose Bird attribute her
1986 electoral defeat to her unwavering
her purported opposition to the death
penalty was not the motivation for con-
servatives who set out to remove the
state's first female Supreme Court justice
used to punish her for other trespasses.
California's renewed death penalty
statute (1976) and Justice Bird (1977)
burst on the scene at almost the same
time. The new Bird Court had the task of
examining the constitutionality of a
brand new, and in many legal scholars'
estimation, badly drawn state law
expanding the use of the death penalty.
Her court's rulings, necessary to refine
the law and protect the constitutional
rights of the accused, overturned most
of the death sentences brought before it.
Despite their insistence that Bird
attempted to single-handedly derail
each of the 61 decisions to overrule it
commanded a majority of the Court.
Bird's was hardly a lone voice in the
wilderness.
Oddly, while Bird.was tagged as an
outspoken opponent of the death
tal campaign to remove her from office,
in the years I knew her | never heard
her make a definitive declaration on
the issue. During her recall campaign
in 1986, she said "I feel strongly about
the sanctity of life, and I have argued
against the death penalty. But I believe
as an individual justice I can make a
determination based on issues and not
on preconceived notions."
Rose Bird was a pioneer: the first
female clerk in the Nevada Supreme
Former California Supreme Court Chief Justice kose Bird died of breast cancer on
December 4 at the age of 63. The ACLU-NC honored Bird, and her fellow justices Cruz
Reynoso and Joseph Grodin, with the Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award in 1987. Below
is a tribute to the former Chief Justice by Mike Farrell, President of Death Penalty
_ Focus and a member of the state Commission on Judicial Performance.
opposition to the death penalty. In fact, -
from office, rather it was the club they' | off the shards.
California's death penalty statute, -
- penalty by the forces that waged a bru- -
Court; first female deputy public defend-
er in Santa Clara County; the first
female to hold a cabinet-level job in
California; the first female justice on the ~
California Supreme Court. But it was not
simply the act of breaking through so
many of California's sturdiest glass ceil-
ings that so riled conservatives; it was
what she accomplished after brushing
As then-Governor Jerry Brown's
Secretary of Agriculture, she beefed up
the Division of Occupational Health and
Safety, angering business interests. She
banned the use of the short-handled hoe
that forced farm laborers to spend hours
stooped over in the fields, thus alienat-
ing powerful agribusiness interests. She
earned more enmity when she drafted
the landmark bill allowing farm workers
to organize.
On the Supreme Court, she led a
majority that bolstered environmental
laws, strengthened consumer laws, and
broadened injured parties right to sue.
She also wrote a decision banning ladies
nights at nightclubs and bars, and
affirmed decisions supporting tenants'
rights. She dissented from the court' rul-
ing that upheld Proposition 13, the 1978
property tax initiative. %
She sold the Court Cadillac, stopped
holding judge's conferences at-fancy
resorts and insisted on writing individ-
ual opinions to distinguish her views
from those of her colleagues. And she
established a special task force to make ~
California courtrooms free of sexual and
racial bias.
Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit said, "Rose Bird [had] a total
passion for, and commitment to, jus-
tice." In a just world, that would have
been enough. @
Federal Court Rules
Against Censorship on
the Internet
BY STELLA RICHARDSON
he Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,
[secon with ACLU arguments,
ruled on December 17 that the fed-
eral Child Pornography Protection Act
(CPPA) goes too far and violates the First
Amendment by outlawing images that only
"appear to be" minors. In October 1997,
the ACLU-NC and the national ACLU filed
an amicus brief in an appeal from a deci-
sion upholding the 1996 law.
The ACLU argued that the law crimi-
nalizes non-obscene materials that do not
involve the participation of minors. These
materials may well have serious literary,
artistic, political or scientific value yet the
language used in the law restricts writers,
filmmakers and other artists from even
using young-looking adults in their work.
'"The decision is a victory for free
speech," said ACLU-NC staff attorney
Ann Brick, "because sexually explicit,
non-obscene speech is protected by the
First Amendment.
"In striking down the Act, the Ninth
Circuit recognized what other courts did
not," added Brick, "that when Congress
expanded the definition of child pornog- .
raphy to cover materials in which no real
children are used, they went from pro-
tecting real children who are used in
pornography to the constitutionally pro-
hibited act of banning ideas. Upholding
such a law would set a dangerous prece-
dent indeed."
The original lawsuit was filed by the
Free Speech Coalition, which includes
free speech activists and producers and
distributors of "adult-oriented materi-
als." The suit, Free Speech Coalition v.
Reno, a pre-enforcement challenge to
the CPPA, argued that the law is so
broadly worded that it covers any picture
in which an adult portrays a minor
engaged in sexual activity.
The ACLU brief was authored by Brick
and cooperating attorney William Bennett
Turner. @
No More Closed Door
Civilian Police Review
Meetings in Oakland
and police reform advocates, Alameda
County Superior Judge Henry E.
Needham ruled on December 10 that the
Oakland City Council may no longer meet
in closed session to discuss changes to the
Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB).
The ruling should end an 19-year prac-
tice of the city negotiating the powers and
role of civilian oversight of its police
department in secret with their local
police union, the Oakland Police Officers'
Association (OPOA). Oakland was the
only city in the state that held these sort of
closed- door meetings.
"The people of Oakland have been
l na major victory for open government
waiting far too long for their elected lead- _
ers to publicly consider, discuss and act
upon proposals about how police officers
should be held accountable to the people
_ they serve," said ACLU-NC attorney John
Crew. "It's high time for the City Council to
give up their long, wasteful and ultimately
desperate attempt to maintain their prac-
itce of back-room deals with the Oakland
ACLU Urges Monterey Court to
Lift Gag Order on Striker
BY STELLA RICHARDSON
of the Monterey County Coordinated
Court, the ACLU urged the Court to
strike an order barring vegetable plant
striker Hallie Lake Cox from engaging in
| na letter to Judge Marla O. Anderson
public strike activities, including peace- |
ful picketing, passing out leaflets or peti-
tions on a public sidewalk, or attending
union rallies.
"We believe that this order infringes
fundamental constitutional rights of free-
dom of expression and assoeiation and
principles of due process," charged attor-
ney Michelle Welsh of the ACLU Monterey
~s
Chapter and ACLU-NC staff attorney
Margaret Crosby in the October 25 letter.
Cox was arrested during. a strike at
Basic Vegetable Products in King City and
charged for allegedly throwing a rock at a
bus transporting replacement workers.
Judge Kay Kingsley granted Mr. Cox's
motion for reduction of bail and set bail at
$6,000 with the condition that he would not
publicly participate in strike activities.
A few weeks later, Cox was arrested
and charged with willfully disobeying the
order. According to the police report, the
arrest was based on Mr. Cox's driving on
public roads, in his red Toyota truck, with
several different flags attached (an
ACLU News = January-FesrRuary 2000 = Pace 7
- American flag, a Mexican flag, a Teamsters
890 flag, and a flag bearing the words "Si Se
Puede" Yes You Can, in Spanish.) The
District Attorney filed a criminal complaint
_ for contempt of court.
In urging the Court to dismiss the
pending contempt charges, Welsh and
Crosby argued that not only did Cox not
violate the order because "driving a truck
decorated with flags is not encompassed-
within its proscription," but that the
order itself - infringed Cox's First
Amendment rights.
Following a hearing, a plea bargain was
reached that ended the restrictions on
Cox's public strike activities. Hi
Police Officers' Association."
The ACLU-NC and People United for
a Better Oakland (PUEBLO) filed an
official complaint in-May, 1998 with the
city's Public Ethics Commission alleging
that the Council's closed-door sessions
violated state and local open meeting (c)
laws. The Commission was created by
Oakland voters to oversee compliance
with the City's Sunshine Ordinance
which, in turn, established strong rights
of public access to government docu-
ments and proceedings.
In September, 1998 the Commission
unanimously ruled that the Council's
closed-door sessions were illegal and should -
be "immediately ceased." A month later, the
Council decided to sue its own Public
Ethics Commission rather than comply with
the ruling. That suit is pending.
In response, on November 5, 1998
PUEBLO and the ACLU sued the City
Council alleging that the City Council had
violated the open meetings provisions of
the California Brown Act and the Oakland
Sunshine Ordinance. :
"Making secret backroom deals on
key public policy decisions about civil-
ian review has been a disaster for
Oakland and for police-community rela-
tions," said Dan HoSang, PUEBLO's
director. "If the police department "ants
the community to be their partner, che
partnership must be based on openness,
equity, trust and accountability. We
hope this court ruling - which in effect
forces the City Council and the police
department to be open to the public on
these sorts of questions - will be viewed
by the police department as an opportu-
nity to start building a new relationship
with the community."
The Citizens' Police Review Board is
an appointed body of civilians who, along
with their staff, investigate and adjudicate
allegations of police misconduct. The
Review Board's disciplinary recommenda- -
tions are referred to the City Manager for
further action.
Defeat the Anti-Youth, Anti-Gay Ballot Measures in March
PROPOSITION 21- JUVENILE IN-JUSTICE
ete Wilson's Juvenile Crime Initiative imposes a harsh punitive approach to addressing juvenile crime by incarcerating many more juveniles
1 for longer periods of time. Juveniles will be sent to adult prisons. Juvenile criminal records will be unsealed. Money will be spent on incar-
ceration, not education. The initiative, which makes hundreds of changes in California law, contains many failed proposals of former Governor
Wilson that were rejected by the Legislature in prior years. If passed, this initiative will fill our prisons with youthful offenders, and will make
it nearly impossible for young people to rehabilitate.
PROPOSITION 22- DANGER TO LESBIAN AND Gay RIGHTS
he so-called Limits on Marriage or Knight initiative spearheaded by State Senator Pete Knight would make it legally impossible for
_4 any couple other than a man and a woman to marry in California. This initiative is a "wedge" issue which is intended to use homo-
phobia to codify anti-gay measures. In states with similar legislation, courts and policy makers have relied on such laws to deny adop-
tions by lesbian or gay parents, to defeat anti-discrimination measures for lesbians and gay men, and even to justify the elimination of
wht ERC,
protections provided by anti-hate crimes laws. The California State Assembly has already defeated similar bills five times.
You Can Help Stop These Initiatives!
@ ACLU PHONE NIGHTS
Join us in calling ACLU members throughout California, urging them to vote against
both initiatives and encouraging them to join us in the fight.
" COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
Contact your local ACLU chapter and get involved with grassroots organizing and
fundraising efforts. Help educate your community on both initiatives!
@ LITERATURE DISTRIBUTION
You can order and distribute brochures against both initiatives from the ACLU. Send
in the coupon below. The brochures are free.
Chapter Boosts "No on 22"
The ACLU-NC North Peninsula Chapter organized a successful house party on
November 7 to benefit the No On Knight Campaign. The event, held at the home of
Harriet Hills Stinson, pictured above with Chapter leader Marshall Dinowitz, raised
Campaign on Peninsula
$12,500 to defeat the homophobic initiative. The fundraiser was organized by chapter
activists Dinowitz, Francesca Guido and Marlene De Lancie. Featured speakers
included Mitzi Henderson, former national Chair of Parents and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays and Wiggsy Silverstein, Dean of Students at San Jose State University.
The North Pen Chapter also helped secure the passage of a resolution opposing the ini-
tiative from the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. On December 21, the Board
unanimously passed a measure urging citizens to vote against Proposition 22 because
it is "unfair and divisive" and would lead to a climate of hatefulness."
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-Ken-
sington) Chapter Meeting: (Usually first
Coordinating Council, "Whistlestop Wheels," Caboose
_ mation, contact Coleman Persily at 415/479-1731.
Mid-Peninsula Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth
Thursday) Meet at 7:00 PM, at 460 South California
| Avenue, Suite 11, Palo Alto. For more information, con-
Wednesday) For more information, time and address of |
meetings, contact Diana Wellum at 510/841-2069.
Chico Chapter /f you are a member in the
Chico/Redding area, please contact Steven Post-Jeyes at
415/345-1449.
Fresno Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth
Tuesday). Please join our newly-reorganized Chapter!
Meetings are held at 7:00 PM at the Fresno Center for
Non-Violence. For more information, call Bob Hirth
209/225-6223 (days).
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights
Chapter For more information, contact Chloe Watts,
510/763-3910 or Jeff Mittman, 510/272-9380.
Marin County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third
Monday) Meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Marin Senior
tact Ken Russell at 650/493-2437.
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) Chapter
Meeting: (Usually third Monday) Meet at 7:30 PM, at
700 Laurel Street, Park Tower Apartments, top floor.
Check-out our web page at: http://members.
aol.com/mpenaclu. For more information, contact Marc
Fagel at 650/579-1789.
Oakland (renamed Paul Robeson) Chapter
Meeting: (Usually fourth Thursday) For more informaton
contact Stan Brackett: 510/832-1915.
Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter
Meeting: (Usually every third Tuesday) Meet at
Luzmilla's, 1288 G Street, Arcata at 7:00 PM. For infor-
ACLU News = January-FesRuary 2000 = Pace 8S
MARLENE DE LANCIE
|
|
|
Room, 930 Tamalpais Ave., San Rafael. For more infor -
@ Get up-to-date information on both campaign websites and our ACLU-
NC website:
www.noprop2l.org | www.noonknight.org | www.aclunc.org
@ or fill in the coupon below:
panne nnn nena nnn n ne nne nnn nnanenenn renee =o
CHECK AS MANY AS YOU WISH
(J Please send me
(c) Yes, I want to help defeat the Anti-Youth Initiative, Proposition 21
(c) Yes, I want to help defeat the Anti-Gay Initiative, Proposition 22
(c) I'll work wherever you need me against either/both of these bad initiatives.
copies of the ACLU No on Proposition 22 brochure.
Name
Address
City [States 2271p
Your telephone Email
Send to or contact:
Telephone: 415 621-2493, Address:
Lisa Maldonado, ACLU-NC Field Representative, Email (lisam@aclunc.org),
American Civil Liberties Union of Northern
California, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460, San Francisco, CA 941038
TCE RGE Noa cieclilrality
It's time that the ACLU San Joaquin Chapter reorganized, to better
campaign for the civil liberties of all residents of the San Joaquin
County area. We are looking for thoughtful and committed people
who would like to help rebuild the local chapter.
If you are interested, please e-mail Rick Atkins at
stockton4-aclu@cs.com or phone 209/ 467-4866.
mation on upcoming meeting dates and times, please
call 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.
_ San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Third Tuesday)
Meet at 6:45 PM at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission
_ Street, Suite #460, San Francisco. Call the Chapter |
Hotline (979-6699) for further details.
Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting: (Usually
first Tuesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Peace Center,
48 S. 7th St, San Jose, CA. For further chapter infor
mation contact Dan Costello at 408/287-6403.
Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting: (Usually
third Monday) Meet at 7:15 PM. For more information,
contact Dianne Vaillancourt at 408/454-0112.
Sonoma County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third
Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM at the Peace and Justice
Center, 540 Pacific Avenue, Santa Rosa. Call Victor
Chechanover at 707/778-7302 for more information.
For more information, contact Lisa |
Maldonado at 415/621-2493.
Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third
Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM, 2505 5th Street #154,
Davis. For more information, call Natalie Wormeli at
530/756-1900 or Dick Livingston at 530/753-
1250.
Chapters Reorganizing
If you are interested in reviving the Mt. Diablo
Chapter, please contact Field Representative Lisa
| Maldonado at 415/621-2006 ext. 46.
Field Action Meetings
(All meetings except those noted will be held at the
ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission Street, 460, San
Francisco.)
Student Outreach Committee: Meet to plan out:
reach activities. For more information, contact Nancy
Otto at 415/621-2006 ext. 37.
Student Advisory Committee: For more informa-
fion, contact Nancy Otto at 415/621-2006 ext. 37.