Open forum, vol. 68, no. 10 (Summer, 1994)

Many

Faces of

From left: Don Bondi, Isaac Richard, Steve JOHNSON proves: cun

BY ALLAN PARACHINI

Three cases resulting in court victories or settlements

have recently underscored the ACLU's traditional identi-

fication with thorny First Amendment issues.

In quick succession, the ACLU prevailed in the cases of:

-Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Steve

Johnson, who wanted to read Playboy magazine during

personal time between shifts at his fire station.

-A high school performing arts teacher who received

apunitive transfer for booing a satirical student production

that characterized Gov. Pete Wilson as a racist.

-A Pasadena city council member who was the object

of a special ordinance limiting free expression passed after

he openly antagonized other public officials.

"We didn't plan it this way, but the last few months have

been a concerted reminder that the ACLU has a unique

First Amendment franchise," said Ramona Ripston, ACLU/

SC executive director.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department case, reported

LAPD Charged

with Systemic

Gender/Race

Discrimination

Massive federal class-action lawsuit

called most wide-reaching of its kind.

BY ELIZABETH SCHROEDER

Documenting years of discriminatory treatment of

women, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California,

logether with other civil rights organizations, has filed a

federal class-action suit against the Los Angeles Police

Department. The suit is believed to be the most wide-

reaching of its kind.

The lawsuit alleges that

the LAPD allows pervasive

harassment and discrimina-

tion based on sex, ethnicity

and race against its women

officers and other employees. Named plaintiff Terry

Tipton- `Whittingham is joined on the complaint by ten

other women and one man.

Discrimination is alleged in every phase of the

department' 8 operation, including hiring, assignment and

Promotion,

Female officers have been generally segre-

gated into certain specialized units viewed as women's

issues - including sex crimes and child abuse. In addition,

in the Winter issue of Open Forum, resulted in a clear

victory for free speech in early June with a decision by U.S.

Dist. Court Judge Stephen Wilson.

Johnson had sought assistance from the ACLU after the

fire department banned possession in firehouses - even in

a closed locker - of three named magazines, Playboy,

Penthouse and Playgirl. The ban - which is included in a

broader sexual harassment policy that both Johnson and the

ACLU support - clearly

breached the barrier be-

tween legitimate work-

place safeguards and

abridgement of First

Amendment rights.

Johnson sought the right to read Playboy during so-

called personal time - evening and overnight hours when

firefighters are permitted to sleep, watch television and

engage in other recreation between calls. The carefully

worded ACLU complaint in the case stipulated that Johnson

was not seeking the right to flaunt the magazine or use it in

any way that would create a hostile environment for women

or offend other fire station personnel.

After spirited oral arguments in the case on June 9,

Wilson handed down a written opinion that was a clear

please see First Amendment, page 3

"My career is over today," said plaintiff Terry Tipton-

Whittingham as she spoke at a May 18 news conference.

personnel, including sexual assault against women em-

ployees, has been tolerated by an unresponsive system.

Misconduct claims by women have been inadequately and

inappropriately investigated. Lax discipline has been

meted out for perpetrators, and retaliation has been taken

against "whistle-blowers" [employees who protest mis-

The suit alleges pervasive discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, and

race throughout the hiring, training, assignment and promotion processes;

sexual harassment has been tolerated by an unresponsive system; and

those who protest misconduct have been sytematically retaliated against.

conduct.] "The suit also alleges that women of color are

especially likely to be subjected to compound discrimina-

tory treatment,

At a May 18, press conference, plaintiffs described

years of abusive treatment within the LAPD. They include

one female detective, one male lieutenant, two female

sergeants, six female police officers and two civilian fe-

male employees, The one named male plaintiff joined the

please see Discrimination, page 7

veil

Vol. 68 No. 10

Bad Law Dominates

November Ballot

Immigrant Bashing Prop. 187 and "Three Strikes" Prop. 184

Threaten Both the U.S. Constitution and the California Economy.

BY CHRISTOPHER J. HERRERA AND ALLAN PARACHINI

Heralded by a catchy baseball metaphor and a disin-

genuous distress call, two unconstitutional and fiscally

irresponsible initiatives - Propositions 184 and 187 -

threaten to sink the state of California this November.

Prop. 184 wilh mandate that judges issue lengthy sen-

tences to non-violent criminals; Prop. 187 will deny edu-

cation and health care to more than 400,000 children and

adults. Both will cost the state billions of dollars - one in

prison construction and maintenance and the other in the

loss of federal health and education funds.

Prop. 187 seeks to deny education and all social ser-

vices, except emergency medi-

cal help, to undocumented im-

migrants. It requires all gov-

ernment agencies - including

local police, hospitals, and

schools - and `all licensed (c) Denies children educat

medical professionals to deter- v Endangers the publi ie real

mine the residential status of ~

`S Promotes discrimination.

everyone who they "suspect"

of being in this country ille-

gally and then report those per-

sons to the Immigration andy Jeopartizes $15 billion

Naturalization Service (INS) .

How will these hospital re-

ceptionists, DMV workers and

3rd grade teachers make these

determinations? Who will be

asked to prove they are in this

country legally? Will it be

based on the language people

speak? People's accents? The

color of their skin? Last names?

The way they are dressed?

Prop. 187 is a breeding

ground for rampant discrimi-

nation based on all of the above

criteria and more.

Also, Prop. 187's violation of federal privacy regula-

tions jeopardizes $15 billion in federal aid to California -

that is according to a report by the state's own nonpartisan

legislative analysis released on July 26. The U.S. Secre-

tary of Education, Richard Riley, has already sent a letter

to `the state outlining his opinion that the proposition

clearly violates federal privacy laws.

By requiring the release of confidential information to

the INS, Prop. 187 threatens school funding, hospital

funding, and medical service funding such as HIV pro-

(c) Violates 8th Amendment,

for non-violent crimes,

(c) Will cost billions for

prison construction

and maintenance costs,

"grams and MediCal.

What cannot be forgotten in these political arguments is

that one main goal of Prop. 187 is to deny education and

health care to over 400,000 children - children who are

please see Initiatives, page 6

has agreed to lead the Legal Department in this difficult

Mark Rosenbaum Named

ACLU/SC Legal Director

ay BLIZABETH SCHROEDER

Mark Rosenbaum became the Legal Director of the

ACLU Foundation of Southern California on March 1.

"We are thrilled --- and very fortunate -- that Mark

time," said Executive Director Ramona Ripston, "His

compassion for children, his concern for the poor, the

homeless, and the rights of people of color make hima

very special litigator, Mark brings to the job his bound-

less energy, commitment to the highest standards of

professionalism, and an uncommonly creative insight

to solving legal problems,"

please see Rosenbaum, page 2

`evere and pervasive sexual harassment against LAPD

a

iia yy

. men ey `

392DDCAlpeport

--- Since 1924

of Southern Cultterhla

`S Violates federal privacy laws

in federal aid,

S Requires lengthy sentences

Two-tiered system unanimously ruled

unconstitutional by Nincth Circuit panel.

BY LENA CHAO

In a sweeping victory for the ACLU of

Southern California, the Ninth District U.S.

Court of Appeals unanimously decided in

May to uphold a federal court ban ona state

law that would limit welfare payments to

new California residents.

The law was challenged in the class

action suit, Green v. Anderson, and was

declared unconstitutional and halted in

January 1993 by U.S. District Judge David

Levi. Levi held that the statute unfairly

burdened poor people who wished to settle

in California. The suit named as defen-

dants the California Department of Social

Services and the Department of Finance.

The law - sponsored by Governor Pete

Wilson and passed by the state legislature

in November 1992 - required that new

state residents receive welfare benefits at

the rate of their former home state until

they had lived in California for 12 consecu-

tive months. The policy also reduced short-

term homeless and emergency housing as-

sistance to the same out-of-state rates for

all newly arrived applicants.

In the case of ACLU client DeShawn

Green, the rate of benefits received would

have matched those of Louisiana: $190 per

month in welfare assistance for a mother

with two children, rather than the Califor-

nia monthly welfare rate of $624. ACLU

Foundation of Southern California Legal

ACLU/SC ~

Legal Director

Director Mark Rosenbaum argued that the

benefits scale for Louisiana of $190 per

month would be impossible for a mother

with two children to live on in Sacramento,

and could potentially force these families

into homelessness. The law would also

limit women like Green in their attempts to

escape abusive husbands.

"This is another example of govern-

ment trying to shift the burden of the slump-

ing economy squarely on the backs of the

poor," said Rosenbaum. "It's a new ver-

sion of depression era `poor laws' with an

objective of fencing out indigents."

Also representing several poor mothers

in the victory were Sarah Kurtz and Hope

Nakamura of the Legal Aid Society of San

Mateo County, and Grace Gallagher of the

Coalition of California Welfare Rights

Organization. . rAd

AE ST ST SS! a

Police Photograph, Interrogate

Teens Based on Dress, Race

Garden Grove Police policy of random stops, storing

and sharing information called into court by ACLU.

BY CAROLYN KELLOGG

When the police stopped Quyen Pham

and Minh Tram Tran, instructing them to

stand still so their photos could be taken,

they didn't know why - they were doing

nothing wrong. On their way home from a

mall, the two honors students were aston-

ished at police accusations associating them

with gangs. They protested that they were

not involved with any gangs.

"If you walk like a duck and talk like a

duck," one officer told them, "you must be

ducks."

"We're not ducks," responded Tran.

On May 19, the ACLU/SC filed a class-

action suit to halt the practice of photo

stops by police officers. The Alliance for

Children's Rights and law firms from Phila-

delphia and Los Angeles are co-counsel in

the suit, which also asks for the return of

the girls' photographs, as well as the de-

struction of all pictures gathered

during similar photo stops.

Police in Garden Grove have a

policy of stopping teens in order -

to photograph them and gather

personal information. The police

target those who fit a broad profile

Despite a court ruling in November that

said a photo stop in the city of Orange was too

significant an intrusion on individual liber-

ties to be justified by the public interest, the

police in Garden Grove have continued the

practice. They contend that they have "rea-

sonable suspicion" of all those whom they

stop, question, and photograph.

For Pham and Tram - who have never

been in trouble with the police - this suspi-

cion was based on their style of dress and

their race. The girls are both of Vietnamese

descent and were wearing extra-baggy pants

and small tops, a popular style associated

with hip-hop music and worn by urban teens

of all races throughout the country.

Asian-American and Latino teens have

been the focus of the Garden Grove photo

stops. In addition to Pham and Tram, police

have snapped Polaroids of college students and even a gang intervention counselor during

the sweeps. An internal police memo tells officers they "may photograph individuals so

long as the individuals do

MARY TOKITA

Honor Students Quyen Pham and Minh

Tram Tran display their offending attire.

WHEN THE GIRLS SAID THEY WERE NOT

INVOLVED WITH ANY GANGS ONE OFFICER

SAID, "IF YOU WALK LIKE A DUCK AND

TALK LIKE A DUCK, YOU MUST BE DUCKS."

nothing to prevent the tak-

ing of the photograph."

However, when one youth

told the police not to take

his photograph, the officer

said, "Get against the wall

- which includes race - and -

then enter the information in an

extensive computer system that is linked to

a nationwide police network. Facing in-

creased gang activity - some estimates

put Orange County gang membership at

16,000 - police claim they photograph

only suspected gang members.

before I kick your ass."

_The procedure, the

ACLU contends, clearly violates the constitutional protection from unreasonable search

and seizure.

"By treating youngsters as gangbangers just because of their race and their dress, they

rely on very dangerous racial stereotyping," said ACLU Staff Attorney Robin Toma. "It

teaches a civics lesson with the wrong message: police can treat you as criminals and get

away with it under the guise of fighting gangs, even if you' ve done nothing wrong."

Rosenbaum Named Legal Director

was named General Counsel.

Rosenbaum's expertise in the field of civil

rights and civil liberties litigation is widely recog-

nized. He has argued two cases in the U.S. Su-

preme Court, Kolender v. Lawson (striking down

as unconstitutionally vague a "stop and identify".

statute) and United States v. Wayte (challenging as

selective a draft resistance prosecution). InGarza

v. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors,

Rosenbaum - along with the Mexican American

Legal Defense and Educational Fund and other co-

counsel - successfully brought a landmark Vot-

ing Rights Act suit that forced the Board of

Supervisors to redistrict. As a result, the first

Deval Patrick, US Asst Attorney General for Civil Rights,

with ACLU/SC Executive Director Ramona Ripston.

continued from page 1

Rosenbaum has been with the ACLU/SC for more than 20 years.

He began his legal career at the ACLU as a student law clerk

working with Leonard Boudin, Leonard Weinglass -

and Charles Nesson on the Pentagon Papers case.

After graduation from Harvard Law School in

February, 1974, he returned to Los Angeles to join

the affiliate as astaff attorney. In 1984, Rosenbaum

Latino in 115 years, Gloria Molina, was

elected to the Board.

In addition, Rosenbaum has successfully

litigated cases eliminating segregation and inequitable distribu-

tion of resources in schools; securing economic benefits and civil

rights for the poor and homeless; requiring proper medical care for

indigent children; assuring constitutional rights

for immigrants; and guaranteeing employment

and other rights for union members, women,

minorities, and resident aliens.

Rosenbaum has also won a number of First

Amendment lawsuits, including the first suit to

rebut successfully the government's National

Security claims (in a FOIA request by a journal-

ist seeking material on John Lennon).

Throughout the years Rosenbaum has been

active teaching young lawyers. He has taughtat

Harvard, the University of Michigan, USC, and

Loyola law schools.

Rosenbaum was recently honored with the

Pediatric AIDS 1994 "Hero" Award for his

tireless - and successful - efforts to force a

drug company to complete a study on a new

vaccine that shows great promise in preventing

in utero transmission of the AIDS virus. 4

CJH

Mark Rosenbaum

Civil Rights Attorney General

Makes a Stop at ACLU/SC

On July 8, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval

Patrick met with Southern California's civil rights community at the

offices of ACLU of Southern California. At the hastily called meeting

representatives from more than 50 organizations voiced their concerns

to Patrick. Patrick will be honored at the 1994 ACLU/SC Bill of Rights

Dinner on Thursday, December 8 at the Bonaventure Hotel.

Attending the meeting were representatives from - among others

- Chinatown Services Center; Hollywood Policy Center; Asian Pacific

American Legal Center; NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Coalition for

Humane Immigration Rights, Los Angeles; Southern Christian Leader-

ship Conference; California Women's Law Center; Central American

Refugee Center; First AME Church; California Indians for Cultural and

Environmental Protection; American Jewish Congress; U.S. Civil Rights

Commission; Fund forthe Feminist Majority; AIDS ProjectLos Angeles.

meme

CJH

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Student's Safe Sex

Protest Disallowed

BY ELIZABETH SCHROEDER

In an attempt to focus her classmates' attention on

teenage responsibility and safe sex, junior high school

student Astrianna Johnson pinned several clear packages

of condoms to her clothing. The 14-year old's actions

generated lively interest from her peers - and eventually

a one-day dismissal by the school's principal.

The ACLU of Southern California filed a federal civil

rights suit against the Los Angeles Unified School District

in defense of Astrianna's right to free speech and self-

expression.

The student, an eighth-grader at the Mary McLeod

Bethune Middle School, attempted to wear the condom

packages - sometimes emblazoned with the words "safe

sex" - on four occasions. Astrianna knows a number of

sexual active teenagers, some of whom have become

pregnant and all of whom need protection from HIV/AIDS

and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

According to her,

"Young people are sus-

ceptible to STDs and I

believe that they should

be responsible for their

conduct, even if the

schools or government

say that they should ab-

stain from sex. The fact

is, kids are having sex and

they should be protected."

The ACLU's George

Slaff Fellow, Amos

Dyson, brought the case

on behalf of Astrianna.

He noted that no classes

were disrupted, and no

harm was caused either to

Astrianna or others. In-

deed, said Dyson, "She

wants to battle a signifi-

cant threat to her class-

mates: the HIV virus, which is infecting today's teenagers

in greater and greater numbers, especially among African

Americans and Latinos. These groups are the majority

population at her school."

Officials at the school prohibited Astrianna from wear-

ing the condoms, contending that, although her behavior

did not violate any written rules, it was "distasteful to the

administration." In addition, Astrianna's mother, Sundra

Johnson, was told that condoms were on a list of "danger-

ous things" and that her daughter was "not old enough to

make a choice to wear condoms...or make a personal

statement about safe sex." Mrs. Johnson fully supports

Astrianna's attempts to communicate her message to fel-

low students.

The Federal District Court ruled that school officials

had the right to curb Astrianna's actions. The decision held

that society's interests in teaching students the boundaries

of "socially appropriate behavior" weigh more heavily

than Ms. Johnson's right to advocate her views on contro-

versial issues. a

CJH

Astrianna Johnson

OPENFORUM

OPEN FORUM (ISSN 0030 - 3429) is pub-

lished quarterly by The American Civil Liber-

ties Union of Southern California and the ACLU

Foundation, at 1616 Beverly Blvd., Los Ange-

les; CA 90026. Telephone (213) 977-9500.

Membership is $20 and up, of which $2 is the

subscription fee for OPEN FORUM. Second-

Class postage is paid at Los Angeles, CA, under

the act of March 3, 1879. POSTMASTER:

Send address changes to OPEN FORUM, 1616

Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026.

President, Trisha Murakawa

- ACLU Foundation Chair, Lee Masters

Executive Director, Ramona Ripston

Editor, Christopher J. Herrera rors azurn'98

Contributing Editors,

Lena Chao, Adam DiPaolo,

Carolyn Kellogg, Allan Parachini,

Elizabeth Schroeder, Ronald Wong

Vol. 68 No. 10

First Amendment

continued from page 1

victory. "A careful look at the scope of the county's

policy," Wilson wrote, "establishes that the policy poses a

particularly onerous limitation on plaintiff' s First Amend-

ment rights.

"Freedom of expression includes the right to receive, as

well as the right to communicate, ideas. Because the policy

bans the reading of Playboy at times when firefighters'

behavior is otherwise unrestricted, because the policy

permits no window for plaintiffs exercise of his freedom

of expression and because the fire station operates as

plaintiff's de facto home for consecutive days, the court

finds that the policy poses a particularly severe restriction."

On the same day that Wilson handed down his decision

in the Johnson case, the ACLU reached a negotiated

settlement in the case of Don Bondi. Bondi is the chair of

the dance department at the Los Angeles County High

School for the Arts and was transferred against his will for

booing a student play. Under the settlement reached by the

ACLU and Douglas E. Mirell, a long-time board member

and cooperating attorney, Bondi was reinstated just in time

Former ACLU/SC Legal Director Paul Hoffman

argues for Capt. Johnson before U.S. District

Court Judge Stephen Wilson. itcustration: pavip ROSE

focused on issues of immigration and the Latino commu-

nity - included a student's broad parody of Gov. Wilson

making racist remarks.

Bondi booed the performance loudly and suggested it

was marred by a "lack of taste." This prompted a confron-

tation between Bondi and a member of the Los Angeles

for commencement ceremonies.

The incident arose out of an April 21 student production

celebrating Latino culture. The performance - which

County Board of Education who was in the audience and

whose son appeared in the play. Bondi was transferred to

a desk job at a different school shortly thereafter.

Faced with the threat of litigation by the

ACLU, the school board returned Bondi to his

original post. "We're very pleased that this

dispute was resolved without the need for

litigation because no one ever wants this kind

of controversy to have to end up in a court-

room," Ripston said.

The incident - and its resolution - sparked

widespread anger and indignation on both sides

of the issue. In East Los Angeles, Plaza de la

Raza hosted an encore performance of the play

along with a panel discussion immediately after-

wards. Panel members from the community -

including ACLU/SC Publications Director

Christopher Herrera - took questions about

artistic expression, race and free speech for well

over an hour.

In the final case in the series of First Amend-

ment victories, the ACLU successfully repre-

sented Pasadena City Council member Isaac

Richard, filing a lawsuit that forced the city to

rewrite.a controversial ordinance mandating be-

havior standards for elected officials.

Mark Rosenbaum, ACLU legal director, char-

acterized the Pasadena ordinance as a "goofy

law" enacted to penalize Richard, whose outspo-

ken criticism of other elected and public officials

has made him widely known in his home city.

After Pasadena officials rewrote the ordi-

nance, the ACLU and Richard dropped the fed-

eral court suit in mid-June. Said Rosenbaum:

"A huge chunk of what statesmanship is about

is the recognition that faithfulness to constitu-

tional obligations must always come first, no

matter the temptation to subordinate them to the

passions of the moment, whether justified or

not,"

While each of these three legal stances has

had vigorous and vocal opposition, the ACLU's

commitment to the First Amendment would be

hard to challenge. ra

ACLU, Activists Settle Free Speech

Dispute with Antelope Valley Mall

BY ELIZABETH SCHROEDER

The ACLU of Southern California recently settled a

dispute between activists and the Antelope Valley Mall.

The dispute was one of several recently brought to the

ACLU's attention by grassroots organizers who were

barred from expressive activity at shopping centers

tiirroughout the state.

The number of requests for ACLU assistance

prompted the three California ACLU affiliates to publish

"Free Speech Rights in Shopping Centers," a new

educational booklet outlining the legal rights and duties

of both community activists and commercial shopping

center management in California.

The 18-page booklet details the rights of both com-

mercial owners and activists. It encourages activists

who wish to speak publicly, gather petition signatures or

distribute leaflets at shopping

centers to request permission :

from owners or manag- ACLU Brochure:

ers and to review all ; '

written rules of the mall i

before beginning any

free speech activity. ; Aire

In 1979, the Califor- : ;

nia Supreme Court lik- | DI

ened modern, privately owned | W aVdl | eC

shopping centers to the town

squares of past eras and held that the space should be

available for free expression of political, non-commer-

cial concerns. Mall management is allowed to impose

certain limits to protects its business and other interests

-butit cannot ban constitutionally protected free speech

from the premises.

Individua copies are free of charge; bulk orders are

available in increments of 10 for $10.00. To order, call

the ACLU offices at (213) 977-9500, ext. 250.

fight discrimination and protect

people's rights," said Sandi Goldstein, a third year student at Loyola

Law School. And so she has joined over thirty law students and

undergraduates in choosing a summer internship at

the ACLU of Southern California.

Each summer, the ACLU summer intern program welcomes a

cadre of law students and undergraduates interested in "fighting the

good fight." They come to the ACLU because they want to abolish

the death penalty, work against gender discrimination or keep the

separation between church and state secure. Interns are able to

provide needed assistance to virtually every department of the

ACLU, and at the same time gain experience and insight into the

practical operations of a civil rights organization.

"I wanted to learn how to protect people's civil liberties, so I

came to the best," said Laura Diamond, a second year student at

- Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley.

Students attend depositions and court cases, sit

in on strategy meetings and help coordinate

press conferences. An emphasis is placed

on allowing the students to observe the

functioning of the organization in all of its

stages. As a result, students gain a real understanding of how the

ACLU is run and why decisions are made.

Summer Intern Program lets students in on the action.

"For me, what made working at the ACLU special was that we

were always made to feel a part of the process," said Yale

undergraduate James Berger. "Even when helping out with basic

tasks, we always had a sense of the bigger picture. The staff were

always happy to explain the issues at hand."

One of the distinguishing features of the intern program at the

ACLU is the "Brown Bag Lunch Series." Each Friday, and

please see Summer Program, page 7

BY ADAM DiPAOLO

"I entered law school with what many claimed was an idealistic

and unrealistic vision of using my law degree to

OPENFORUM | 3

Se ee

ne

ESE

BO EE

EI EE

ETE

--

pea Sey

Judge

Judge

Alex Kozinski

Stephen Reinhardt

Judicial Nuts and Bolts

Judge Alex Kozinski: We could disagree about

what the Supreme Court has done, but since we all agree that they .

haven't done anything very important this term, we're going to have

to find something else to disagree about.

I want to compliment, by the way, President Clinton for his

Supreme Court appointments. I'm sure Judge Reinhardt agrees.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt: He's been doing

almost as good a job there as he has on filling the Ninth Circuit,

where - after two years - he's managed to do nothing. Until he

acted on the Supreme Court, we didn't know that doing nothing was

not the worst possible approach. -

AK: Do you think we need a liberal on the court?

SR: It would be nice to think there was still room in this country

for one liberal out of nine. But with President Clinton, there won't be.

The Supreme Court tri

execution was differ

e Court.

Mistakes are made, That's why we have a burden of proof which is overwhelmingly shifted towards the defendant. And that's

int | jing mistakes. We don't take mistakes any less seriously when you rob

why we try not to make mistakes, Tie tt

somebody of 10 years of life, oF some

AK: But look at the kind of cases they' re deciding - nuts and

bolts cases like retroactivity of the Civil Rights Act. I mean, there's

a significant issue in that particular case, but not ultimately a great

civil liberties issue. There have been commercial speech cases,

which are very important to me but hardly what the ACLU would

call great libertarian issues. Where are all the cases? All the liberal

causes?

SR: The liberal causes are there. But Judge Kozinski is right.

Unfortunately the Supreme Court's not doing much about them

these days.

If you look at federal judges, you will know we complain all the

time of the work load - with justification. The number of cases

increases geometrically, regularly. We are unable to write opinions

in 80 per cent of the cases we hear. We cut down on the size of briefs

PHOTOS: CJH

j that death penalty cases were different from other kinds of cases, that

There are people who seem fo be incapable of understanding that,

Although Judges

personal friends.

Stephen Reinhardt and Alex Kozinski,

of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

could hardly be more different in political

temperament and ideology, they are close

nene ital

For some time,

the two judges have kept up a tradition of

public dialogue in which they have aired

their divergent views. Judges Reinhardt

and Kozinski appeared at the ACLU/SC in

late June as part of a regular series of

brown bag lunches for students in the

ACLU/SC Summer Intern Program.

because we're too busy to read them.

We recently cut back on the amount of oral

argument because we don't have time to listen to

cases. So we're just incapable of keeping up with

the work.

But while our work goes up 50 per cent every

couple of years, the Supreme Court is the only court in the country that

keeps reducing it's work load.

There are a couple of minor things to be grateful about in the

judicial system. One is that the Supreme Court is reducing its work

load; two, is that they're not taking important cases and therefore

they're not doing as much damage as they could.

On that point we agree, that they're not doing much that matters.

The only thing better they could do for the county is adjourn for a far

longer summer recess than they now take.

Clinton and the Court, part |: A Minor Difference

AK: About four years ago, Judge Reinhardt wrote an opinion'

in acase called Gutierrez v. Superior Court dealing with an English-

only rule. Judge Reinhardt wrote an opinion saying the English-only

rule violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and I wrote a

dissent, saying that his ruling was wrong.

The Supreme Court dismissed and vacated Judge Reinhardt's

opinion. The issue came up again before another panel and the panel

held that the English-only rule did not violate Title VIL.

Judge Reinhardt this time tried to take it en banc and when he

failed he dissented, and, recently, the Supreme Court denied cert

after asking for the brief from the Solicitor General who said, "This

is a very important issue. You guys ought to take it," and the

Supreme Court said, "Thank you for your view, Mr. Solicitor

General, but no sale."

SR: Well, that shows it's not a total loss having elected

President Clinton. There are some minor differences that have some

significance. You have Drew Days as Solicitor General and when

he gets a chance to do something and when he has the

freedom, he will at least try to be decent and humane

to the extent that it's possible to be.

And that's a radical change from the Solicitor

General under the "Kozinski" Administration, which

preceded.

The one place a Democratic president could do

something that mattered and could leave his mark on

history is in the appointment of the judiciary. I will

say Ronald Reagan and George Bush did a very

good job that way, for their philosophy. Reagan

perfect example.

lesson when he was governor of California.

ACLU of Southern California

didn't make any mistakes and Judge Kozinski is a

AK: Hesaid, "Go in and take care of Reinhardt!"

SSR: Nobody could accuse Reagan or Bush of

having appointed a liberal. Reagan learned his

AK: Well, how about Justice [David] Souter?

SR: He's nota liberal, although he's fairminded and growing

in office. He could turn out to be Bush's and Sununu's Donald

Wright.

Death Penalty part |: Burden of Proof

SR: I really gave up several years ago trying to explain to

somebody who didn't understand instinctively that human life is

more important than property. Not that property is unimportant.

The Supreme Court tried to say for many years that death penalty

cases were different from other kinds of cases, that execution was

different from incarceration. There are people who seem to be

incapable of understanding that, including most of the justices on the

Supreme Court.

AK: Why is a death sentence so fundamentally different from

life in a small cell where you never see another human being? Where

you have a 10-foot by 10-foot square to pace around for the rest of

your life, with no hope of escape?

SR: Let me give you one reason that wouldn't interest your

friends on the Supreme Court. One is that a person might be innocent

and one day, we might determine that. That's nothing that interests

the majority of the Supreme Court. They don't even care whether

a person may well be innocent and might have a chance of proving

it, if allowed the opportunity.

But there's always hope as long as we're alive and maybe, just

maybe, something will happen.

AK: They never give you your 20 years back, or 30 years back

spent in a small cell.

Mistakes are made. That's why we have a burden of proof which

is overwhelmingly shifted towards the defendant. And that's why

we try not to make mistakes. The point is not making mistakes. We

don't take mistakes any less seriously when you rob somebody of 10

years of life, or somebody of life.

SR: Yes we do. Everything has to be based on some kind of

values, whatever they are. Even Justice [Antonin] Scalia and J ustice

[Clarence] Thomas have some kind of values-not very good

values, but some kind of values from which everything else flows.

Something very important to them, even if it's being able to

communicate directly with the authors of the Constitution in deter-

mining what it is they had in mind. I mean, that's their basic value.

AK: | do, don't you?

SR: James Madison and [ talk...

Clinton and the Court, part II: Gut Check

AK: Letmeask you this: Why then, has President Clinton, who

wants to become the great hope of the liberal...

SR: No, no, never the great hope of liberals. He was the grea!

hope of the Democrats.

AK: ...not been able to find anybody to appoint to the Supreme

Court that holds his basic values. Justice [Ruth Bader] Ginsbure,

Summer 1994

oe

Ned

espite a growing sense of hostility to civil liberties in the courts, the legislature, and the electorate, the

ACLUISC met with remarkable success in its 1993 efforts to preserve and expand the Bill of Rights.

Children's advocates across the state won a major victory for civil liberties and civil rights with the defeat of

Prop. 174, the discriminatory and unconstitutional school voucher initiative. Widely watched by the rest of the | Hi

nation, our efforts paid off - and one of the most pernicious attacks on our system of providing | |

equal and free public education was soundly defeated. |

In the courts, the ACLU/SC succeeded in overturning a mean-spirited law that prevented new California residents | |

from receiving the same welfare grant level as long-term Californians. We also brought a series of lawsuits alleging mt

sexual harassment in police departments throughout Southern California, and the LAPD in particular. |

We succeeded in upholding the First Amendment in a number of free speech, free association, |

freedom of religion, and separation of church and state cases.

There is much left to do. Courts struck down our challenge to an ordinance that made criminal soliciting work by

day laborers, and rejected our claim that if a drug company heavily advertises its product in a language other than

English, it should be required to print warning labels on the product in that language.

In this, our 70th year, the ACLU/SC will continue its work for a just and equal

community. What follows describes some - but by no means all -

of our activities in the past year.

ee

The successful battle to defeat Proposition 174, the school voucher initiative, was one of the major

yoy, highlights of 1993,

Prop. 174 sought to redefine the fundamental principle of public education by providing "vouchers"

that would have shifted precious resources from California's al-

|

ready under-financed public schools to private institutions-in- |

ile cluding religious schools. Prop 174 would have violated the consti- |

tutional separation of church and state as well as allowed for ill

discrimination against children on the basis of religion, disability, | ]

gender, class or race. | |

In response, the ACLU/SC formed Voter Education To Oppose |

Hibs 174 (VETO 174), a coalition which brought together more than 35 ae at |

civil rights, civil liberties and good government groups. Organiza- |

tions - including the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference , the i `|

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the International Ladies Garment Workers

A, Union - joined forces to successfully defeat the dangerously flawed initiative. As the campaign evolved, | | |

: the ACLU of Northern California adapted the VETO-174 name to a similar coalition in the Bay Area. it

! A key component to the campaign was a brochure - developed by the ACLU of Southern and |

Northern California - outlining the constitutional, fiscal, and ethical flaws in the initiative. More than

15,000 copies of the brochure were produced in English and Spanish and were widely used in the statewide | | |

yi % campaign. An easily-reproduced flyer version -for grassroots leafletting efforts - was also produced. i } ;

A well-utilized speakers bureau was also organized specifically on the issue. . i i

Along with the public education materials, the ACLU produced a video for large presentations which | |

featured education expert Jonathan Kozol. All of these efforts combined to create a model campaign that i i

can hopefully be recreated in the future. | i

od aH

mek od Ae oe ie ol, F | |

Whe The Field/Legislative Department has one of the broadest mandates in the ACLU of Southern | |

California. It is responsible for tracking hundreds of bills in the Legislature, as well as proposed | | |

ordinances before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles City Council and i |

other local agencies throughout the region. The office coordinates grassroots advocacy focusing on | |

Wa legislation at the local, state and national levels. The department is also responsible for coordinating i i

y relations between the affiliate and its 15 local chapters. |

: Wl

ee eee ference. In early 1993 the ACLU met with 100 leaders from around the state needle exchange program to help stop the spread of AIDS. The i |

1993 saw the most successful ACLU Issues Conference in _ for a two day Civil Rights Summit to discuss, debate and most | ACLU/SC, which meets with the coalition twice a month, is also | :

recent history - "Facing Conflict, Facing Change." Focusing on importantly, devise ways in which civil rights issues can be effectively helping the group to incorporate. )

the theme of "Race and Poverty in Urban America," the conference advocated and advanced. In recent years, the ACLU has become |

attracted more than 200 people who came to hear adiverse range of _ increasingly involved in this form of outreach and plans to make it a Immigrant Rights was another important issue the ACLU/ |

panelists discuss such issues as interethnic tensions, economic proud tradition. SC was actively involved with during 1993. The ACLU/SC joined |

cent: development, homelessness, healthcare, welfare, and other chal- forces with such groups as the Mexican American Legal Defense | i

lenges faced by Angelenos. Coalition 93 accomplished great things in the November 1993 and Educational Fund; Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in d }

Speakers included Mike Davis, City of Quartz author; Antonio Special Election in California. Two hundred and forty seven precinct Los Angeles; Central American Resource Center; Asian Pacific ! i

! Villaraigosa, former ACLU president; Melvin Oliver, acting direc- leaders distributed a quarter of a million pamphlets throughout Los American Legal Center; Public Council; the Multicultural Collabo- |

? tor for the UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty; Maria Angeles County, which brought 8,000 voters tothe polls. Theirefforts _rative; California Immigrant Workers Assn.; Korean Immigrant ;

Elena Durazo, president of Local 11 Hotel and Restaurant Employ- played an instrumental role in the resounding defeat of Proposition Workers Assn.; Justice for Janitors; and the Women's Garment |

ees Union; Linda Wong, executive director of the Achievement 174, the school voucher initiative, by a 2 to | margin. Workers Assn. in an effort to stem the anti-immigrant tide that has i

| Council; and ACLU/SC Executive Director Ramona Ripston. In 1993, the Coalition - which the ACLU supports with staffand been sweeping California. Wi

on , resources - also produced and distributed 700,000 pieces of nonpar- The coalition worked hard to get its message to the public by i

ACLU -Ghapters. tisan voter education literature to inform Los Angeles voters about the debating the issues on local radio and television talk shows and news | |

The ACLU of Southern California has a strong and vibrant issues and candidates in the spring mayoral election and on the programs. ) i

membership of nearly 30,000 with 15 chapters ranging from San November ballot. In addition, for the Spring mayor's race Coalition |

` Luis Obispo to Orange County. Throughout 1993, the ACLU/SC '93 produced and distributed a special pamphlet that provided an in- LIFE Lobby continued its work writing proposed AIDS- | |

f chapters continued the important task of legislative lobbying and depth look at the individual candidates and their positions on civil related and lesbian and gay rights-related law. The board met four i

community involvement. rights and human relations issues. times in 1993-twice in Southern California and twice in Northern |)

To facilitate chapter media relations, ACLU Boardmember Judy California. ACLU board member Duncan Donovan, the represen- i |

Martinez and Public Affairs Director Allan Parachini conducted the Health Access Coalition, an organization dedicated to provid- tative from the Southern California chapter and Mike Reynolds, the | | |

{ third in a series of five-hour training workshops to better equip ing affordable health care for all Californians, was joined by the alternate representative, attended the meetings and worked closely | I

chapters in community outreach and to recruit new leaders. ACLU/SC in 1993 in the important task of monitoring President Bill with the Lesbian and Gay Rights chapter in Northern California. i i i

ACLU Chapter Council president Mike Reynolds and Field/ -_Clinton's health care reform package. The LIFE Lobby office in Sacramento also continued to meet once } /

Legislative Director Ron Wong also developed innovative retreats a week with the ACLU office and other civil rights organizations to |]

Nex to help train chapters for more effective lobbying. Freedom of Expression Network continued to meet in 1993 further the coalition's agenda on AIDS and lesbian and gay rights. I a

In addition, in 1993 the ACLU/SC chapters sponsored numer- to discuss such timely issues as censorship and violence in | |

a DY

Ous workshops, panel discussions, and public forums covering a

wide variety of ACLU issues. .

pecoeoatltthions

Working with and on behalf of the myriad communities that

make up Southern California is a priority for the ACLU. And it is

through this collaborative effort that the most lasting social change

usually occurs.

entertainment media-particularly television. The ACLU/

SC remains active on the coalition's steering committee.

Needle Exchange Working Group received a

$50,000 grant from the American Foundation for AIDS

Research to develop a public education and public policy

program to get local governments to declare a state of

emergency that would enable the group to implement the

t

The Legal Department of the ACLU Foundation of Southern

California has been involved in thousands of cases that have made a

profound impact on the lives and liberties of individuals. Our current

legal docket has more than 100 active cases. The following are a few

highlights from an extremely busy and effective 1993.

CC WOeMmerYs -FIghres-

With a pro-choice president in the White House, many people

believe the fight for reproductive freedom is all but over. However,

violence and terrorist tactics by extremists continue to hinder women's

right to exercise their right of reproductive choice.

In 1993, the ACLU successfully argued that a provision of the "Ku

Klux Klan Act" could be used to prevent blockades of

women's clinics by anti-abortion rights extremists such

as Operation Rescue. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court. of

Appeals decision was the first time that a court upheld use

of the 122 year-old statute in a civil rights case that did not

allege race discrimination.

In Southern California, the rights of many women

have been violated by those who have sworn to protect and

serve - police departments.

Led by Senior Staff Counsel Carol Sobel, the ACLU/SC has filed

a series of lawsuits to eradicate the pattern of sexual harassment

within the Los Angeles Police Department and other local law

enforcement agencies. The cases have ranged from female officers

being harassed with nude photographs; a male officer stalking a female

911 operator; to male officers raping female officers - in one instance

on Police Academy grounds,

The lawsuits against the LAPD claim that by failing to implement

adequate training, investigation and disciplinary procedures in this

area, the LAPD is guilty of a systematic tolerance for such sexual

harassment.

lesbian. and..gay rights,

Since the 1960s, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California has

been at the forefront litigating against discrimination based on sexual

orientation. In February, Senior Staff Counsel Jon Davidson was

honored by Lawyers for Human Rights/The Lesbian and Gay Bar

Association of Los Angeles with its annual

Fame ican] President's Award for his outstanding and tire-

less efforts to end discrimination against lesbi-

ans, gay men and people with HIV.

Discrimination in the military has been an

ACLU issue since 1983, when Pruitt v. Aspin

was filed, challenging the constitutionality of the

military's ban against gays and lesbians. In the

fall of '93, that 10-year old suit was amended to

contest the constitutionality of President Bill

Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Civilian employees of the military also face

discrimination based on sexual orientation, In March, the ACLU filed

-acomplaint inSwann v. Department of the Navy, alleging that a civilian

Marine Corps veteran was illegally transferred to a different depart-

ment in retaliation for his outspoken stance on the issue of gays in

the military.

areas of drug policy and victimless crime.

mMekita cretlbatk1tons

clients.

the English-only package warning of the possible effects,

annua

3

E Pr re ea

The ACLU/SC handles more than 100 news media calls each week. These inquiries come, literally,

from all over the world - from so many time zones that a staff person is often on call 24-hours a day.

In addition to responding to reporter inquiries, the public affairs department issues nearly 200 news

releases a year and arranges between 75 and 100 news conferences. There are, routinely, several hundred

interviews each year with ACLU attorneys, staff members, board members and litigation

Allan Parachini, the Public Affairs director, has begun producing videos - and

broadcast-quality radio editorial replies - to support ACLU/SC legal cases and

public policy initiatives. One example is a widely aired piece produced for the suitRamirez

v. Plough, a consumer language rights case that was unsuccessful in the California Supreme

Court. Jorge Ramirez is a 10-year-old boy who suffers from Reyes Syndrome. His mother

- literate only in Spanish - gave him aspirin for a viral infection because she could not read

Produced in collaboration with the ACLU of Northern California, the video was released

to media in California and Washington, D.C,

YALDS. diseriminatton.,

The ACLU Foundation has litigated more AIDS/HIV-related cases

than any other organization in the country. Medical institutions often

fail to observe the clinical, legal, and ethical rules governing treatment

of people who are HIV positive.

In one case, the ACLU and four other public interest groups won

a major settlement against a dental chain that refused treatment to

HIV+ patients. Among other things, the chain agreed to institute

comprehensive HIV training to all its staff and to provide dental

services on a non-discriminatory basis.

In another case, suit was filed in federal court against a vocational

institute for refusing to allow a student who tested HIV+ to

complete his training in its Emergency Medical Technician program.

challenged by several

Alan Friel, ACLU's Sherwood Shafer Fellow, reached a settleffient

readmitting the student, refunding him his tuition, and strengthening

the school's AIDS training program.

An out-of-court settlement was also reached between Ventura

County Urgent Care Center, their former employee, Dr. Thelma Reich,

and an HIV+ man who was refused emergency treatment. The

agreement includes payment of $85,000 to the plaintiff, and proof that

the attending physician undergo AIDS/HIV education training.

economic rights

In a major victory for the impoverished, Legal Director Mark

Rosenbaum successfully challenged California's attempt to create

atwo-tiered welfare system in the state in January of 1993. The case,

Green v. Anderson, declared as unconstitutional Gov. Pete Wilson's

plan to deny full welfare payments to new

California residents. The plan called for

new state residents to receive payments at

the level of their former state until they

have lived in California for 12 months.

The overturned law applied the same

rule to short-term housing assistance.

The named plaintiff in the case,

Deshawn Green, returned to California to

live with her mother in order to escape an

abusive husband in Louisiana. Upon finding her mother destitute she

appplied for welfare. The Louisina level of $190 a month for a mother

with two children would have forced Green and her family into the'

ranks of the homeless.

Free speech/association.

As Los Angeles prepared for verdicts in the federal civil rights trial

of the four LAPD officers involved in the Rodney King beating,

students at L.A.'s Manual Arts High School planneda demonstration

calling for unity and peaceful expression - instead of violence and

operation.

Sexual Harassment within the

Los Angeles Police Department

and other Southern California

law enforcement agencies was

ACLUISC lawsuits in: 1993,

The ACLU of Southern California is

currently fighting for Tammy Brown to

regain full custody of her two boys. A

Mississippi judge took Tammy children

from her custody after she began dating,

then married, an Arican-American man.

on 174 effort (see previous page). Support from the

Joseph Friedman Fund permitted quick introduction

of the Spanish language No on 174 brochure into the

campaign and allowed stocks of the brochure to be

replenished quickly as distribution expanded during

the final weeks of the campaign.

The Friedman fund helps finance printifig and publication production. Additional sources of funding

are being pursued to further expand the flexibility and quick-response capabilities of the publications

looting. School administrators, however, informed them that a pre. |

class demonstration would not be tolerated.

Inresponse to a visit from students and some faculty members from

Manual Arts, the ACLU/SC faxed a letter to the Los Angeles Unified

School District explaining the school's violation of basic First Amend-

mentrights. ACLU staff, including then-Legal Director Paul Hoffman,

also made a trip to the early morning school protest to assure the

students that their rights would be protected.

After nearly three years, the ACLU and two other nonprofit

organizations reached a settlement in the "NEA-4" case. The suit was

filed on behalf of four artists denied federal funding in 1990 for

political reasons. The grants were rejected by then-National Endow-

ment for the Arts chair John Frohnmayer at the height of the contro-

versies that plagued the NEA throughout the Bush Administra-

tion. Frohnmayer had been pressured by Bush and his Chief of

Staff, John Sununu, to deny grants to any controversial artists,

The ACLU also argued in the 9th Circuit against the NEA's

requirements that grants adhere to vague, unspecified stan.

dards of "decency." Although there had been hopes that the

Clinton Administration would drop the case and let an earlier

trial court victory over the decency language stand, the Justice

Department elected to appeal.

In November, a Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by

the owner of a downtown factory who tried to silence artists who

reside in a nearby studio complex. The artists had complained to the

South Coast Air Quality Management District about foul odors ema-

nating from the plant. ACLU Slaff Fellow Amos Dyson III success-

fully contended that California Fiberloft's suit against the artists was

a classic example of a so-called SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against

Public Participation) suit designed to silence the artists.

The ACLU Foundation represents Dr. Rudy Acufia in two separate

but related actions in state and federal court. The suits allege that Dr.

Acuiia was denied a faculty appointment at UC Santa Barbara

based on race, ethnicity, age and political views. The plaintiff, a

full professor at Cal State Northridge, is head of the Chicano Studies

Department there and the founder of Chicano studies. He is an

important figure in the community and the denial of his appointment

has been a rallying vehicle for progressives throughout the state.

In the City of Agoura Hills, a municipal ordinance made it a

crime for day laborers to seek employment in any public area

throughout the city. Workers, many of whom are immigrants, often

_ gather near large home repair stores in the hope of being hired for the

day. The ACLU/SC, together with a coalition of public interest and

immigrant rights' groups, unsuccessfully challenged the constitution-

ality of the ordinance on the grounds that it violated the worker's

public affairs dept.

Heightened involvement in policy analysis, an expanded publications program and an ever-increasing

workload in media relations characterized the Public Affairs Department in 1993. The department is

responsible for media and public relations, maintaining the ACLU's publications program (including

brochures, reports, periodicals and special projects) and public policy work and investigations.

With the Legal Department, the Public Affairs Department divided the services of the Sherwood Shafer

Fellow, attorney Alan Friel. The Shafer fellowship is devoted to litigation and public policy initiatives in

public. policy. reports

The Public Affairs Department produced two major public policy reports in 1993 and was heavily

involved in several other policy analysis projects.

a report by

erigan

a" civil [itertes

ynion of

southern

The public affairs department also brought its calif

media and public education experience to the No

The Public Affairs Dept. issued two

major public policy reports in 1993:

| Safety and LA Schools and Pepper

Spray; A Magic Bullet Under

Scrutiny. The reports studied

LAUSD security procedures and the

effectiveness of a new mace-like

spray used by the LAPD.

In June, the department released "Safety and L.A. Schools," an investigation of security procedures

- notably expanded use of metal detectors - and their effect on the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The report concluded that metal detectors were a costly and ineffective means of preventing students from

carrying weapons onto high school campuses.

The report was in part the product of

unique agreement between the ACLU/SC

and the LAUSD, in which ACLU observers

spent several months monitoring weapons

searches in high schools throughout the dis-

trict. "Safety and L.A, Schools" detailed

shortcomings - both constitutional, fiscal

and pragmatic - in the LAUSD's weapons

protocols.

The ACLU determined that the school

safety issue lent itself more to collaboration

with the school district than to potentially

protracted litigation over school weapons

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freedom of speech, freedom of association, and right to engage in

meaningful work.

Ina similar political move, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors

responded to complaints by residents in Ladera Heights and considered

and finally passed an ordinance that would criminalize solicitation of

work by day laborers in Los Ange-

les County. ACLU/SC Staff At-

torney Robin Toma and Executive

Director Ramona Ripston worked

with several other civil rights or-

ganizations to oppose the measure.

In an overly-broad and reac-

tionary response toa very real crime

problem, the city of Westminster

obtained a temporary restraining

order that prohibited 59 named

defendants from "standing, sitting,

walking, driving, gathering or ap-

pearing together in public view"

within a 25 square block neighbor-

hood. The city used the TRO as a

means to arrest people before

they committed any crimes,

Citing the TRO's clear viola-

tion of the First and Fourteenth

Amendment guarantees of the

rights to assembly, due process,

and privacy, the ACLU's Mark Silverstein, staff attorney, successfully

argued against the order. The judge declared the TRO an "impermis-

sible invasion of privacy" and overruled it.

The ACLU vigorously opposed

the paint industry's attempt to

invalidate a state law requiring

the treatment and prevention

of lead poisoning among

California's children.

Also in 1993, the ACLU Foundation reached a settlement in a

three-year old lawsuit that challenged the "English only" work place

rule at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, and the retaliatory

harassment, demotion and transfer of the Filipino nurse who protested

against the rule.

The ACLU/SC won a major victory in federal district court when

a judge invalidated a Santa Monica park ordinance that would require

groups of 35 or more to obtain a special permit and limit assembly in

public parks and other open areas to no more than

twice a month. The ordinance, clearly geared

towards making it a crime to be homeless, was

successfully challenged by the ACLU/SC as

overly broad and in violation of a person's basic

rights of free association and free expression.

Rhealth care

OF Suit was filed by the ACLU/SC and four other

non-profit organizations against the L.A. County

Board of Supervisors and the L.A. Department of

Health Services for failing to provide ad-

equate health care to indigent residents.

Under state law, the county has the mandatory duty to provide

necessary medical care to indigent residents and to adopt standards to

ensure the adequate medical care in its hospitals and health centers.

Interminable delays in delivering essential medical care have become

the norm at the county's facilities.

The ACLU is part of a coalition of five public-interest organiza-

tions that filed a first-of-a kind federal civil rights class action lawsuit

against the California Department of Health Services for its failure to

provide low-income, Medi-Cal-eligible children with necessary

medical treatment. The suit contends that the state has failed to meet

federal requirements to identify and treat children with special needs

through the Medicaid Act's Early and Periodic Screening Diagnosis

and Treatment program. Among the kinds of services currently and

routinely denied are in-home care, psychological services and behav-

ior therapy.

echt-bedren's.cights

Attempts by the paint industry to invalidate a 1991 state law that

intended to treat and prevent lead poisoning among California

children were vigorously opposed by the ACLU last year. The ACLU

was joined by a coalition of legal, health and child advocacy groups.

Legal Director Mark Rosenbaum, along with Staff Attorney Silvia

Argueta, also brought a first-of-its-kind federal civil rights class-action

suit to ensure that children with disabilities are properly identi-

fied and placed in appropriate special education programs, The

LAUSD is required, under the federal Individual with Disabilities

Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as the 14th

Amendment, to identify disabled children, particularly those with

learning disabilities, and provide related services necessary for them to

participate successfully in elementary and secondary schools.

~pnternat 1 civil rights.

The ACLU/SC co-sponsored an international human rights

conference in June. Organized by former Legal Director Paul Hoffman,

the conference featured panels on a wide range of topics, including war

crimes in Bosnia, the Truth Commission in El Salvador, the rights of

immigrants and refugees, and the use of international human rights law

in domestic civil rights litigation and advocacy.

In a major victory, the ACLU together with other international civil

liberties advocates, won a $1.5 million judgment on behalf of three

Ethiopian women now living in the United States, one of whom lives

in Los Angeles. They brought a tort claim against the man who tortured

them during the "Red Terror" in Addis Ababa in 1977-1978. The torturer

was discovered working in an Atlanta hotel by one of the women.

A complaint was filed against Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)

officials and agents for their April 1990 kidnapping of Mexican

Successfully

challenging as

unconstitutional,

the ACLU/SC

invalidated a Santa

Monica law geared

towards making it

a crime to be

without a home.

physician Humberto Alvarez-Machain. Dr. Alvarez was abducted at

gunpoint from his office in Guadalajara, Mexico, by DEA agents,

and then tortured, beaten, and injected with drugs before being flown

to Texas and turned over to DEA officials. He spent 32 months in a

U.S. prison before his acquittal of all charges in connection with the

murder of a DEA agent. The suit seeks $20 million in damages under

the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victim Protection Act

, church/state.separation

The ACLU Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Conejo Valley

School Board for allowing teachers in the public schools to use a

pamphlet produced: and distributed by the Christian media industry

"Focus on the Family." The brochure includes a list of resources which

are self-described as providing the Christian perspective on sexual

abstinence and teenage dating. The ACLU argued that use of the

pamphlet violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment,

the "no preference" clause of the Constitution, as well as the state

constitution's prohibition against teaching sectarian doctrine in

the public schools,

Former ACLU Slaff Fellow Raleigh Levine, together with the

Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, obtained a prelimi-

nary injunction blocking Cal State Long Beach from beginning any

construction on the remains of Puvungna, a historic and religious site

that has long been revered as the sacred birthplace of the supreme deity

of many Native Americans in the Los Angeles area. The University

proposed to build a mini-mall and parking lot on the sacred

site, once inhabited by the Gabrielino tribe. In early 1994, the

state Court of Appeal upheld the injunction.

EBV GAYE ss)

In May, 1993, the ACLU began what may be a long struggle to

reunite Tammy Brown with her children. Brown is a California

woman whose children were removed from her custody by a

Mississippi judge after she began dating and then married an

African-American man, The action was initiated by Brown' s former

in-laws who live in Mississippi and now have custody of the children.

Successful negotiations have already resulted in a 10 day unsupervised

visit - the first such visit since 1990. The ACLU has requested that

the grandparents relinquish custody.

death. penalty

The ACLU continues vigorously to oppose the death penalty,

long abolished by most other industrialized nations. The ACLU

argues that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment in

violation of the Eighth Amendment. Several prisoners are being

represented, including one of only two women now currently on Death

Row in California. In another Death Row appeal, the office has

challenged the admissibility of gang evidence and other evidentiary

and instructional errors at trial.

opSadi-d) supervision

Since the ACLU's successful 1975 lawsuit, Rutherford v. Block,

the affiliate has monitored conditions at the L.A. County jails. Staff

attorneys and legal assistants work closely with the Custody Division

of the Sheriff's Department to shape policy and improve jail condi-

tions. As aresult, the ACLU keeps a close watch on overcrowding and

ensures that inmates receive proper medical care and basic, humane

living conditions,

0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 e 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 * e . 0x00B0 . . . 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 e 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 e 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 . 0x00B0 . 0x00B0 e e 0x00B0 e 0x00B0 0x00B0 . . e e . e . e e e . . a oe . . e 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 0x00B0 . . . e 0x00B0 0x00B0 . 0x00B0 . . 0x00B0 7 0x00B0

search procedures. Two ACLU/SC attorneys worked with Parachini to develop the search observation

protocols and to conduct the observations themselves.

The report also challenged the LAUSD's automatic expulsion policy which required administrators

to remove kids from school if they were found with even toy guns.

Akey ACLU recommendation called for creation of safe corridor routes that students may travel from

home to school and back. Several months after the ACLU report was released, the LAUSD, the LAPD

publications

The design and production of policy reports, campaign brochures and countless other graphic and

editorial projects - such as Open Forum - is handled entirely at the ACLU/SC offices.

Beginning in 1992, and continuing in 1993, Publications Director Christopher Herrera completed the

and other agencies announced creation of such a safe corridor program. It is now being developed across

the district.

After a six-month investigation, the ACLU released a second major report, "Pepper Spray: A Magic

Bullet Under Scrutiny," in late September.

The report was based on review of hundreds of reports of pepper spray use filed by police departments

with the California Department of Justice. Itraised serious questions

about the safety and effectiveness of pepper spray - the most

publicly touted development in police technology in many years.

The report disclosed as many as 14 fatalities in California in which

pepper spray may have played a role.

It also found evidence of apparently racially skewed deployment

of pepper spray by the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff'

Department,

After release of the report, the ACLU supplied numerous fatality

reports and other data to the National Institute of Justice, the research

arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, for use in a national pepper

Spray critique. In the process, the ACLU/SC became the top private

sector pepper spray expert in the country.

Although the Los Angeles Police Commission declined to accept a major ACLU pepper spray

recommendation - that restrictions on officer use of pepper spray not be loosened - the commission did

order the Los Angeles Police Department to monitor spray use more closely than ever. Disputed ACLU

findings that pepper spray fails to work in cases where suspects are high on drugs or in psychiatric crisis

Were subsequently confirmed by LAPD analysis.

transition to an entirely in-house desk-top publishing system. The publications operation permits great

flexibility to address media, policy, and public education needs with little or no notice.

In 1993, the Public Affairs Department also:

_ -Produced a letter to outgoing Mayor Tom Bradley that called attention to unimplemented Los

Angeles Police Department reforms which were recommended by the Christopher Commission;

-Facilitated an ongoing protest over the Clinton Administration and Department of Defense's

below:

Deputy Mayor for

Public Safety Bill Violante

Interviews with

policy and

opinion makers

for publication

in the quarterly

above:

Former Police Commission

President Jesse Brewer

Open Forum are

above: ACLU/SC Executive Director

coordinated by the Public Affairs Department.

response to the issue of gay men and lesbians serving in the armed forces;

-Organized, with Shafer Fellow Alan Friel,

a major national conference on drug abuse

policy. The conference, held at the Los Angeles

Theatre Center downtown in late October,

prompted front-page news coverage because it

featured the first public appearance by White

House drug czar Lee Brown following an-

nouncement of the Clinton Administration's

intentions in the drug policy area;

The day-long conference, "The War at

Home," examined critically the failed 20-

year-old War on Drugs. A half-hour long

Ramona Ripston

video of the conference is now available and includes comments from Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders;

Federal Judge Whitman Knapp; William Kuntsler and others. The conference was jointly sponsored by

the ACLU/SC and The Nation Institute, affiliated with The Nation Magazine. Both organizations' support

of the conference was underwritten by Sherwood "Bob" Shafer,

longtime ACLU activist, legal intake counselor and currently ACLU

Foundation of Southern California board member.

Beem uk

annual

== " pound----

the. hercrctage... clisb... y

The battle for civil liberties is never won - and the ACLU must be there to defend them. By providing for

the ACLU through their estate plans, members of the Heritage Club are helping to ensure that the ACLU wil]

Unlike many other non-profit groups, neither the ACLU nor the ACLU Foundation receives _ have the means to keep defending freedom well into the next century. We are pleased to acknowledge the tos

government funds. Grants from private foundations and corporate support are also negligible. generosity and foresight of these very special women and men.

Therefore - as organizations completely supported by individuals who cherish liberty, justice and Ralph Moritz

equality - the ACLU and ACLU Foundation face a unique challenge in raising the money necessary Ruth Abraham Madeline R. Goodwin Irmgard Natale

`vil bert Reuben and Selma Agran Malcolm S. Gordon Richard W. Nathan

AO Pe aene ee Meee eee : eet Jean J. Allgeyer Leon and Molly Gorelick Ki and Helen Negoro

While the 501(c)3 ACLU Foundation underwrites litigation, public education and policy activities, Edna R. S. Alvarez Josephine Gottsdanker Pete Nelson

the 501(c)4 ACLU lobbies legislators and organizes grass roots support for civil liberties efforts. Rodolfo Alvarez William B. Graham Bertha Nepove 1976 Trust

Fee ns aa ; Howard Amsterdam Donald Grandy Edward Newman

Although each organization is independently incor- Anonymous (20) Dr. Belle Granich George E. Newman

porated with separate by-laws and directorial boards, Agnes Baron Ruth and Sy Grassman Fredrik C. Norberg

reanizations share office space, resources and Harold and Lillian Barton Nancy Greenstein Joanne Weinhoff O'Byrne ts

ee ; P ; Norm Beal John Heilman Mimi and Fred Okrand

many staff members. Contributions to the ACLU Douglas J. Bender Donald H: Herman Frances D. Paine

Foundation are tax deductible. Dr. Kurt Bergel John F. Hodgson, II Marilyn Lee Perron

: . : og Eric H. Boehm Robert S. Hughes Richard B. Pollak

Due to lingering effects of California 0x00A7 six year Elden T. Boothe Florence Patricia Hunt Acie Woes

recession, fundraising for both organizations has G. C. "Brad" Brafford Rito) Jacobs Daniel' Reaban , 4

proven difficult recently. Yet the commitment and aS ig ee a8 a oo a .

: anrord and Jane Brickner erome L. JOSS ose KoDDINS

mee port of ACLU donors have remained eee Fred R. Brooks Geraldine Karpel in memory of Arthur Robbins

abling the Foundation and the ACLU to maintain a Virginia Bruce Mr. and Mrs. A. Katz William and Dinah Roe

a high level of advocacy in the courts and legislatures Ronald E. Carlson Leonard A. Kaufman Kandy and Stephen Rohde :

eee A Bae Tha Babli Hilma Carter Edward L. Keenan Judy Rome -

Ramona Ripston and before the public. Allan Casson Mr. and Mrs. Harry M. Kemmerer Arthur Rosen

with Lani 5 ee eid care, Mr. and Mrs. Jack H. Chesner Lydia Marcus Kendall Selma Rubin

Guinier, Anna cmembership Robert Clark, Jr. and Robert Finney Geri M. Kenyon Matilda H, Rummage

Deveare Smith ` : Mary B. Cooper Jessie Kern Leo and Frances Sandron

and Stanley K. With a membership nearly 30,000 strong, the Mildred D. Cooper Stephen Kern Lois Satterburg

Sheinbaum ACLU continues to play a prominent role in the Albert C. Cordas Jack Kimbrough and Bernice McCollum v9

eee Barbara Corda' Howard J. Kumi Dr. Robert Schwartz

: i) ; . Rath ras arbara Corday Ow . Kumin r. NO} CHW:

right: political life of Southern California and within the Mr. and Mrs. Mortis Coropoff ah Tass and Mr, Herluf Kanatrup

Mike Reynolds national network of 53 ACLU affiliates. In fact, the Rev. K. C. Cummings Gerda Lawrence Charles Shafer

mt shy ACLU of Southern California has been particularly Jeanne Keefer Cunningham Dorothy Sloat Leitman Sherwood (Bob) Shafer

sborne : wi ies Vibha ` z Dorothy Daniels Ruth M. Licata Betty and Stanley Sheinbaum

successful in maintaining its membership base, re John Roland Dearhart tivity I: Lichiewstein MAD, Robert H. Shutan |

; 8

cruiting more than 1,600 new members in 1993. Douglas M. Dick, Ph.D. Mina Liebman Barbara Snader

E. H. Duncan Donovan Alvin A. Lindenauer Margaret Solis-Small

garden -par6rby Joyce S. Dusenberry Sidney and Ruth London Paul Spindler

RC egttre eee he 2 a en ere ae - e Kenneth J. Erickson Charlotte P. Lukes Preva Springer

In June, the ACLU held its 32nd Annual Garden Party with more than 800 well-wishers paying Grant W. Ewald Jess Lyons in memory of Joe Springer A,

tribute to seven leaders who exemplified the theme of "Working Together for Racial and Cultural Garold Faber, M.D., M.P.H. Sylvia and Jerry Manheim Harry A. Steingart ;

H "H included PantiConed Puli Pri senino adiaeial be eh ie Warren Felt and Dolores Arond Dr. Judd Marmor Evelyn Stem

larmony." Honorees include aul onrad, Pu itzer rize-winning editoria cartoonist for the L.A. Mona Field and Ken Levy Faye Nuell Mayo Michael and Sylvia Stolzberg

Times; Rabbi Laura Geller, executive director of the American Jewish Congress; Stewart Kwoh, Louis Fink George McCarty Gene Stone

executive director of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center; Reverend James Lawson, pastor of woe ee Fithian _ averted oe Fee

Holman United Methodist Church; Monica Lozano, editor and associate publisher of La Opinion; Virginia Gilloon Robin Meadow ` Norman and Leona Terry a

Eugene Mornell, executive director of the L.A. County Human Relations Commission; and Angela Oh, Rose Ginsburg ~ Herbert Meiselman Mrs. Joseph J. Thein

: : ee 9 cn Cyril and Frances Gloyn Isa-Kae Meksin Frances Troy

president of the Korean American Bar Association of Southern California. Marvin A. Gluck Sard Mosie Mr, and Mrs, Sid Turkis

ti on on se conse Sherna B. Gluck Dr. Seymour Metzner Dr. Walter C. Varnum

enordaen crterch-_oFf-liberty. Leonard Goodman Richard Miles Lee M. Waterhouse-Edwards UR

Gal ACLU Foundation Board member and entertainment attorney Barry Hirsch along palpi 8 id ag Elly A reba Sar ee A ai `

with MTV Creative Director Judy McGrath were honored at the Annual Torch of oe

seinen Liberty Awards dinner in September '93 for their staunch civil liberties advocacy. ff

With special guest California State Treasurer Kathleen Brown and performances by : | es] ae :

run TON : : : Tp: | Senior Staff Counsel evelopmen ih

Bonnie Raitt and Evan Dando, the gala evening at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel Jon W. Davidson Laval Dicector eatesitua Ging' (abies

F was an extremely enjoyable one for more than 600 guests. Executive Director Carol Sobel Fred Okrand Brenda Anthony

Ramona Ripston Counsel Tscnl' kee Meegan Lee Ochs

Bae ts m ES gal Assistants

southern cbt) oeFf ri ghtes~ Legal Director Silvia R. Argueta Virginia Alvarez Gift Planning

The ACLU of Southern California celebrated its 70th anniversary and the 202nd gue) Rovere Bae tes Basa Miyabare PO co

NRG ani f the Bill of Rights with a festive Bill of Rights Dinner at the Bonavent Of Counsel hate verte Pentre: !

anniversary of the Bill of Rights with a festive Bill of Rights Dinner at the Bonaventure Pau! L. Hoffman Law Fellows/ Margaret Small Constatioe Mate

Hotel that attracted more than 600 supporters. Acca Dita Volunteer Attorneys Librarian `kdintitetration

Honorees included professor Lani Guinier, former ACLU Foundation Chair and past President of Sandra' M. Jones Amos D. Dyson II Sheila Harmon Mario Guzman

the L.A. Police Commission Stanley K. Sheinbaum, actress Anjelica Huston and sculptor Robert Elizabeth Schroeder rate ae Public Affairs soa Griffith-Nnoli H.

Graham. Longtime ACLU activist Mike Reynolds received the Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Executive Assistant Jenny Skobel eee Te ee !

Award for his tireless efforts to improve the civil rights of lesbians, gay men and people with HIV/AIDS. carte Kellogg ,

cb VO3. Aonors-

The ACLU Foundation gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following individuals Mary Ellen Gale Larry Winokur John Heilman ava

whose contributions provide the basis of our annual budget: Alan Gleitsman Chic Wolk Marcella Howell

Elyse Grinstein Beatrice Zeiger Rosa Kaplan

Reh hires Home Box Office Jean Sieroty ACLU Foundation - ve eae Michael Klein

Lucy: Adelman ICM Eve Slaff of Southern California see tess Reverend James Lawson |

Susan Adelman Interscope Records Gordon Smith Chair Barry Hirsch American Civil Liberties l Dr. Jorge Mancillas ,

Joseph and Mary Aidlin James Jacobson Lloyd and Edith Smith Lee Masters aay Union of Southern California | Gary Mandinach

ens Dorothy Jonas : Judy Martinez

tlantic Records Allan and Dorothy Jonas Carol Sobel Officers Jimi Kaufer President Rosa Marti

BMG Music Leonard Kaufman Sony Pictures Entertainment Danny Goldberg beceaed* Rau bhan Trisha Murakawa aye jel

The B.Y. Foundation Robert Kennard Fred Specktor and Pam Robinson Susan Adelman Niacin eer Officers e a `

Alan and Marilyn Bergman Betty Jean Kivel Ben and Eleanor Spezell Alan Bergman Shari Lettiaand pages Eisensicia oe vr : 4 .

Jerry and Lenore Breslauer Norman and Lyn Lear Michael and Sylvia Stolzberg Madeline Goodwin ievino *Tichtensiein aap William B. Won we ; Mi ; Il W

Capella Films, Inc. Shari Leinwand Ron and Ellen Stone Bob Johnson Nae ma : `Ade' She i 8 ee y ie e

Capital Fund Foundation Barry and Diane Levinson Barbra Streisand Allan K. Jonas R pee P rya Moore

: y oger Lowenstein E. H. Duncan Donovan Angela Oh

Capitol Records Marty Longbine and Jeff Ayeroff Kate Summers Eve Slaff Mark Magidson Frank Cooper III ime. Regalad

John Caughey MTV Networks Summit Export Group Peg Yorkin Shirle om `son Liovd oe ne oe e

Robert Cohn Sidney and Paula Machtinger Rosalie Swedlin and Robert Cort Louis Colen Ga Nee ; y Pick arvin Schachter q

Lou and Irma Colen Mark Magidson Dorothy Tavris Irma Colen mt Markoff ` ai iiaiakc ca Scares :

Barbara Corday Shirley Magidson C. Fred and Erica Taylor Paul Hoffman Pave Nuall Mave . 8 Eve Triffo_

Direct Management Group, Inc. Gary Mandinach Florence Temkin Lloyd Smith oan Ka ae At Large Members a a

Richard Dreyfuss Lee Masters and Pamela Mohn Dan Trammell Sidney Machtinger Tagha Megdeawa Susan Alva obert oge

EMI Records Jim McGory 20th Century Film Co. Diawark Deiat "fc ppt Angelo Ancheta Frank Wilkinson

Frederick W. Field Jerry and Ann Moss Barry Tyerman Chairs. Reneritis igs Matos Maxine Baker-Jackson Michael Yamomoto ai,

Vasanti Fithian Fred Nicholas Milton and June Tyre Dec) Golder Sarah ae Parker Thomas Borcher Chapter-elected members 70x00B0

Leo and Sherry Frumkin Robin Meadow and Susan North Universal Pictures ae ana dy `Balaban' Quine Erwin Chemerinsky Hank Alberts

The Geffen Foundation Robert Ornstein Dr. Walter Varnum Stalled' ty Statens ston Rich Toni Cordero Norm Beal

Richard Gere Lucille Ostrow Virgin Records Aa Asaie ities: Bobitern Cynthia Davis Lena Bethel

Richard and Adleen Gibbs Jeanne Phillips Walt Disney Company Burt poate Bi chand Baan dwet Carl Douglas Gayle Binion

Alan Gleitsman Jeff Pollack Warner Music Group trvine Wachee MD De aL sslter 8 Betty Ann Downing Paul Camhi Wie

E. Robert and Audrey Gluck Don and Judith Quine Warner Bros. Pictures 6 : ` Rabbi ALlen Freehling Lydia Marcus Kendall

y ioe Bob Shafer y

Danny Goldberg R.E.M./Athens, Ltd. Jim Wiatt Board `alas Slegot Mary Ellen Gale Roger Kohn

Eugene and Madeline Goodwin Dr. Andrea Rich Randall Wick Ruth Abraham Robert cre Judith Glass Hannah Naiditch

Stanley and Elyse Grinstein Rhino Records JoAnne and Martin Widzer Lucy Adelman Fred `Speckine Danny Goldberg Cheryl Roberts

David Harleston Dolores Robinson William Morris Agency Marilyn Bergman B Se ratin 4 Glenn Goodwin Mike Reynolds

Hugh Hefner Richard Rosenzweig Winkler Family Foundation Jay Boberg Michee! `Stolzber Malcolm Gordon Angie Soto ty

Sam Hellinger Lorraine and Jon Scott Peg Yorkin Thomas Carter Soren 8 Dianna Gould-Saltman Jim Sturm

Martin Henderson S. Robert Shafer Beatrice and Irving Zeiger John Cooke sasene'Te ms Ellen Greenstone Teresia Santee

Barry and Carole Hirsch Stanley K. and Betty Sheinbaum aa oe jute Tyke a Isabelle Gunning Chuck Warren

Stanley and Anita Hirsh Alan Sierot c yfuss

y y Jase Eghy Jody Uttal-Gold a Joyce Fiske Sea bat oe oa ae

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~ ciple. Even someone like Bush - who had no more conviction

"don't think even Reaga

was appointed [originally] by the same president who appointed you

to the Court of Appeals.

SR: Not all Carter appointees were brilliant choices. We all

know a few who aren't so great.

AK: No, but I'm saying there should have been with the

number President Carter managed to appoint-almost half of the

federal judiciary.

Does it surprise you President Clinton can't find anybody who

holds this set of values that you're talking about? Isn't it an

anachronism, basically a dinosaur's view of the Constitution?

SR: You know very well that's not the problem with

President Clinton. The problem with him is that he has no guts.

It's very simple.

AK: Guts, did you say?

SR: His problem is no convictions, no commitments, not

willing to fight for the courts. It's really remarkable that

somebody who went to Yale Law School - and is married to

someone from Yale Law School - didn't learn the elementary

lessons about the importance of the judiciary.

AK: The kind of appointment you would like to see just

doesn't reflect our ethos of society. It's a dinosaur, a thing of the

past. The Warren Court, the Brennan-Marshall view, no longer

reflect reality, except in this small room.

SR: Well, I think to some extent you're correct. Liberals

are an endangered species. i

AK: Mastodons.

SR: The question is whether we're going to just give up,

surrender, or do what the conservatives did and fight for prin-

than Clinton and certainly wasn't particularly interested in who

was on the bench or what domestic policy was - loved going

around the world and being a world leader. But I don't think he

cared a lot about domestic policy. He certainly didn't care about

who was on the Court.

But at least those people would turn over to the right wing the

appointments. And when Justice [William] Rehnquist was ap-

pointed to the Supreme Court, the votes were always eight to one.

But he didn't surrender. He just stood for what he believed in and

sooner or later times changed for various reasons and the philosophy

was kept alive in the judiciary.

The worst thing about President Clinton is he'll be responsible

for extinguishing the liberal philosophy on the Supreme Court.

There will not be a voice to counter Justice Rehnquist, or even

worse, Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas. It will be very difficult to

keep that philosophy alive without any voice on the Supreme Court.

But I think liberalism has more historic strength than that and I

don't think even Reagan, Bush and Clinton combined are going to

be able to extinguish it permanently. It may be quite a while until

it makes a comeback. It's not that hard if there are people who

believe in things. Barry Goldwater stood for something. His wing

of the party stood for something; they fought, they stayed there, they

won and they finally came to power.

If you surrender and run at every obstacle, they laugh at you and

that's the problem with a President who doesn't have convictions.

Death Penalty, part ll: Conservative Compassion

AK: Well, let's talk about something we really disagree on,

let's talk about the death penalty. Did you notice that recently

Justice [Lewis] Powell recanted his position on this question? He

actually came out and said he is now of the view, retroactively, that

the death penalty cannot be administered fairly in this country,

Which is close to, if I understand correctly, the [former Justice

Harry] Blackmun view.

Do you think there will be anybody now to carry on that torch,

that symbolic dissent from every death case? We know Ginsberg

Won't or we can guess Ginsburg won't.

; SR: It might take some aging and maturity and experience. It

didn't come easily to Justice Blackmun or Powell. It did come easily

i Justice [Thurgood] Marshall who had experience in the area. It

didn't come quickly to Justice [Willliam] Brennan, either.

There's certainly no hope Clarence Thomas will ever learn

anything, and there's certainly no hope Justice Rehnquist will ever

change his view. But I think Justice Souter is someone who came

0 the Court without a lot of experience, without a strong judicial

Vol. 68 No. 10

Nas more stron

n, Bush and Clin

going to be able to extinguish it permanently,

philosophy. He's a very bright per-

son, and maybe with experience, he

will come to that view. Judge

[Stephen] Breyer has never had a

death penalty case, he's in a circuit

where they don't kill people. There

may be hope for him.

AK: Isn't that the great liberal

hope? That the machinery of death,

as Justice Blackmun so colorfully

put it, will become so cumbersome

and so burdened to the justice system

that we will just throw up our hands

and say, "We give up?"

SR: The liberals have hope that

people will be decent, humane, will

develop an understanding and

compassion...they never give up.

That's why we have these lunches.

Basically liberals believe in the decency of people. I don't know

why, but that's the basis of liberal thought. The basis of the extreme

conservative philosophy is Hobbes' pessimism, but liberals are

eternally hopeful that people will learn and see what's decent,

what's right and what's fair.

AK: But why do liberals think compassion only runs one way?

That compassion is shown by letting somebody who brutally killed

and maimed and tortured a bunch of people live, and compassion

isn't exercised by soothing perhaps the pain of the families of the

victims by equalizing the death, by putting to death the person who

inflicted that kind of pain? Why isn't that a legitimate view of

compassion? You may not be willing to agree with it, but why isn't

it legitimate?

SR: If you're asking can conservatives be compassionate,

that's a tough question. Normally, if you are motivated by compas-

sion you're not likely to end up as a conservative. There may be

conservatives who are compassionate - I wouldn't say that's an

impossible combination - but I haven't met many.

AK: Why do you think you have a monopoly on the term

"decency"?

SR: Well, capital punishment is only an example. It's the

immigration cases where we have equally strong differences. It's

Social Security cases. It's how you treat the homeless. It's how you

treat the mentally ill.

There are fundamental differences between liberals and conser-

vatives and how we treat people who need help. Why do I think that

people who care about people, who want to help them and think they

need assistance from government, and who believe that everybody

has an obligation to try to help them, are decent? And why do I think

those who say: "It's not my problem; it's their fault. Why aren't they

working instead of taking care of their children?" are not decent?

It's just in one's definition of decency.

AK: You may not agree with this, but

there are those who say, "Look, welfare doesn't

really-help. All welfare does is lead to depen-

dency and destroying the work ethic." You

may not agree with that, but why do you not

agree that that is a legitimate view of decency?

SR: Because it's the same people who

told us why Social Security wouldn't work,

why there shouldn't be any Medicare, why

everybody ought to pay for his own health

insurance, why child labor was fine, why you

didn't need unions, why the rights of working

people interfered with the rights of corporate

employers and the capitalist system. Every

time there has been any social progress, the

conservatives, the Republicans and the reac-

tionaries have always had very good intellec-

OPENFORUM

tual reasons to oppose it. There are advantages and disadvantages

to all these things, but the conservatives in this country have opposed

every change that was helpful to people and they've always had a

reason why it doesn't work.

Why? It all comes back to your basic values: What do you care

about? I don't think they really care about people. I think they care

more about a cost-benefit analysis or some kind of economic or

property issue. When you get down to the very bottom of cases, and

the very bottom of the divisions, it comes down to what your

fundamental values are. What do you think about people? What do

you care about?

AK: The problem is these liberal politicians like [U.S. Sens. ]

Joe Biden and Teddy Kennedy...

SR: That's true.

AK: Who always say nobody out there in their constituency

approves of all these things you love, and then have to go back tothe ~

voters with something that shows they are regular guys, that they are

really just like the voters. And then they pass more and more

criminal laws that federalize crimes and make draconian penalties.

You just can't lose any votes out there if you just make everything

subject to the death penalty.

SR: That's true. There is nobody in this country who is running

for office who is willing to say that passing more and more criminal

laws, increasing sentences, building prisons is not going to solve our

problems. Nobody wants to go out and say that and try to get elected.

The right wing would chop them to pieces.

And as a result, Judge Kozinski's right. We keep passing laws,

we have more and more criminal cases, more criminal trials.

Despite that, I don't think we ought to curtail civil jurisdic-

tion. We're getting more civil cases because we' ve expanded

rights, environmental rights, civil rights - all kinds of laws

designed to protect people.

The litigation grows, but the judiciary doesn't grow, and

that means you spend less and less time on each case. You have

categories of cases that get almost no attention. That's not

going to get better. It's going to get worse if there are budget

restrictions until you get a President who's capable of func-

tioning and wants to restore the courts. We have three vacan-

cies on our court now, we'll have four soon and [President

Clinton] hasn't made a single appointment. That's not a budget

problem, that's an incompetence problem.

Libertarian Leanings

Member of Audience: Assuming that budget restraints

continue in the future, what kind of ingenious ways do you

foresee to hear all the cases that merit your attention, but yet

manage your case load?

SR: I don't see any way of giving them proper attention

without expanding the court substantially - unless you want

the ingenious way Judge Kozinski and his friends suggest,

which is cut back on-federal jurisdiction.

If you curtail federal jurisdiction, you'll reduce the case load and

we could spend more time on the cases because people will have

fewer rights.

AK: You mean like the right to be prosecuted for the same

crime in federal court, where you can get 10 or 20 year-mandatory

minimums? As opposed to state court, where you get four years?

SR: No, I'm talking about expanding rights in the civil area,

rights that protect people against unfair and arbitrary treatment.

AK: The right to be prosecuted in federal court. The right to

serve in the federal prison, one more time.

SR: | would be perfectly happy to surrender our criminal

jurisdiction.

Member of Audience: What do you think of the "three strikes and

you're out" initiative?

AK: | don't know enough about that to express a view. I feel

somewhat differently about violent crime than I do about drugs. |

realize there are some who view drugs and violent crime as one and

the same, but think the reason they are often linked is because we

are making it a very high-stakes business.

I'm sorry, I have enough of a libertarian leaning to think that

selling of drugs for people to use voluntarily is not the same as

sticking a gun in their face. I just don't see the two things as

equivalent. bd

| realize there are some who view drugs and violent

equivalent.