vol. 42, no. 5

Volume XLII

July-August 1977 2

No. 5

Infiltrating the meetings of the

Executive Committee of the Board of

- Directors of an ACLU affiliate, covertly

searching through. files, keeping

dossiers on leading members, and

confidentially obtaining J. Edgar

Hoover a membership in the ACLU'

were all methods employed by the FBI

to gather information on the American -

Civil Liberties Union's activities from

1914 through the early 1940's, ac-

cording to documents recently released

pursuant to the Freedom of Infor-

- mation Act.

Documents - regarding ACLU of

"Northern California are expected to be

forthcoming from the FBI in the next

"batch" of files, consisting of ap-

proximately 10,000 additional pages.

The files, excluding four

exemptions of certain passages, were

requested by the ACLU of Illinois and

the national ACLU office.

FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover,

_ personally supervised the bureau's

surveillance of the ACLU, according to

the latest reports, although he denied

that the organization was even being

investigated in a letter directed to Roger

Baldwin in 1942.

At the time of Hoover's denial the

FBI had been spying on the ACLU for

22 years and had accumulated 3,000

pages of information on its members

and activities.

Baldwin, a founder of the ACLU, was

_ quoted in the FBI file as establishing

_ the ACLU on the premise that:

we stand on the general

principle that all thought on

matters of public concern should

be freely expressed without in-

terference ... The principle of

freedom of speech, press and

`assembly, embodied in our

constitutional law, must be

constantly reasserted and applied

to be made effective.

FBI spies on ACLU _

FOIA -

Baldwin was described by the FBI as

an "intellectual anarchist."

The FBI also kept dossiers on

other ACLU leaders:

e Supreme Court Justice Felix

Frankfurter's dossier, prepared by

the FBI when he was a Harvard law

professor, said that he was ``con-

sidered a dangerous man by United

Barry JACKSON

es (

LI

joe:

States government employees."

-@ Helen Keller, the blind and deaf

author, was characterized as a

"writer on radical subjects."'

e Jane Addams, a Novel laureate,

and founder of Chicago's Hull

House, was described as a "zealous

and consistent supporter of radical

and revolutionary movements."'

e Novelist Upton Sinclair, ap-

pearing at an FBI monitored

meeting caused the government

agents to report that he "`did not talk

very long but ridiculed religion and

roasted the pope."'

e Clarence Darrow, defending

John Scopes in the celebrated

Tennessee "monkey trial,' was

reported by the FBI as ``capitalizing

on evolution and gaining entree...

to certain coveted circles. . . hitherto

closed to their propaganda."

According to the first documents

released, the FBI's _ confidential

operatives infiltrated the organization

continued on page 2

ACLU opposes S.F. Prop. A and B

Board resolution supports district elections

- Claiming that any at-large system of

electing public officials tends to

discriminate against minority points of

view, the ACLU announced its op-

position to San Francisco Ballot

measures A and B and its support,

generally, of district elections.

A resolution passed by the Board of i

Directors at its July meeting stated that

district elections, from a civil liberties

perspective, increase the opportunity

for access to the ballot by new can-

didates, and potentially increase the

representation of divergent points of

view by the legislative body in their

deliberations.

"In a city like San Francisco, with

strong neighborhood identifications,

large and important ethnic com-

munities, and divergent views of

municipal development, these minority

points of view are of particular im-

portance," according to David Fishlow,

ACLU Executive Director. "Nearly all

the present supervisors live in the same

small geographical area of the city."

"The whole theory underlying

government by elective legislative

bodies is that deliberation, discussion

and divergence of opinion are essential

elements of democratic government,"

Fishlow said. "This truism applies

equally to political minorities and

ethnic minorities - the smaller the

electoral district, the greater the

Reprinted from `Rights!

Ceta employees may exercise First Amendment rights

The ACLU recently charged

Government officials with "twisting a

law designed to expand the employment

' opportunities of young unemployed

people into a tool for disenfranchise-

ment,'' in response to an official

warning to some 900 CETA job seekers

that they, ``could not participate in any

political activity on or off the job."

That warning, issued at a San

Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting

on June 27 by William Haltigan,

regional director of the U.S. Depart-

ment of Labor, was reasserted by San

_ Francisco Supervisor Quentin Kopp,

who reminded CETA job seekers that,

"the federal Hatch Act makes it a

dismissal offense for a federal employee

to take part in political campaigns."'

Those statements were false, ac-

cording to ACLU Executive Director

David Fishlow who immediately began

to inform CETA employees that they

would not have to yield up their right to

participate in American Democracy, as

the price of a job.

CETA, the Comprehensive

Employment and Training Act, is a

federal program which allocates funds

to local community organizations and

governmental agencies to employ

jobless young people. Members of the.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors

have been concerned, as have officials

of other communities, that an

unevenhanded distribution of those

funds, and workers, could result in

political patronage.

"The CETA program must be ad-

ministered in accordance with the law,"

according to Fishlow, who claims that

"such administration cannot permit

wholesale violations of the rights

guaranteed to citizens under the First

Amendment. "Contrary to published

reports, CETA employees may par-

ticipate in legal political activity on

their own time, and are only forbidden

from being a candidate for partisan

office,' Fishlow said.

Mr. Haltigan claimed further that

the mere acceptance of a CETA em-

ployee by a community agency, bars

that agency from funding "political

activity," such as taking a position for

or against Propositions A and B. "`It is

continued on page 2

likelihood that divergent points of view

can be represented on the legislative

body."

The Board's position is not new to the

ACLU, according to Fishlow, which

"time and again in the South supported

law-suits to overturn at-large election

systems because they were often used as

political vehicles to place all of the

power in the hands of the racial

majority."

"For over a decade federal courts

have held that while at-large elections

are not automatically invalid, they are

unconstitutional if they operate to

minimize or cancel out the voting

strength of racial elements of the voting

population. The constitution requires,

and the ACLU has _ consistently

maintained that minority voters must

have a meaningful opportunity to

participate in the election process,"

Fishlow said.

The resolution passed by the Board

claims that district elections increase

the opportunity for representation by

ethnic, political, sexual, and other

identificable communities, and states

further that elected officials who are

accountable to a specific constituency

might pay particular heed to their

constituents needs.

"District elections are preferable,"

the resolution concludes, "`because they

_ increase the sense of identity between

representatives and their constituents,

which is a critical element of the

democratic process."

Special State

Legislative Report

By Brent A. Barnhart

Legislative Representative

Decisions which effect the course

which civil liberties will take in

California are made in the state Capitol

each day - in fact ACLU's civil

liberties watch list at the time of the

Legislature's July recess includes 344

bills. Appearing on page three of this

issue of ACLU News is a special report

on the most important issues facing the

ACLU's legislative staff in Sacramento.

-. The job of lobbying for and against

these measures however, cannot be

done by the ACLU's Legislative office

alone; ACLU's legislative program

needs the support and influence of the

ACLU's. membership. A_ com-

munication from a constituent to a

legislator on a critical civil liberties

measure can have an impact on the

success or failure of that legislation. To

become involved with ACLU's lobbying

activities please return the coupon

located on page three of the ACLU

News. |

July - August 1977

; aciu news

Legal Director leaves staff

ACLU Legal Director Charles Mar-

son left the staff this month after

devoting eight years as counsel to the

Northern California affiliate. Marson

has accepted a teaching position at

Stanford University Law School.

In November, 1968 Marson joined

the ACLU staff, one year after his

graduation from the University of

Chicago Law School. His first staff

position necessitated dividing his time

between San _ Francisco' and

Sacramento, as he performed the duties

of both staff counsel and legislative

representative.

Marson was appointed to the position

of legal director in July, 1972, un-

dertaking the supervision of all the

organization's litigation.

During his eight years on the staff,

Marson compiled an extensive and

impressive docket. In the early years,

Marson's litigation primarily concerned

the First Amendment, fighting in

. numerous cases to extend the right to

picket, leaflet, speak, and demonstrate.

He was successful in obtaining more

than forty teaching credentials for

teachers arrested for a large variety of

"speech crimes" as a result of civil

disobedience, and won a U.S. Supreme

Court suit invalidating loyalty oaths _

teachers in California.

With the emergence of electronic

surveillance devices, data banks, and

domestic espionage activities, Marson

became increasingly interested in the

widespread erosion of the right to

privacy. To this end he litigated cases

regarding the expungement of arrest

records, CIA undercover mail taps, and

a monitoring transponder secretly

hidden by police. Marson also argued

before the U.S. Supreme Court,

challenging the Bank Secrecy Act -

federal legislation requiring banks to

. keep records and make reports of the

Four members of the ACLU's energetic summer staff are pictured above (L to R) Law

Professor Morton Cohen; Death Penalty Project intern Cory Carison; Law interns

Deborah Lennon and Michel Fiorio.

financial their

customers.

In 1975, Marson instituted ACLU's

Privacy Project. Subsidized by private

foundation grants, the project, under

Marson's supervision, undertook the

task of making the right to privacy a

reality in this technological age. At this

time, Marson initiated a suit against

Evelle Younger, which sought to gather

information, and to curtail the activities

of the Organized Crime and Criminal

Intelligence Bureau of the Department

of Justice. This agency, about whose

activities little is known, even to the

Legislature, appears to be serving as a

clearinghouse for a great deal of un-

substantiated ``file material' on private

transactions of

- Civil liberties enriched by summer staff

To accomplish the goals of protecting and extending the

rights of individuals, the ACLU, with its limited resources,

often relies on the skillful talents of volunteers and the en-

thusiastic energy of students. This summer, programs un-

dertaken by the organization are being enriched by the spirit of

these activists, whose contributions to the cause are invaluable.

Summer Law Intern Program

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation awards |

internships to law students demonstrating an interest in

pursuing studies in individual rights. The Rowe internship was

created by a generous earmarked grant from Mr. Harry Rowe

in 1973. In 1977, the Board of Directors expanded the program

by establishing internships in memory of Edison Uno and

Ralph Atkinson. Edison Uno, recipient of the Alexander

Meiklejohn Award in 1973, courageously defended the rights

of Japanese-Americans, and Ralph Atkinson, former ACLU

Board member, devoted much of his life to extend and protect

individual rights.

Pamela Victorine, who has completed her- second year at

Hastings Law School, was awarded the Harry Rowe internship.

Victorine's ACLU work has included researching loyalty oaths,

the First Amendment rights of minority police officers, and the

due process rights of University of California employees.

Deborah Lennon, recipient of the Edison Uno internship,

has concentrated her efforts on legal research on the rights and

liabilities of demonstrators, residency requirements for em-

ployment, and housing discrimination against handicapped

persons. Lennon is a student at New York University Law

`School, where she has completed her second year.

Michel Florio, awarded the Ralph Atkinson internship,

provided the legal research with regard to the CETA program

(see page 2), and has contributed to ACLU's lawsuit against

the illegal electronic eavesdropping in the San Mateo jail.

All the legal interns are under the supervision of staff at-

torney Alan Schlosser.

Law Professor Joins Summer Staff

"The best way to educate my students to what is happening

in Constitutional Law, is to get involved myself," stated law

professor Morton Cohen, who is currently teaching a Con-

stitutional Law clinic at Golden Gate University. Getting

involved is exactly what he did by offering his invaluable legal

services to the ACLU. Working-in the ACLU offices, Cohen 2s

participates in all the day-to-day activities, as well as un--

dertaking a variety of specific projects, which include

analyzing the constitutionality of the new Federal Court rule

which effectively gags attorneys, in some instances, from

talking to the press about cases in which they are involved;

drafting an appeal on the California statutes concerning the

rights of the mentally ill; and investigating ways to attack the

exemption provisions of California's campaign reporting laws, .

which have a chilling effect on minority parties. Eventually

Cohen hopes to develop a clinical consortium with all Bay Area

law schools which would directly involve students in civil

liberties problems, thus equipping them with real experiencial

training.

Death Penalty Project Intern

Cory Carlson is at the ACLU this summer under the

auspices of an Urban Studies Program in conjunction with the

University of San Francisco. In the fall he will resume his

studies at St. Olaf's in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has

volunteered his services to the ACLU's participation in the

fight to end the death penalty in California, and handles a

variety of duties, from analyzing capital punishment statistics

to articulating anti-death penalty arguments used to persuade

California legislators to defeat SB 155. Carlson works under

the direction of Marlene De Lancie, ACLU's full-time

volunteer death penalty coordinator.

Summer Programs in the Sacramento Office

Students are also provided an opportunity to expand their

civil liberties horizons in ACLU's legislative office in

Sacramento, where they assist in ACLU's legislative projects.

Jeffrey Douglas, from Santa Barbara, is attending the

University of California at Berkeley, majoring in Rhetoric.

Working closely with legislative representative Brent Barnhart,

Douglas is gathering and researching all legislation dealing

with mentally disordered sex offenders, and is analyzing the

voting records of particular legislators on key ACLU bills.

Gail Fortunati is enrolled in a Political Science Ph.D.

program at the University of California at Riverside. Her

special field of interest is Parties, Public Opinion, and Par-

ticipation, and she is currently writing a paper about public

interest lobbies. Fortunati will soon begin analyzing current

death penalty legislation.

Executive Director,

individuals.

In 1976, Marson wrote the ACLU's

amicus curiae brief in the landmark

First Amendment case, Nebraska Press

Association v. Stuart. The Nebraska

decision was successful in limiting the

authority of criminal trial judges to

`interfere with press coverage by im-

posing ``gag-orders."

Even an incomplete account of

Marson's litigation activity on behalf of

the ACLU would be too lengthy for

publication in the News. His eight years

of service to ACLU was built on a

personal commitment to individual

rights - a commitment which will

surely enhance Stanford University's

law faculty. In this regard, although the

ACLU has lost an outstanding attorney,

there is no doubt that his work on

behalf of civil liberties will continue.

A Legal Director Search Committee,

which includes staff and ACLU Board

members, has decided to delay the

hiring of a replacement for Marson.

FBI continued from page I

at every level, providing detailed reports

on closed meetings, membership lists,

financial contributions and, in some

cases, copies of private correspondence

between ACLU executives and other

private organizations. | ie

ACLU members were described by

the bureau's operatives as radicals,

communists, Russians, socialists, and

Jews. Members who offered financial

support were called parlor pinks and

parlor Bolsheviki.

A report on the FBI's infiltration of

_. the ACLU from 1942 up until the

1970's, and specific information on

northern California surveillance should

be available for the next issue of the

ACLU News.

CETA continued from page I ~

according to the ACLU

that "`the em-

ploying organization. may not make

willingness to do political work a

condition of employment, nor may the

CETA program be used for political

patronage. The ACLU does not believe,

however, that the mere acceptance of a

CETA employee could bar a com-

munity organization from engaging in

any lawful activities involving politics,

as long as the CETA employees duties

are non-political."'

Reports also indicate that an en-

forcement unit has been created

whereby 25 CETA employees will be

employed to snoop around in the affairs

clear,"

of local community agencies to make

sure that they have nothing to do with

politics.

In a letter urging U.S. Secretary of

Labor, Ray Marshall, to take im-

mediate steps to remedy this local

situation, Fishlow writes, "I think it is

extremely unfortunate that a new

political surveillance organization is

being created in San Francisco under

the CETA program to monitor the very

community organizations which engage

in the give and take of politics which is

democracy."'

More than 200 fact sheets have been

distributed to CETA employees and

employers by the ACLU and Chinese

for Affirmative Action, a concerned

community organization, which explain

what legal rights and responsibilities

participants in the CETA program have

regarding their political activities.

SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE REPORT

July - August 1977

aclu news

First Amendment

Shopping Centers - AB 649 (Sieroty) -

Attempts to reverse, legislatively, the

U.S. Supreme Court's declaration that

Fifth Amendment property rights of

shopping center owners prevail over

citizens' First Amendment right to

leaflet and petition. AB 649 permits

citizens to circulate initiative and

nominating petitions in shopping

centers. SUPPORTED by ACLU.

Passed Assembly 49-25 on May 2,

1977; on Senate floor.

Animal Cruelty/Movies - SB 490

(Roberti) - Empowers Attorney General

or District Attorney to bring actions to

enjoin as "nuisances" motion pictures

where animals were killed or subjected

to intentional cruelty during

production: Effectively, ``cruelty''

would join "obscenity" as an exempt

category of speech not protected by the

First Amendment. OPPOSED by

ACLU. Passed Senate 31-3 on June 16,

1977; before Assembly Judiciary.

Child Pornography - SB 428 (Russell),

- SB 740 (Wilson), SB 817 (Presley) -

attempt to prevent abuse of children in

the making of motion pictures and

other media. ACLU does not oppose the

felony child abuse provisions, but

opposes those portions of the bills -

which prohibit the distribution of films

and other media in which sex acts

involving minors are allegedly

`"`depicted.'' Each is OPPOSED by

ACLU. SB 428 passed Senate 21-9 on

June 21, 1977; SB 740 passed Senate

June 20, 1977; SB 817 passed Senate .

30-0: Each is before assembly Criminal ~

Justice.

Reprinted from Rights! :

-Juveniles/ Stadent Rights

Juveniles/Secure Facilities - AB 958

(Dixon) - Last year's major reform of

the juvenile justice system provided for

adult treatment for serious juvenile

offenders found guilty of committing

crimes, but expressly provided that so-

called ``status offenders,"' 1.e., runaways

_ and truants, were not to be locked up in

"secure'' facilities. AB 958 provides.

that ``lock-ups'"' can be used for very

broad categories of status offenders.

OPPOSED by ACLU. Passed Assembly

62-9 May 27, 1977; before Senate

Judiciary.

Student Suspensions - AB 530 (Hart) -

Codifies procedural due _ process

protections articulated by Supreme

Court, including an opportunity for a

hearing prior to suspension. Expulsions

or involuntary transfers to continuation

school would entitle the student to more

stringent due process: right to counsel,

discovery, and confrontation and cross-

examination of adverse witnesses.

SUPPORTED `by ACLU. Passed

Assembly 61-9 on June 23, 1977; before

Senate Education.

Deborah Boyce

Fourth Amendment

Search and Seizure - SB 451 and SB 452:

(Carpenter, D.) - SB 451 provides that

only the victim of an unlawful search

and seizure has standing to move to

suppress evidence acquired in the

search, which is contrary to express

holdings of the California Supreme

Court that any Defendant may move to

suppress. OPPOSED by ACLU. Passed

Senate 22-5 on June 2, 1977; before

Assembly Criminal Justice.

SB 452 provides that whenever an

unlawful search and seizure is con-

ducted ``in good faith, without malice

or unlawful intent, and without per-

sonal injury,"' the evidence is ad-

missible. Provides, in place of the

exclusionary rule, an action for

damages against the law enforcement

agency, unless the officer was not acting

within the scope of his/her authority.

OPPOSED by ACLU. Passed Senate

- Judiciary 5-3.0on May 11, 1977; on the

Senate floor.

Electronic Surveillance- SB 684 (Deuk- _

mejian), SB 1165 (Russell) - California -

law prohibits wiretapping and elec-

tronic eavesdropping without consent of

one party. SB 684 authorizes courts to

issue warrants to tap and bug without

the consent of any party. SB 1165

provides that all evidence secured by

federal law enforcement officers in

accordance with federal electronic

surveillance provisions is admissible in

state proceedings. Since California

eavesdropping law is more restrictive

than federal, SB 1165 effectively creates

the reverse of the old ``silver platter

doctrine." Each is OPPOSED by

ACLU. SB 684 passed Senate 21-10 on

June 17, 1977; before Assembly

Criminal Justice. SB 1165 passed

Senate 22-14 on June 21, 1977; before

Assembly Criminal Justice.

Gay Rights

Employment Discrimination - AB 1302

(Agnos) - Defines employment sex

discrimination as discrimination based

on: (1) male or female gender; (2)

refusal to grant sexual favors; and (3)

sexual preference. SUPPORTED by

ACLU. Passed Assembly - Labor,

Employment and Consumer Affairs 7-4

on May 18, 1977; before Assembly Ways

. and Means.

_Teachers/Sexual Orientation- SB 1253

(Briggs) - Provides that acts of sodomy

and oral copulation with members of

the same sex by a certificated teacher or

aide constitute ``evident unfitness for -

service.'' Permits school districts to

deny employment to or dismiss in-

dividuals committing such acts, and to

conduct hearings on the alleged

homosexuality of any teacher. OP-

POSED by ACLU. Before Senate

Education.

Criminal Justice

Death penalty (SB 155) and deter-

minate sentencing (AB 476) have been

discussed extensively in the ACLU

News. In a coming Legislative Column,

we'll discuss other parts of the "Brown

Crime Package"': "`mentally disordered

sex offenders'' and "`violent offenders,"

omnibus pretrial motions, etc. Other

important criminal justice bills are:

Penal Code Revision - SB 27 (Roberti) -

OPPOSED by ACLU. Passed Senate

31-1 May 27, 1977; before Assembly

Criminal Justice.

Grand Jury Reform - AB 1642 (Knox),

SB 815 (Song) - SB 815, authored by the

Attorney General, is OPPOSED by

ACLU. Passed Senate 25-4 June 23,

1977. AB 1624, authored by the State

- Public Defender, is SUPPORTED by

ACLU. Passed Assembly 55-20 on June

24, 1977; before Senate Judiciary.

Bail Reform - AB 1233 (Berman), AB

1294 (Bates) - Provide for recognizance

upon posting a refundable 10% deposit

with the court. Heavily opposed by bail

bondsmen. Each is SUPPORTED by

ACLU. AB 1233 FAILED passage 3-5;

reconsideration granted. AB 1294 is

before Criminal Justice.

pe

Reprinted from Rights!

oe M1 SS Tea Pie tea a ceLeae 7a See eadels

Patient Rights

Prosecution Access to Mental Patient

Files - AB 1176 (Goggin) - Requires

physicians and state hospital officials to

release mental patients' files to law

enforcement agencies upon demand,

when such agencies have reasonable

belief that while hospitalized, a patient

has committed, or been the victim of, a

felony. OPPOSED by ACLU. Referred

by Assembly Health to Assembly

Criminal Justice on May 18, 1977.

Privacy

. Medical Privacy - SB 418 (Behr), AB

191 (Fazio) - Limit the disclosure of

medical information on individuals;

require that no health information be

released except to the private or

government agencies who the patient

expressly states shall have access, and

only for the specific purpose stated.

Attempt to curb the endless chain of

commercial sharing of personal in-

formation, including credit groups and

employers, and to check geometric

acquisition and dissemination of

personal health information throughout

local, state and federal governments.

Each is SUPPORTED by ACLU. SB

418 passed Senate 26-0 on June 24,

1977; before Assembly Health Com-

mittee. AB 191 is before Assembly

Health Committee; referred to interim

hearing (May 16,1977). |

Omnibus Privacy Act - SB 170 (Roberti)

- Limits the acquisition, maintenance,

use and dissemination of personal -

information by state government

agencies. Requires notice to individuals

regarding information kept on them, an

"audit trail'' on disclosure of records,

and provides that individuals have

access to their personal information.

Exempts records maintained by law

enforcement agencies for general in-

~ vestigatory and intelligence purposes.

OPPOSED by ACLU. Passed Senate

27-0 on March 24, 1977; on the

Assembly floor. -

Abortion

Informed Consent - AB 346

(Antonovich), AB 354 (McAlister) -

Require attending physicians before

proceeding with an abortion to

determine that each abortion patient

has given `informed consent,'' viz., is

aware of the "consequences of the

abortion for herself and for the fetus."

OPPOSED by ACLU. Held in

Assembly Health, April 18, 1977.

Viable Fetuses - AB 595 (McAlister) -

Prohibits physicians from performing

abortions where the fetus is viable.

Violation constitutes unprofessional

conduct. OPPOSED by ACLU. Held in

Assembly Health, April 18, 1977.

Minors' Abortions - AB 596 (McAlister)

_ - Requires consent of minor's parents

for abortion. OPPOSED by ACLU.

Held in Assembly Health, April 18,

1977.

communication from ACLU-constituents.

Assemblymember

"You can contact me to reach my legislator(s) when critical civil liberties measures necessitate

My representatives in the State Legislature are:

State Senator

Washington, D.C. necessitate action.

(_I will also contact my Congressmember and U.S. Senator when civil liberties measures in

My Congressmember is:

Name

Address

zip

Phone (day)

(evening)

(Please clip and return to: ACLU, 814 Mission St., Suite 301, S.F. 94103. Attention: Legislative Committee.)

July - August 1977

aclu news

CHAPTERS

Gay rights chapter established

A Gay Rights Chapter of the ACLU

of Northern California was approved by

the Board of Directors at their meeting

on July 14. This newest ACLU chapter

was chartered in response to a petition

from affiliate members. ``We are not

establishing a gay chapter," explained

Paul Newton, who headed the

organizing group, "but, rather, a

chapter concerned with the rights of all.

people, and in particular, gay people."

Departing from the specific

geographical format of other ACLU

chapters, the Gay Rights Chapter will

include members from all over northern

California.

More than 120 ACLU members

responded to an announcement in the

last issue of ACLU News which

proposed the formation of a Gay Rights

Chapter. Responses came from

members living in the various com-

munities within the Northern California

affiliate, sixty of whom participated in

the first Chapter meeting held in San

@ =

San Francisco

The San Francisco Chapter held a

benefit performance of Jules Feiffer's

_ "Hold Me" on June 12, at which time

an original Feiffer cartoon was auc-

tioned and sold.

The committee chaired by Linda

- Weiner, with the cooperation of various

social science teachers in San Fran-

cisco, is in the process of preparing a

- curriculum for introduction in the San

`Francisco Public schools this fall. The

program will have a faculty of ACLU

members who will initiate the five hour

course at the high school level. The

course will be about the Bill of Rights.

The annual meeting is in the

planning stages and details will be

announced in the next issue of the

ACLU News. The San Francisco

Chapter will have its regular board

meeting on the 30th of August at the

ACLU offices, 814 Mission St. at 6:00

p.m. and members are invited to at-

tend. Just let us know if you wish to

attend.

Sacramento

The annual membership breakfast of

the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the

ACLU was held May 22 and attracted

175 people. A new president, Cliff

Anderson, was elected, along with

board members Gary Miller, Grace

Coan, Paul Jorjorian, Marjorie Lee,

Jerry Evans, John Gustafson, and

Wayne Harbarger III. Phil Kearney was

elected secretary. Standing board

members are Larry Ferral (vice-

president), Kay Lock (treasurer), Bill .

Kreig, Pat McDonald, Myra Schimke,

Bill O'Brien, Lu Luther, and Linda

Bardis.

M Pom. ula

The Mid-Peninsula Chapter has

scheduled a meeting at 8 p:m. for

Thursday, August 25 at the All Saints

Episcopal Church on the corner of

Hamilton and Waverly in Palo Alto.

For further information about chapter

activity contact Len Edwards at 287-

6193.

Chapter

Francisco.

The Board of Directors, in sappeonile

the charter, was satisfied that a Gay

Rights Chapter would not only serve the

single issue of gay rights, but would

stimulate a sizeable number of both

new and old ACLU members to active

involvement in all the organization's

programs. _-

"The concerns of gay people,"

Newton explained to the Board, ``go -

hand in hand with the concerns of civil

libertarians. A victory for free speech,

due process, or privacy, is a victory for

individual rights, and that's what we're

all about."

Programs planned by the Gay Rights

include establishing a

legislative action committee, a speakers

bureau, and a membership committee.

Interested - ACLU members,

irrespective of sexual or affectional

preference, are invited to write to the

ACLU or to call 777-4545 for further

information, or to be placed on the

Chapter's mailing list.

Marin

The Directors of the Marin County

chapter called a special meeting of the

_ general membership on July 27th to

discuss with Assemblyman Michael

Wornum his pending vote on Governor

Brown's veto of SB 155, legislation to

restore capital punishment. Wornum's

vote is expected to be pivotal, and

despite much publicity given to the

views of both Wornum and the ACLU,

many members felt that the reasoning

behind the respective positions was

inadequately understood. Since this

meeting was held after the News went to

press, a report on the discussion won't

be available until September (by which

time the issue will have been decided in

the Assembly).

Berkeley-Albany-

Kensington

`The Chapter's potluck dinner in June

featuring David Fishlow as the after

dinner speaker was a huge success. We

hope to have more such functions in the

fall.

Our next Board. meeting is scheduled

for August 26, 1977 at the Friends

Education Center; Walnut and Vine in

Berkeley at 8:00 pm. At that time we

will be appointing a committee to

nominate new board members and we

will be planning our fall programs. All

members are welcome and encouraged

to attend.

Sonoma

T he Sonoma County Chapter of the

ACLU will hold its Annual Picnic and Art

Auction on Sunday, September 18,

from 12 noon to 5 pm at the Founder's -

Grove, Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

Festivities include ample good eats,

beer, a speaker, entertainment and the

art auction. After the auction the Board

of Directors is hoping for membership

`input on current issues, especially the

constitutionality of U.C.'s affirmative

action program. If you want to donate a

work of art, help with a telephone tree,

or otherwise get involved, call June

Swan at 546-7711.

Dakiand

The new board of the Oakland

Chapter met on July 20 and elected the

officers for the coming year. Rose

Bonhag is chairperson; Dennis Rothaar

is vice-chairperson. Beth Newlson was

elected secretary and Michael Cop-

persmith, treasurer. The meeting was

' devoted to familiarizing new board

members with current procedures and

activities. In September, committee

assignments and specific chapter

projects for the coming year will be

discussed.

As members may know, the Oakland

Chapter has a phone service which

members of the community may call to

seek advice on problems that may

involve civil liberties issues. Messages

are taken on an answering device, and

volunteers from ACLU return the calls

and refer callers to appropriate

resources for further action. New

volunteers are very much needed to

staff this important community service.

If you are interested and would like

more information, call Janice Lapides

at 339-9781. Your help in this program

would be an interesting and valuable

contribution to the cause of civil

liberties in Alameda County.

The next board meeting will be held

on September 7, at 8 pm at the home of

Dar and Michael Coppersmith. If you

would like to contribute some time or

ideas to the coming year's program, let

us hear from you.

Mt. Diablo

The Board of the Mt. Diablo Chapter

of ACLU invites all members to attend

and participate in meetings of the

Board. The meetings are held the third

Wednesday evening of each month. Call.

Mary Grah at 254-2641 for location of

meeting.

Police harrassment, searches without

warrants, racial discrimination in rest

homes and in employment, are all civil

liberties issues which come to the Mt.

Diablo Chapter's attention via their

local telephone complaint line.

The Mt. Diablo Chapter is con-

tinuing its project to oversee Contra

Costa County's plan to build a new jail.

Chapter action includes testimony

before the Grand Jury regarding jail

structure, and an investigation into

allegations of sex and

discrimination regarding the jail's

employment policies.

`Richard Roberts,

race -

Santa Clara

Twenty-one members were elected to

the Santa Clara Valley Chapter Board

of Directors at the June 10th Annual

Meeting. Two incumbents who were re-

elected are Nancy Powell and Ben

Ginden. The new directors are: George

Green, Robin Yeaman, Lyn Alper,

Martin Birnback, Lydia de Conca-

Woods, Larry Fleischer, Dan Hood,

Barbara Roupe,

Beatrice Olander, Aurora Sallito, Brad

Yamauchi, Lyn Yates-Carter, Vitus

Vaitkus, Victor Ulmer, Sandra Ter-

zian-Feliz, Louis Zarate, Madeline

Reynolds and Robert Crawfoot-

Drobort. The large turnover on the

twenty-four member board is due to the

new by-law rule prohibiting directors

from serving more than three terms. All

that "new blood" should make for an

active and exciting year.

The Chapter continued its annual

tradition (started last year during the

Bicentennial) of handing out copies of -

the Bill of Rights during the Fourth of

July Festival in downtown San Jose. An

ACLU booth, complete with literature

and posters and staffed by chapter

members bent on educating the public

in the south bay as to our organization's

character and purpose, was our con-

tribution to the annual festival.

Chapter chairperson, Katherine

Bishop is leaving our area and so has

resigned from the Board of Directors.

First Vice-Chairperson, Mike Chatzky

will be acting Chairman until officer

elections take place on September 6.

oo

Abortion Action

There is now an active coalition of

groups and individuals in northern

California working to fight the two

recent setbacks on abortion: the

Supreme Court's decision that public

hospitals and state medicaid

programs need not provide abortions

and the decision by Congress to cut

off federal funding for abortions via

the `""Hyde Amendment."

Strategy for marshalling forces

within the state of California is being

planned by the northern California

Coalition group, while ACLU's

national office is formulating

challenges to new restrictive state

legislation and administrative

policies on a national basis.

- For further information, or to

offer your support please call the

An announcement will be going out ACLU office at 777-4545.

to the membership regarding a pot luck oS Sun

supper.currently being planned.

aus news.

8 issues a year, r, monthly except bi- -monthly i in | January-February, March-April

July-August and November-December :

Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San F rancisco, California

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Richard De Lancie, Chairperson David M. Fishlow, Executive Director

Dorothy Ehrlich, Editor

- Publication Number 018040

814 Mission St. - Ste. 301, San Francisco, California 94103 - 777-4545

Membership $20 and up, of which 50 cents is for a subscription to the aclu news

and 50 cents is for the national ACLU bi-monthly publication, Civil Liberties.