Open forum, vol. 68, no. 7 (Fall, 1993)

OPEN FORUM

Fall 1993

MMIGRANTS

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California

of Southern California

Vol. 68 No. 7

There is a growing sentiment among the populace that immigrants are largely respon-

The Official Scapegoats

of The State of California

carry a "tamper-proof" identification card.

Ostensibly aimed at curing this state's current fiscal ills, Wilson's proposals have

instead inflamed a traditional social malaise: the scapegoating of a disenfranchised group.

BY SILVIA ARGUETA

AND CHRISTOPHER J. HERRERA

On Aug. 10, California Governor Pete Wilson made a series of highly publicized

proposals to President Clinton. Claiming that those immigrating to the U.S. are system-

atically draining the economy, Wilson proposed-among other things-that education

and health care be denied to men, women and children who are in this country without

proper documentation; that children born in this country of parents without proper

documentation be denied citizenship; and that every person in this country be required to

sible for the economic woes of not only California but of the nation. And as this sentiment

grows among the populace, it will be seized upon by the politicians. The readiness of some

to take up this banner is already apparent-over 25 pieces of anti-immigrant legislation

were introduced in the state legislature this year. For example, the governor signed a bill

on Oct. 5 aimed at denying driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants.

What the politicians forget to point out

is that, according to the U.S. Census Bu-

reau, those here illegally comprise less

than 1.5% of the total U.S. population.

This slim percentile can hardly be blamed

for the current recession. In California

especially, many of the undocumented

come to the U.S. and take the most undesir-

able jobs where wage and hour standards

are ignored and worker safety regulations are often violated.

Contrary to the myth that immigrants take more in services than they give, various social

studies have documented that immigrants in fact pay more in taxes than they take out. In

Los Angeles County, for example, a 1992 study at the University of San Diego found that

undocumented immigrants in L.A. county contributed at least $3 billion in income, sales

and property taxes in 1990-91. However, 57% of those revenues went to the federal

government. The same study found that the federal government has reduced its contribu-

tion to refugee assistance in California by 90%.

The mathematics are simple. It is the public's perception that is problematic.

Statewide Coalition Formed

to Oppose Proposition 174

BY CHRISTOPHER J. HERRERA

As this November's election draws near, a statewide coalition

dedicated to opposing Proposition 174 has been formed. The group,

VETO 174 (Voter Education to Oppose Prop. 174), has been

spearheaded by both the Northern and Southern Californian affili-

ates of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Southern California arm of VETO 174 consists of more than

40 local organizations determined to stop Prop. 174's voucher plan

which would cripple California's already ailing public education

system.

Prop. 174's voucher plan would allow for discrimination in

public funded schools based on a wide array of criteria; allow

religious doctrine to be taught at publicly funded schools; and allow

any entrepreneur with 25 students to establish a state funded school

with no public accountability.

(For a detailed description of Proposition 174, please see page 7.)

Proponents of the voucher plan have claimed that their opposi-

tion comes from those who rely on the education system for their

paychecks. However, the VETO 174 coalition is comprised exclu-

sively of organizations that have no vested economic interest in

public schools-only a deep concern for the future of educational

equality.

VETO 174 brings together Latino groups, Korean-American

groups, African-American groups, Japanese-American groups,

women's organizations, progressive political movements, trade

unions, voter groups, and civil rights and civil liberties groups to

fight this proposition-a proposition which would only relegate

poor and challenged children to a financially devastated public

school system. "

A174,

Voter Education To Oppose Prop.

10th District PTA

Action for Grassroots Empowerment and

Neighborhood Development Alternatives

American Civil Liberties Union

American Friends Service Committee

American Jewish Congress

Anti-Defamation League

Asian Pacific American Legal Center

Asian Pacific Americans

for a New Los Angeles

Asian Pacific Planning Council

Black Leadership Coalition

on Education

California Women's Law Center

Central American Refugee Center

Coalition 0x00B093

Culver City Community Coalition

Culver City PTA

Feminist Majority Foundation

El Rescate

Immediate Mobilization

of Pan Asians for Change Today

Internaitonal Ladies

Garment Workers Union

Japanese American Citizens League

id Jovenes

Korean Youth and Community Center

174

Pecks Paras:

Labor Community Strategies Center .

L.A, County League

of Women Voters

Mexican American Legal Defense

Education Fund

NAACP California State Conference

Greater Los Angeles

NAACP-Legal Defense and

Educational Fund

NA'AMAT USA

National Council of Jewish Women/

Los Angeles

National Lawyers Guild /

Los Angeles

Peace and Justice Center of

Southern California

People for the American Way

Project AHEAD

SEIU Local 660

SEIU Local 399

Southern California

Civil Rights Coalition

Southern Christian Leadership

Conference of Greater Los Angeles

Women For

United Westside

Democratic Campaign

University of California

Student Association

BY ALLAN PARACHINI

The ACLU of Southern California is pressing investigation of police

pepper spray use after release of a public policy report questioning the

spray's effectiveness. The report also identified seven California fatalities =i

in aten month period in which pepper spray was used shortly before the time

of death. The report cited fundamental ACLU concerns about excessive and

possibly racially discriminatory application of the spray.

The 39-page study, "Pepper Spray: A Magic Bullet Under Scrutiny," was

released Sept. 28-hours before the Los Angeles Police Commission, on a

split vote, agreed to allow police officers to use the spray more widely,

The report noted that 192 of California's 450 law enforcement agencies

now use the spray despite questions about its effectiveness and safety,

The 3-2 Police Commission vote, which came after spirited debate about

the safety of the spray and the ACLU's findings, underscored the growing

please see Pepper Spray, page 6

Geoffrey

Garfield

and

Violante

The myth that immigrants take more in public services than they give is as flawed as it

is widely held. Yet the fact is that undocumented immigrants can only receive three types

of public benefits: emergency medical

services, prenatal care and K-12 education.

They cannot receive welfare, social secu-

rity and unemployment funds even though

they pay federal income tax, state income

tax, social security insurance and unem-

ployment compensation.

New legal immigrants are disqualified

from receiving public assistance for three

years and immigrants recently legalized

under amnesty laws (IRCA) are denied

public benefits for five years after obtain-.

ing permanent residency. All the while

these immigrants must contribute to the

system. These are facts that politicians

find convenient to forget when they are in

front of the news media. Rather, the more

politically expedient route is taken-play-

ing to the biases and prejudices of many

Californians.

As for specific proposals, it is difficult

to know where to begin.

The suggestion to deny citizenship to

the children of undocumented immigrants

would require nothing less than the repeal

of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Consti-

tution.

The notion of denying education to chil-

dren of undocumented immigrants is as

hateful as it is impractical and unlawful.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the mat-

ter in the 1982 case Plyler v. Doe. In his

court opinion, Justice William Brennan

wrote that the denial of education to un-

documented immigrants "imposes a life-

time hardship on a discrete class of chil-

please see Immigrants, page 3

Deputy Mayor Bill Violante

in conversation with

Ramona Ripston.

See page 4

f See page 3 for other

LHR may Ae

Construction Halted on

Native American Sacred Site

ACLU wins injunction allowing full access to

grounds; projected CSULB mini-mall put on hold.

BY CHRISTOPHER J. HERRERA

Native Americans won a major victory for religious

freedom Sept. 3 when the ACLU successfully halted Cal-

State Long Beach from beginning construction of a mini-

mall on a sacred site.

Joining with the Center for Human Rights and Consti-

tutional Law, the ACLU Foundation of Southern Califor-

nia won a preliminary injunction which effectively blocked

any construction on the Puvungna site at California State

University, Long Beach.

The site-a small land parcel of approximately 22

acres-is a well documented historic and religious site. As

the last remaining undeveloped land where the Puvungna

villages once stood, it is of vital religious significance to

ecration of the site.

access to the land.

members of the Gabrielino,

Juaneno, Luiseno, and other Na-

tive American tribes. Puvungna is

believed to be the birthplace of

Chungishnish, the god and law-

giver to those peoples.

The preliminary injunction al-

lows access to all the land for spiritual ceremonies and

prevents the university from further des-

The case,Native American Heritage Com-

mission v. Cal-State Long Beach, was heard

by Judge Stephen O' Neil who instructed the

university to allow Native Americans full

"We were very impressed with the atten-

tion the judge paid to the case," said ACLU

Slaff Fellow Raleigh Levine. "He obviously

considered the matter carefully and reached the only con-

clusion supportable under the law, which mandates that

California has an interest in preserving all of its historical

hearing.

a

No

tO a cacaaeaaala

and cultural resources-including those important to the

people who first inhabited this land."

The university later filed an emergency appeal in the

matter and a hearing has been set for Dec. 21. The appeal

has allowed for a small portion of the land to continue being

used for the storage of large construction vehicles. Other-

wise, the preliminary injunction stays in full force until the

"Cal-State Long Beach

quite clearly failed to show

any public interests that the

proposed mini-mall would

serve for the students of

the university, the resi-

dents of Long Beach, or

the people of California,"

said Carlos Holguin, attorney with Cen-

ter for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. "Economic

interests of developers and those aligned with them shall

not be permitted to run roughshod over the human and

constitutional rights of Native Americans." a

assist her in this.

grandparents' home in Meridian, Miss.

ents or their attorney.

in the courts.

Tammy Brown Gets First Private

Visit With Children in Three Years

After more than three years without seeing her two boys alone Tammy Brown

was able to spend 10 days with them in Mississippi in August.

Brown, a woman who legally moved with her children from Mississipi to

California, had her two boys taken from her by a Mississippi judge after she

married an African-American man. She has since been trying to regain custody of

her children. This spring the ACLU Foundation of Southern California agreed to

OPEN FORUM STAFF

The ACLU was forced to file a motion in Chancery Court in Meridian, Miss.,

to obtain the visitation after the paternal grandparents and their attorney refused

to discuss the possibility of the visit for nearly two months. On the morning of the

Aug. 3 hearing the grandparents finally agreed to a settlement of the issue and

Tammy was reunited with her children.

The visit was made possible after Max Palevsky donated the funds necessary

for Brown to post a$10,000 bond. The bond was imposed by the Mississippi courts

as the condition for any visit Brown may have with her children outside the

The ACLU has requested future visits at Thanksgiving and Christmas and a

summer visit in California. So far, there has been no response from the grandpar-

The ACLU has also requested that the grandparents relinquish their custody of

the boys given the fact that Tammy Brown and her husband, Jake Brown, have now

been happily married since November 1990 and none of the reasons why the

grandparents claimed they sought custody still apply. So far we have received no

response to this request and it seems likely that the issue will have to be resolved

Custody of the boys was given to the grandparents in December of 1990. During

a summer visit with their grandparents that year, the children mentioned that their

mother was seeing a black man. The grandparents then convinced a Mississippi

judge to take "emergency jursidiction" over the boys. @

HIVIG Vaccine Trials

Ready to Go Forward

A promising new drug that may prevent transmission of the human immunodeficiency .

BY ELIZABETH SCHROEDER

virus (HIV) from mothers to their fetuses is now ready for clinical trials throughout the

United States. The vaccine, HIV hyperimmune globulin (HIVIG), has been made available

thanks to a lawsuit prepared by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California.

This past June, Abbott Laboratories released the rights to HIVIG to another company

after Abbott's attorneys were served with papers. The company was notified that a lawsuit

would be filed unless Abbott relinquished its proprietary control of HIVIG and fulfilled its

promise to make the vaccine available for clinical trials. The new company, North

American Biologicals of Miami, will now begin supplying the drug to 40 test centers

around the country, including the University of California, Los Angeles.

In July, 1991, Abbott agreed in writing to supply researchers with HIVIG for clinical

trials sponsored by three units of the National Institutes of Health. Then, on July 6, 1992-

as the program was about to begin after years of research-Abbott reneged on its

HIV is too deadly for

any company, like Abbott,

to hold necessary

research hostage, and

sacrifice lives to maximize

corporate profit sheets.

Mark Rosenbaum

ACLU General Counsel

commitment without warning. Citing fear

of liability if infants were infected as a

result of the trials, Abbott suddenly insisted

on full liability indemnification by the U.S.

government. Such indemnification is ex-

tremely rare and can only be obtained by an

act of Congress. No other drug company

produces a vaccine similar to HIVIG.

Joined by two private law firms,

Morrison and Foerster and Hufstedler, Kaup

Ettinger, the ACLU was poised to file a

federal breach of contract suit on behalf of

five of the leading pediatric AIDS research-

ers in the country, including the study's co-

~ Guilt by Association" Order

Overturned in Orange County

BY CHRISTOPHER J. HERRERA

Without even attempting to prove them

guilty of any charge, the city of Westminster

tried to prohibit nearly-60 named defen-

dants from "standing, sitting, walking, driv-

ing, gathering or appearing together in pub-

lic view" within a 25 square block neigh-

borhood. The temporary restraining order

which gave the city that power was over-

turned after the ACLU Foundation of South-

ern California argued that it was unconsti-

tutional.

The TRO was served on June 30 to 59

men, all alleged members of a

Westminster street gang. As

part of its anti-gang pro-

gram-and part of a frighten-

ing trend within Southern

California cities and law en-

forcement 0x00B0 agencies-

Westminster saw the injunc-

tion as ameans to arrest people

before they committed any

What these measures

are really doing is

overturning the American

tradition of `innocent

until proven guilty.'

by association is not the answer. These so-

called `gang abatement' ordinances are

growing in popularity, but what they're

really doing is overturning the American

tradition of `innocent until proven guilty.' -

It's a very dangerous precedent to set."

The ruling was hailed by both the Los

Angeles Times and Orange County

Register' s editorial pages as a wise one.

"{G]angs that drift into criminal activity

are most likely to form when institutions

like families, churches, and community

organizations are weak," said the OC Reg-

ister editorial. "It is also

important to repair these so-

cietal institutions and to open

up constructive alternatives

for young people."

Silverstein was in court

during a preliminary hear-

ing on the case and agreed to

argue against the restraining

order as a friend-of-the-

crimes. court. He stipulated, how-

The ACLU Foundation of } ever, that a separate lawyer

Southern California stepped its ny dangerous should be available for each

SSS oe pecrenti ce, =. AE as

; is order hi

against making the order per- specific crimes that the city

manent. ACLU Staff Attor- `Mark Silverstein alleges were caused by mem-

ney Mark Silverstein cited the

TRO's clear violation of the

First and Fourteenth Amend-

ment guarantees of the rights to assembly,

due process and privacy. Agreeing with

the ACLU, Superior Court Judge Richard

J. Beacom declared the TRO an

"impermissable invasion of privacy" and

overruled it in its entirety.

"This was a very difficult decision for

this judge to make, and he should be recog-

nized for having the strength to make the

right one," said Silverstein who argued

against the injunction as a friend-of-the-

court. "This community has a distinct

problem with gangs. But a system of guilt

ACLU Staff Attorney

bers of this group. But each

of these defendants are

unique individuals and have

very distinct histories," said Silverstein.

"They may very well have conflicting in-

terests and one lawyer could not possibly

represent them properly as a group."

The court indicated that the defendants

most likely had the right to counsel, yet the

county would not be able to afford the legal

fees. That would place the burden on the

city of Westminster.

One of the city attorneys for

Westminster, however, asserted that there

was absolutely no reason for each defen-

dant to have his own attorney. a

ACLU of Southern ee

director, Dr. Richard Stiehm of the UCLA.

In the United States, almost 6,000 pregnant women are infected with HIV each yeat.

The virus, generally considered a precurser of AIDS, is transmitted from mother to child

approximately 30% of the time; about 1,800 newborns are born HIV-positive in this

country annually.

Early research results indicate that HIVIG can reduce the likelihood of HIV transmis-

sion by half.

"Perhaps, finally, for children at least, the band may not just play on," said Mark

Rosenbaum, General Counsel for the ACLU Foundation. "HIV is too deadly for any

company, like Abbott, to hold necessary research hostage, and sacrifice lives to maximize

corporate profit sheets." Also working on the suit for the ACLU were Senior Staff Attorney

Jon Davidson and Shafer Fellow Alan Friel. They were joined by Donna Baker and Andree

Daly from the Morrison firm, and Dennis Perluss from the Hufstedler firm. 5

Fall 1993

(c) 2

Alicia Robalino and ACLU Senior Staff Counsel Carol Sobel

911 Operator Stalked by LAPD

Officer; Harassment Suit Filed

BY ELIZABETH SCHROEDER

For over a year, 911 operator Alicia

Robalino was systematically stalked and

harassed by John Ortega, a Los Angeles

Police Department Sergeant. The harass-

ment began shortly after Robalino ended

herrelationship with Ortegain August 1992.

A September 1993 lawsuit filed by the

ACLU Foundation of Southern California

on behalf of Robalino contends that the

LAPD failed to develop and implement

sexual harassment policies and procedures,

as required by state and federal law. In

addition, the LAPD is charged with failing

properly and promptly to investigate alle-

gations of sexual harassment and sexual

discrimination against one of its officers.

The suit was brought in L.A. County Supe-

rior Court.

The lawsuit alleges that Sgt. Ortega

monitored Robalino and her guests, and

warned her that he knew every move she

made. He enlisted her neighbor to write

harassment, Robalino agreed to meet Ortega

last December and the two talked in Ortega's

truck. When Robalino refused to continue

the relationship, Ortega began hitting her

and pushed her out of the moving vehicle,

causing her to be dragged along with the

truck. She reported the assault and submit-

ted evidence of physical injury; the LAPD

took no action. Ortega had been disci-

plined by the LAPD approximately two

years earlier for striking Robalino.

Despite Robalino's repeated complaints

of sexual harassment over a one year pe-

riod, the LAPD did nothing to ensure her

safety in the workplace or at home.

In January, 1993, after Robalino wrote a

letter to Police Chief Willie Williams, she

was contacted and interviewed by the In-

ternal Affairs Division. Robalino was in-

formed that Sgt. Ortega had been ordered

to stay away from her. Nevertheless, Ortega

continued to visit her place of work, left

gifts in her car, and used the LAPD com-

In an earlier incident, Sgt. Ortega unlawfully entered Robalino's

home while she was at work and pulled a gun on a male guest.

down the license plates of every vehicle

parked outside her home. The suit further

alleges that Ortega then gained unlawful

entry into police department computers to

learn the identity of Robalino's visitors.

Two of the guests were other LAPD offic-

ers; Ortega threatened them to stay away

from Robalino.

The Sergeant repeatedly telephoned one

officer and said he knew which days the

officer had been at Robalino's home. In an

earlier incident, Sgt. Ortega unlawfully

entered Robalino's home while she was at

work and pulled a gun on a male guest.

Finally, in an effort to put an end to the

puters to leave her messages. Internal

Affairs refused to take further action.

In February, Robalino obtained a tem-

porary restraining order. When Robalino

appeared in Superior Court for a hearing to

continue the order, Ortega filed a police

report with the court, falsely accusing

Robalino of breaking into his hotel room

and stealing anumber of his personal items.

A Board of Rights was held in early

August. The Board suspended Ortega for

eighteen days for several minor charges,

but found the accusation of pushing

Robalino out of a moving vehicle

unsustained. 7

MMIGRANTS

ity that they will contrib-

ute in even the smallest

way to the progress of our

Nation."

The much _ touted

"tamper-proof" identity

card that many have sug-

gested also runs contrary

to constitutional guarantees of privacy. Having to possess and

produce some form of a `domestic passport' violates several tenets of

the American concept of civil liberties.

However, what is perhaps most troubling about the current wave

of anti-immigrant posturing is its familiarity.

Blacks, Jews, Koreans, Irish, Gays, Italians, Japanese, Mexicans,

Vol. 68 No. 7

continued from page 1

dren not accountable for their disabling status . .. By denying these

children a basic education, we deny them the ability to live within the

structure of our civic institutions and foreclose any realistic possibil-

Lesbians, Communists, El Salvadorans, Catholics. . .

ACLU POSITIONS ON THE NOVEMBER 2 BALLOT

by Ronald W. Wong

On Tuesday, November 2nd, California voters will vote on a number

of important issues facing the state-most importantly the school voucher issue (please see related

stories on pages | and 7). The ACLU urges all of its members to "get out the vote" on this critical

election day.

Below are the ACLU of Southern California's positions on the propositions which will be on the

November ballot.

Prop. 174: School Vouchers

ACLU Position: Strongly Opposed

The ACLU strongly opposes this proposition and is actively campaigning against it. For more

information see page 6.

Prop. 168: Low-Rent Housing Projects

ACLU Position: Support

Under current law an election must be held to approve low-income housing projects. This has

resulted in decelerated or wholly canceled low-income housing development programs.

Prop. 168 would eliminate automatic elections on public housing projects, but still allow voters

to petition for an election if a housing project is controversial.

The ACLU supports Prop. 168 because it would make it easier to develop low-income housing

projects. Too many seniors, disabled veterans and families with children are paying far too much of

their incomes for housing. Prop. 168 will help clear the way for affordable housing construction for

these groups.

Further, Prop. 168 will help create construction jobs and provide housing for senior citizens,

veterans, the disabled and families in need.

Prop. 170: School bonds and Prop. 13

ACLU Position: Support

Allows a simple majority (51%) of voters, rather a than two-thirds majority, approve bonds for

school construction when those bonds raise property taxes above the 1% limit prescribed in Prop. 13.

Prop. 170 would make local districts more responsible for funding school facilities and also make

it easier to fund these projects. In the past, many such bond measures have fallen short of the 2/3

requirement while receiving a majority vote.

The state would save money if the initiative passes because fewer statewide bonds would be

needed for school construction. Also local voters would have more control over school construction

and the initiative would make it easier to pass bonds to fund school construction.

Prop. 172: Public Safety Protection

ACLU Position: Support

The measure places a half-cent sales tax in the state's Constitution that would be effective Jan.

1, 1994. The current state sales tax rate is 7.25 percent and will drop to 6.75 percent on that date unless

this measure passes.

If the measure is approved, the tax would be collected in all counties. However, a county would

be eligible for the tax revenue only if its board of supervisors voted to participate or voters within the

county approved Prop. 172 by a majority vote. The measure is projected to generate about $1.5 billion

which would offset about 65 percent of the statewide property tax loss to counties and cities resulting

from the 1993-94 state budget agreement.

__ The revenue from this tax is needed to maintain funding levels for police, sheriffs, and firefighters.

Los Angeles Police Chief Willie Williams claims these funds are needed to implement community-

based policing.

Prop. 173: Housing and Jobs Investment Act

ACLU Position: Support

Prop. 173 would allow the state to issue bonds and use them to provide mortgage insurance for

first-time low and moderate-income home buyers.

The First-Time Home Buyers Act of 1992 allowed the state to sell $200 million in bonds, or long-

term loans, to help reduce the loan interest rate for people having difficulty buying their first home.

Because of restrictions built into the program, however, only $15 million was used.

This measure would replace the 1992 act with a new program that focuses on mortgage insurance

rather than low interest rates. The new program would allow the state to sell the remaining $185

million in bonds that were authorized but never sold under the previous program. The California

Housing Finance Agency would use the money from the bonds to provide mortgage insurance for

5,000 to 10,000 low or moderate-income, first-time buyers each year. These buyers could buy a home

without having to make a large down payment.

The measure would stimulate the economy, create jobs, and help families buy homes, without a

cost to taxpayers. a

OPENFORUM

The list of those falsely blamed and persecuted for the

Vartous SOCIAL STUDIES HAVE DOCUMENTED THAT IMMIGRANTS IN FACT PAY MORE IN TAXES THAN

THEY TAKE OUT. A 1992 USD STUDY FOUND THAT UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN LOS ANGELES

COUNTY CONTRIBUTED AT LEAST $3 BILLION IN INCOME, SALES AND PROPERTY TAXES IN 1990-91,

various woes of this country is endless.

But the fact that cannot be ignored is that finger-pointing and

blame-shifting towards any group creates an atmosphere of

heightened tolerance for actual violence. When anti-immi-

English; those who speak with an accent-are suddenly looked

on as the "other," regardless of their citizenship. And this

translates to hostility and discrimination in every day life.

And, in a state that has already seen too much racially

motivated violence, blaming immigrants for our economic

woes is not the way to rebuild for the future. a

OPENFORUM

OPEN FORUM (ISSN 0030 - 3429)

is published quarterly by The American Civil

Liberties Union of Southern California and the

ACLU Foundation, at 1616 Beverly Blvd., Los

Angeles, CA 90026. Telephone (213) 977-

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FORUM, 1616 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles,

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grant stories flood

the media in times

of economic woe,

those who are darker

skinned; those who

come from a house-

hold whose first lan-

President, Antonio Villaraigosa

uage may not be , 8

guag y ACLU Foundation Chair, Danny Goldberg

Executive Director, Ramona Ripston

Editor, Christopher J. Herrera

Contributing Editors, Sivlia Argueta, .

Gina Lobaco, Allan Parachini,

Elizabeth Schroeder, Ronald Wong

assumed his new position as of July 1.

Commission after the Rodney King beating.

tragedy in Texas.

In the last issue of Open Forum,

Ramona Ripston spoke with outgoing Los Angeles Police

Commission President Jesse Brewer, focusing mainly on

the struggle for police reform. That interview occurred weeks

after Mayor Richard Riordan appointed Bill Violante as

deputy mayor for public safety. At the time, Violante was

president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the

union that represents rank-and-file police officers. Violante

The Violante appointment upset many police

reform activists because he had served in executive capaci-

ties with the Protective League--including two terms as

president--for 15 years. The union had been a leading force

in the opposition to Charter Amendment F and broad imple-

mentation of many reforms proposed by the Christopher

Through its newspaper, The Thin Blue Line, the

League had campaigned against the appointment of Chief

Willie Williams, referring to him variously as Willie from Philly

because of Williams' previous tenure at the Philadelphia

Police Department, and Waco Willie, after the chief was

appointed to acommission to investigate the Branch Davidian

The Brewer interview in Summer '93 Open Forum

garnered some media attention due to the insight it presented

on the struggle to reform the LAPD. In response, Deputy Mayor

Violante requested an interview on some similar topics. This

conversation is the first extended interview with Violante to

appear since his appointment.

Bill Violante was born at Queen of Angels Hospital in

Los Angeles and raised in Reseda. He graduated from Reseda

na Ripston

in Conversation witin

Bill Violante

High School and attended Pierce College. He served in the U.S,

Army in Thailand, and worked in the grocery industry and

administrative jobs before joining the Los Angeles Police De-

partment in May, 1970.

He worked on the street for nine years, in traffic and

patrol, as a senior lead officer and on the vice squad, as well as

briefly in juvenile enforcement. In 1978, he was elected to the

board of the Protective League, rising to president for one term,

serving on the board and then returning as president, the office

he held when Riordan appointed him.

Though Violante remained a member of the LAPD

throughout his tenure as a Protective League official, he had not

worked on the street as a police officer in 15 years before his

move to City Hall. Ramona Ripston spoke with him and his aide,

Geoffrey Garfield, in his offices in mid-September.

Police Reform |

Ramona Ripston: It's been along time since you were

on the street working as a police officer.

Bill Violante: Yes.

RR: One of the things it would be important to explain

to the people who read Open Forum is what you advocated

as a leader of the union. The Police Protective League was

the back bone of the No on

Charter Amendment F cam-

paign, contributing half a mil-

lion dollars. You also opposed

two ballot initiatives to put

1,000 more officers on the

street.

BV: That's wrong.

RR: There were two times

when that came before the

people. The union opposed one and didn't take a position

on the second, so it's not wrong. As deputy mayor, you

immediately hired Geoffrey Garfield to be your assistant

and yet he ran the No-on-F campaign for the union. Given

those things you can't be surprised that some of us in Los

Angeles are somewhat uneasy about your appoint-

ment as deputy major.

BY: Ican't say I'm surprised, but I think a lot

of it has to do with a misunderstanding of my

position. It's important that that be clarified.

Number one, I have never opposed re-

form of the Los Angeles Police Depart-

ment. As a matter of fact, to the contrary.

Every time that I've talked about it, I

have said we need.reform in the LAPD.

Let's talk about the charter amend-

ment. The membership opposed the char-

ter amendment and I represented rank

and file officers. More importantly, we

believed at the time that the public was

being sold a bill of goods.

We believed that the public was been

told that the LAPD was going to be

reformed by passing Charter Amend-

ment F. We believed that has shown to

be true because there has not been [full]

implementation of Charter Amendment F

since it was passed.

This office is ensuring that the reforms,

which sat untouched for two years, are being

implemented. So it's kind of ironic that people

say I'm opposed to reform.

a ACLU of Southern California Fall 1993 0x00A7

i @

|

One of the first things we did was to get Gil Ray, former

executive director of the Christopher Commission, to-

gether with the Police Commission so they could be briefed

on what needs to be implemented.

Geoffrey Garfield: I didn't come into existence just

on Charter Amendment F. I worked for very progressive

candidates, starting out with [pow New York City Mayor]

Number one, |lhave never opposed reform of the Los Angeles

Police Department. Asa matter of fact, every time that I've talked

about it, | have said we need reform in the LAPD.

David Dinkens' campaign for Manhattan borough presi-

dent. A large part of what I did in New York City was for

liberal independent political figures.

RR: Mr. Violante, I think it's important to understand

that this was a new police commission that met with Mr.

Ray. It needed to be brought up to date. The old

police commission was in office during the Chris-

topher Commission reform process. This meeting

doesn't necessarily show that the Christopher

Commission reforms are going to be imple-

mented.

So in line with that, what, to you, are the most

important recommendations of the

Christopher Commission?

BV: Before I do that I want to say

that the old police commission was

in place, but wasn't moving forward on

the recommendations.

RR: But they did accomplish one thing,

and that was to get us a new police chief.

BV: But that was not the problem. If

you want to look at the fact that we have a

new chief of police and call that reform, I

think that's where your argument falls

down. That is not reforming the LAPD.

RR: I totally agree that a new police

chief is not enough.

BV: If you movea new chief of police

in, that new chief has to deal with the old

guard. It's not as easy for him to make the kinds

of changes that he needs to make. One of the

things the Christopher Commission talked about

is training. The LAPD not only needs to have a outstanding

training program for new recruits, but it is imperative that

it has ongoing programs for officers that have been out of

the academy. The Police Protective League has been

saying for years that the department is teaching the new

recruits something that officers out on the street haven't

been taught.

Police

FQerornn

Let's talk about [Charter Amendment F]. The police union membership

opposed the charter amendment and I!represented rank and file officers.

When you talk about cultural awareness training, sensi-

tivity training, gender [awareness] training, those things

are all necessary and absolutely imperative to the depart-

ment-especially when we live in city as diversified as Los

Angeles and we have the diversified police department that

we have.

Officer Tracking System

RR: Let's talk about tracking the disciplinary histories

of officers, particularly the proposed Officer Behavior

Indicator Tracking System, better known as OBITS, to

which the Police Protective League has been adamantly

opposed.

BV: I believe if you have officers who have a pattern of

misconduct, management should know about it. There

should be a way of doing that. My understanding is that the

OBITS system is going to make it easier to do that. It is

being worked on right now, as a matter of fact, in the [police

contract] negotiations that are taking place between man-

agement and the Police Protective League to try and

implement that program.

RR: Do you support OBITS?

BV: Yes. If lama manager and I have people I have to

supervise, I would want to ensure that I know what every-

body is doing. If I have somebody who has some kind of

pattern of misconduct, I want to be able to track that

because it might require training, as opposed to discipline.

There might be a training need.

And if all of that fails, you need to discipline the officer.

One of the problems in the police department-and I think

you'll find it's been a problem in a lot of jurisdictions-is

we go from policy to discipline without spending the time

v8

4

i?

e

energy and money on training and other activities. What that happens the natural

progression within a police department is spending more money on lawsuits.

RR: You just said that you support OBITS. Isn't that diametrically opposed to the

position you and the League took?

BV: No. I was the lead negotiator on implementing Christopher. We had basically

reached a tentative agreement on how to implement OBITS. One of the problems that I had

is that if you are involved in a criminal case and you're found not guilty, they can't use that

against you in another criminal case. But in the police department, we have exonerated

complaints and we have unfounded complaints. They wanted to use those to further

prejudice an officer later on down the line. To me, that's not fair.

But if you have an officer who has a number of Eee on-one complaints-

and you see this pattern developing over and over again, you're darned right you want to

know about that. I certainly would want to know about it as a manager.

RR: I think this tracking system was supported by the Christopher Commission so the

police chief and commanders can keep track not just of people's personnel records and the

number of complaints against them, but also where their stations were and what kind of

president of the Protective League, I was representing my membership and the membership

said we do not want you to support the first measure, strictly because it dealt with taxing

homeowners.

RR: Where's the money going to come from to hire 3,000 new officers?

BV: I can't tell you that right now. I can tell you we're working on it and we're going

to have the money to do what the mayor said he was going to do. We're working very

closely with the chief of police. We're putting a plan together to put more police on the

streets of Los Angeles and at the same time ensure that they are properly trained and

equipped. We don't want to just throw police officers out on the street.

RR: The Webster-Williams Commission found that Los Angeles spends the third

highest amount on law enforcement of any city in America and the fourth highest per

officer, yet at any given time we only have approximately 350 officers on the street. How

do you explain that?

BV: One of the biggest problems is there has never been enough money allocated to

the police department to actually be able to police the city the way we need to, specifically

when it comes to overtime. Under the system that existed, which we're working on

training they had.

BV: As I said, I don't have a problem with that.

left to right, Bill Violante

Ramona Ripston,

and Geoffrey Garfield

changing, police officers built up all this overtime and they had to take it off

instead of being paid for it. It was reducing the number of officers that were

RR: How do you feel about the Christopher Com-

mission's proposal for the psychological retesting of

officers?

BV: I think it's important that police officers be

psychologically retested for their good, as well as the

good of the community.

RR: I understand that the union and the officers

cannot support the psychological testing that the Chris-

topher Commission recommended. Is that true?

BV: We do support it. Actually, the only time I ever

heard any non-support was from LAPD management

RR: My understanding was that the officers op-

posed it because they were afraid that the testing might

be used if an officer was charged with excessive force.

BV: No, actually to the contrary. Often, officers

don't even recognize the stress that they're under. As I

recall, the reason I heard for management opposition

was that they were afraid it was going to lead t to more

disability pensions for police officers.

the area that

Why isn't there

interestloan

program?

Officer Discipline

RR: Are you in favor of changing the system of

discipline which enables the police chief to lower a

recommendation for discipline, but not to raise it?

BV: The position that I took was probably a surprise

to a lot of people during the negotiations. I looked at it

as if I was the Chief of Police, and it seemed to me if you

want somebody to manage their department, then he or

she should have the ability to fire somebody.

This is another reason that I opposed the charter

amendment because I said it wasn't going far enough. If

you truly want to give the chief of police the power to

run his department, then he should have the ability-or

she should have the ability-to terminate an officer. A

terminated officer should have the right to binding arbitration or hearings through Civil

Service procedures.

RR: How would you change the Board of Rights?

BV: I believe that the Board of Rights would be better if, instead of two captains or

above and a civilian, all three members were administrative law judges, retired judges or

attorneys-people with a legal background.

RR: Isn't that the Police Protective League's position?

BV: It was during the time that I was there.

3000 New Police Officers

RR: Mayor Riordan has said he's going to put 3,000 more officers on the street.

BV: Absolutely!

RR: And you support that?

BV: Absolutely!

RR: But you didn't support the measure for 1,000 more officers on the last ballot. Isn't

there an inconsistency?

BV: No. There were two ballot measures that dealt with more police officers. As

Vol. 68 No. 7

Why we don't have

some incentive to

help officers live in

they're policing?

Officer

Resiclency

We give low

interest loans out

for all Kinds of

things. Why isn't

there some kind of

program where we

would encourage

police officers to

live in the districts

that they work in?

OPENFORUM Le.

able to be on the street. You can't run a police department like that.

RR: Jesse Brewer, in a similar interview, said that there were too many

specialized units.

BV: I was going to get to that. There are positions that, really, a sworn

officer doesn't need to be in. Chief Williams and I have had a number of

discussion and I think it more appropriate for him to show how he's going to

make these changes, because we have a chief of police in there who is going

to do that.

If I get into a lot of it, I might be revealing part of our plan, so I really can't

go into great details right now. I can tell you it's going to change.

some kind of a low

LAPD Chief Willie Williams

RR: I wanted to ask you about your relationship with the chief. When he

was being hired, you talked about him in The Thin Blue Line as Waco Willie,

Willie from Philly.

BV: That wasn't me. That was never me. There are, inThe Thin Blue Line,

nine individuals and each is entitled to a column in that paper every month.

They're uncensored columns.

RR: As they should be.

BV: Exactly. I was not one of the people that used those kind of phrases

at all with the chief of police. The Chief of Police is the manager of this police

department and he and I have had a number of discussions and I have a

tremendous amount of respect for him.

I believe now that he has a police commission that does not have its own

agenda and he is going to be free to run that police department the way he

they are going to be beneficial to the police department and beneficial to the

police officers and to the public. I believe that he has the will and the ability

to doit. He is starting to move in that direction now and that is quite refreshing.

Issues on the Horizon

RR: | understand that you don't live in the city. Commissioners must live

in the city and the mayor and council members must live in the city.

BV: I'm moving into the city.

RR: How do you feel about residence requirements for officers?

BV: I don't think that we should legislate where a person lives. I think what we have

to do is make Los Angeles a safer and better place and we have to do something about the

economy so that people can afford to buy homes here.

RR: Ina recent public appearance, you said that you might support some sort of point

system as an incentive for officers living within the city.

BV: What I [questioned] at the meeting was why we don't have some incentive to help

officers live in the area that they're policing. Even if you talk to the police officers who

grew up in South Central, a lot of them want to move out of South Central. They don't want

to live there. I said: Why don't we have some kind of incentive? Why isn't there some kind

of a low interest loan program?

We give low interest loans out for all kinds of things. Why i isn't there some kind of

program to encourage police officers to live in the districts that they work in?

RR: Are you in favor of recruiting more gay officers?

BV: I'm in favor of recruiting the best qualified people that we can get. I don't care

what they are. We want-we need-the best and, if you have the best, then every one of

us is going to benefit. a

wants. You are going to see the changes that you wanted to see. And I think

--------

SSS

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The Facts About

Prop 174

and

School Vouchers

Discrimination

Q: Does Prop. 174 have

provisions to prevent discrimination?

A: _ There are no provisions to prevent Prop. 174 schools from

discriminating based on religion, gender, family income, language

fluency, sexual orientation, IQ or physical or mental disability.

Q: Wouldn't Prop. 174 schools

be prohibited from racial discrimination?

A: The initiative claims to prohibit racial discrimination, but it

is full of loopholes. The initiative would not stop thousands of

parents from claiming credits for tuition paid to racially discrimina-

tory private schools. According to a federal study of private schools,

63% enroll no African-Americans and 80% enroll no Latinos.

Vouchers will only make it easier to maintain many of these nearly

segregated schools, with taxpayer support.

Segregation

Q: Would Prop. 174 lead to

greater segregation of California schools?

A: _ Yes. In California, academically oriented private schools

commonly charge tuition ranging from $4,000 to $10,000 a year. A

voucher would defray slightly less than $2,500.

Obviously, the poorest parents-disproportionately people

of color-would be unable to use vouchers to send their children to

most private schools. The net effect would be to restrict the vast

majority of African-American, Latino, Native American and Asian-

Pacific Islander children to existing neighborhood public schools,

whose financial bases would be devastated through Prop. 174.

Private schools would remain dominantly wealthy and white, fur-

ther increasing segregated education.

Discipline and Expulsion

Q: How else could Prop. 174 schools

discriminate against students?

A: Public schools must accept and educate every student. But

private Prop. 174 schools could reject or expel virtually any child

they didn't want. The initiative says a voucher school can expel any

student deriving "no substantial academic benefit." Voucher schools

could throw out any "problem" student while keeping much of the

state's voucher money it received for educating that child.

A student could be expelled if she/he doesn't conform to a

Prop. 174 school's arbitrary code of performance, appearance,

religious observance or other standards. Prop. 174 schools would be

accountable to no one.

Students with Special Needs

Q: How will this affect students

with special needs?

A: _ Ifprivate schools want to up their profits, there is nothing to

stop them from rejecting students who require costly but critical

services like special or remedial education, bilingual instruction

and accessible classrooms.

The Separation of Church and State

Q: Would Prop. 174 violate the constitutional

separation of church and state?

A: Yes. Nationwide, 83% of private schools are religiously

sponsored. For these schools, education and religion are virtually

inseparable. That is why the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down

every attempt to send general education dollars to parochial schools.

There is nothing more fundamentally un-American than govern-

ment sponsoring the teachings of a particular religion.

Q: Couldn't voucher money be used for the

part of the curriculum that isn't religious?

A: - Prop. 174 would not require parochial schools cashing

vouchers to separate religious content. To do so would violate the

constitutionally protected religious freedom of those institutions.

The Need to Improve Public Schools

Q: There are serious problems in our schools.

Shouldn't we at least try Prop. 174?

A: Of all possible reforms, Prop. 174 is one of the few that

would actually make things much worse.

For at least the last 15 years, California has starved its public

schools of financial resources. It's a given that our public schools

need a lot of improvement -financial and otherwise. However, if

Prop. 174 passes, California's public schools-even those sup-

ported by vouchers-would be caught in an even worse financial

squeeze. The curricula taught to our children would become even

weaker, and there would no longer be effective educational stan-

dards-much less any way to enforce them. Prop. 174 would create

two-tiered education: Separate and unequal.

Public Schools Would Lose

Q: How would public schools lose financially

under Prop. 174?

A: Atleast $1 billion of taxpayers' money would be siphoned

off to private schools. Even if vouchers were only given to students

now in private schools, Prop. 174 would still soak up 10% of the

state's public school budget. The individual voucher would be good

for about $2,500, but the public school system would have to return

the same amount to the state treasury for each voucher issued. Thus,

each voucher would take about $5,000 out of public education,

devastating what remained.

Prop. 174 would also allow the state to slowly reduce

education funding. Gradually, the value of each voucher would

drop, its education purchasing power would decline and our schools

would be worse than ever. A study by the California Dept. of

Education estimates that public schools would lose $7.8 billion by

the turn of the century if Prop. 174 passes.

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Q: Wouldn't Prop. 174 schools be

just like state Charter Schools?

A: - Absolutely not. Charter schools must guarantee they will

not discriminate against any protected groups-from disabled and

physically challenged children to minorities. Prop. 174 schools

would be permitted to discriminate.

Charter schools have to design their academic programs to

target student groups that historically have had low achievement.

They must help such children improve. Prop. 174 schools could

refuse to enroll such children altogether.

The student bodies of charter schools must reflect the racial

diversity of their districts. Prop. 174 schools could be predomi-

nantly white.

Charter schools can only hire qualified, credentialed teach-

ers and administrators. Prop. 174 schools could hire anybody.

Charter schools must respect the separation of church and

state. Prop. 174 schools could ignore it.

Charter schools can't charge tuition. Prop. 174 schools can

charge whatever they want-with no limit.

No School Accountability

Q: Would Prop. 174 schools be regulated?

A: - No. According to the California Department of Education,

our private schools are already "among the least regulated in the

country." Their buildings don't even have to meet earthquake

standards.

Under Prop. 174, any new oversight of private schools

would require an unattainable three quarters vote of the Legisla-

ture. Local attempts to regulate private schools would be even

more difficult, requiring both a two-thirds vote of the elected body

enacting the regulation and a 50%-plus-one majority of all regis-

tered voters-not just those casting ballots.

Q: Would schools receiving voucher

payments have to disclose their finances?

A: No. Prop. 174 schools could keep their financial records

secret. Public school records must be open. Private schools would

be financially accountable to no one other than themselves. Details

of internal operations could be withheld from the public.

What is a `Private School?'

Q: - Is the term "private school" defined

comprehensively in Prop. 174?

A: No. Tobe eligible for a Prop. 174 windfall, a private school

entrepreneur-or absolutely anybody, for that matter-would

only have to establish that she/he had enrolled at least 25 students.

Such schools could be exclusively religious or political. Prop. 174

would mean that publicly funded private schools would not be

required to provide in-depth instruction in math, science or history.

Their teachers would not be required to meet minimum profes-

sional qualifications-or even to be college graduates.

Prop. 174 schools could literally teach anything, including

science courses based on the belief that the earth is flat or that all

living systems on Earth evolved in just seven days. They could

teach any doctrine-even science based on astrology-as if it was

established fact.

Vote No on 174

Be ee a sak i fase ck acs cae crevasse eeeW. Gion: no Gaui cel ec ons eine es cls nu ioe aus gcse uses see ee Gams lc cscs oe a ws

Pepper Spray Effectiveness

Questioned by ACLU Report

seriousness of questions about pepper spray. The spray-also known by its chemical

name of Oleoresin Capsicum-has become the most popular new means of police force

in the United States in the last five years.

Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, the Police Commission president, and attorney Deirdre

Hill, the panel's vice president, voted against wider use of pepper spray, citing possible

racial bias in application, uncertainties over possible health and other concerns. The two

continued from page 1

commissioners' concerns mirrored findings in the ACLU report.

The nine-month study included the review of nearly 600 reports of

pepper spray use submitted by police departments to the California

Department of Justice.

The ACLU plans to continue monitoring pepper spray use by law

enforcement agencies statewide. Both the Legal Department and Public

Affairs Department are involved in the ongoing monitoring.

een

the LAPD were African-American.

The report also singled out the 44-member Indio Police Department in

Riverside County for having apparently the highest per officer use of pepper

spray in the state. The department recorded 34 pepper spray incidents in less than

six months. Its officers use the debilitating chemical nearly 100 times more often

per officer as the LAPD.

The report also scrutinized autopsy reports for five of the seven fatalities,

finding that one victim had substantial heart damage rendering him likely to have

a fatal heart rhythm disturbance. Coroner files for two other victims said pepper

spray and police restraint procedures contributed to the causes of death.

The ACLU also called on Lungren to rescind authorization for civilian

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The report cited fundamental ACLU concerns

about overuse of police force and equal treatment

under the law. The report also scrutinized autopsy

reports for five of the seven spray-related fatalities.

The ACLU report called on California's Attorney General Dan

Lungren to launch a full statewide investigation of pepper spray in view of the ACLU

_ findings.

One key finding of the report was that the spray is effective only about 85% of the

time-a far lower rate than claimed by proponents and manufacturers. The ACLU also

found that the Los Angeles Police Department may use the spray in a racially discrimi-

natory fashion-in those instances where race was identified, 54% of people sprayed by

strength pepper spray until questions about the weapon's safety and effective-

ness are resolved. The spray is scheduled to be released to the mass market in

March, 1994.

To receive a copy of "Pepper Spray: A Magic Bullet Under Scrutiny," please

send a check for $7.50 to Public Affairs Department, ACLU, 1616 Beverly

Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026. 7

ACLU of Southern California

Fall 1993

SRE e eee R ea eee eee

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ACLU to Honor Sheinbaum, Guinier, Huston

and Graham at Annual Bull of Rights Dinner

BY GINA LoBAco

Each December, the American Civil

Liberties Union of Southern California cel-

ebrates the anniversary of the Bill of Rights

at a gala event which honors a few indi-

viduals whose activism exemplifies the

principles contained in this revered docu-

ment. To be held the

evening of Saturday,

December 4, at the

Bonaventure Hotel in

downtown Los Ange-

les, this year's Bill of

Rights Dinner will also

celebrate the ACLU of

Southern California's

70th anniversary.

Several outstanding

individuals will be rec-

activist Michael Reynolds who will be pre-

sented with the Eason Monroe Courageous

Advocate Award.

In a special tribute, Stanley K.

Sheinbaum will receive his award from

critically acclaimed performing artist Anna

Deveare Smith, whose presentation of

"Twilight" earlier this

year provided an in-

sightful look at indi-

viduals affected by the

Los Angeles civil dis-

turbances.

As always, the

ACLU relies heavily on

the Bill of Rights Din-

ner to raise the funds

necessary to support the

organization's work on

with

Sylvia Castillo

LA Community Coalition

For Substance Abuse,

Prevention and Treatment

Alexander Cockburn

Columnist, The Nation

Ron Hampton,

Executive Director,

Black Police Officers Association

Dennis Hopper

Actor, Director, Actor

Hon. Whitman Knapp

Senior US District Court Judge,

THE NATION INSTITUTE and THE ACLU FOUNDATION

OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

PRESENT

THE WAR AT HOME:

DRUGS and THE INNER CITIES

AN ALL-DAY TOWN MEETING

Sat., Oct. 23 10am-7pm - The Los Angeles Theatre Center - 514 South Spring St., 0x00B0

(parking available at adjoining garages)

Keynote Speaker:

LEE P. BROWN

Director, Office of National Drug Policy,

Executive Office of the President

SPECIAL MCLE COURSE

FORCALIFORNIA ATTORNEYS

11 am [separate admission]

Amitai Schwartz, Esq

"Trends in search and seizure law"

Mark Silverstein, Esq

"Nuisance abatement actions"

Janet Sherman, Esq

"Understanding civil forfeiture"

Marvin Krakow, Esq

"Challenging employee drug testing"

New York

behalf of civil. liberties.

Anumber of special din-

ner packages are avail-

able, comprising vari-

ous levels of sponsor-

ognized for the impor-

tant contributions they

have made to the cause

of advancing civil lib-

erties. Honorees include

Joseph McNamara

Former San Jose Police Chief Tickets-All-Day Public Session: $25 ($10 Students/Low-income); $100

VIP Seatingand Dinner with the panelists (50% tax-deductible);

Mike Watanabe

Founder, National Asian Pacific

MCLE: $40 public interest attorneys/$80 private practice attorneys ($15

additional for full conference package/$60 additional for VIP package and

longtime ACLU Foun- Anjelica Huston - ship that include tables, herein band eainst dinner).

dation Chair Stanley K. journal ads andentrance Substance Abuse For Reservations and Information, Call (213) 977-9500 ext. 812 or send a

, Se tiea ; ; j check with a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to: Drug Conference, c/o

Sheinbaum; civil rights attorney Professor - to special pre-banquet receptions. Indi- and others ACLU of Southern California, 1616 Beverly Blvd., PO Box 26907, Los

Angeles, CA 90026. Please make checks payable to the Nation Institute.

vidual ticket prices are $100; $175 for

Patron tickets.

For more information, please call the

ACLU at (213) 977-9500 ext. 214. a

Lani Guinier; actor and human rights advo-

cate Anjelica Huston and her husband sculp-

tor and community activist Robert Gra-

ham; and ACLU lesbian and gay rights

A RECEPTION WILL FOLLOW THE FINAL PANEL

Special "Open Mike"

Freedom of Expression Award

presentation to

Arteniea Acll

a potttreatty correct evening of ACL hUmour

where you can exercise your right to laugh

with liberty and jokes for all. . .

To request an invitation, please call the ACLU at 213.977.9500, x250

Wednesday, November 10, 1993

at the Laugh Factory, 8001 Sunset Blvd.

ACLU Foundation of Southern California Balance Sheets December 31, 1992

American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California Balance Sheets, December 31 1992

Annuity

Current Funds Endowment Funds and living ASSETS Current Funds

Assets Unrestricted _ Restricted Permanent Litigation Kay Trust Funds Plant Fund Total Unrestricted Restricted Total

Cash and cash equivalents $381,185 $61,805 $- $- $- $- $+ $442,990 Cash and Cash equivalents $154,365 $- $154,365

Investments 29,070 385,702 451,079 1,709,871 459,337 2,250,247 _ 5,285,306 Investments 329,373 133,695 463,068

Receivables 253,537 - _ oa - =_ - 253,537 Accounts Receivable 4,821 - 4,821

Due from Los Angeles County 149,965 = - - - - - 149,965 Due from ACLU of San Diego 3,177 = 3,177

Due from ACLU of San Diego 30,000 Se ae et os os as 30,000 Due from ACLU Foundation 3,214 = 3,214

Donated property 11,100 os Be a es = _ 11,100 Other Assets 28,834 = 28,834

Property and equipment _ _ - _ _ = 2,309,322 2,309,322 $523,784 $133,695 $657,479

Other assets 155,160 - - - = _ ~_ 155,160

Total Assets $1,010,017 $447,507 $451,079 $1,709,871 $459,337 $2,250,247 $2,309,322 $8,637,380 LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE

' Liabilities

Liabilities and Fund Balances Accounts payable $5,807 $- $5,807

Accrued vacation payable 11,678 - 11,678

Accounts payable $176,248 $- $- $- $- $- $- $176,248 ? }

Due to ACLU Nat! Office 446,045 = - - - - - 446,045 Pe TIRC RED HOC RYAN Say Soe

Due to ACLU of So. California 3.214 Se a ey at s re. 3,214 Due to National office 300,376 ~_ 300,376

Deferred contributions 66,467 j = = - 2,250247 ~ 2,316,714 Pe en

Annuity payable 100.671 Sh = a ay, a Bs 100,671 Northern California 3,934 - 3,934

Total abil 3 250047 = 3 042,892 Annuity Payable 25,167 - 25,167

Otal Liabilities 792,645 oS = a : Piet Total Liabilities 352,400 - 352,400

Fund balances

Unrestricted 217,372 = _ = = ; 2,000,002 ee ame 171,384 171,384

i - = 3,067,794 ; : ca '

Restricted 447,507 451,079 1,709,871 ee eee ee Restricted = 133,695 133,695

Total.Fund Balances 217,372 447,507 451,079 1,709,871 a = a = Sore car Total Fund Balance 171,384 133,695 305,079

$1,010,017 $447,507 $451,079 $1,709,871 $459, 290, 909, ,037, $523,784 $133,695 $657.479

ACLU Foundation of Southern California Statements of Support, Revenue and Expenses Year Ended December 31, 1992

Annuity

Current Funds Endowment Funds and living

Unrestricted Restricted Permanent Litigation Kay Trust Funds Plant Fund Total American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California

Support and Revenue: Statement of Support, Revenue and Expenses Year Ended December 31, 1992

Contribution, Cc t Fund

less Nat'l Office share $432,727 $75,110 $- 6 $e $- `$s $- $507,837 rent Uns

Event revenue 78,497 ES ce i ss a ssc 78,497 Unrestricted Restricted Total

Bequests, net arent and Revenue:

Nat'l Office share 10,126 10,126 _ ~ ~ - - 20,252 pean

Interest and dividends 274,824 7,764 - - - oa =e 282,588 Contributions $789,625 $- $789,625

Unrealized gain on Bequests, net of expenses 85,082 ~ 85,082

investments (24,838) - 3 _ (15,677) - ~ (40,515) Restricted Bequest

Litigation Revenue 273,598 s = - ~ ~ - 273,598 ind contains = 41,633___41,633

Women's Rights 200,268 ae ; ao - _ - _ 200,268 874,707 41,633 916,340

Lesbian/Gay Rights 39,099 o = ee es - = 39,099 Less National Office share 374,876 _ 374,876

Misc. other income 30,085 = = = = = ms 30,085 499,831 41,633 541,464

Total support and revenue 1,314,386 93,000 _ - (15,677) = = 1,391,709

Revenue:

Expenses: Local fundraising, net of $226,172 of expenses

Restricted x 127,577 a a -_ _ a 127,577 : and sharing with the National office 60,617 - 60,617

Research Interest and dividends 25,483 115 25,598

and Communications 195,241 - - = = - = 195,241 Total support and revenue 585,931 41,748 627,679

Legal 1,493,567 ae e - - = a0 1,493,567

Administration 308,345 ee _ ~ re = ee 308,945 Expenses:

Development 134,635 _ = ~ - oC a 134,635 Public information 228,327 =i yen)) 298,907

Depreciation ~ Bh a - - _ 123,926 123,926 Chapter 108,524 Ye 108,524

Total expenses 2,131,788 127,577 -_ = = 123,926 2,383,291 Legislative 103,940 _ 103,940

Administrative 55,133 - 55,133

Deficit of Support and Development 146,609 - 146,609

Revenue Over Expenses Restricted ~ 10,615 10,615

Before Extraordinary Gain (817,402) (34,577) - = (15,677) = (123,926) (991,582)

Total expenses 642,533 10,615 653,148

Extraordinary Gain 66,598 es - - _ = a 66,598

Deficit of Support and (Deficit) Excess of support

Revenue over Expenses $(750,804) $(34,577) $- $- $(15,677) $- $(123,926) $(924,984) and revenue over expenses $(56,602) $31,133 $(25,469)

OPENFORUM

Vol. 68 No. 7

Committee Meetings

The following is a list of committee meetings. Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are

held at the ACLU, 1616 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles.

Executive Committee

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 5:30 p.m.

ACLU/SC Board

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.

Feminist Forum

Monday, Oct. 25: Taking on Media, Religious

and Educational Institutions

Monday, Nov. 22: New Issues in Birth Control,

Surrogacy and Adoption

Monday, Dec. 13: Lesbians and Gays Speak:

Gays in the Military and Other Issues

Worker's Rights

First Wednesday of each month.

Lesbian/Gay Rights Board

Second Monday of each month.

Chapter Council

Third Wednesday of alternate months.

Medical Rights

Third Monday of each month.

First Amendment

Last Wednesday of each month.

Children's Rights

Fourth Tuesday of each month.

Legislative Action

First Monday of each month.

Ad Hoc Drug Policy

Second and Fourth Wednesday of each month.

Annual Assembly: Dec. 8 6:30

Please park in the fenced lot behind the building and use the rear entrance when attending

night meetings. For further information about other committee meetings which are not

listed, call the ACLU at (213) 977-9500.

Readers' Forum

In the spirit of this publication's name, the Readers' Forum feature

debuts in this issue of the Open Forum. `Letters should be addressed to

Editor, Open Forum, ACLU, 1616 Beverly Bivd.,

Los Angeles, California 90026.

Our premier letter eloquently outlines the need for a such a feature.

CJH

I wonder whether in your newsletter you might somehow, some-

where acknowledge that members need not agree on each and every stand

the ACLU takes.

I belong to your/our organization as a matter of principle- indeed of

survival. I applaud most of the stands taken; I believe in the principles. [am

deeply grateful that the ACLU is there to speak for me, to let me into the

process.

Yet there are some issues, one or two, that I see differently. We should

all respect each other's consciences.

I don't demand that you change anything, only that you not Pecien) an

image of dissenters as troglodytes.

Sincerely

Robert J. Brophy

Los Alamitos

Ramona Ripston responds:

Mr. Brophy: I could not agree with you more. On rare occasions, even

I don't agree with the ACLU board's position on a particular issue. I do

believe, however, that everyone' s position is based on priniciple.

Almost everyone disagrees now and then with a policy the organization

adopts. Those of us, like you, who believe that it's the overall work of the

ACLU that counts are really the strength of the organization.

Thank you.

Equality in the Military |

ACLU's attention to rights of women and gays in the military is

somewhat misdirected when a larger issue is ridding the nation of militarism

and dependence on the armed forces to carry out "foreign policy."

ACLU should try to curb the worst abuses against military personnel, but

it's a frustrating effort because too often the military exists not only to

enforce undemocratic policies internally, but also to impose those practices

on others here and abroad.

Robert Sollen

Santa Barbara

ACLU of Southern California

Chapter Meetings

Whittier/San Gabriel Valley

First Wednesday of each month.

Board meetings. All members welcome to join in discussion.

For information, call: Paul Camhi (213) 696-3751

Lesbian and Gay Rights

Thursday, October 21, 7:30 pm. The LGRC's Annual Human Rights ce

The Comedy Store, 8433 Sunset Blvd. (one block east of La Cienega). Honoring:

Jewel and Rue Thais-Williams, founders of Catch One and Rue's House; Carol

Anderson, Attorney and Activist; Lee Walker, Attorney and Activist; Larry

Hathaway, Long-time LGRC Activist. Gay and Lesbian comics will perform at the

event. Tickets are $50.

South Bay

First Tuesday of each month. Chapter meeting.

For information, call: Robert Ciriello (310) 833-8628

San Luis Obispo

For further information, call: (805) 544-0142

Singles

Sunday, October. 24, 7 pm. "The Ballot Propositions Debated." The school

voucher and sales tax initiatives will be discussed. Suggested donation: $6/Students

with ID: $1. Meeting to be held at Burton Chace Park, 13650 Mindanao Way,

Marina Del Ray. For information, call at (310) 392-7149 or (818) 993-5727.

Meetings are wheelchair accessible.

Beverly Hills/Westwocd

Thursday, October 28, 7 to 9 pm, "The State of Civil Liberties." Ramona Ripston,

executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, will be the speaker. A

discussion of the school voucher proposal will be included. Light refreshments. No

charge for admission. Westside Pavillion, third floor Community Room, 10800 W.

Pico, West Los Angeles.

Thursday, November 18, , 7 pm, a steering committe will be held for the election

of chapter officers and representatives to the Annual Assembly. Nominations will

be accepted by Mireya Wharton. For location and any further information, call

(310) 670-7999.

Long Beach

Third Monday of each month, 7:00pm.

For information, call: Naida Tushnet (213) 494-5358.

Orange County :

First Sunday of each month. 1670 Santa Ana Ave, Room F, Costa Mesa.

Pasadena-Foothill

Pasadena-Foothill Chapter meets every fourth Thursday, 7:30 pm at the Neighbor-

hood Church, 301 N. Orange Grove, Pasadena. For information, call: (818) 794-

1234. -

Pomona Valley Chapter

Chapter meeting will now be held at The Haven coffee house, southeast corner of

Main and 2nd Street, Pomona.

For meeting dates please call (909) 621-4657.

Inland Empire Chapter

November 12th, 7 pm. at the home of Rebecca Warren, 8590 Dufferin Ave.,

Riverside, CA.

Dec. 11 6th Annual Winter Soltice Party. For information, call: (909) 351-1268

Santa Barbara :

Fourth Tuesday of each month, Blake Lounge, Unitarian Society,

1525 Santa Barbara St. For information, call: Robert Sanger (805) 569-1452

San Fernando Valley Chapter

Your San Fernando Valley A.C.L.U. Chapter is among the largest and most active

in the area with participation in not only local projects but with wide support of the |

affiliate Committee representation. This provides the opportunity to become

personally involved in real efforts to support Civil Liberties.

Open meetings are held every month and ACLU membership can be arranged on the

spot so bring friends. For information, call: Norm Beal (818) 344-9241.

Get Out the Vote This Nov, 2!

The ACLU is working actively against Prop.174- the school

voucher initiative which will gut the public school system and

subsidize private and religious schools.

If you can help by walking your precinct on election day or

phone-banking in the weeks leading to the election, please call

Coalition *93, the progressive precinct network, at

213.487.3764

Get Out the ote! Vote No on 174!

Fall 1993