Open forum, vol. 73, no. 4 (Fall, 1999)

American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California

Fall 1999

Vol. 73 No. 4

Inglewood Students Sue For

Equal Education |

HEATHER CARRIGAN

Four Inglewood High School students

have challenged the people of California

to take action in the wake of Proposition

209 to ensure that all students, regard-

less of race, have the opportunity to com-

pete for spots at the University of Califor-

nia's most prestigious campuses.

Far from creating a level playing field,

the passage of Proposition 209 - which

abolished affirmative action in favor of

supposed "non-preferential treatment"

Plaintiff, Rasheda Daniel with her mother Carolyn.

for all -has further entrenched an al-

ready two-tiered system of education in

California. The result has been plum-

meting black and Latino admissions to

top UC campuses like Berkeley and

UCLA.

The drop is due at least in part to new

UC admissions rules formulated in the

wake of Proposition 209 that give bonus

points to applicants with Advanced Place-

ment (AP) courses on their transcript -

courses the state's own statistics reveal

are not offered at many high schools that

serve predominantly lower-income black

and Latino students. For instance,

straight-A students at Beverly Hills High,

which is 76.6 percent white, have the

option of taking fourteen AP courses,

while students at Inglewood High, which

18 97.4 percent black and Latino, are

offered only three. Hundreds of thou-

sands of high school students are unable

to take the AP courses they need to

Compete with their more affluent peers.

Since the average incoming

UCLA student now sports a high

school GPA of 4.19, it is next to

impossible to get into UCLA

today without having taken a

number of AP courses. Things

are no different up north: in

1998, UC Berkeley rejected

8,000 applicants whose GPAs

were 4.0 or above, choosing to

accept students whose GPAs

were even higher as a result of

their enrollment in AP courses.

To win adequate

access to AP classes

for high school students en-

rolled in lower income, pre-

dominantly African-American

and Latino schools, the ACLU

of Southern California has

filed a class action lawsuit

against the California State

Education Offices and Ingle-

wood Unified School District

on behalf of students Rasheda

Daniel, Darren Dix, Jorge

Gutierrez, and Andre Green.

All four honor roll students

want to take AP courses be-

yond the three currently of-

fered by Inglewood High -

not only to acquire the grade

points that can help win them

admission to the University of

California's top campuses, but to gain

exposure to college-level course material

so they will be better equipped to com-

pete once they get there.

; E Andre Green

Dix, who wants to be a pediatrician,

has no access to AP courses in science or

math at Inglewood. Green, who would

like to pursue a career in the computer

industry, is not able to take the AP course

in Computer Science readily available to

his counterparts at Beverly Hills High.

As Daniels, a straight-A student, ob-

serves: "There are a lot of bright kids at

my school who would work hard and

succeed, if only they had the AP cours-

euros.)

"California is flunking out when it

comes to educating these students," said

ACLU Legal Director Mark Rosenbaum.

Staff attorney Rocio Cordoba concurred:

"Not one of these young men and women

is able to reach his or her full academic

potential and compete equally with peers

in other schools, despite the fact that they

not only have the capacity, but the drive

and passion to achieve in the academic

program of their choice."

As a corruption scandal of historic

proportions rocked the Los Angeles Po-

lice Department in mid-September, the

ACLU/SC reiterated its call for the in-

stitution of meaningful civilian over-

sight. At time of press, allegations of at

least two bad shootings, the beating of a

suspect, officer drug theft and lying in

sworn statements had come to light.

Ironically, the scandal broke one week

after Inspector General Englash public-

ly criticized the department for failing to

grant his office the oversight capabili-

ties mandated by the newly-revised LA

City Charter. Though the ACLU/SC was

instrumental in shaping the charter lan-

ACLU Responds to LAPD Scandal

guage to grant the Inspector General

more autonomy, we have also long ad-

vocated for the creation of an indepen-

dent prosecutor with the power and

resources to fully investigate police

misconduct, rather than simply moni-

tor the department's own internal in-

vestigations.

"Police can't police themselves,"

said Executive Director Ramona Rip-

ston, in reference to the shootings. "In

cases of severe use-of-force violations

such as these, the people of Los Ange-

les are owed a full and independent

inquiry."

PROP. 187 RIP.

NOVEMBER 8, 1994

California voters pass Proposition

187. The stated purpose of the proposi-

tion is to "provide for cooperation be-

} tween [the] agencies of state and local

| government with the federal govern-

ment, and to establish a system of re-

quired notification by and between such

agencies to prevent illegal aliens in the

United States from receiving benefits or

public services in the State of Califor-

99

nia.

NOVEMBER 9, 1994

After Proposition 187 passes, sever-

al actions challenging its constitution-

ality commence in California state and

federal courts. Gregorio T. v. Wilson,

brought by the ACLU/SC and MAL-

DEF, contests all provisions of the ini-

tiative. Ultimately, five suits are filed in

the United States District Court.

NOVEMBER 14, 1994

A temporary restraining order is is-

sued, barring implementation of Propo-

sition 187.

AUGUST 22, 1996

President Clinton signs the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act (PRA) of 1996 into

law. The PRA creates a statutory scheme

that restricts and defines the eligibility

of certain non-citizens for federal, state

and local benefits and services.

SEPTEMBER 30, 1996

President Clinton signs into law the

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi-

grant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA), fur-

ther supplementing the federal immi-

gration regulatory scheme.

NOVEMBER 20,1995

-MARCH 13, 1998

The district court issues decisions,

ruling that sections 1 and 4 through 9 of

Proposition 187 are preempted by the

federal PRA, ITRAIRA, and other fed-

eral law.

APRIL 15, 1999

Governor Davis initiates a request

for mediation to resolve the appeal of

Proposition 187.

JULY 29, 1999

The mediated agreement is signed by

all parties and submitted to the court.

SEPTEMBER 13, 1999

U.S. District Court Judge Pfaelzer

formally accepted the terms of the Prop.

187 mediation, thereby ending all liti-

gation on the suit. "The seal of the great

state of California is now stamped on the

death certificate of Proposition 187,"

says Mark Rosenbaum, ACLU/SC legal

director. "The court-approved stipula-

tion marks not just the end of the case,

but an end to nearly five years of racial

divisiveness throughout California."

This year's Bill of Rights Dinner Mortal eel sue nthe tame a ae ST IMe ae ttn

will be held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel on Monday, December 13.

WV Rn eet w COCR lence Whoopi Goldberg PUM Ce) sTe (cl I Mmocerito moat Carel Caatity rie ck Ol ttt

Beach and ER. The Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award presentation will be a tribute to the Hollywood

Ten, all of whom were branded as Communists, jailed and blacklisted from working in Hollywood because they

asserted their First Amendment rights and refused to cooperate with the infamous House Un-American Activities

Committee.

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Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation

Dorothy Tavris Retires

Our legal intake volunteers bid long-time volunteer Dorothy Tavris farewell.

Pictured from left to right: Rosa Kaplan, Seymour Paperno, Sherwood "Bob"

Shafer, Dorothy Tavris, Isa-Kae Meksin, Richard Seeley, Jeanette Miller.

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ACLU of Southern California

Medical Provider Apologizes for

Treatment of Lesbian Patient

ARAN JOHNSON

The ACLU of Southern California has

settled its lawsuit on behalf of Michelle

Dupont against Dr. Ronald Axtell and

his employer, Bristol Park Medical Group.

During a gynecological exam in June

1998, Axtell told Dupont that he disap-

proved of "what she was," and did not

want to be her doctor anymore. The

ACLU subsequently sued Axtell for dis-

criminating against Dupont on the basis

of her sexual orientation.

Andrew Siskind, M.D., medical direc-

tor of Bristol Park Medical Group, said,

"We at Bristol Park Medical have always

had a policyagainst discrimination of any

kind with respect to the delivery of pa-

tient care. We are very sorry Ms. Dupont

had an unsatisfactory encounter at one of

our facilities. In order to avoid any future

problems, Bristol Park has agreed to re-

iterate its longstanding policy against

discrimination, including discrimination

based on sexual orientation."

In addition to providing Dupont with

financial compensation, Bristol Park Med-

ical Group will require that all of its

support staff employees and physicians

sign a form stating that they will comply

with the non-discrimination policies. In

addition to an in-house seminar that will

train employees about the company's non-

discrimination policy, signs will be post-

ed in offices stating the group's non-

discriminatory policies, including non-

discrimination with respect to patients'

sexual orientation.

Recent studies done at Stanford Uni-

versity found that among 14,000 lesbi-

ans, 84% of the women are hesitant to

return to their doctors because of previ-

ous discriminatory treatment. As a re-

sult, lesbians are less likely to receive an

early diagnosis of diseases such as can-

cer and heart disease than patients who

return to the same doctor on a regular

basis. Though Dupont says she is "happy

to finally put this painful chapter behind

me and get on with my life," she also

hopes that "that through this suit, and

today's settlement, medical profession-

als now understand that discrimination

against gay men and lesbians must come

to an end."

The Field Department is excited

to announce the hiring of Felicia Perez

for a full time position. Felicia was

initially hired on a temporary basis to

help with the activist conference last

winter. In her new position, she will work

half-time as a field department associate

and half-time as an

assistant to the ex-

ecutive department.

Felicia's grassroots

organizing experi-

ence is extensive: as

external vice presi-

dent of statewide af-

fairs for the Associ-

ated Students of UC

Santa Barbara and

as chair of the Queer

Student Union, she

organized around issues such as UC do-

mestic partnership benefits, affirmative

action, fee increases, immigrant rights,

and domestic violence. At present she is

also a grassroots organizing trainer for

the United States Student Association.

She was last employed as a Community

Organizer for Californians for Justice,

where she developed and ran an annual

three-day leadership conference, and

organized around welfare reform.

The development department wel-

comes its new associate, Pam Prasartton-

gosoth. Pam is a graduate of the Depart-

ment of Urban Studies and Planning at

MIT, where she was the president of the

MIT Asian Pacific American Caucus;

political coordinator of GaMIT, the uni-

versity's queer organization; and editor of

the Thistle, the alternative paper at MIT,

where she focused on issues such as

immigrant rights, anti-gay legislation and

violence, and political activity by stu-

dents of color. She is an accomplished

pianist who teaches piano to children

here in L.A., and competes and performs

internationally. Pam also facilitates youth

From left to right Aran Johnson, Pam prneaeoneccath

Felicia Perez

NewStaff

programs for the Los Angeles office of the

National Conference for Community and

Justice. She replaces Amy Temmins,

who left to seek a masters degree in

public policy at Berkeley.

The public education department is

pleased to announce the hiring of Aran

Johnson as pub-

lic education as-

sociate/web de-

signer. As a Ber-

keley undergrad-

uate, Aran served

on the board of a

1200-member

student housing

cooperative and

was ateacher's as-

sistant at Malcolm

X Elementary

School, where he taught art to 4th and 6th

graders. After graduating from college

with honors in the Practice of Art, he

worked as a writer for Fodor's Berkeley

Travel Guides and as a graphic designer

at Council Travel. Aran replaces May

Jong, who now works at the National

ACLU office. He will oversee the ACLU's

website and help design and produce all

ACLU publications.

Neale

~ Open |: Forum~

call 1999 Vol. 73 No. dg Vol. 73 No. call 1999 Vol. 73 No. dg

EMURen ener en ke

OPEN FORUM (ISSN 0030 - 3429) is published quarterly by

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California

and the ACLU Foundation, at 1616 Beverly Blvd., Los

Angeles, CA 90026. Telephone (213) 977-9500. E-mail:

ACLUinfo@aclu-sc.org. Membership is $20 and up, of

which $2 is the subscription fee for OPEN FORUM. Periodicals

postage is paid at Los Angeles, CA. POSTMASTER: Send

address changes to OPEN FORUM, 1616 Beverly Blvd., Los

Angeles, CA 90026. www.aclu-sc.org

ACLUPresident: Stephen Rohde

ACLUFoundationChair: Lee Masters

ExecutiveDirector: Ramona Ripston

Editor: Heather Carrigan

AssociateEditor: Aran Johnson

EditorialAssistant: Lois Bader

ContributingWriters: Cari Laufenberg,

MatthewManson, Liz Schroeder

em ee,

t

ad

"4

oe

HEATHER CARRIGAN

The so-called "California

Defense of Marriage Act," sponsored by

Sen. Pete Knight, would outlaw same-sex

marriages in California, even if these

marriages were one day considered legal-

ly valid in other parts of the country.

Currently, same-sex marriage is not legal

anywhere in the United States.

Outlawing same-sex marriage is only

part of the larger agenda Knight shares

with his radical right allies to force their

definition of morality on

all Californians - a

definition which de-

monizes gays and lesbi-

ans, and unmarried

couples, divorcees, and

any woman who exer-

cises reproductive

choice.

Because at this time

no state in the union

recognizes same sex

unions, itis tempting to

dismiss the Knight ini-

tiative as mere anti-gay

and lesbian hysteria

with little grounding in

But in other

states where similar

laws have been enact-

ed, they have been used

to attack existing do-

mestic partnership laws

and even to challenge

reality.

local anti-discrimina-

tion protections for gays

and lesbians.

This comes as no sur-

prise, since the same

lobbyists now working

to pass the Knight Ini-

tative have actively op-

posed every effort in

California to protect

gays and lesbians from discrimination,

including employment discrimination

protections and domestic partnership laws

providing same-sex couples with health

benefits and hospital visitation rights.

They even advocate the re-criminaliza-

tion of non-procreative sex acts.

We cannot allow Knight and his bed-

fellows - the Christian Coalition, the

Family Research Council, the Tradition-

al Values Coalition and others - to make

Same-sex marriage a wedge issue in Cal-

ifornia. It is important to remember that

the last great "defense" of marriage was

to outlaw interracial couples. Today,

Same-sex couples find themselves sub-

ject to the same kind of discrimination

masquerading as moral outrage. Please

join us in working to defeat the "Califor-

nia Defense of Marriage Act."

Contact the Field Department at

(213) 977-5250 for further details.

March 2000

TION

MATTHEW MANSON

California employs some of the

harshest penalties for crime in the nation,

and today there are more juveniles spend-

ing time in California prisons than any-

where else in the country. And yet, there

are those who believe existing laws are

not harsh enough. "The Gang Violence

and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act," and

whole-heartedly condemned by the

ACLU, California Attorneys for Criminal

Justice and several other civil rights orga-

nizations, threatens

drastic legislative

changes that would

prove disastrous to the

rehabilitative state ju-

venile court system.

Among the more

draconian provisions

in the unwieldy 42-

page initiative are

mandatory adult sen-

tences for offenders

as young as 14, the

erosion of confidenti-

ality rules pertaining

to minors, and a

broader application of

the death penalty in

youth-related crimes.

The initiative also

seeks to expedite le-

gal action against

youth offenders by re-

ducing the standards

of proof in juvenile

probation violations

and challenging the

assumption of inno-

cence concerning

gang-related charges,

in some cases even

authorizing wiretaps

of suspected gang

members.

Despite recidivism rates which show

that juveniles sentenced to adult facili-

ties are far more likely to become career

criminals than those sentenced to juve-

nile detention, the initiative promotes

incarceration over intervention at every

turn. Proponents of the initiative -

originally crafted by ex-Governor Wilson

- are banking on a heightened fear of

juvenile crime, triggered by the recent

epidemic of shootings on school campus-

es, to propel voters to pass the initiative.

Though we face an uphill battle, the

ACLU/SC is working in coalition with

other civil rights organizations to stop the

passage of this irresponsible, punitive

legislation and restore some sense of fair-

ness to the juvenile justice system.

If you would like to help, please call

(213) 977-5250 for further details.

research in e

subject

look

about God. Their sto-

and the Flood

apters on reli-

in America in the nine-

lable Unitarianism a

, and describe Mormon-

*s Witnesses, and Chris-

as "cults" and "counter-

church groups that go under the

county.

who knew Christ had

than a free person

not know the Savior.

history book published by A Beka Books.

eighth

had

ridge

the

guise of Christianity." One line in a

grammar exercise on combining simple

sentences into compound sentences

reads: "Most Arabs are devout Mos-

lems. This religion will not save them

red it so

Belridge until

graduation that she

frem sin."

for her. Subse- As a result of the suit, the Belridge

she became con- School District has removed all A Beka

eurricu- textbooks from its curriculum. The

Arabs are devout Moslems.

ion will not save them

e

sentences.

a grammar lesson on com

voice her con-

Ms. Ry

hanging on the

"This

: made." The

the posting of

religious banner in the school cafeteria.

has also come down. "Nothing in the

Constitution prevents a public school

from integrating the Bible into its cur-

riculum in an objective manner as

of the study of history,

parative religions,

values, said Michael

sel ofthe ACLU/SC.

here, however.

was

do not

F

if

Bl

|

ui

ah

i

i

Born in Caslav, Czechoslovakia in

1932, by 1943 Milos Forman had lost

both of his parents to Nazi concentration

camps in Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

His father was executed for his political

ties and his mother for distributing anti-

Nazi flyers. After the war, Forman was

trained by the state to be a film director.

During the course of his education, he

was befriended by Vaclav Havel, Milan

Kundera, Martin Fric, Alfred Radok and

Ivan Passer, who co-wrote his first films.

He has credited these friendships with

enabling him to become a thinker and

artist despite having to live and work

under a totalitarian regime.

His first three Czech features, Black

Peter(1963), Loves of a Blonde (1965) and

The Fireman's Ball (1967), garnered in-

ternational attention, and the second two

were both nominated for the Academy

Award for Best Foreign Film. Unfortu-

nately, they also garnered the attention of

the Soviets who invaded Prague in 1968,

ousting the liberal Dubcek government

and compeling Forman to emigrate to

Paris and then to America.

Forman's reputation for creative and

courageous work continues to flourish

here in America. He has won two Acad-

emy Best Picture Awards, one for One

Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and

the other for Amadeus(1984). In 1997,

his film The People vs. Larry Flynt -for

which the ACLU honored him with a

Torch of Liberty Award in 1996 -won

two Academy nominations. In conjun-

tion with our Bill of Rights Dinner tribute

to the Hollywood Ten, ACLU/SC Execu-

tive Director Ramona Ripston sat down

with Forman to talk about censorship in

Hollywood today.

Ramona Ripston: In 1997, we honored

you for The People vs. Larry Flynt. Iwas

taken aback by the criticism we received

for giving you the award and by the crit-

icism the film received, because I thought

it was such a good depiction of what the

First Amendment is all about.

IRM

with RamonaRipston

Milos Forman: It

bothers me still today,

because everybody-in

my opinion, but I guess I

was wrong- everybody

intelligent must realize

that this film is not at all

about pornography. It's

about much more impor-

tant things and to blame

the film for glorifying

pornography is as ridic-

ulous as saying that

Romeo and Juliet should

be banned for glorifying teenage suicide.

RR: In Amadeus, you showed how

Mozart needed the king's approval before

he could write an opera. Do you think

that there is any person or any group in

the film industry that has a similar pow-

er-it would never be quite the same, but

similar-to the power that the king had

over Mozart and his creative output?

MF: Well, yes and no. You have to

distinguish between two kinds of pres-

sures, ideological pressure and commer-

cial pressure. If they want to impose

their own ideas on what is being distrib-

uted to the public, that's called ideolog-

ical pressure and it's much more rampant

in totalitarian regimes. Here commercial

pressure is much stronger, especially in

the film industry where the product costs

so much money to make that nobody can

afford to do it by themselves. Of course

those who give us the money want their

money back, so before they even start

working, they evaluate the project to see

if they can make their money back or not.

And if they decide that there is no chance,

then of course they behave

like the emperor did, just

say no and it's no.

I still prefer commer-

cial pressure over ideolog-

ical pressure because with

ideological pressure, you

are at the mercy of the

opinion of one person or

one small group, whereas

with commercial pressure,

you are at the mercy of the

And there is

always a chance that an

idea will find its own audience. So com-

mercial pressure is a little bit more dem-

ocratic than ideological pressure.

audience.

RR: In America, we've never had offi-

cial censorship, but we've had unofficial

censorship. If you go back a number of

years, there was the Hayes code, which

said you couldn't show two people in bed,

ACLU of Southern California

EL neon

you always had to have somebody with

his or her feet on the floor. In the fifties,

we had another kind of unofficial censor-

ship: the blacklist, which was ideological

pressure that prevented people from writ-

ing movies, making movies, portraying

parts in movies. And now there is great

concern about whether films and televi-

sion are responsible for the violence we

see in America today, and whether they

should be censored accordingly. Do you

think films are responsible for the vio-

lence we see in American society today?

MF: They might be, but so what? If 2

million, 5 million kids see Natural Born

Killers and one couple gets some drugs,

sees this film and then goes and kills

somebody, you can't- if you are good

intellectually-argue that the film caused

it. It's never all the movie, but even then,

do you want freedom for free? Every

freedom has a price. If you don't want to

pay anything, well then the whole society

will live in a zoo, in cages where every-

body is protected.

It's like Congress discussing the to-

bacco industry, how advertising is caus-

ing all the trouble.

That's difficult forme

to believe because I

lived in a society

g

where I never saw any

kind of advertisement

for tobacco or ciga-

rettes. Russia was the

same, and yet Russia

is one of the biggest

consumers of tobac-

coperhead. Andina

communist country

you never saw any

violent movies, but

the percentage of vi-

olent crimes was the same as now or

anywhere else.

Probably the number of victims is high-

er in America because you might have a

gun here versus a knife or a baseball bat.

If you have a machine gun, then one

crime can cost twenty lives instead of

one. So yes, when it comes to the amount

of victims, the amount here is higher, but

the number of crimes is not.

RR: What do you think happened in

America in the fifties with the communist

witch hunts and the Hollywood Ten?

MF: Well, I guess it was hysteria.

Communism was a totalitarian style re-

gime which expanded in Europe after the

war and made big gains in Asia also, so!

understand the panic. But that doesn't

justify the whole campaign of blacklisting

because if the majority of this country

were so poorly educated that they would

have voted in the communists, then that's

what the country would have deserved.

But I don't think the danger was ever

here.

Czechoslovakia, the country where |

was born, grew into a very successful

democratic country after the fall of Aus-

tria-Hungary Empire in 1918, until Hit-

ler came in'39. So people had had a taste

of democracy and freedom and free mat-

kets before Hitler came, but when Hitler

was defeated and the whole country agaill

became free, they were so thirsty fo!

social justice that they democraticall}

elected the communists, who were ve!)

good at propagandizing about social jus

tice. And when the communists took

power and eliminated all the other polit:

ical parties and any thoughts which dit

Fall 1999

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| jus

took

polit

h did

not conform to their ideology, then sud-

denly people realized they were trapped.

And within a very short time, if you could

have held free elections there the com-

munists would have lost. For forty years

basically, the Czechs lived under com-

munism longing for the freedom they had

had before and they had tasted before.

But then when communism fell, they

fought the freedom. Because with free-

dom, of course, came excesses, because

youcan'tsay, we give freedom only to the

nice guys. You have to give freedom to

everybody. And the excesses are right

now increasing the popularity of the com-

munist party again.

RR: We've opposed the motion pic-

ture code-not that we've ever sued to

undo it, but there is something about a

group of people rating films. How do you

feel about it?

MF: Look, when you are in puberty,

you start to get curious about so many

adult things. And if you don't get the

information there, you get it somewhere

else. You get the information from your

friends, which sometimes is even more

terrifying and more out of proportion than

when you go and see a movie. Basically,

culture is always reflecting reality and

not the other way around, so if you don't

learn it in the movie house today, you will

learn it tomorrow and maybe in a much

more devastating way in real life. Plus

it's not one movie that detrrmines the

character of a whole person. One movie

which might be considered damaging to

somebody whose character is in develop-

ment is just one little part of their life

experience-there are other movies,

books, events, and persons.

RR: Your film One Flew Over the

Cuckoo's Nest had a profound affect on

America and its attitudes toward mental-

ly ill people and electric shock treat-

ment. Did you meet with resistance from

your financial backers there?

MF: The commercial pressure came

when it was time to sell the film to the

network. | asked them to give me a list of

what was objectionable in the film be-

cause | didn't know what was objection-

able for the home audience. So gota list

of about, I don't know, 17 points. The

first 14 points were four-letter words or a

snippet of nudity here or there, which I

gladly conformed to because they didn't

change the overall impact of the film or

the way you see the movie. But then

came the last three points, which were

that David should not commit suicide,

that Murphy should not choke his nurse,

and that the Indian should not kill Mur-

phy. Well, all the producers agreed that

it was ridiculous so we asked for a meet-

ing. Two very nice gentlemen came in,

very quiet, and sat down. I told them,

look I have no problem with the first 14

points, but we have a big problem with

the last 3 points. And they looked at

each other and looked at us and said okay

and that was it.

But imagine if I hadn't had that power

in my contract. They would have cut it

without even talking to anybody, and the

film would be something totally different.

So if there is censorship in America, it is

in the fact that accor ding to United States

law, the copyright owner is legally the

author. So the author of the film Hamlet

Vol. 73 No. 4

is neither Shakespeare nor Lawrence Oliv-

ier. Yesterday the author of the film

Hamlet was United Artists , today it is

MGM, and tomorrow it will be I don't

know. And they can all exercise censor-

ship because they are legally authors.

This is one area the ACLU should look

into also because it is a blatant legaliza-

tion of censorship.

RR: Your latest film, Man onthe Moon,

is about the life about Andy Kaufman. It

seems to me that you have made films

about people fighting institutions or peo-

ple fighting bureaucracy. Is there any

truth to that?

MF: I suppose. Much more interesting

than making films about people who con-

form.

RR: Is there anything else you'd like to

say to our readers?

MF: Just my strong hope that artists'

rights will prevail and the ridiculous

American law that makes copyright own-

ers "authors" of a work will be repealed.

The law is from the beginning of the

century, when film was not considered an

art form at all. Movies were just a kind of

circus attraction, like dancing bears at

county fairs. The attitude is that "he paid

for this one reel and he owns it, so he is

the author." Well, that shouldn't be.

The government censors asked me to

cut things out of one of my films in

Czechoslovakia, to change things in the

film. But when I refused, they didn't dare

to touch it. They just banned it. And they

banned it, officially, forever. Well, noth-

ing, not even Hitler's Reich or commu-

nism, last forever. When the government

fell and my film was finally released after

20 years, it was released untouched. In

the United States, my film would have

been cut. Here, because the copyright

can be purchased, the new owners can do

anything they want without regard to the

creator's wishes.

Signed videotapes contributed by Milos Forman to the

ACLU e-bay auction.

Open Forum

Nat SEGALOFF

ACLU/SC BOARD MEMBER AND CO-AUTHOR OF THE PLAY AND SCREENPLAY

"THE WALDORF CONFERENCE" ABOUT THE 1947 MEETING AT WHICH THE

HOLLYWOOD MOGULS CREATED THE BLACKLIST.

Last spring, when Hollywood's leading producers trekked to Washington,

DC to testify before members of Congress about violence in the movies, the show

was similar to one their predecessors had performed 52 years ago.

Back in October of 1947, though, the reason wasn't red liquid, it was Red

propaganda, and the fear that drew the media moguls into the maelstrom then

wasn't of a premiere, but of a subpoena. That, and the omnipresent threat of

government censorship. The House Un-American Activities Committee hear-

ings on communist influence in the movies remains a reminder of how fragile

the First Amendment is, and how it can only be upheld by the advocacy of ideas.

Voluntarily speaking as "friendly witnesses" at the 1947 confab was a

glittering roster of studio titans, producers, directors, writers and stars, includ-

ing Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper, Louis B. Mayer, Walt Disney, and even Ginger

Rogers' mother.

Speaking under subpoena-or, rather, not speaking, since they had declared

their opposition to HUAC on First Amendment grounds-were 19 writers,

producers, directors and actors. By the time the hearings were cancelled mid-

way (some say because public opinion was turning against them), only ten of the

19 had been called, and because of their refusal to divulge their associations and

beliefs they were labeled "The Hollywood Ten."

The 10 were Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk,

Ring Lardner, Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian

Scott and Dalton Trumbo.

The original 19 included Richard Collins, Gordon Kahn, Howard Koch,

Waldo Salt, Lewis Milestone, Larry Parks, Irving Pichel, Robert Rosson and

Bertolt Brecht. All were smeared by blacklisting (except Brecht, who fled to

Germany), followed by hundreds of others.

Then, as now, few dared publicly to defend the absolute freedom of speech

granted by the First Amendment; even the Board of Directors of the National

Committee of the ACLU hedged its stance during the HUAC/McCarthy era,

opting to join lawsuits at the appellate level (as they did with an amicus brief in

the Hollywood Ten's appeal of their Contempt of Congress citations), rather than

risk being identified directly with Communists.

The Ten ultimately went to jail when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear

their appeal. Their case has become an example of how social and political

panic can goad the government into violating an individual citizen's right of

association and belief.

Current assaults on freedom of speech have a great deal in common with the

anti-communist witch hunts that divided Hollywood in the 1940s and effective-

ly lobotomized movies for the next 20 years. On the one hand, the government

wants to gain control over the very media it has allowed to become powerful

through deregulation. On the other, politicians want to grab easy headlines by

blaming movies, TV and music for America's social ills.

It is therefore important to remember our debt to the Hollywood Ten. These

men chose to stand behind the First Amendment, rather than the Fifth, and in

so doing exposed themselves to the vagaries of the American judicial system.

They went to jail to defend freedom of speech and association, and their example

continues to inspire courage at a time when that commodity is in precious short

supply.

This year,

| The Eon Monroe (c)

_ Cougs Advocate ae

_ presentation will be a tnibute to

|The Hollywood Ten.

"The presentation will take place " on

| Monday, December 13. at our annual

"Bil of Rights Dinner.

=a ge

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et

ERWIN CHEMERINSKY

SYDNEY M. IRMAS PROFESSOR OF

Pusiic INTEREST LAw,

LEGAL ETHICS, AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Law SCHOOL

The final Supreme Court term of

this century will begin on Monday, Octo-

ber 4, 1999. Slightly less than half the

docket for the term is already set and it

includes an exceptionally large number

of potentially

cases concerning civil liberties. Particu-

very important

larly significant are pending cases con-

cerning search and seizure, freedom of

speech, and the separation of church and

state.

Search and seizure

One of the most important civil liber-

ties cases of the term poses the question

of whether running away from a police

officer is sufficient to justify an investiga-

tory stop of the person. That's the issue

before the Court in People v. Wardlow, a

case coming from the Illinois Supreme

Court. Sam Wardlow was standing near

a building in a high crime area and began

running away when he saw a police car

approach. Solely on the basis of the

suspicion created by Wardlow's flight,

the police officers chased him down, per-

formed an investigatory stop and frisk

and found a revolver containing five

need for such restrictions. The Supreme

Court's decision could resolve the fate of

similar laws in other states, including

California and, indeed, the course of fu-

ture efforts at campaign finance reform.

In Southworth v. Grebe, the Court will

consider whether the First Amendment is

violated by a program under which stu-

dents at public universities must pay

mandatory fees that are used, in part, to

tial reception of

sexually explicit

material in the

houses of non-sub-

scribers. The law

requires either that sexual images be

fully scrambled or that they be channeled

in a manner to not like-

ly be accessible to mi-

nors. A three-judge fed-

eral district court found

that the effect of the law

was to channel sexual

programming to the

hours between 10:00

p.m. and 6:00 a.m. and

that this is unconstitu-

tional. The case will

require the Court to con-

sider how the govern-

ment can regulate sex-

ual material over cable

television.

In Erie, Pa. v. Pap's

A.M., the Court will

again consider the constitutionality of a

government ban on nude dancing. The

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania conclud-

Particularly significant are pending cases concerning search and seizure,

freedom of speech, and the separation of church and state.

Wardlow was

convicted and sentenced to two years in

rounds of ammunition.

prison for unlawful possession of a weap-

on. The issue is whether the police

search violated the Fourth Amendment

because the only basis for suspicion was

the flight itself. The Illinois Supreme

Court held the search unconstitutional; if

the Supreme Court reverses it will be a

major expansion in police power and an

erosion of civil liberties.

Freedom of speech

There are several significant free

speech cases already on the docket and

among the most important is Nixon _v.

Shrink Missouri Government PAC, which

concerns the constitutionality of a Mis-

souri campaign finance law. The Missou-

ri statute restricted contributions to can-

didates for state-wide office to $1,075, to

candidates for state senator to $525, and

to candidates for state representative to

$275. The United States Court of Ap-

peals for the Eighth Circuit declared the

law unconstitutional on the ground that

the state had not shown a compelling

6

support organizations that engage in po-

litical speech. Virtually all universities

require students to pay activity fees that

are used to support a wide array of stu-

dent organizations. Are such

ed that erotic dancing is protected by the

First Amendment despite a 1991 Su-

preme Court decision that held to the

contrary.

programs in public universities

constitutional so long as the gov-

ernment is being content-neu-

tral? Or are the programs un-

constitutional whenever money

is used to support a cause op-

posed by the students, which

would effectively cripple such

programs?

Two cases on the docket con-

cern government regulation of

sexual speech. In United States

v. Playboy Entertainment

Group, Inc., the Court will con-

sider the constitutionality of a

provision of the Communica-

tions Decency Act of 1996

which regulates sexually explic-

it material over cable televi-

sion. The law concerns "signal

bleed"-where there is the par-

Many `adult' cable stations such as the Playboy Channel partially distort their images, preventing non-subscribers from

viewing their channel, while allowing potential subscribers to sample the merchandise.

ACLU of Southern California

By any measure, the last term of the

century will be an important one.

Separation of church and state

In a potentially very significant case

involving the establishment clause --

Mitchell v. Helms -- the Court will decide

whether it violates the First Amendment

for the government to give items such as

computers and software to parochial

schools. Ultimately, the issue before the

Court is how to draw the line between

permissible and impermissible aid to re-

ligious schools. The answer could be

crucial in determining the constitution-

ality of voucher programs that can be

used to pay for parochial school educa-

tion.

Conclusion

There are other important cases al-

ready on the docket concerning issues

such as the constitutionality of the feder-

al law that prohibits state departments of

motor vehicles from releasing informa-

tion such as addresses, the ability to sue

state governments for age discrimination,

and the authority of the Food and Drug

Administration to regulate tobacco. Ad-

ditionally, the Court is likely to grant

review in another 40 or so cases to be

decided this term. By any measure, the

last term of the century will be an impor-

tant one.

4

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On the town with the ACLU...

A Vision of Civil Liberties

STEPHEN ROHDE

PRESIDENT OF THE ACLU/SC

In the wake of white supremacist Bu-

ford O. Farrow, Jr.'s murderous rampage

jn August, during which he shot five

people at the North Valley Jewish Com-

munity Center and then killed Filipino

American postman Joseph Ileto, demands

are being made that the FBI and local

police be given wider authority to infil-

trate extremist groups and investigate

hate-mongers based on their bigoted state-

ments and threats on the Internet and

elsewhere.

The response of Rep. John Conyers,

Jr. (D-Mich.), certainly no enemy of civil

liberties, was typical of the reaction of

many observers and organizations, in-

cluding the Southern Poverty Law Cen-

ter, the Anti-Defamation League and the

Simon Wiesenthal Center. "We're going

to have to change our policies. I think the

safety of our citizens requires that these

groups be kept under some surveillance,

no less than suspected terrorist groups,"

said Conyers.

Our constitutional democracy is no

more tested than when our people are

asked to sacrifice their personal free-

doms in the name of defeating threats,

foreign or domestic. Our history is stained

by those occasions when Americans were

willing to relinquish their constitutional

rights in order to combat threats and

perceived threats of the moment, wheth-

er for the sake of fighting crime, Commu-

nism, disloyalty, sedition or even blas-

phemy. Americans tend to forget the

lessons of the Red Scare, J. Edgar Hoover,

HEATHER CARRIGAN

This September the California Legis-

lature took steps to address the problem

of racial bias in law enforcement by pass-

ing the California Traffic Stops Statistics

Act (SB 78). The bill, which passed by an

overwhelming majority in the Assembly

and unanimously in the Senate, requires

police to collect data on the race and

ethnicity of all the motorists they stop.

The goal of the legislation is to ascertain

whether California law enforcement is

guilty of "racial profiling," i.e., stopping

motorists of color solely on the basis of

their race or ethnicity.

For decades, people of color across the

nation have complained about racially-

motivated traffic stops, a practice that

has only intensified since the 1996 Su-

preme Court ruling that pretext-based

Sstops-for instance, pulling over a sus-

pected drug courier for a broken head-

light-do not violate the Fourth Amend-

ment. This past year a statewide hotline

established by the ACLUs of Northern

and Southern California to report inci-

dents of racially-based traffic stops re-

ceived over 2000 calls.

Police routinely collect demographic

data when an individual is arrested or

charged with a crime, but in most cases

When an innocent person is stopped, ques-

tioned or searched, no record is kept of

the encounter with the police. SB 78 and

Vol. 73 No. 4

the Palmer Raids and the McCarthy Era.

Guilt by association is contrary to the

fundamental precepts of a free society.

The test of a true American is wheth-

er he or she will defend the rights of

others regardless of whether others would

ever defend his or her rights. True

Americans defend the rights of dissent-

ers regardless of whether they themselves

will ever dissent. True Americans de-

fend the rights of minorities regardless of

whether they themselves are members of

any minority. True Americans defend

the rights of criminals or suspects regard-

less of whether they themselves may ever

be accused of a crime.

Today, the FBI operates under strict

guidelines designed to protect constitu-

tional rights: "In its efforts to anticipate

or prevent crimes, the FBI must at times

initiate investigations in advance of crim-

inal conduct. It is important that such

investigations not be based solely on ac-

tivities protected by the First Amend-

ment or on the lawful exercise of any

other rights secured by the Constitution

or laws of the United States."

In our haste to combat terrorism and

hate crimes, we must never lose sight of

the importance of protecting freedom of

speech and freedom of association. While

today we would all condemn the Buford

Farrows of the world for their anti-Semit-

ic, racist and bigoted ideas, there was a

time when government officials went af-

ter anti-war protesters, labor organizers,

communists, Jews, Jehovah Witnesses

and civil rights leaders for their ideas.

Precedents set today could well come

back to haunt us in the future.

3LUENOTES

legislation of its kind currently being

enacted in other states, such as North

Carolina and Connecticut, will help to

rectify that oversight in efforts to estab-

lish police accountability.

Where traffic stop statistics have been

collected, there is clear evidence of a

problem. Statistical analysis of police

records of traffic stops in Maryland re-

vealed that although African Americans

comprised only 17% of the drivers on the

road, they accounted for nearly 75% of

people who were stopped and searched.

A study in Volusia County, Florida, re-

vealed that even though African Ameri-

cans and Hispanics made up only 5% of

drivers on the county's stretch of I-95,

more than 70% of all drivers stopped

were either African American or Hispan-

ic.

The ACLU has worked for over two

years to obtain some kind of "DWB"

("Driving While Black or Brown") legis-

lation in California. Though in certain

key respects SB 78 constitutes a water-

ing-down of the legislation originally pro-

posed by the organization, it is nonethe-

less a small step in the right direction.

Now that the legislature has finally ac-

knowledged the problem of racial profil-

ing, there is no excuse for Governor Davis

not to take responsible action as well and

make SB 78 into law. As of this printing,

the bill awaits his signature.

Gay Pride March _

ACLU at . Gay Pride Parade - The ACLU parade team wom the "Best Vehicular Award" for our interpretation

of this ee pare theme, ee! Past, Powerful Future."

Pictured from left to right: Torch of Liberty Award recipient Martin Scorsese, Emcee Maria Bello,

Ramona Restor: - Pre nt S ephien none and Torch of Liberty Award Jason Flom.

Y

Liberty

Dinner

1999

SGOIDL JaDY2!Wo

ACLU/SC Executive Director Ramona Ripston

with Presenter Warren Beatty.

Martin Scorsese accepts his award at the Torch of Liberty Dinner.

SGOIDf JaDYWo

SqOIDE JaDYIIWe

Taylor Flynn's Farewell

The July cocktail reception honaring departing Lesbian and Gay Rights Project Staff Attorney Taylor Flynn took

place at the home of ACLU Foundation Board Member Val Marmillion and his partner, Juan Pisani. Pictured

are former clients of the Project. From left to night: Peter Mackler, Executive Director Ramona Ripston, Val

Marmillion, Taylor Flynn, Joshua Vecchione, Michelle DuPont and Virginia Acevedo. -

Oy a

lal!

ChapterMeetings

Beverly Hills / Westwood

Thursday, October 28, Dinner meeting and

Election of new officers for next year. Those

interested should call (310)670-7999 for time

and location.

Thursday, January 27, 2000, 6 p.m. Steering

Committee no-host dinner at the Westside

Pavilion. Visitors Welcome. Westside Pa-

vilion, 3rd Fl., Community Room. A, West

Pico and Overland, West Los Angeles. For

info., call (310) 670-7999

Hollywood

Second Saturdays of evennumbered months,

10 am October 9th, General meeting, John C.

Fremont Library.6121 Melrose Blvd. Wheel-

chair accessible.

November 13th, Special Election Meeting

For more info., call (323) 662-1559.

Inland Empire Chapter

Third Saturday of the month, 3 p.m. "Back to

the Grind" coffee house, 3575 University

Avenue (between Lemon and Orange); Riv-

erside, CA

Saturday, October 16, 3:00pm, Annual elec-

tion of officers.

The Chapter has been working to create a

Police Review Board and is getting involved

with the new Inland Empire Reproductive

Rights Coalition.

For more info., call: (909)485-1774.

Atascadero Hig ol Pri

Senior Ben Ebert, ACLU Chapter President Hank

Alberts.

Ben Ebert of Atascadero High School

has been declared the winner of the ACLU

of San Luis Obispo County's 1999 High

School Seniors Essay Contest, focusing

on the theme: `What the 1st Amendment

to the Constitution Means to Me.'

Lesbian and Gay Rights

General meetings are Second Monday of the

month, 7:00 PM, at the L.A.Gay and Lesbian

Center's Village at Ed Gould Plaza.

Board meetings are the first Thursday of the

month at 7:00PM at the ACLU building.

The October 11th meeting will be on lewd

conduct arrests and the Los Angeles Police

Department. What can we do to stop 50

years of police harrassment?

The Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter will

also be having a special meeting in honor of

Morris Kight on the evening of Friday, No- -

vember 19. Please mark your calendars now

to celebrate Morris' 80th birthday in style.

Call Rob Hennig at (310) 289-1299 for more

details or watch for the LGRC newsletter. If

you are not currently getting an LGRC news-

letter, please let us know.

Long Beach Area

Second Wednesday of each month, 7p.m.

Los Altos United Methodist Church, Willow

St. and Woodruff Avenue, in Long Beach.

For more info., call Jeff Cohlberg

at (562) 434-2844.

Saturday, October 23, from 10 a.m. to 12

noon, the chapter is sponsoring a public

forum on reproductive health services and

the effect of hospital mergers, at the Unitar-

ian Universalist Church, 5450 Atherton St.,

in Long Beach. The speakers will include

Rocio Cordoba of the ACLU and Mary Richey,

Executive Director of the Sexual Assault

Crisis Agency, which serves Long Beach and

the South Bay.

Orange County

October Meeting Elections. For meeting times

and location call DJ at (949) 865-4272.

Pasadena-Foothill

Tuesday, October 5, 7pm, Membership meet-

ing and Annual Election of Officers. Discus-

sion on the Juvenile Crime Initiative which

will be on the March 2000 ballot. Meeting

will be held at 330 West California, Apt.

311. For more info call John Hunnewell,

(626) 359-5825 (fax same number) or email

ahwell@aol.com

Pomona Valley Chapter

Election meeting to be held in November.

For meeting locations and details,

call (909) 394-1347.

San Fernando Valley Chapter

For meeting dates and information, please

call Galen Bullock, (818) 846-5601.

San Luis Obispo

Second Thursday of the month, 6:30 p.m.

Mid-State Bank, 75 Santa Rosa St. in San

Luis Obispo. Executive Board meeting. Com-

plaint Review Committee meets at 7:45 p.m.

after the Executive Board meeting in the

same location.

For information, call (805) 544-0142.

November L5th, 1999. Election of Executive

Board members for 2 year term, 2000 and

2001.

Santa Barbara

Every third Thursday of the month, 6:30 p.m.

Blake Lounge, Unitarian Society,1525 Santa

Barbara St.

For information call (805)966-1216

Singles

For more info., call Dean (310)392-7149 or

Jake Kazanjian (310)559-1493.

South Bay

First Friday of the month, 7:30 p.m. 2821

Calle Aventura in Rancho Palos Verdes. All

welcome. For info., call (310)833-4107 or

check www.aclu-sc.org.

Ventura County Chapter

October 20 General meeting at Newbury

Park Library 7pm-9pm

Nov 17, Thousand Oaks library 7pm- 9pm,

Elections. Please Come.

Whittier/San Gabriel Valley

Saturday, October 24, 1-3pm no-host lunch

meeting. Zumaya's Restaurant at 7317

Greanleaf in Whittier. Important meeting to

discuss future of chapter. We need more

members to be active otherwise we may shut

down the chapter or only be a Whittier

Chapter. Please come to discuss.

For info. call Lupe Navid (562) 698-1200.

CommitteeMeetings

ACLU/SC Board

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.

First Amendment

Last Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m.

Legislative Action

Please call 213.977.5238 for information.

Medical Rights

Third Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m.

Please call the ACLU for information

about the following commitees.

Privacy RightseRight to Die

Women's RightseWorkers' Rights

Death PenaltyeDrug Policy

Economic RightseEducation

Gera N on Com Aa nee

OF THE YEAR AWARD

NOMINATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED.

CALL KIMI FOR DETAILS 213-977-5238

Cast your bid to help support the ACLU

The ACLU of Southern California is launching an exciting new fundraiser this

year: a benefit auction on the internet. There will be four auctions, each running

for one week beginning in early October.

The auction will feature unique celebrity items donated by a variety of

individuals from the arts and entertainment industry.

Contributors include: Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna, Sean Penn, Robin

Wright-Penn, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kid Rock, Michael Douglas, John Schlesing-

er, Milos Forman, Martin Scorsese, Tim Robbins, Carrie Fisher, Diane Warren,

Billy Baldwin, Rosie O'Donnell, Woody Harrelson, Leonard Nimoy, Art Buch-

wald, Matt Groening, Herb Ritts, and many, many more.

To find out more about these items, and others, go to:

http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/aclu-sc/

Soe? Join the Fight

oe Atri

- Police

October 22 Wear Black!

Protest March Through Downtown L.A.

Begins 2PM on October 22 at Olympic and Broadway. Post-parade Rally at Parker

Center, near Temple. For more info on how to get involved, call 323-957-4661

Legacy of Freedom Gift Annuity Rates

Brutality.

You've Sent Checks to

the ACLU...Now Let Us

Yi Tt Ce te CT

By participating in the

ACLU Foundation's

; Single Rate of Two Rate of

eae of Freedom Gift Beneficiary Age Return Beneficiaries Ages Return

Annuity Program, se Tite 6.6%

you can receive quarterly eo es 715% | 70-70 6.8%

COME CHECKS iOr Mio TestOl 6 tes a OS Sn ee ay

your life and, at the same time, TD samnnrnrensene 8.2% T9-T9 sassenssse 1.3%

help the American Civil Boke. ....teblciasss 9.2% BOBO s.csscccinooassaib 8.0%

Liberties Union protect our B5iF, athe to 10.5% B5085 Aina i 9.0%

precious constitutional rights Oe ere 12.0% 0. BOdiateta: 10.6%

for years to come. The rate of a

You are encouraged to consult with your tax professional before

entering into a gift annuity agreement to make sure you have a thorough

understanding of the financial consequences of this transaction.

return you can receive depends

upon your age. Much of this

income is tax-free! And,

because your annuity contract

will help the ACLU Foundation, you will receive a sizable income tax charitable

deduction for participating. Return this form for a personalized illustration.

Mail to: Hal Gunn, ACLU Foundation of Southern California,

1616 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026. Tel: (213) 977-9500 x226.

NAME BIRTHDATE(S)

ADDRESS TELEPHONE

Unless noted, all meetings are held at the ACLU: 1616 Beverly Blvd., LA 90026. Please park

in the fenced lot behind the building and use the rear entrance when attending night meetings.

For further information about other committee meetings which are not listed, call the ACLU at

(213) 977-9500.

Cry. STATE ZIP

ACLU of Southern California Fall 1999