vol. 26, no. 3

American

Civil Liberties

Union

Velma OI

San Francisco, March, 1961 Number 3

California Legislature = : : Seniinar

oe : ' , Ps. | 1 =

Survey of iS Registrants

Affecting |

Civil Liberties.

Red-hunting bills have been introduced in the 1961 ses-

sion of the California Legislature that is also noteworthy for

proposed repressive measures in the areas of search and

seizure and censorship. The red-hunting is in marked con-

trast with the 1959 Legislatur

affecting civil liberties was made

at this same time two years ago, -

not one red-hunting bill could be

found among the first 1900 bills

introduced. Today, seven red-

hunting bills appear among the

first 2400 introduced.

Red-Hunt Leaders

`The leaders in the red-hunting

business are Assemblymen Louis

Francis of San Mateo and Frank

Luckel of San Diego, together

with Sen. John F, Thompson of

San Jose. This gives a disquieting

partisan aspect to `the red-

hunting, since all of the leaders

are Republicans, It follows a pat-

tern that has been noticeable in

Northern California during the

past seven or eight months with

some Republican politicians sup-:

porting "Operation Abolitions

and the House Committee on Un-

Ameriean Activities,

Lechner Resolution

While Communism is again fast

becoming a political issue, there

-is only an outside chance that any

of the pending red-hunting

measures will be enacted into

law. The attitude of the Assembly

is reflected in its refusal to adopt

a resolution commending "Dr."

John R, Lechner, who recently

revived his red-hunting American-

ism Educational League in Los

Angeles, Lechner's great and

good friend, Assemblyman Louis

Francis of San Mateo, had used

`Lechner to perform a- vicious

Communist smear on his Demo-

cratic opponent in the last elec-

tion, and Francis paid off by

introducing the resolution com-

mending him.

Rejected In Committee

Ordinarily, such resolutions are

given perfunctory approval, but

this one was sent back to the

Rules Committee by a vote of

53 to 19 for further consideration.

In a crowded hearing room, the

-Committee rejected the resolu-

tion by a vote of 3 to 2 after

hearing representatives of the

Japanese American Citizens

League condemn Lechner as a

rabble-rousing racist who had

gone around the country during

the last war attacking the Nisei

as disloyal. Francis said he

hoped the resolution would be

adopted in time for a testimonial

dinner to be given for Lechner

on February 22, He claimed op-

position to the resolution was

fostered by the ACLU, which he

described as "left wing."

Red Hunting Bills

The red-hunting bills are as

follows: 5

A. B. 1263, by Francis, would

amend a provision of the Elec-

tions Code barring gg@oups from

participating in direct primary

elections which advocate the

overthrow of the government by

unlawful means by specifically

naming the Communist Party.

A. C. A. 38, also by Francis,

would deny tax exemption and

the right toe hold or run for

public office te members of the

Communist Party and other

groups advocating violent over-

throw of the government.

A third bill by Francis, A. B.

80, would re-establish the tax

e. When a survey of measures

exemption loyalty, oath, outlawed

in the Speiser case, but provide

for a hearing before such exemp-

tion is denied. :

Civic Center Act

A. B, 1559, by Francis, seeks to

overcome the recent decision of

the State Supreme Court outlaw-

ing the loyalty oath required for -

use of school houses as meeting

places. This proposal would re-

quire an applicant `to swear that

no criminal activity is planned,

including violation of the State's

criminal syndicalism law, which

prohibits advocacy of the violent

overthrow of the government.

Sen. John F. Thompson has intro-

duced a similar bill in the Senate,

S.B. 706... e

Assemblyman Lickel has also

introduced a bill to amend the

Civic Center Act, A. B. 22, which

provides that a permit for use

-Continued on Page 4

[Sacramento

ACLU Chapter

Meets Mar. 21

The Sacramento Area Chap-

ter of the ACLU of Northern

California will show the film

"Operation Abolition" -at the

Stanford Junior High School

at Sacramento Boulevard and

10th Avenue, Sacramento, at

8 p.m. on March 21, :

- State Senator Albert S.

Rodda, Jr., as guest speaker,

will set the tone and context

of the program in introductory

remarks on civil liberties ques-

tions.. :

_ The film showing will be fol-

lowed by a critical evaluation

by graduate students of the

University of California at

Berkeley, e

The public is invited to this

first public program of the

newly organized chapter.

Piease Note

No receipts for advance regis-

tration fees willbe sent to

registrants for the HUAC sem-

inar. On March 11, the day of

the sessions, each registrant will

`receive a registration card and

ticket for lunch (if it was

ordered),

Ban On Leaflet

Distribution.

Removed At U.C.

President Clark Kerr of the

University of California last

month modified his "Regulation

on the Use of University Facili-

ties" by permitting the distribu-

tion of literature. The old regu-

lation, opposed by the ACLU,

provided that "no literature may

be distributed free or sold in

connection with meetings or .

events without permission ob-

tained in advance." 5

Amended Regulation

The amended regulation now

reads: "Posters, circulars, hand-

bills, newspapers, magazines,

documents, and pamphlets may

be posted, distributed and ex-

hibited upon any of the grounds

and in any buildings of a cam-

pus, or other facility of the Uni-

versity of California in accord-

ance with the rules promulgated

by the Chief Campus Officer or

Officer in Charge.

"Such rules shall permit Uni-

versity personnel .and students

to post, distribute, and exhibit

non-commercial literature in

areas of the campus, or facility,

Where and at all times, when

such posting, distribution and ex-

hibition shall not interfere with

the orderly administration of

University affairs or interrupt

the free flow of traffic."

Test Suit Pending

In explaining his modification

of the Regulation, Kerr said he

was prompted to make the.

change by "our current program

of decentralization ... and the

recent inception of a law suit in

Los Angeles concerning this

problem... ." ;

The suit referred to (Peck vs.

The Regents) was filed by the

Southern California branch of

the ACLU which contended that

the old regulation of leaflet

distribution violated the First

and Fourteenth Amendments to

the Federal Constitution.

Berkeley City Council

Discards Test Oath

On February 21, the Berkeley City Council unanimously

but reluctantly repealed a test oath required of applicants

for the use of public park buildings. The action was taken on

the recommendation of City Attorney Robert Anderson and

City Manager John Phillips.

In consequence of the Coun-

cil's action, The Walden Founda-

tion, a non-profit educational cor-

poration which operates a school

at 2619 Parker Street, will be

able to use the Live Oak Recrea-

tion Center on. March 18 for.

a dance-drama production with-

out signing a test oath.

Its application for the facilities

`was formally denied last January

9 in a letter to Denny Wilcher,

Chairman of the school's board,

by Gene Saalwaechter, Director

of Recreation and Parks. "Your

failure to sign the permit form,"

said the letter, "leaves me no

other choice at present but to

deny permit usage of the facil-

ity."

The ACLU's Staff Counsel,

Marshall W. Krause, had earlier

complained to the Council that

the test oath was unconstitutional

and, at his request, the matter

was referred to the City Attorney

for an opinion. It was then

agreed between the attorneys to

await the decision of the State

Supreme Court in the Civie Cen-

ter Act test oath case. When that

oath was held unconstitutional

as an act of prior censorship, the

City Attorney had no choice but

to recommend repeal of the

Berkeley oath.

The discarded test oath reads

as follows:

"And-do hereby promise and

swear that nothing done or said

in the meeting to be held in this

building on the day or days

designated above will be subver-

sive to the Constitution of the

United States of America-and I

(we) further pledge my (our)

allegiance to the United States

of America."

ACLU Meeting in S. F.

Sat.,

Staffed by almost one hundred distinguished citizens and

attended by a capacity audience, the American Civil Liberties

Union of Northern California will present a seminar on the

House Un-American Activities Committee on Saturday, March

11, at the Marina Junior High School, Fillmore and Chestnut

streets, San Francisco, from 9

a.m. to 5 p.m.

- Pressing Questions Asked

Since last May's demonstration

against the HUAC at the San

Francisco City Hall and with the

subsequent production and wide

showing of "Operation Aboli-

tion,' increasing numbers of

persons are raising more and

more pressing questions about

the House Un-American Activi-

ties Committee.

Clear evidence of this mount-

ing public concern is reflected in

the response of the press, radio

and other communications media,

as well as public officials, during

the intervening ten months.

Symptoms of a full-scale national

controversy crop up in HUAC

ROTC Foe

Appeals His

"F' Grade

James L. Creighton, who re-

ceived an "EF" in ROTC after

picketing against ROTC, has

asked the Academic Senate to re-

view his grade. His petition

charges 1. That the grade was not

based on his academic perform-

ance in the course; 2, That the

standards for passing the course

are not comp itible with academic

Treedoii, aig; 3. That the-srade

is a punitive measure but does

not meet the requirement for

punitive grades given in Presi-

dent's Regulation No. 25. Under

this regulation, instructors may

punish failure to adhere to "ac-

ceptable standards of personal

conduct by "personal reprimand,

change of grade, assignment of

additional work, or re-examina-

tion."

"Counter-Measures"

Before the picketing took place,

Col. T. J. Malloy, head of the

University's ROTC program, de-

clared, "If any uniformed cadets

should take part in the picketing

they might find it difficult to

pass the course." In a letter from

the Pentagon, the Army ex-

pressed concern to the ACLU

- over campaigns for voluntary

ROTC. "Accordingly," said the

letter, "we must on some occa-

sions adopt counter-measures and

make our position very clear con--

cerning this program which we

consider so vital to our national

defense."

In the meantime, Col, Malloy

is quoted as saying that Creighton

should consider himself lucky

not to have been arrested by mil-

itary authorities for violation of

federal regulations, Col. Malloy

also expressed the view that

Creighton's "improper conduct"

was ground for expulsion from

the university. He also indicated

that he had ordered Creighton's

instructor, Major Howard H.

Mann to give Creighton an "F."

Appeal Procedure Uncertain

The ACLU has been in touch

with the Chancellor's office, the

Secretary of the Academic Sen-

ate and the Chairman of the

Academic Freedom Committee of

the Senate in Creighton's behalf.

Ordinarily, the Academic Senate

would not meet until sometime in

May, but a special meeting could

be called. At this point, no one

seems to know how Creighton's

petition will be handled. It is ex-

pected that the final. decision will

be made by Prof. Kenneth S.

Pitzer, Vice-Chairman of the

Berkeley Section of the Academic

Senate.

A recent rally on campus op-

posing Col. Malloy's ruling at-

tracted about 400 students.

coverage and discussions. People"

seem to be taking sides with

more heat than understanding of

the basic issues involved. Con-

sidered answers calls for techni-

cal information most people do

not have at their fingertips.

Full Day's Seminar

To provide that body of knowl.

edge, the ACLU of Northern

California is offering the public

(not just ACLU members) a full

day's seminar-for study of the

legal, governmental and social

ramifications needed for a sound

evaluation of HUAC's role -and

practices.

Leading Authorities

Leading Authorities gathered

from the Bay Area's law schools,

social science and_philosophy de-

partments, legal profession and |

civic agencies are forming the

faculty for a day. The morning

session will open with a panel

discussion by John Henry Merry-

man, law librarian and associate

professor of law at Stanford

University, I. Michael Hay-

man, professor of law at the Uni-

versity of California, and Lewis :

'Sherman, Republican. candidate

for Congress in the 7th Con-

gressional District in last year's

election and member of the law

firm of Sherman and Kilbourne.

Professor Heyman will analyse

HUAC's historical and legal

backg.0und, Professor Merry-

man will provide a critical evalua-

tion, presenting the positions for

both procedural reforms and

abolition, Mr. Sherman will round

out the viewpoints with an ex-

amination of the reasons for

supporting HUAC in its role

and work, Rey. Harry B. Schole-

field, minister of the First

Unitarian Church, will act as

moderator, Panel presentations

will cover the historic and

legal background to HUAC's de-

velopment, with critical analysis

encompassing the full spectrum

of opinion - pro, con and in-

between.

Five Discussion Groups

The seminar's afternoon ses-.

sion consists of five different

discussion groups on: (1) Con-

gressional Power of Inquiry; (2)

Fair Procedures and the HUAC:

(3) "Duty" to Testify: as against

"Right" not to Testify; (4)

HUAC and the "Free Market

Place of Ideas" and (5) "Opera-

tion Abolition" Film, Resource

persons listed in the respective

discussion groups are: Kenneth

Arrow, professor of economics at

Stanford University; Albert Ben-

dich, lecturer in speech at UC;

Abe Berry, attorney; Philip Bur-

ton, State Assemblyman; Hartley

Fleischmann, attorney; John

Gorfinkel, dean of the Golden

Gate Law School; Marshall W.

Krause, staff counsel of the

ACLU; Howard Taubenfeld,

professor of law at Golden Gate

-Continued on Page 3

im This Issue...

Appropriations for New

Cross Challenged ..... p. 4

Ban Segregation in Bus

Terminal Restaurants ...p. 3

Court Rules Nazi Rockwell

_ May Speak in Park ..... p. 2

Mayor Duped in Endorsing

Propaganda Film ....... p. 3

Pre-Censorship of Films

Upheld by High Court. . .p. 2

. Prescription No Bar to Nar-

cotics Arrest in S.F......p. 2

4

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION NEWS

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Second Class mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, Calif.

ERNEST BESIG. . . Editor

_ 503.Market Street, San Francisco 5, California, EXbrook 2-4692

Subscription Rates-Two Dollars a Year

Twenty. Cents Per Copy .

Philip Adams

Theodore Baer

Prof. Arthur K. Bierman

Prof. James R. Caldwell

William K. Coblentz

Richard De Lancie

John J. Eagan

Samuel B. Eubanks

Howard Friedman

Rey. Oscar F. Green

Zora Cheever Gross

Robert H. Hardgrove

Rey. F. Danford Lion

Prof. Seaton W. Manning

Honorary Treasurer:

Joseph M. Thompson

Honorary Board Member:

Sara Bard Field

Mrs. Gladys Brown

Mrs. Paul Couture

_ Joseph Eichler

Morse Erskine

Dr. H. H. Fisher

Mrs, Margaret C. Hayes

Prof. Ernest Hilgard

Mrs. Paul Holmer

Mrs. Mary Hutchinson

Richard Johnston

Roger Kent

Mrs. Ruth Kingham

. Board of Director of the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

CHAIRMAN: Rabbi Alvin 1. Fine

VICE-CHAIRMEN: Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn, Helen Salz

SECRETARY-TREASURER: John W. Fowle

- EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ernest Besig

Committee of Sponsors

Prof. Van D. Kennedy

John R. May

Lloyd L. Morain

Prof. Charles Muscatine

William M. Roth

Prof. Nevitt Sanford

Rev. Harry B. Scholefield

Mrs. Alec Skolnick

Mrs. Martin Steiner

Gregory S. Stout

Donald Vial

Harold Winkler

GENERAL COUNSEL .

Wayne M. Collins

Prof. Theodore Kreps -

Prof. Carlo Lastrucci

Norman Lezin

Prof. John Henry Merryman

Hon. Clem Miller

Rev. Robert W. Moon

Dr. Marvin J. Naman

Prof. Hubert Phillips

Prof. Wilson Record

Dr. Norman Reider

Prof. Wallace Stegner

Mrs. Theodosia Stewart

Mrs. Kathleen D. Tolman :

Rt. Rev. Sumner Walters .

Stanley Weigel

Franklin H. Williams

Right of Protest

The right a college. student to demonstrate peacefully

against the COUIDUISORY, aspect of ROTC would seem self-

evident.

The student may be dead wrong. He may be misled or

badly advised. He may be a zealot, or simply a youthful rebel.

And it so happens, in the case at hand, that the student holds

some political views we don't share. But none of this -

ishes his right of peaceful protest.

When, therefore, the ROTC command at the University of

California in Berkeley gave a failing grade to James Creigh-

ton because he led such a protest, it both violated his rights

and laid itself open to the charge that it is as extremist in its

- fashion as is the youth. "

The ROTC command gave the impression it applied the

severe penalty only because the student wore his ROTC

uniform during the demonstration. That won't stand. up.

ROTC students take no oath. They are not subject to military

discipline? They are students, not soldiers, and are entitled

to be treated as students. This includes grading according to

classroom performance, not according to a military code or

to views expressed elsewhere.

The conclusion is inescapable that the ROTC command

used punishment as a weapon for fighting the student move-

ment against compulsory ROTC. And that is exactly the

wrong way to go about it. College students are won by ap-

peals to reason, not by unfair punishment or arbitrary com-

mand.-sS.F. Examiner, Feb. 16, 1961..

a Letters to the Editor -

ROTC Picketing

Editor:

As a member of the ACLU, I

should like to register a strong

protest of `the position our

- chapter has taken regarding the

ROTC picketing by students in

uniform.

It seems to me that it is a basic

principle, inherent in our social

structure and in our Constitution,

that the right to picket does not.

extend to those in the uniform

of an organization intimately al-

lied to the Armed Forces of the

United States. To permit and

condone such uniformed picket-

ing would be inconsistent with -

the fundamental function of our

Armed Forces: To preserve, pro-

tect and defend the Nation. Ar-

ticle I, Sec. 8. Sub. 14 to 16 of

the Constitution of the United

States enumerates the powers of

Congress with respect to land

and naval forces and the militia.

The word discipline appears

twice in subsection 16, one of

these refers specifically to "train-

ing of the militia according to

the discipline prescribed by Con-

ACLU NEWS

March, 1961

Page 2

gress." In other words, disripline

is totally inconsistent with picket-

ing in uniform, no matter how

justified on other grounds the

picketing might be. One of the

most important aspects of train-

ing involves discipline, without

which no military organization

ean fulfill its role.

If ROTC students want to

picket, they can do so as citizens,

out of uniform. Under these con-

ditions, I should support their

aspirations, because I agree that

better service to our country

might result from. classroom

rather than parade ground activ-

ities. And mathematics is far

more potent than tactics in the

defense of our liberties.

But let us be sure of what we

are defending and let us not frit-

ter away our ACLU influence 6n

ROTC pickets in uniform.

-Elie A. Shneour

Editor's Nete: The ROTC is

not a part of the regular Armed

Forces and no law has made cadets

subject to military discipline.

Cadets could be barred from

picketing in uniform, or any other

activity while wearing the uni-

form, by an apprepiate regulation

of which they were informed.

Prescription No

Bar to Narcotics

Arrest in S.F.

The San Francisco Narcotics

_ Detail is arresting persons for the

possession of narcotics even

though they hold valid prescrip-

- tions for them.

The matter came to the atten-

tion of the ACLU when a com-

giaint was received that Richard

Mogan had been arrested on

February 2nd and charged with

the possession of Methedrine

ampules, nembutal and hypo-

dermic needles. Because of in-

ability to post bail, he was held

in jail until February 15 when

the charges were dismissed. At:

that time, the Public Defender

. presented a letter to the court

saying that a Dr. Elsa F. Bickel

_had given: Mogan a prescription

on January 31.

_This is the third time that

Mogan has been arrested on a

nareotics charge by the San

Francisco police despite having

valid prescriptions. On each oc-

casion,

mately been dismissed.

The police apparently take the

position that the doctor and pa-

tient have conspired to violate

the narcotics laws, Since the

police have no professional capac-

`ity in the field of medicine, it

would seem that the proper thing

for them to do is to complain to

the State Medical Board if they

believe the physician is acting

improperly in issuing narcotics

prescriptions.

The ACLU wrote to District

Attorney Thomas C. Lynch about

the Mogan case and he advised

the ACLU of the dismissal of the

eharges. On February 16, the

ACLU protested to Chief of Po-

lice Thomas Cahill, "On its face,"

said the letter, "the repeated ar-

rest of this man appears to be a

matter of harassment." The

ACLU requested that the case be

investigated and that it be ad-

vised of the results of the investi-

gation. Thus far, no response has

been received,

The ACLU has been informed

that the Narcotics Detail harasses

many other people in the same

manner, and that Municipal

Judge Harold: Jackson Eyman

spports the police by refusing to

dismiss charges when he is in-

formed that the defendant has a

valid prescription. The matter is

then taken out of his court by a

request for a jury trial and the

trial judge finally dismisses the

charges. :

The ACLU is also investigating

claims that doctors who furnish

the prescriptions are being har-

assed by members of the Nar-

cotics Detail.

Court Rules Nazi

Rockwell May .

Speak In Park

The Appellate Division of the

Supreme Court of New York, by

at vote of 4 to 1, last month up-

held the right of George L. Rock-

well, head of the American

Fascist Party, to hold a meeting

in Union Square. The decision

-reversed the action of a Supreme

Court Judge who had upheld the

refusal of Park Commissioner

Newbold Morris to grant Rock-

well a permit for a July 4, 1960

meeting.

The majority opinion was oe

ten by Justice Charles Breitel.

"The unpopularity of views, their

shocking quality, their obnoxious-

ness and even their alarming im-

pact is not enough," said Justice

Breitel. "Otherwise the preacher

of any strange doctrine could be

stopped; the anti-racist himself

could be suppressed .

Justice Breitel added: "If he

does not speak criminally, then,

of course, his right to speak may

not be cut off, no matter how of-

fensive his speech may be to

others."

Mayor Robert Wagner has an-

nounced that the decision will

be appealed to the New York

Court of Appeals, the State's

highest court. ~

the charges have ulti-

_cluded

Blow to Freedom of Expression

Pre-Censorship

Of Films Upheld

3y High Court

Foes of motion picture censorship were jolted on January

23 when the United States Supreme Court, contrary to ex-

pectations, upheld by a 5-4 vote the constitutionality of state

and municipal censor boards. The decision was one of the

high court's most significant free speech rulings in several

years and its impact was expected

to be felt in other areas of com-

~ munication besides films,

Serious Blow

The American Civil Liberties

Union, which for years had

pressed test cases to eliminate

pre-censorship of films, termed -

the decision a "serious blow to

freedom of expression in our

country." The ACLU called on

state legislatures and city coun-

cils throughout the nation not to

"stampede the enactment of new

censorship legislation" as a reac-

tion to the decision. The civil

liberties group pledged to con-

tinue opposition "to all forms of

censorship, in the courts, the

legislatures and the forum of

public opinion."

Ruling Sought

Since 1952 when the Supreme

Court in "The Miracle" case

opinion said that movies are

entitled to the same protection

of the First Amendment as the

press, the high court has been

asked to rule directly on the issue

of prior restraint. The ACLU and

other groups fighting film cen-

sorship were encouraged by the

Court's reversing in the last nine

years bans on several movies

where such vague standards as

"sacriligious," "prejudicial to the

best interests of the city," "im-

moral," "harmful," and "sexual

immorality" were used. Some of

these decisions vigorously refer-

red to the need to maintain the

First Amendment's freedom of

expression, and it was assumed

that the Supreme Court would

eventually strike down the ma-

chinery of government censor-

ship. So clear was this trend that -

a new Pennsylvania Motion

Picture Control Board was held

invalid last summer by the state

court.

Case Involved "Don Juan"

The issue was squarely met

last fall when the Times Film

Corporation, distributors of the

Austrian film, "Don Juan," re-

fused to submit the movie to the

Chicago Police Department for

approval. The Chicago police

must inspect all movies shown in

the city before the necessary per--

mit is granted. When the permit

was denied the Times Film cor-

poration took the case to the

federal courts, on the ground that

prior restraint of any form of

speech, including motion pictures,

violated the First Amendment's

guarantee of free speech. The

lower federal courts rejected the

appeal and. the Supreme Court

accepted review.

Liberty of Speech Not Absolute |

The Court's five-man majority

opinion, written by Justice Clark

and concurred in by Justices

Frankfurter, Harlan, Stewart and

Whittaker, said the `central ques-

tion before the court was whether

"the ambit of constitutional pro-

tection includes complete and

absolute freedom to exhibit at

least once, any and every kind of

motion picture.... We have con-

that... Chicago's ordi-

nance requiring the submission

of films prior to their public

exhibition is not...void on its

face." The majority opinion

stressed that "liberty of speech is

not absolute" and cited several

Supreme Court opinions which,

in its interpretation, prove that

not "all previous restraints on

speech are invalid.' The five

justices noted that the issue in

the present case is Chicago's con-

cern to "protect its people against

the dangers of obscenity in the

public exhibition of motion pic-

tures" and that the attack on

prior restraint could not justify

the Court's saying that the "State

is stripped of all constitutional

power to prevent, in the most

`effective fashion, the utterance

of such speech. It is not for this

Court to limit the State in its

selection of the remedy it deems

most effective to cope with such

a problem, absent, of course, a

showing of unreasonable stricture

"on individual liberty resulting

from its application in particular -

circumstances."

' Standards Not In Issue

Making clear its focus on the

prior restraint issue, the majority

opinion said that the decision did

not mean that city officials could

bar "any motion picture they

deem unworthy of a license.' It

concluded that it' was not decid-

ing on the particular standards |

used by the Chicago police and

that "we are meres only with

motion pictures. .

Two dissenting opinions were

written, One by Chief Justice

Warren for himself and Justices

Black, Douglas and Brennan, and

`one by Justice Douglas, con-

curred in by Justice Black and

Chief Justice Warren,

Free Speech Threatened

In his hard-hitting dissent,

Chief Justice Warren pointed to

the danger of the "Don Juan"

decision embracing other forms

of communication. He said: "To

me, this case clearly presents the

question of our approval of un-

limited censorship of motion pic-

tures before exhibition through a

system of administrative licens-

ing. Moreover, the decision pre-

sents a real danger of eventual

censorship for every form of com-

munication be it newspapers,

journals, books, magazines, tele-

vision, radio or public speeches.

The Court purports to leave these

questions for another day, but

I am aware of no constitutional

principle which permits us to

hold that the communication of

ideas through one medium may

be censored while other media

are immune, Of course each

medium presents its own peculiar

problems, but they are not of the

`kind that would authorize the

censorship of one form of com-

munication and not the others. I

submit that in arriving at its

decision the Court has interpreted

our cases contrary to the inten-

tion at the time of their rendi-

tion, and, in exalting the censor

of motion pictures, has endan-

gered the First and Fourteenth

Amendment rights of all others

engaged in the dissemination of

ideas."

Limitation The Exception

Justice Warren agreed that the

Supreme Court in the past had

properly held that free speech

was not absolute, but, he added,

"licensing or censorship was not,

at any point, considered within

the `exceptional cases' discussed

in the opinion in Near.... And,

only a few terms ago, the Court,

speaking through Mr. Justice

Frankfurter, in Kingsley Books,

Inc., v. Brown, reaffirmed that

`the limitation is the exception;

it is to be closely confined so as

to precludg what may fairly be

deemed liceuronsing or censorship.' ACLUN_1946 ACLUN_1946.MODS ACLUN_1946.batch ACLUN_1947 ACLUN_1947.MODS ACLUN_1947.batch ACLUN_1948 ACLUN_1948.MODS ACLUN_1948.batch ACLUN_1949 ACLUN_1949.MODS ACLUN_1949.batch ACLUN_1950 ACLUN_1950.MODS ACLUN_1950.batch ACLUN_1951 ACLUN_1951.MODS ACLUN_1951.batch ACLUN_1952 ACLUN_1952.MODS ACLUN_1952.batch ACLUN_1953 ACLUN_1953.MODS ACLUN_1953.batch ACLUN_1954 ACLUN_1954.MODS ACLUN_1954.batch ACLUN_1955 ACLUN_1955.MODS ACLUN_1955.batch ACLUN_1956 ACLUN_1956.MODS ACLUN_1956.batch ACLUN_1957 ACLUN_1957.MODS ACLUN_1957.batch ACLUN_1958 ACLUN_1958.MODS ACLUN_1958.batch ACLUN_1959 ACLUN_1959.MODS ACLUN_1959.batch ACLUN_1960 ACLUN_1960.MODS ACLUN_1960.batch ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1961.batch ACLUN_1962 ACLUN_1962.MODS ACLUN_1963 ACLUN_1963.MODS ACLUN_1964 ACLUN_1964.MODS ACLUN_1965 ACLUN_1965.MODS ACLUN_1966 ACLUN_1966.MODS ACLUN_1967 ACLUN_1967.MODS ACLUN_1968 ACLUN_1968.MODS ACLUN_1969 ACLUN_1969.MODS ACLUN_1970 ACLUN_1970.MODS ACLUN_1971 ACLUN_1971.MODS ACLUN_1972 ACLUN_1972.MODS ACLUN_1973 ACLUN_1973.MODS ACLUN_1974 ACLUN_1974.MODS ACLUN_1975 ACLUN_1975.MODS ACLUN_1976 ACLUN_1976.MODS ACLUN_1977 ACLUN_1977.MODS ACLUN_1978 ACLUN_1978.MODS ACLUN_1979 ACLUN_1979.MODS ACLUN_1980 ACLUN_1980.MODS ACLUN_1981 ACLUN_1981.MODS ACLUN_1982 ACLUN_1982.MODS ACLUN_1983 ACLUN_1983.MODS ACLUN_1984 ACLUN_1984.MODS ACLUN_1985 ACLUN_1985.MODS ACLUN_1986 ACLUN_1986.MODS ACLUN_1987 ACLUN_1987.MODS ACLUN_1988 ACLUN_1988.MODS ACLUN_1989 ACLUN_1989.MODS ACLUN_1990 ACLUN_1990.MODS ACLUN_1991 ACLUN_1991.MODS ACLUN_1992 ACLUN_1992.MODS ACLUN_1993 ACLUN_1993.MODS ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1997 ACLUN_1997.MODS ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS ACLUN_ladd.bags ACLUN_ladd.batch add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log

_ Prior Decisions Discussed (c)

The Warren dissent discussed a

wide range of Supreme Court de-

cisions which have barred prior

restraint in other forms of com-

munication. In addition to the

Near case which covered news-

papers that published "malicious,

scandalous or defamatory" mate-

rial, these cases were cited:

Grosjean (license tax on news-

-Continued on Page 3

' asked me _ to

a

"Operation Abolition"

Mayor

in

juped

1 Endorsing

ropaganda Film

In an open letter, the American Civil Liberties Union of

Northern California last month

protested Mayor George

Christopher's endorsement of the film "Operation Abolition."

"It seems to us," said the letter, "that you and your office

have been exploited to help perpetuate a giant and malicious

fraud." The ACLU urged the

Mayor to "publicly withdraw" his

"support of the film and warn

the public that it is nothing less

than a slick propaganda job."

Endorsement Made On Radio

The Mayor's endorsement was

made on the Fulton Lewis,. Jr.

radio program at the request of

Fulton Lewis III, the commenta-

tor's son and an employe of the

House Committee on Un-Amer-

ican Activities. The Mayor de-

elared, "The pictures speak for

themselves. They are true-they

are authentic-they tell the real

story-and, of course, they are

most unfortunate, to `say the

least."

After he was criticized by

various organizations, the Mayor

back-tracked and said: only the

pictures were authentic. As for

the commentary, "It's merely

some person's opinion of eet

happened." .

Text of Letter

-The complete text of the

ACLU's letter, signed by Ernest

Besig, Executive Director, fol-

lows:

Our board of directors "has

protest most

strongly your recent comments in

support of the propaganda film

"Operation Abolition," on Fulton

Lewis Jr.'s radio program. It

seems to us that you and your of-

fice have been exploited to help

perpetuate a giant and palicions

fraud.

We do not quarrel with your

disapproval of the disorderly. con-

duct that occurred within the

City Hall, both inside and outside

the hearing room. But we do take

issue with unsupported state-

ments that "Known Communists

were in the lead of this dem-

onstration," "that the students

were "prompted. by profession-

als,' and "were dupes," and that

the film is "authentic."

Evil Compounded

You must know that the film

suffers from grave inaccuracies

and distortions, Unfortunately,

your radio statement and sub-

sequent clarification merely com-

pound the evil. The taped record

does not support your claims that

"the people outside the chambers

were ordered to move outside the

building," and that the hosing

occurred "When some of them

challenged the policemen."

Putting On An Act"

We suggest that some subpoe-

naed Communists, supported by

their relatives and friends, and

the Committee, encouraged by its

supporters-the white card hold-

ers, were both "putting on an

act" in the chambers and that the

spectacle becatne a substantial

part of "Operation Abolition." It

is difficult for us to believe that

the Committee, with the assist-

ance of the police could not have

controlled the _ situation by

prompt and firm action both

within and without the chambers,

and without finally resorting to

the hosing. Of course, this would

have curtailed the excitement and

the resulting headlines on which

the Committee feeds, and there

eould then have been no film

"Operation Abolition."

Slick Propaganda Job

Your endorsement, now quali-

fied, has merely served to add

fuel to the nation-wide contro-

versy that has raged over the prop-

aganda film. In this we believe

you have done a disservice both

to yourself and to the City of San

Francisco by helping to perpet-

uate a calumny against this com-

munity and the students.

Dif-

ficult though it may be to repair

the damage that has already been

done by your radio statement, we

urge that, in all justice, you

publicly withdraw yeur now qual-

ified support of the film and

warn the public that it is nothing

less than a slick propaganda job."

Attempt To.

Inspect Sealed.

Mail Defeated

The Post Office Department

last month released a sealed let-

ter to the ACLU after the Berk-

eley Postmaster had refused to

deliver it to the addressee be-

cause someone had stamped on

it, "Supposed to Contain Matter

Prohibited Importation." The

Postmaster had demanded that

the addressee, by January 21,

either authorize"him to open the

letter or that she open it in his

presence, She declined to do

either and appealed to the ACLU

for help.

The ACLU took the position

that it would be an act of cen-

sorship for the Post Office to ex-

amine the contents of the en-

velope unless there was probable

cause to believe that it contained

matter prohibited by law. Neither

the Berkeley Postmaster nor the

Regional Office of the Depart-

ment could offer any reason for

inspecting. the contents of the

letter except the rubber stamped

statement.

When the ACLU said it would

bring court action to secure de-

livery of the letter, the problem

was referred to Richard S. Farr,

Assistant General Counsel, Fraud

and Mailability Division. `In the

instant case," said a leter from

Mr. Farr to the ACLU, `"`we have

obtained and examined the article

. . and we do not feel that, on

`its face, there is sufficient. evi-

dence to hold it up as suspected

mail. Accordingly, it is forwarded

to you herewith to turn over to

your client."

ACLU Lawyers'

Committee Is |

Re-established

The Lawyers' Committee of the

ACLU of Northern California was

re-established on February 28 at

at meeting at the Pig'n Whistle

Cafe in San Francisco. The meet-

ing was called by attorney Wil-

liam K. Coblentz, board member,

and Marshall W. Krause, ACLU.

Staff Counsel. It was addressed

by Charles O'Brien, Chief Assist-

ant Attorney General, whose sub-

ject was "Police Power and In-

dividual Rights."

It is planned to hold regular

luncheon meetings of the Law-

yers' Committee with programs

geared for those concerned with

civil liberties. The members of

the Committee will be invited to

participate in the ACLU's legal

work to the extent they wish to

volunteer their services, The

Committee. will also be called

upon from time to time by the

board for its advice on problems.

At the first meeting, there was

a discussion of possible legal

action resulting from the distri-

bution of the propaganda film,

"Operation Abolution."

If any lawyer belonging to the

ACLU failed to receive a notice

of the February 28 meeting it was

because the ACLU's mailing list

is not up to date. The office

would be happy to add names to

the list. Just call the office or

drop the ACLU a note,

that

Mrs. Roosevelt:

"The American Civil Liber-

ties Union has fought for 40

`years for the rights of all peo-

ple, and I think that on this

40th anniversary it should be

given a word of praise and

perhaps more support than it

has had from all American

citizens in the past. An organ-

ization of this kind is essential

in a country like ours. Where

many different backgrounds

come together, disputes are

bound to arise, and to help us

settle them is one of the con-

tributions an organization of

this type makes."

Ban Segregation

In Bus Terminal

Restaurants

Bus terminal restaurants in the

South can no longer segregate

their inter-state customers or dis-

. eriminate on the basis of color

as the result of a December 5,

Supreme Court decision.

The high court, by a 7-2 vote,

ruled that eating facilities used

by busses engaged in inter-state

_ commerce come within the Inter-

state Commerce Act definition of

"facilities or property operated

or controlled" by the bus com-

pany. The Act forbids inter-state

buslines to "subject any par-

ticular person to any unjust dis-

crimination or any unjust or un-

reasonable prejudice."

Trailways Terminal Involved

The case arose when Bruce

Boynton, a Negro and former

Howard University law student,

took a Trailway bus from Wash-

ington, D. C. to his home in

Selma, Alabama. When the bus

stopped at the Trailways Bus

Terminal in Richmond, Va. for a

forty-minute layover Boynton

went into the restaurant to eat.

Instead of going to the section

reserved for Negroes Boynton

sat in the: white section and

ordered a sandwich and _ tea.

Though refused service Boynton

declined to leave: The police

`were called and he was fined $10

for trespass,

Constitutional Arguments

Ignored

In carrying the case to the

Supreme Court, the National As-

sociation for the Advancement of

Colored People made two con-

stitutional arguments, First, that

Boynton's arrest was an unreason-

able burden on interstate com-

merce and second that it denied

him the equal protection of the

law. In its decision the court

ignored both these far-reaching

arguments and based its decision

on the Interstate Commerce Act

elause put forth by the Justice

Department acting as a- friend of

the court.

Though there was no evidence

the Trailways Company

owned or controlled either the

.terminal or the restaurant, Jus-

tice Black declared in the court's

majority opinion: "Inter-state

passengers have to eat...and

have a right to expect that this

essential transporation food serv-

ice voluntarily provided for them

under such circumstances would

be rendered without discrimina-

tion prohibited by the Inter-state

Commerce Act."

Another Letter

To the Editor

Navy Distributes Film

Editor: The Office of the chief

of Naval Operations, Navy De-

partment, is distributing the film

"Operation Abolition' through

the Naval Districts. I saw it

yesterday at the Naval Supply

Center, Oakland. It was an excel-

lent film in that its propaganda

value contra the Committee

(HUAC) is incaleuable-really

frightening to see those men-

elected members of Congress-

how could it happen?-as well

as hear their paranoid voices. Of

course, the problem of combat-

ting the fifth column type activi-

ties, much more difficult than

out-and-out espionage, is sticky;

but not so sticky as to require the

services of HUAC, I think -

January 14, 1961, A member.

Continued from Page 1-

Law School; Edward L. Barrett,

Jt. professor of law. at. UC;

`Franklyn K. Brann, attorney;

Albert W. Harris and Arlo E.

Smith, deputy attorney generals,.

Bruce Hughes, attorney; Robert.

B. McKay, visiting professor of

law at UC; Kurt Melchdir, at-

torney; Herbert Packer, profes-

sor of law at Stanford University;

Arthur Bierman, professor of.

philosophy at S. F. State Col-

lege, Canon Richard Byfield,

executive assistant to the Bishop,

Episcopal Diocese of California;

Richard Drinnon, professor of

history at-UC; Joseph Genser, at-

torney; Louise Overacker, profes-

sor of political science; Robert

Pickus, executive director of

Acts for Peace; Paul Seabury,

professor of political science at

UC; Joseph Tussman, professor

of philosophy at UC; William

Capron, professor of economics (c)

at Stanford University; Hadley

Roff and Wes Willoughby, re--

porters for the NEWS-CALL

BULLETIN; Ben Rust, high -

e

Pre-Censorship

Of Film Upheld -

Continued from Page Diss:

papers); Hague ~ (permit for

public parade or assembly);

Schneider (license for distribu-

tion of circulars); Cantwell (per-

mission to solicit, for alleged

religious, charitable and philan-

thropic causes); Thomas (card

for labor union organizers to

organize unions); Saia (ban on

/sound trucks); Kunz (permit for

citizens to speak on religious

matters); Staub (permit for

solicitation of members of an

organization which requires dues

payments), The minority opinion

described dozens of examples of -

what censors have banned over.

the years, a revelation which it

called "astonishing."

Injury By Delay

The Warren minority opinion

also pointed out the difficulties:

of challenging the censor's ruling,

such as long-drawn out litigation

which takes years `to settle.

"Vindication by the courts of `The

Miracle' was not had until five

years after the Chicago censor

refused to license it. And then~

the picture was never shown in

Chieago. The (`Don Juan')..

litigation has now consumed al-

most three years. This is the

delay occasioned by the censor;

this is the injury done to the

free communication of ideas." In

many cases, the Warren opinion

said, the exhibitor will not want

to seek judicial relief. "His in-

clination may well be simply to

capitulate rather than initiate a

lengthy and costly litigation. In

such case, the liberty of speech

and the press and the public,

which benefits from the shielding

of that liberty, are in effect at

the mercy of the censor's whim."

Douglas' Dessent

The second minority opinion,

written by Justice Douglas, traced

the long history of censorship

from the time of Socrates to the

present and concluded that

"Whether-as here-city officials

or-as in Russia-a_ political -

party lays claim to the power of

governmental censorship, wheth-

er the pressures are for a con-

formist moral code or-for a con-

formist political ideology, no

such regime is permitted by the

First Amendment." The Douglas

dissent, as did Justice Warren's,

pointed up the absence of due

process safeguards under a sys-

tem of prior restraint. "Under a

censor's regime the weights are

cast against freedom. If, however,

government must proceed against

an illegal publication in a pros-

ecution, then the advantages are

on the other side. All the pro-

tections of the Bill of Rights -

come into play. The presumption

of innocense, the right to jury

trial, proof of guilt beyond a

reasonable doubt-these become

barriers in the path of officials

who want to impose their stand-

ards of morality on the author or

producer. The advantage a censor

enjoys while working as a su-

preme bureaucracy disappear."

LC Seminar

school teacher;

Gregory Stout,

attorney. :

"Operation Abolition"

The discussion group focusing

on the film "Operation Aboli-

tion" will have the benefit of a

number of students who were

eye-witnesses to the City Hall

demonstration. They include:

Richard Chesney, Gary Glenn,

Gerald Gray, Jerry Kitch, Aryay

Lenske, Jerry Mandel, Gene

Savin and Mike Tigar.

Discussion Leaders

The resources of this unusual

faculty will be augmented by

forty civic leaders serving as dis-

cussion leaders and reporters in

the afternoon proceedings. They

include -Marylouise Allen, field

coordinator; Theodore F. Baer,

advertising and public relations;

William Baxter, professor of law,

Stanford University; George

Brunn, attorney; Mrs. Norman

Coliver, program specialist, Asia

Foundation; Lexie Cotton, ad-

ministrative supervisor; Richard

DeLancie, president, Broadview

Research and Development; _

Milen Dempster, U. S. Govern-

ment employee; John Fowle, real

estate; Howard Friedman, archi-

tect; Francis Geddes, minister,

Church of the Fellowship of All

Nations; Aron Gilmartin, minis-

ter, Unitarian Church, Walnut

Creek; Robert Girard, professor

of Law, Stanford University;

Oscar F. Green, minister, Episco- -

pal Church, Palo Alto; Lucy

Hancock, associate secretary,

Friends Committee on Legisla-

tion; Mrs. Carl Hanson, .S. F.

Civic leader; Gerald N. -Hill, at-

torney; Roger Kent, attorney;

Mrs. Noni Lauter, S.F. civie

leader; Henry Lindgren, profes-

sor of psychology, S.F. State Col-

lege; Joseph Kennedy, attorney;

Lawrence Kramer, executive di-

rector, S.F. Heart~ Asociation;

Mrs. Joan MacDonald, civic lead-

er; Seaton W. Manning, profes-

sor of sociology, S.F. State Col-

lege, Ephraim Morgolin, at-

torney and west coast director,

American Jewish Congress;..

Charles Muscatine, professor of

English, University of California; -

Frank Quinn, executive director,

Council. for Civic Unity; Gordon

Robinson, forester; Beverly

Spurgeon, civic leader; Robert

Smith, professor of English, S.F.

State College; Mrs. Barbara

Steiner, attorney; Anselm

Strauss, professor of sociology,

Medical Center, Univ. of Calif.;

Mrs. Nancy Meyer Strawbridge,

administrative assistant to the

Attorney General; Peter Szego,

professor of engineering, Univ.

of Santa Clara; Ward Tabler, lee-

turer, Speech Department, Univ.

of Calif.; Steven Warshaw, promo-

tion director, Univ. of Calif.

Press; Richard Werthimer, at-

torney; Marshall Windmilier

professor of political science,

S.F. State College; Thomas Win- =

nett, publisher, Fybate Notes;

Alfonso J. Zirpoli, attorney and

S.F. county supervisor.

Movie To Be Shown

During lunch there will be a

showing of "Operation Aboli- -

tion" and a playing of "Sounds -

of Protest,' the student answer

to HUAC's film.

In releasing the program,

Rabbi Alvin I. Fine, chairman of

the ACLU Board of Directors,

announced that the ACLU under-

took this seminar "in the firm

conviction that an informed pub-

lic is democracy's main security."

From the full day's course of

study, the persons attending will

have defined values and tools for

examining, evaluating and de-

eiding questions about HUAC. |

Registration Information |

- Enrollment is open to the pub-

lic, but restricted to 800 persons

because of limitations in facili-

ties. Registration fees, including

lunch, are $2.75 for adults and

$1.75 for students; excluding

lunch, $2.00 for adults and $1.00

for students. These fees cover

the costs of running the seminar.

For programs, with registration

forms, contact the ACLU, 503

Market Street, San Francisco 5

(Phone EXbrook 2-4692) -J. H.

ACLU NEWS

March, 1961

Page 3

California Legislative

(R)

Continued from Page 1-

of a school as a meeting place

"shall be automatically canceled

or revoked at any time upon the

finding by" a school board that

the use will furfher the com:

mission of an act intended to

further any movement whose

purpose is to overthrow the

~government by force, violence or

other unlawful means, It would

also empower a school board to .

require "additional affidavits and

declarations," and to "hear and

consider any relevant evidence.

presented by any person or orga-

nization."

The only red-hunting bill intro-

duced by a Democrat made its ap- .

pearance on February 14. It is

S. B. 677 by Sen. Stanford C.

Shaw of Ontario. It provides that

"membership in the Communist

Party, constitutes a cause fordis-

_barment" of an attorney.

Flag Saluting -

Patrioteer Mr. Francis has also

introduced A. B, 292 which pro-

=vides that "In every public el-

ementary and secondary school

at the commencement of the first

class each day during the school

year, the pledge -of allegiance to:

the Flag of the United States of

America shall be given."

Francis Fights Smut

- Not only is Mr. Francis the

prime mover in red-hunting but

he is also the leading fighter of

smut in the Legislature, He has

introduced five different bills

relating to obscene materials.

A, B. 78 is a shot gun bill. It

would re-write the obscenity law -

and re-define its offenses. Any-

~~ one who knowingly possesses

obscene matter may be punished,

and anyone "who possesses more

than three copies of the obseene

material is presumed to have the

' purpose to disseminate unlaw-

fully." The bill also prohibits so-

called "tie-in" sales, It also for-

bids employment of any minor

in connection with the sale or

distribution of obscene matter,

and it establishes a procedure

wherby an injunction can be

secured against preparation or

distribution of obscene matter.

Of course, the injunction proce-

dure means that issues are deter-

mined without a trial by jury.

The four other bills by Francis

are the separate parts of his basic

bill. A. B. 1368 provides penalties

for furnishing obscene material

to minors. A. B. 1369 relates to

the use of minors in transactions

involving obscene matter, A, B.

1370 prohibits tie-in sales of

obscene matter. A. B. 1371 pro-

vides for an injunction against

preparation or distribution of

obscene matter.

Attorney General's Bill

Assemblyman Bert De Lotto of

' Fresno has introduced an "anti-

smut" bill, A. B. 1582, which has

the backing of Attorney General

Stanley Mosk. Among other

things, this measure would re-

quire a retail distributor to in-

spect the material he has for sale

to determine if it is obscene

within the meaning of the law.

_ Finally Assemblyman Glenn E.

Coolidge has introduced A. B. 584,

which is sponsored by the Cali-

fornia Newspaper Publishers As-

sociation. This bill is the one that

is most likely to be adopted. It

provides that it will no longer be

necessary to prove that an

offender acted "lewdly," only

that he acted willfully and

"knowingly."

Searches and Seizures

Serious changes in the law

protecting citizens against un-

reasonable searches and seizures

would result from the adoption

of a series of bills aimed at the

traffic in narcotics. Two of the

bills,A. C. A. 3 and A. C, A, 15,

would amend the State Constitu-

tion to allow the introduction of

evidence of a narcotics offense

even though it was procured un-

lawfully. A, B. 308 attempts to

accomplish the same result with-

out benefit of a constitutional

amendment, while A, B, 242

Page 4

March, 1961

ACLU NEWS

would allow wiretapping by court

order in narcotics cases. A, B.

549 legalizes searches of vehicles

and structures after arrest has

been made. A. B. 208 and S. B. 82

are also reported to legalize

searches for narcotics. Some of

these bills have strong support

and may be adopted by the

Legislature.

Labor Field

In the labor field, two bills

have been introduced to prohibit

public employees from striking.

A, C, A. 23 is a constitutional

amendment, while A .B. 720 im- |

plements the amendment. On the

other hand, Assemblyman Marks

has introduced A. B. 666 to pro-

hibit the growing practice of

requiring employees or applicants

for employment to submit to lie

detector tests.

Criminal Procedure

In the criminal procedure field,

other than narcotics prosecutions,

only one anti-civil liberties bill

has thus far been introduced, it is

A. B. 550 by Sen. Grunsky which

would require a person to be

taken before a magistrate with-

out unnecessary delay only "when

arrested under a warrant of

arrest." He would also modify

the requirement that a person

arrested without a warrant be

brought before a magistrate with-

out "uncessary delay," by provid-

ing that sucli delay "shall be

determined by all circumstances

pertinent to the determination of

the reasonable time within which

to present the arrested person

before a proper magistrate, and

shall not be determined by the

passage of time alone."

Levering Act Repeal

Many bills have been intro-

duced in aid of civil liberties. In

the test oath field, John O'Connell

and 20 other assemblymen have

introduced A. B. 1554 to repeal

the Levering Act loyalty oath

and substitute an affirmative oath

in its place,

In the area of criminal pro-

cedure, John O'Connell, who was

chairman of an interim committee -

on the subject, has introduced

many excellent measures to pro-

tect the rights of the individual.

A, B. 592 says it is the policy of

. the State when an arrest is made,

that a warrant of arrest shall

be used where practical and

feasible. A, B. 1327 says that a

police officer, on request of the

_person he is arresting, must in-

form the latter of the offense for -

which he is being arrested.

A. B. 458 would make various

changes in the law with respect

to felony arrests occurring out-

side the county where the offense

occurred. A. B. 450 requires that

a warrant of arrest must be

shown to the arrested person

upon request "within two hours

of his arrest."

Police Must Explain

A, B. 451 requires a person to

explain to the magistrate why he

has neglected to bring an arrested

person before him in the time re-

quired by law.

A. B. 453 provides an officer

may arrest a person without a

warrant when an offense has

been committed in his presence

and not "Whenever he has

reasonable cause to believe" the

person has committed an offense

_in his presence,

A. B. 448 would, in effect,

excuse a person's resistance to an |

unlawful

officer.

A. B, 455 allows an arrested

person to' make one telephone

call at the public's expense,

arrest by a police

Booking

A, B. 444 requires that an ar-

rested person "must be booked

within three hours after ar-

rest... ."

A, B. 446 protects the right of a

person to sue for false imprison-

ment committed after an arrest.

A. B, 447 allows arrest for pos-

session of a dangerous weapon

only if the officer could have law-

fully arrested the person at the

time the search was commenced.

A. B. 1268 provides that where

a person has signed a written

Survey

notice to appear, he must be

brought to trial within 30 days.

after the date upon which he has

promised to appear.

Records of Arrest

A. B. 946 requires a law-en-

forcement agency making an ar-

rest and reporting to a State and

Federal agency also to make a re-

port when the person is released

from custody or transferred to

another agency. It also prohibits

release of information . concern-

ing a person's criminal record to

other than law-enforcement agen-

cies, and governmental agencies

and officers for use in connection

with their official duties.

Assemblyman Lester A. Mc-

Millan has introduced A. B. 1211

which provides that where a

prosecution has ended in the de-

fendant's favor, his photographs,

fingerprint impression, and rec-

ords of arrest must be returned

to him upon demand.

Applicants for Employment

The remaining bills were all

introduced by Assemblyman

O'Connell. The first, A. B. 445

prohibits the State from asking

an applicant for employment

whether he has ever been ar-

rested, held or detained by the

police.

A. B. 449 requires the Adult

Authority to hold a hearing be-

fore canceling or revoking pa-

roles. .

A. B. 457 makes it mandatory

for counties of the first 10

-elasses to establish and maintain

the office of public defender to

serve such counties.

Vagrancy Law Repeal

At the request of the Attorney

General, twelve assemblymen,

headed by John O'Connell, have

introduced A. B. 874 to repeal

the vagrancy law and substitute

in its stead a law punishing "dis-

orderly conduct." This proposal

will receive further examination

in the April NEWS. :

Fair Housing Law -

Eleven bills have thus far been

introduced relating to discrimi-

nation because of race, color, re-

ligion, national origin or ances-

try. The most important of these

bills is A. B. 801 introduced by

Assemblyman Augustus F. Haw-

kins and fifteen other assembly-

men. The purpose of this bill is'

to help insure equal opportunity |

for decent housing for all Cali-

fornia citizens - by reducing

housing discrimination because

of race, religion or national ori-

gin, and brings enforcement of

the law under the jurisdiction of

the F.E.P.C. It prohibits discrim-

ination in the sale, lease, rental

or financing of all housing ac-

commodations - other than a

single unit dwelling occupied in

-whole or in part by the owner as

his residence.

Assemblyman Edward E. El-

liott has introduced another

measure, A. B. 101 which also

prohibits racial discrimination,

etc., in the sale, lease, or rental

of property redeveloped and ur-

ban renewal under the Commu-

nity Redevelopment .Law.

A. B. 1225 by Phil Burton

strengthens the provision against

racial discrimination, etc., in the

civil service.

Teaching Positions

Applicants for teaching posi-

tion are protected against dis-

crimination by two bills. A. B.

1295 by Augustus F. Hawkins de-

clares it to be contrary to state

policy to refuse to employ a qual-

ified teacher "because of his race,

color, religious creed, or national

origin." And, A. B. 1294, makes it

unlawful for a school district to

ask questions of an applicant re-

lating to such matters. Also, A. B.

1226 by Phil Burton adds "reli-

gion, or national origin or ances-

try" as matters which teachers

and instructional materials in

schools may not reflect upon in

respect to citizens of the United

States.

Two licensing bills have been

introduced. The first, A. B. 1304

by Phil Burton prohibits racial

discrimination, ete. in the issu-

ance of licenses, etc. A. B. 69,

also by Phil Burton, permits the

suspension or revocation of li-

censes "if it is determined that"

Redwood City Easter Cross

"Ghallenged

A taxpayer's suit will be filed in the near future challeng-

ing the legality of an appropriation of $4,500 by the City

Council of Redwood City toward the erection of an Easter

Cross. The ACLU contends that such an expenditure violates

both the Federal and State Constitutions.

In a letter to the City Council,

the ACLU pointed out that the

U. S. Supreme Court had de-

clared that "the establishment of

religion clause of the First

Amendment means at least...

(that) neither a state nor the

Federal government... can pass

laws which aid one religion, aid

Marin Book

Banner Again

Rebuffed

Mrs. Anne Smart of Larkspur

has been rebuffed again. Last

month the Tamalpais Union High

School District directors refused

to accede to her request that two

more books be removed from its

school library. The books are

Nicholas Monsarrat's "The Cruel

Sea" and Carson McCullers' "The

Members of the Wedding."

A special committee reported

to the directors that Mrs. Smart's

objections to the books were

"completely without foundation

... lacking in validity."

Last January, the directors

turned down Mrs. Smart's peti-

tion to remove John. Steinbeck's

"Of Mice and Men" and J. D.

Salinger's "The Catcher in the

Rye."

Mrs. Smart attacked all of

these books as being either ob-

scene or subversive. Her objec-

tion to "The Cruel Sea," among

other things, referred to "the de-

pressing and defeating psychol-

ogy of the entire story."

the licensee "has established a

persistent course of conduct of

discrimination against persons re-

questing the performance of

services subject to the license."

Unruh Civil Rights Act

A. B. 1227 by Phil Burton sub-

stitutes. the term "person" for

"citizen" in the Unruh Civil

Rights Act, which provides for

equal accommodation in all busi-

ness establishments.

A. B. 612, by Assemblyman

Clark L. Bradley of San Jose, out-

laws racial restrictive covenants

in deeds.

Assemblyman Frank Luckel of

San Diego has proposed an

amendment to the Fair Employ-

ment Practice Law, A. B. 288, to

exclude from its provisions

where laws of the State of Cali-

fornia preclude employment of

persons who are not citizens of

the United States or of this

State." Assemblyman Bradley's

x B. 1396 would repeal the entire

aw,

all religions, or prefer one reli-

gion over another."

State Constitution

Also, under Article IV, Sec. 30

of the State Constitution,

"Neither the Legislature, nor any

.- ". municipal corporation shall

ever make an appropriation, or

pay from any publie fund what-

ever, or grant anything to or in

aid of any religious sect, church,

creed, or sectarian purpose, .. ."

At the urging of the ACLU,

the City Council requested an

opinion from its City Attorney as

to the legality of the appropria-

tion. On February 20, the City

Attorney recommended that the

cross be treated as an historical

landmark of wide repute, after

which an appropriation could

then be made for its restoration.

A resolution will apparently be

presented to the Council on

March 6 to carry out the recom-

mendation.

Subterfuge -

Obviously, the new plan for

erecting the cross at some public

expense is a subterfuge. The

cross to be erected will not re-

place an historical landmark. The

original cross was not erected on

a city owned site in the Emerald

Lake area of San Mateo county

until 1929. Last year, safety engi-

neers recommended that the

cross, 80 feet high and with a

26-foot crossbar, be demolished

or reconstructed, because of its

hazardous condition. Thereafter,

the cross was torn down by van-

dals, and the City, which had

been paying premiums on an in-

surance policy, collected $4,500

in insurance which the City

Council wishes to turn over to a

fund-raising group which has set

a goal of $14,500 to erect a new

cross.

Support for the Eastern Cross

comes essentially from Protestant

groups, which hold sunrise East-

er services at the cross. Those

services are under the auspices

of the Ministerial Association

which in Redwood City is com-

posed only of Protestant minis-

ters and most of those are funda-

mentalist in their approach to re-

ligion.

The position of the Roman

Catholic group is not known, al-

though the co-chairman of the

fund-raising group is a Roman

Catholic, Harold Coehlo, who is

said to run a non-sectarian under.

taking business.

It is reported that the site for

the cross was given to the City

under a will, and if it is no

longer used as a site for the

cross and Easter sunrise services, .

it is to revert to the decedent's

estate.

The first right of a citizen

Is the right -

To be responsible.

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