vol. 41, no. 6
Primary tabs
| Volume XLI
October 1976
No. 6
Contending that the contempt convictions of union
leaders for actions during the San Francisco crafts-
workers strike last spring violates their constitutional
rights to freedom of speech and expression, ACLU-
NC staff attorney Alan Schlosser filed a brief on their
behalf in U.S. District Court last month.
It was only the latest in a series of legal efforts by
the ACLU to protect First Amendments rights
threatened by court orders issued during the strike. In
each of the actions, the ACLU has argued that even if
the strike was presumed to be "`illegal," it did not
provide an excuse for infringing on the fundamental
constitutional guarantees of free speech and ex-
pression.
The separate argument on the question of the
strike's legality has heated up again as the November
election draws closer and San Franciscans will get the
opportunity to. vote on Charter Amendment
Proposition B, an anti-strike measure drafted after
the craftsworkers strike.
The ACLU's long-standing national! Board policy is
that `"`the right to strike may not be denied to public
employees any more than to private employees, even if
a strike should cause great inconvenience to the
public."
That right is jeopardized by Proposition B, which
provides for the dismissal of officers and employees,
other than members of police and fire departments,
engaged in strikes or strike-related activity against the
City and County of San Francisco.
As it reads now, the charter does not say that
disciplinary action shall be taken against all city
Justice Douglas to receive
annual Karl Warren Award
City unions assert First Amendment rights
employees who strike. It does say that uniformed -
- members of the police and fire departments who go on
strike shall be fired, but it does not require the same
action against other striking city employees.
According to Proposition B, no person holding a
position by appointment or employment under the
civil service provisions of the charter, ``shall strike, nor
shall any municipal employee cause, instigate, or
afford leadership to a strike against the city and
county of San Francisco." The proposition would
require that any city employee found guilty of striking
shall be fired.
John F. Crowley, secretary of the San Francisco
Labor Council has called it, `"A gross violation of a
right inherent in American citizenship'' and assailed
at least one provision which is supposed to safeguard
workers' rights to due process as a `kangaroo court."
The right to strike is a civil liberty, the ACLU has
long believed. Denial of the right to strike invades the
freedom of employees to decide what working con-
ditions they believe should govern their employment.
This decision represents employee opinion, expressed -
through the association of many employees in a trade
union, and prohibitions on the right to strike thus act
to weaken the First Amendment guarantee of freedom
of association.
The ACLU policy statement acknowledges that
great emergencies may justify temporary limitations
on the right to strike, but only when covered by
definitely specified conditions. It emphasizes,
however, that even partial curtailment of the right to
strike can be justified only to prevent public disaster,
The American Civil Liberties Union
Foundation of Northern California will
award the fourth annual Earl Warren
Civil Liberties Award to retired
Supreme Court Associate. Justice
William O. Douglas at its Bill of Rights
Day Celebration on Dec. 12 at the
Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Palace -
Hotel in San. Francisco.
Mr. Justice Douglas, a _ great
protector of civil liberties as a jurist,
author and educator for over half a
century, retired this year after serving
on the Court since 1939. In a letter to
ACLU-NC Executive Director David
Fishlow, he has personally' agreed to
accept the award.
The Award honors individuals who
have made great contributions to the
cause of civil liberties and individual
freedom. Previous recipients have been
Stanford University Law Professor
Anthony G. Amsterdam, former
California Supreme Court Justice Roger
J. Traynor, and ACLU-NC founders
Helen Salz and the late Dr. Alexander
Meiklejohn.
The evening's program, which also
commemorates the 185th anniversary of
the Bill of Rights on Dec. 15, is
scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., following
a no-host bar at 6:30 p.m. |
Patterson, also a member of the board,
- Liberties and National Security, will
the Constitution - A Bicentennial
Richard De Lancie, chairperson of
the foundation's Board of Governors,
will make the welcoming remarks.
Mistress of Ceremonies Dorothy Smith
will then introduce the first speaker.
`Morton H. Halperin, Director of the
National ACLU's Project on Civil
speak on the topic: "The Executive and
Reflection."' A second address on "`The
Courts and the Constitution - A
Bicentennial Reflection" will be made
by William Van Alstyne, Professor of
Constitutional Law at Duke Universtiy
and a member of the National ACLU
Board of Directors.
Jerome B. Falk, Jr., a former law
clerk for Mr. Justice Douglas and a
former member of the ACLU-NC Board
of Directors, will make the award
presentation. The closing remarks will
be made by Amsterdam, a member of
the foundations Board of Governors.
Music will be provided by Mimi Gina
and her Medicine Men. Tickets are $5
and can be obtained at the ACLU
offices, 814 Mission St., San Francisco.
Ticket sales finance the celebration
so that funds contributed to the work of
the ACLU Foundation can be reserved
exclusively for that purpose..
not public discomfort.
The argument in favor of Proposition. B, signed by
all members of the Board of Supervisors except Alfred
Nelder, states that it will "prevent disruptive and
costly strikes."' They stress that the proposition is not
a union-busting or anti-labor measure.
In his argument against Proposition B, Crowley,
who also attacks seven other propositions on the
ballot, states, `"The right to withhold one's labor is
embedded in our Constitution; it is the major -
perhaps the only important - distinction between a
free worker and a slave."
Crowley also assails the provisions providing for due
process as amounting to ``a `kangaroo court' pledged
to give its victim a `fair' hearing before hanging him."
Under the provisions of Proposition B, a special
committee consisting of the presidents of the airports
commission, civil service commission, fire com-
mission, police commission and public utilities
commission will have the duty of dismissing any
municipal employee found to be in violation of the
amendment.
Any employee who is charged will then have~a
chance to respond to the charges in a hearing before
the same committee. Any dismissal or suspension that
is invoked will not be appeaiable to the civil service
commission.
A person found in violation of the provisions of
Proposition B could only be reinstated as a new ap-
-pointee or employee, and the compensation of that
person "shall not be increased by virtue of any
continued on page 2
Mr. Justice William O. Douglas
Oct. 1976
aclu news
LEGAL
City unions assert First re rights...
continued from page 1
previous employment with said city and county."'
The ACLU was drawn into the legal issues
surrounding the craftsworkers strike almost im-
mediately from its outset. When it began in late
March, Superior Court Judge Henry Rolph issued a
temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting the
striking workers, their unions and the San Francisco:
Labor Council from striking or calling, inducing or
giving notice of a strike. He also threatened contempt
- Citations to anyone picketing in "support, promotion
or advocacy of a strike."
The TRO further ordered the unions and their
members not to "hinder or delay in any manner or by
any means or device, [city employment] in support,
promotion or advocacy ofa strike."'
In a friend of the court brief filed at the time,
_ urging the discontinuation of the restraining order,
the ACLU insisted that it infringed on First Amend-
ment rights and was therefore "overbroad" even if
the strike itself was presumed to be illegal.
The restraining order was later converted to a
preliminary injunction, although the ACLU suc-
ceeded in helping trim away some of the worst parts.
Nevertheless, contempt convictions for the union
leaders resulted from charges that they had ignored
its orders.
In the brief filed last month supporting the union
leaders' petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the
ACLU-NC points out that the contempt convictions
were based on the publication of a newspaper ad-
vertisement publicizing the issues underlying the
labor dispute and calling for a negotiated settlement.
The ACLU is arguing that the advertisement is
clearly an activity protected by the First Amendment.
The United States Supreme Court has consistently
affirmed that public employees enjoy fully the
protections of the Bill of Rights. These rights, the
ACLU contends, are not eradicated even during the
pendency of a presumably illegal strike.
The ACLU is arguing that if public employees are
deemed without the right to strike, then both fairness
and the public's right to be informed of public issues
mandates vigilant protection of alternative means for
public employees to communicate their side of the
dispute.
Even thought the preliminary injunction was
narrower than the original restraining order, the
ACLU contends that it was still too broad because it
assumes that expressive activities can be prohibited
during a strike.
FBI Director Clarence Kelley answered the letter Amitai Schwartz sent to him with the
one pictured above, but he did not tell Schwartz that the agency had decided to run a
background check on him that would be added to an already existing file.
Court permits false
arrest record to stand
Despite the fact that the California
Constitution provides "`privacy" as an
inalienable right, the California
Supreme Court decided last month that
a person has no right to have a totally
erroneous and unsubstantiated arrest
record expunged from police files.
_ Joseph Loder was arrested in 1974. In
the words of the Court of Appeal (which
probably did not recognize the irony of (c)
its statement), `Loder was arrested and
charged with disturbing the peace,
battery, and resisting arrest for
attacking a police officer who was
clubbing Mrs. Loder." The clubbing of
Mrs. Loder was the result of mistaken
identity by the officer.
Seeing that there was clearly no case
against Loder, the District Attorney
promptly dismissed the charges after
Loder signed an agreement not to sue
_ the police for false arrest. It would seem
that that would be the end of the
matter. However, following the
dismissal of charges, Loder learned he
would not be rehired by the San Diego |
~ Unified School District because he now
has an arrest record.
Loder's attorney then returned to the
San Diego Municipal Court asking that
the judge expunge the record. The
judge responded that he had no
authority to do so because the law only
provided expungement in the cases of
_ juveniles and probationers. Not,
apparently, in the cases of falsely
arrested, innocent people.
Loder then appealed to the California
Court of Appeal and the Supreme
Court. The ACLU's of Northern
California and Southern California
filed an amicus curiae brief on, Loder's
behalf in the Supreme Court. The brief
was prepared by then ACLU-NC staff
counsel Joseph Remcho.
In the Court's unanimous opinion, |
written by Justice Stanley Mosk, the
right of privacy is not absolute and may
be infringed when there is compelling
governmental interest. In this case, the
Court found that there is a compelling
continued on page 3
FBI file filled
with errors, blanks
Police practices lawyer Amitai
Schwartz did not know if the Federal
Bureau of Investigation had a file on
him, but the provisions of the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) and the
Privacy Act. of 1974 gave him the right
to find out.
He found out that indeed he did.
Schwartz is the legal director of the
Northern California Police Practices
Project, a joint program of the
American. Civil -Liberties
Legal Defense Fund. According to the
copies of the files he obtained, however,
the FBI had another designation for
him.
But they deleted it from the copies
they sent him.
FBI Director Clarence Kelley pointed
out in a letter accompanying the
documents that: "Excisions have been
made from these documents in order to
protect materials which are exempted
from disclosure by the__ following
subsections of Title 5, United States
Code, Section 552 [FOIA]:
`materials related solely to the in-
ternal rules and practices of the FBI;
"investigatory records compiled for
law enforcement purposes, the
disclosure of which would:
"reveal the identity of an individual
who has furnished to the FBI under
confidential circumstances or reveal
information furnished only by such a
person and not apparently known to the
public or otherwise accessible to the
FBI by overt means."
The first such "`excision'' was made
from the title of the letter sent by the -
San Francisco Bureau to the Acting
Director in June of 1972, apparently the
year Schwartz's file began. His copies
refer to that letter as "AMITAI
SCHWARTZ, -
Whatever the designation, it must.
have had something to do with his
driver's license, because that was what
the FBI checked when they received
information in '72 that Schwartz was
associated with the `"`New American
Movement, Berkeley Chapter."'
wattz points out that it was his college
roommate, not he, who was associated
with the movement. /
Union,
Foundation of Northern California, the ~
Mexican-American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund and the NAACP |
Department and
Sch- |
Despite that error in fact and that "a
review of the information received by
San Francisco Division indicates that
the Subject does not at this time qualify
for any category of ADEX," it was-
nonetheless "`requested that his name
be indexed at the Bureau."'
Schwartz seems to have gotten
himself in more trouble when he wrote
to the FBI about placing the
distribution of the FBI Law En-
_. forcement Bulletin under the purview of
the FOIA. Kelley wrote back that the
publication was in the public domain
through its distribution to libraries.
Schwartz's letter apparently
disturbed the agency so much, however,
it ran on a background check on him, ~
further fattening his file.
Among the information that was
reported was that Schwartz is ``very
much interested in disciplinary
procedures followed by _ police
departments against officers in con-
nection with civil rights violations." The
FBI was also concerned that "he has
contacted the San Francisco Police
several other
departments in the San Francisco Bay
Area, seeking information in - this
regard."'
The report also noted that "SCH.
WARTZ is presently representing a
client in a police brutality charge
against the Police Department."
In other words, the report describes |
Schwartz's job.
There was more, but it mostly
contained errors of fact or wasn't really
there.
Apparently one entire paragraph and
one or two lines of another was deleted. _
As a member of the ACLU, which
lobbied strongly for the passage of the
FOIA and has been active in at-
tempting to protect constitutional
rights in the face of California state
intelligence efforts, Schwartz knew how
to exercise his right to the information
previously collected on him.
Those desiring such information may
obtain for 45 cents the ACLU's
pamphlet "The Privacy Act," which
gives practical information on the two
federal statutes that permit you to
obtain access to your personal records
maintained by federal agencies.
LEGISLATIVE
Oct. 1976
aclu news
_ Legislature defeats student rights bills
By Trudy L. Martin
Summer Intern -
Legislative Office
The Legislature this session rejected
_attempts to infuse constitutional rights
of students into the Education Code
despite such long-standing Supreme
Court decisions as Tinker v. Des
Moines School District (1969),
declaring impermiss`ble the error of
assuming that students shed their rights
at the schoolhouse gate.
The defeat of two commendable
pieces of legislation told students that
they will have to wait at least another
year before minimal rights to due
process and a free press are statutorily
guaranteed. :
Assemblyman John Vascentoncellos' AB
207 attempted to clarify Education
Code S 10611 which, avoiding specific
protection of on-campus and unofficial
student publications, ambiguously
acknowledges rights to free expression.
AB 207 banned all prior restraint by
school officials with the exception of
school-funded papers and allowed such
restraint only if the material was
libelous, slanderous, obscene or ad-
vocated breaking the law. _
In a rare and refreshing display of
principle, Vasconcellos twice refused to
amend the bill to include profanity as
There is no puaeanice that better law
will solve the entire problem. The
resolution depends upon the continued
' vigilance of parents and established
media, whose voices often influence
school administrations. A Senate vote.
of 17 for and 21 against defeated the
measure.
Opponents garnered two votes since
the earlier floor defeat - predicted
results of election-year fears.
Vasconcellos' staff promises that the
bill will be attempted again next year.
The student due-process bill, AB
3947 by Assemblyman Gary Hart, was a
codification of the recent U.S. Supreme
Court decision, Goss v. Lopez, which
Court permits. . .
continued from page 2
interest to retain and disseminate ne
records which `"`may be characterized
generally as the promotion of more
efficient law enforcement and criminal
justice." ~ ;
Mosk also states that there are
numerous state laws in effect which bar
the misuse of arrest records, and some
which provide for the sealing of them.
Loder, however, not falling into one of
the categories for sealing provided by
`the Legislature, is denied relief.
declares that if a state extends a right to
public education, it cannot withdraw
the right by suspending a student
without a minimum of procedural due
process.
Current law limits the authority to
suspend students only by requiring that
it be for ``good cause.'' That standard,
as defined, includes a list of prohibited |
actions ranging from, but not limited
to, carrying tobacco to assault on school
personnel. Hart's bill would have
required that suspension be imposed
only as a last resort when other means
of correction had failed.
First offenses would have been
suspendable if the student's presence
absence of an expungement provision
(to cover this case) was unintentional,
we should nevertheless allow the
Legislature to address in the first
instance the diffucult task of striking
the balance between these competing
concerns. There is no reason to believe
that the task will long go unfulfilled
In either event, judicial
intervention is unwarranted."
_ The California Department of Justice
currently maintains criminal records on
more than 5,200,000 people. No telling
on campus caused a continuing danger
to person or an ongoing threat - of
disrupting the institutional process.
Opponents feared that such rights,
together with provisions for student
conferences before suspensions, would
lead to highly legalistic procedures.
.Less often expressed was the greater
fear that this would prevent school
officials from exercising their present
almost unrestrained discretion in
suspending students - the explicit
intent of the bill.
Youth and students are consistently
under-represented groups in our law-
making process. Where the two overlap,
those members are in most serious need
of vocal, continuing support. Hopefully,
next year's efforts will be more suc-
cessful.
`The poorest man in his cottage may
bid defiance to all the forces of the
crown. It may be frail, its roof may
shake, the wind may flow through it,
the storm may enter, but the King of
England cannot enter. His force dares
not cross the threshold of the ruined
tenements."
William Pitt the Elder
restrainable expression.
The Court concludes:
"Even if the
how many of them also are innocent.
Tunney amendments stop wiretapping bill
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (S. 3197),
which would have provided congressional authority
for wiretapping Americans without the government's
having convinced a judge there was probable cause to
believe they had committed crimes, was dropped from
the U.S. Senate's calendar before the close of the
session.
Vigorously opposed by the ACLU, the bill would
have given legislative recognition to the President's
purportedly inherent "constitutional power ... to
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acquire foreign intelligence information." In the guise
of reform - centering primarily on an exceedingly
ineffectual warrant procedure to be required for.
intelligence eavesdropping - S. 3197 would have
given Congress' blessing to the very abuses it is
supposedly set upon correcting.
Instrumental in killing the bill was the leadership of
California Senator John Tunney. Fhe ACLU had
urged members and non-members alike to express
their opposition to the bill, and Tunney reported that
"the mail from individual citizens and from
organizations was very heavy, all of it opposed (c) (c) the
bill and supporting my amendments."
The Act, which had broad liberal and conservati'e
support and was personally backed by U.S. Attorney
General Edward Levi, had passed the Senate Judiciary
Committee.on June 15 by a vote of 11- 1, Tinney
dissenting.
At hearings before the Select Committee on In-
telligence, Senator Edward Kennedy (Mass.), Senator
Charles Mathias (Md.) and Levi testified in support of
the bill while Tunney, Senator Walter Mondale
(Minn.), Representative Robert Drinan (Mass.) and
_ the ACLU testified against it. But on August 10, the
committee voted the bill out 8-1, with only small
improvements and with Senator Robert Morgan,
(N.C.) dissenting.
Tunney, however, secured co-sponsorship to a total
of 20 amendments that not only slowed the bill's
but helped increase the controversy
dangerous provisions. Among those co- -sponsoring one
or more amendments were senators Frank Church
(Idaho), George McGovern (S. Dak.), Alan Cranston
(Calif.) and Morgan.
According to Bob McNair, Tunney's director of
research, the chances of the measure being revived in
the next session of Congress are ``problematical,"
depending on the outcome of the presidential election
_ among other things.
"If President Ford is still in office,'"' said McNair,
"there will probably be an attempt to made to push it
_ through early in the year.'' Whether or not there
would be changes in the bill is uncertain.
Also dying in the last session were two companion
bills being considered by the Subcommittee on
Courts, Civil Liberties and Administration of Justice
of the House Judiciary Committee. The only Northern
California member of the House Judiciary Committee
is Don Edwards of San Jose, According to a staff
assistant, Rep. Edwards would have voted against
both bills had they come to a vote.
Tunney's opposition to S. 3197 came in the face ot
strong pressure from colleagues such as Kennedy.
When the ACLU's national newsletter went to print in
September, it reported that only a ``miracle' by
Tunney could prevent passage of the bill.
Sponsors of the bill had hailed it as a step forward
in controlling national security wiretapping because it
required, in most cases, that a judicial warrant be
obtained before the start of any electronic sur-
veillance. The Supreme Court has not yet held that the
Constitution requires a warrant in cases where a
foreign agent is involved, but the judicial review
provided for in the bill would merely have been a
rubber stamp to an executive branch decision.
S. 3197 would have prohibited the court from
forcing the government agent to demonstrate that the
target of the surveillance was truly a threat to national
security and that the tap would actually produce
evidence of the target's clandestine activities.
In addition, the court would have been required to
issue a warrant if it found probable cause that the ~
target was a "`foreign agent.'' As amended by the.
Intelligence Committee, the term `"`foreign agent"
included all non-Americans who are officers or
employees of a foreign power, meaning ambassadors
from foreign countries and their entire staffs, as well
as employees of corporations like the government-
controlled British Airways.
"Foreign agent" would have included Americans
who, at the direction of a foreign power, engage in
sabotage, terrorist or spying activities in violation of
the criminal law. ``Foreign agent' would have in-
`cluded Americans who, at the direction of a foreign
power, covertly transfer information which a
reasonable person would believe harmful to the
security of the U.S.
Oct. 1976
aclu news
CHAPTERS
Oakland
Criminologist-author Tony Platt,
recently. the University of California's
most controversial faculty member, will
be the guest speaker at the Oakland
Chapter's 8 p.m. meeting on Oct. 22 at
the Sailboat House, 568 Bellevue Ave.
(next to Fairyland). |
Platt, often cited as one of the Bay
Area's more insightful criminologists,
will speak on his new book, ``The Iron
Fist and the Velvet Glove - Police And
The U.S. Society."'
There will be an audience par-
ticipation period following Platt's talk
and. refreshments will be served.
Members are encouraged to bring a
friend. There is no cost and all are
~ invited.
The speaker at September's meeting,
former ACLU-NC Board Member and
now Oakland Municipal Judge Marilyn
Patel, provided plenty of food for
thought by labeling courts `"`just
another form of bureaucracy."
Judge Patel, who criticized aspects of
the jury system and "`the esoteric nature
of our courts," also called for the
legislature to provide `"`judicial impact
statements'' on judicially related in-
- formation.
Mid-Peninsula
The featured speaker at the annual
meeting of the Mid-Peninsula Chapter
will be Congressman Don Edwards of
San Jose. The meeting is scheduled for
Thursday, Oct. 14, at Cubberly
Auditorium on the Stanford campus.
Refreshments will be served from
7:15 to 8 p.m. The meeting will begin at
8 o'clock. Congressman Edwards, a
member of the House Judiciary :
Committee, will speak on Civil Liberties
and the Congress. All are invited.
The regular meeting of the chapter's
board will be conducted on Thursday,
Oct. 28, at 8 p.m. at the All Saints
Episcopal Church, at the corner of
Hamilton and Waverly in Palo Alto.
For further information;
Chapter President Leonard Edwards at
287-6193.
contact .
"In a government of laws, the
existence of the government will be
imperiled if it fails to observe the laws
scrupulously. Our government is a
potent, omnipresent teacher. For good
or for ill, it teaches the whole people by
its example. Crime is contagious. If
| government becomes a law breaker, it
breeds contempt for the law. It invites
every man to become a law unto
himself. It invites anarchy."'
Louis Brandeis
S F. Chapter plans annual meeting
Issues And Action
Committee Formed
A group of San Francisco Chapter
members met last week to discuss how
best to keep on top of civil liberties
issues and organize for effective action.
A permanent committee was
established. It is the Issues and Action
Committee and will meet the second
Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at -
the ACLU-NC offices, 814 Mission St.,
San Francisco. Membership in the
committee is open to everyone. If you
are interested in attending the next
meeting, please call the chapter office
(777-4880).
Membership Renewal Call-In
We will make a concerted effort to
contact those members who have not
renewed their membership. The
chapter's board will conduct its
Yolo
Barry Commoner, author of The
Closing Circle and The Poverty of
Power will present a lecture entitled
`Freedom And The Ecological Im-
perative'' on October 22 from 8 to 10.
p.m. at the Veteran's Memorial Center
Auditorium, 203 E. 14th St., Davis.
Commoner's lecture, co-sponsored by
the Yolo Chapter and the Unitarian
Universalist Association of Churches,
will address the following questions:
How do we reconcile the obvious need
to restrict environmental abuse with the
preservation of American freedoms?
Can this society serve the needs of its
people while continuing its heritage of
political liberty?
Prior to the lecture, there will be an
ACLU fund-raising wine social, starting
at 7 p.m. All members of the Yolo
community, 21 years of age or older, are
invited to participate. The Yolo
Chapter will pay the admission to the
Commoner lecture ($3.50 general, $2
student) for those who join the ACLU at
the wine social.
SPECIAL NOTE: No one has to miss
the Commoner lecture because it.
conflicts with two other events
scheduled to take place the same
evening. The 3rd Presidential Debate
will be televised at a later hour on the
area's Public Broadcasting System
affiliate, KVIE, and a candidate for the -
Assembly speaking that night has
scheduled a second melodrama on
October 27 in Woodland at the Opera
House.
The board of directors will conduct
_its regular board meeting on Tuesday,
November 16. Gary Goodpaster,
_ Director of the State Public Defender's
Office for the 3rd and Sth Appellate
Districts, will be the guest speaker.
Anyone wishing additional information
may call (916) 758-5236.
aclu news
9 issues a year, monthly except bi-monthly in March-April, July-August
and November-December
Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California
Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
Richard DeLancie, Chairperson
David Fishlow, Executive Director
Michael Antonucci, Editor for this Issue
814 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94103 - 777-4545
Membership $15 and up of which $2.50 is the annual subscription fee for the News.
telephone campaign, calling unrenewed
members, on Tuesday, Oct. 19,
beginning at 6 p.m. at the ACLU-NC
offices on Mission St. If you wish to
participate, please give us a call. We'll
be delighted to have you join the effort.
Have YOU Renewed YOUR Mem-
bership?
Garage Sale
It has become an annual event,
scheduled this year for Saturday and |
Sunday, November 6 and 7, all day
long. The sale, which helps raise funds
for the chapter, takes place at 1245
Lombard St. For information on what is 0x00B0
needed, what is acceptable and when
the best time to deliver it is, please call
Lillian Kiskaddon (928-3118). If you
can't reach Lillian and want details,
please call the chapter office.
Annual Meeting Workshops
The annual meeting is scheduled for
Saturday, November 20, from 11 a.m.
toS p.m. at the First Unitarian Church,
1187 Franklin St.
The annual meeting takes on a.
different format this year. We intend to
combine the meeting with three
workshops, which will be conducted
consecutively. The topics are:
1. The Outlook For Civil Liberties In
The Media.
2. The Election Process: Is Your
Civil Liberty Working?
3. Are Economic Problems Civil
Liberties Issues?
A partial list of the participants
includes:
Ann Fagan Ginger, attorney and
Associate Dean, New College of
California School of Law.
George Gruner, managing editor of
the Fresno Bee (and a member of the
Fresno Four).
Earl Caldwell, a journalist formerly
with the New York Times.
Marin
Rollin Post, political reporter for
television station KQED, channel 9,
will be the main speaker at the Marin
Chapter's big Civil Liberties Fair on
Saturday, October 23, at the San Rafael
Improvement Club, Fifth Ave. and H
St.. San Rafael. Post is s-heduled to
speax at 4 p.m. on the question: ``Are
Civil Liberties A Political Issue?"
ACLU-NC board member Irving
Cohen will comment on the replies to
questionnaires received from can-
didates for office, and Pacific Sun
columnist Alice Yarish will be the
auctioneer at an exhibit of the works of
Marin artists.
The fair, which opens at noon and is
planned to last into the evening, will
include a raffle and a flea market.
Gourmet food and wines will be on sale.
Children are welcome, and en-
tertainment will be provided for them.
This will be the first Marin fund-
raiser in two years, and members of all
chapters are invited to help make it a
success. Fran Miller, chapter chair,
urges everyone to attend. Contributions
to the art sale and flea market would
also be appreciated. Items may be
delivered to 30 Wildomar St., Mill
Valley or acloser address or pickup can
be arranged by calling Fran at 454-
8062.
You will receive additional in-
formation in' the mail early in
November. So please, reserve the date
Saturday, November 20. Join us at the
meeting and workshops and bring a
friend or two. We'll share ideas and also.
conduct business. President Ruth
Jacobs will preside and deliver the
annual report. Elections to the board
will also be conducted.
Essay Contest
The third annual contest for high
school students is still on the board. A
progress report will be issued next
month. =
Esther Faingold
Chapter Coordinator
The Women's Rights Committee of
ACLU-NC invites all interested ACLU
members and others to participate in
the committee's activities. The next
meeting will be Wednesday, November
3, at 6 p.m. in the ACLU offices, 814
Mission St., San Francisco.
The committee, which has been.
working for over four years, has shifted
its emphasis to monthly meetings in
which the staff discusses with us
ACLU's recent activities in the women's
rights area and looks to us to provide
feedback on the issues we feel are
appropriate for ACLU action.
At the Nov. 3 meeting, staff counsel
will discuss the Riemer v. Jensen case, a
taxpayer action asserting that
California's prostitution law is un-
constitutional on First Amendment and
equal protection grounds.
Subsequent meetings will focus on
specific issues, such as abortion, rape,
equal employment opportunities, etc.
Drucilla Ramey
Chairperson
Berkeley-Albany-
Kensington
_ ATTENTION: This is the last month
for nominations for the Berkeley-
Albany-Kensington ACLU Board of
Directors. The chapter is particularly
anxious to bring in new people who
have been active in other organizations
but who have not previously been on
our board.
If you are interested, or if you have a
friend you would like to nominate, call
nominations committee chairperson
Gary Bostwick (527-5094). Also, a
petition signed by 15 chapter members
that is received by the board by Oct. 25
is sufficient to place a member's name
on the ballot. Mail petitions to: ACLU,
P.O. Box 955, Berkeley, 94701.
The chapter's annual meeting is
' scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 8
p.m. There will be a panel on a topic of
interest to ACLU members and the
names of the nominees elected to the
board by the members will be an-
nounced. Please plan to attend.
The chapter's board is also looking
for volunteers to help keep the chapter
running. Lawyers are needed for the
legal panel, plus volunteers to do para
professional work as evaluators of
incoming calls and letters. One or two
people are also needed to help with the
chapter newspaper. Anyone interested
should call Eileen Keech (848-0089).