vol. 45, no. 6

Fit ah.

Inside-History from the pages of the ACLU News

aclu news

Volume XLV znae -September 1980 No.6

Abortion Funds Cut Challenged i m High Court

After two years of lower court battles

and appeals, on September 2 the ACLU

challenge to cuts in Medi-Cal abortion

funding will be heard before the

California Supreme Court.

The most recent lawsuit, Committee

to Defend Reproductive Rights v.

Unruh, filed on July 24 to block the

Legislature's 1980 budget cuts, will be

fed along with the 1978 and 1979

challenges (CDRR v. Myers and CDRR

v. Cory). The cases are part oi a con-

tinuing effort by the ACLU and five

other public interest law firms to

maintain Medi-Cal funding for

abortion despite the California

Legislature's budget cuts and the recent

U.S. Supreme Court ruling with-

In a major decision which will ef-

fectively revamp the bail system in San

Francisco and throughout the state, the

California Supreme Court ruled on July

3 that the current San Francisco system

- was discriminatory to the poor and

outlined new procedures to make the

bail system more equitable.

The ACLU entered the challenge to

the bail system, Van Atta v. Scott, in

1977 as friend of the court in the state

Court of Appeal and in the California

Supreme Court. The amicus briefs were

written by cooperating attorneys Henry

Ramsey, Jr. and Linus Masouredis.

The suit claimed that the bail system

in San Francisco violated both equal

protection and due pees guarantees

of the constitution.

Under the monetary ta system, the

amount of bail is directly correlated to |

the offense charged rather than to an

individualized evaluation of the

arrestee's probability of appearing at

trial; thus, people were incarcerated or

_ July pro-choice demonstration in San Fran-

cisco Photo: Courtesy CDRR

Ruling Revamps Bail System

released according to their degree of

indigency or wealth.

This discrimination on the basis of

financial standing had a detrimental

rippling effect: not only did pre-trial

detainees (the majority of them poor)

suffer loss of liberty without being

proved guilty of any crime, but also,

being confined, they had more difficulty

in preparing an adequate defense.

Additionally, the plaintiffs argued

that judges' decisions whether to release

an arrestee on Own Recognizance (OR)

were often arbitrary, and thus violated

due process. Frequently, judges did not

state any reason why OR was being

denied.

On reforming the pretrial release

system, the Supreme Court stressed

that "An individual's interest in his

freedom has always been held

sacrosanct. For this reason, it has been

a basic tenet of our society that "it is far

wotse to convict an innocent man than

continued on page 4

You are invited to our 60th Anniversary

ACLU Benefit Film Premiere s .

The

Department's

Trials of

ALGER HISS

..and to join us for a discussion

CLAY TH es .

2261 Fillmore

San Francisco

and reception with New York

producer, director

John Lowenthal

WED.. SEPT. 17

7:30 p.m.

Medi-Cal funding for abortion has

been available to California women

despite the state legislature's 1978, 1979

and 1980 cuts solely because of court

orders issued in the lawsuits.

Legislature's budget restrictions are

allowed to go into effect, over 8000

women a month who depend on Medi-

Cal for health care will be deprived of

sate and effective medical treatment to

terminate unwanted pregnancies.

The `most recent order came from

California Supreme Court on July 28

following the filing of CDRR v. Unruh.

The 1980 cut-off was due to be im-

plemented on August 16.

The stay, signed by Acting Chief

Justice Wiley Manuel, enjoined the

implementation of the funding cuts and

ordered the state to refrain from

mailing out notices to Medi-Cal

recipients that abortion funding was no

longer available.

Notices Mailed

Despite the court order, the

Department of Health Services mailed

out notices to the state's 2.5 million

Medi-Cal recipients that funds for

abortion would be cut off on August 16.

After learning of the Health

action, ACLU . staff

attorney Margaret Crosby wrote to the

Supreme Court seeking immediate

rectification.

`We are truly appalled that the state

not only consciously disregarded an

order of this Court - in direct con-

tradiction to repeated promises from

the Attorney General's office that a

mandate from this Court restraining

the notification would be honored -

but that the state attorney feels that he

has discharged his duty by advising this

Court in writing that its order has been

ignored.

If the

- imitations

restrictions

Attorney General, this Court will not

view casually a conscious decision by

state officials 1) to disregard a judicial

order and 2) to mislead indigent

women concerning the health care

benefits to which they are entitled,"'

Crosby concluded.

Though the state responded by .

claiming that an additional mailing to

Medi- Cal recipients would be a

"prohibitive expense"' to the taxpayers,

on August 6 the Supreme Court ordered

the Health Services Department ``to

immediately inform all female Medi-

Cal recipients in English and Spanish

and by first-class mail, that the notice

mailed to such recipients on or about

July 28, 1980 regarding funding

s on Medi-Cal abortions"

should be disregarded and that Medi- ~

Cal funds continue to be available for

such abortions."

The lawsuits, filed on behalf of a

coalition of ten welfare rights

organizations, women's rights groups,

civil rights associations, health care

providers, Medi-Cal recipients and

taxpayers, claim that the Legislature's

decision to restrict abortion coverage

intrudes into the most personal and

private areas of poor women's lives and

infringes on their rights to privacy,

equal protection and due process of the

law as guaranteed by the state con-

stitution.

The petition asks the California

Supreme Court to stop the grave in-

juries that medically indigent women

needing abortions will suffer by ruling

that the state must continue Medi-Cal

funding for abortion services. It also

asks the Court to rule the Budget Act

unnonstitutional and to

reaffirm that constitutional rights

cannot be denied to women just because

they depend on Medi-Cal.

_ continued on page 4

"A BRILLIANT EVOCATION OF A

MOST ANXIOUS AGE. Fascinat-

ing, rueful, epic, ambitious and

complex.''-vincent candy, New York Times

"Great drama. Speil binding.

-~Robert Hatch, The ue

FOR TICKETS:

"Send $15 and a self-addressed stamped enve-

lope to ACLU, 814 Mission St.,

call (415) 777-4545 (includes film and reception).

S.F. 94103, or

ACLU to also sponsor premiere of THE WOBBLIES, November 12, York Thosisn San. Francisco - details will follow.

aciu news

Aug-Sep 1980 .

Draft Update

By Mark Morodomi

Although registration of 19- and 20-

year old men officially ended on August

2, the Selective Service has yet to

disclose the number of people

registered. Following the close of

registration, Selective Service Director

Bernard Rostker said the final ac-

counting would not be available for 90

- days.

However, an estimated 30% non-

compliance rate in the Bay Area and a

20% to 30%

nationwide was announced by the

Registration Education

(REC), a Bay Area umbrella group of

anti-draft organizations including the

ACLU, at an August 5 press con-

ference. es

- During registration, 500 leafletters

from the REC were able to cover 23 post

_ offices in the San Francisco area alone,

' giving information to draft-age men on

their alternatives and recommending

counseling before registration.

Speaking of the postcard campaign

to register against the draft, (see ACLU

News, Special Edition), Aida Bound, of

the Washington-based National

Committee Against Registration and

the Draft (CARD) said that 50,000 anti-

non-compliance rate |

Committee -

draft postcards have already arrived at

CARD headquarters in Washington,

D.C. with about 5,000 coming in every

day. e

During July and Nugust, the ACLU-

NC Draft Desk, staffed by field interns

Howard Levine and Mark Morodomi,

answered over 900 calls on the draft and

registration. :

Anticipating _ potential _-_ conflict

between anti-registration demon- "

strators and post office officials, the

ACLU-NC prepared a legal manual

The Rights of Anti-Draft Protesters.

Over 1200 copies of the manual were

distributed thoughout the country.

"Most. problems that arose with

postal officials were cleared up by a

phone call from an ACLU attorney,"

said ACLU volunteer lawyer Francisco

Lobaco.

When representatives of the ACLU of

Southern California went to negotiate

on behalf of protestors in Los Angeles,

postal officials brought along their own -

_ copy of the ACLU-NC manual.

Lawsuits

Rese ation was nearly halted the

Friday before it began when a

unanimous three judge district court in

Philadelphia permanently enjoined

draft registration, ruling it un-

constitutional on sex discrimination

grounds. The next day U.S. Supreme

Court Justice William Brennan stayed

Letters

I am a counselor for teen-age girls

who live in a resident placement facility

in Oakland. These girls are wards of the

court and their health care is paid for

by Medi-Cai. The girls who live in this

program are "emotionally disturbed."

They are the victims of parents who

could not or would not care for them

properly, as defined by the courts. Some

of them are victims of physical and

sexual abuse; all of them suffer from

psychological abuse.

Their unenviable position has been

worsened by an extremely callous and

un-humanitarian decision by 5S justices

on the Supreme Court (upholding the

Hyde Amendment).

Unless the California Supreme Court

reaches a less repressive conclusion on

the Medi-Cal abortion issue, the

consequences for teen-age girls like

those I work with will be unfortunate

indeed.

If these girls become pregnant -

some of them eleven or twelve years old.

- then Medi-Cal funding is the only

way these teen-agers will be able to get

the abortion they need. I say need

because they are in no way prepared for -

the physical and psychological burdens

of childbirth and childrearing. They are -

children themselves, aistunyet ones at

that.

Unless the state wants to pay the

expense of keeping these girls under

lock and key (that is th only way to

prevent pregnancy absol tely), I urge

ee eee Sue 1 Onsider the

plight of teen-age girls.

Child abuse is passed down from

generation to generation. Studies show

that today's victims, if victimized again

by unfair legislation on abortion, may

well be tomorrow's offenders. Can

society benefit from unwanted children

due to lack of abortion funding for

teen-age pregnancy?

Janna Katz

Berkeley

I am extremely disappointed that the

ACLU is defending a 16-year old high

school student's right to wear a button

to school saying "Fuck the Draft." This

is not a freedom of speech issue. The

message could be as well phrased

"Defeat the Draft'' or "No Draft Now"

without changing its meaning and

offending teachers and fellow students.

As Justice Holmes pointed out, the

right to say whatever one wishes is not

absolute, and in this case I believe the

right of others not to be offended by a

word - not a political or social

statement, but a single word - must

prevail.

Neils T. Michelsen

Berkeley

You may associate clearcutting with

the lumber industry: the efficient

technique used to cut valuable timber

from a parcel of land and burn the rest,

leaving stumps and desert. In the. in-

terest of future harvests, they "renew"'

the area with seedlings and fertilizer.

But the concept of clearcutting for

fun and profit extends beyond the stand

of pine.

The military clearcuts, and they are.

now making noises about clearcutting

the boy crop. Peruse our country's use

of this resource in this century alone;

1900 - Spanish American War; 1918 |

- World War I; 1941 - World War

II; (1950 - the Korean War); 1961 -

the Vietnam War. Interesting that we

seem to go to war roughly every 200x00B0

years. That's how long it takes to raise a

boy.

The use-it-now crowd is in the

business of raising armies. It's

profitable - a boy's family bears the

cost of food, clothing, shelter and

education for 20 years. The family is

given a yearly tax break. Physical

fitness training, ROTC and hot lunch

programs are supported in schools

the injunction, allowing registration to

proceed.

The Supreme Court will hear the

case, Goldberg v. Rostker, in October

when it reconvenes. Staff counsel

Amitai. Schwartz estimates that a

decision will be handed down in

January at the earliest.

The ACLU suit, Barnett v. Kostker,

which also challenges draft registration

on sex discrimination grounds, was

filed in U.S. District Court in

Washington D.C. on June 26. The

Court will probably wait for the

Supreme Court Goldberg decision

continued on page 3

our membership and seek your help.

know why.

resulted from our request that you

month's issue of the ACLU News.

port.

Open Letter to ACLU Members

from ACLU Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich

I hate to alarm you, but I want to bring to your attention a problem Th

Although the ACLU of Northern California remains the third largest affiliate

in the nation - with nearly 20,000 members - we fear that fewer of you are re-

newing your ACLU memberships this year. What's even worse - we don't

We are hoping that you didn' t decide to leave the ACLU but hae your ab-

sence is a result of some horrible computer failure, and that you never actually

received a letter from national asking for your annual membership dues. So,

this time we ll be writing to you directly from the San Francisco office in an at-

tempt to solve this problem. We can't afford to lose touch because each member

is critical to the survival of this organization.

We are pleased that the names of nearly 1,000 potential new ACLU members .

"turn in your five best friends"'

But just adding new members won t solve our problems becaine each ACLU

member is irreplaceable - as the challenges which face us become more fierce

and demanding, our any to respond effectively is a direct result of your sup-

We ll be ashing many of you to help us in September. If you have already re-

newed your membership - we ll be asking you to see us through this difficult

period. And if you haven't yet renewed v

the special request you will be receiving Ce this month.

We're hoping the computer has been telling lies, and that you still support

the efforts of the ACLU. I will anxiously await your response.

in last

sur membership - Pies respond to

Mill Valley

by the government. A_ relatively

peacetul hiatus ot approximately 20

years is managed to nourish the new

boy crop.

Every ten years they take a census to

see how the crop is growing - any

additions, losses. This year, the

clearcutters must have been encouraged

by the numbers they saw. The boy crop

must be near harvest quantity.

Now they are specifically counting

the 19- and 20-year old boys. If the

harvest looks good they may feel they

can risk playing games for some greedy

end.

There is hope that we who witnessed

a less-than-honorable Vietnam War

will not readily sacrifice such a precious

resource again for the greed of the

clearcutter crowd. They leave too many

scars.

War is a most effective way to cut

down boys, leaving stumps and a dearth

of sons - but-then, a new crop is on the

way.

Gail Bartholomew

Three federal judges in Philadelphia,

presumably weighing the arguments

with the utmost care, have delivered a

decision that male draft registration

alone is unconstitutional.

Whatever the merits, Mr. Brennan

chose to suspend that decision because

1) "Considerable resources have been

spent' (that could OK _ countless

illegalities and 2) "... suspension of

registration might frustrate coordinate

branches in shaping foreign policy."

Why couldn't the registration be

delayed 2 months while the court

_considered the Philadelphia ruling?

Because. Mr. Brennan assumes he

knows better? Perhaps, like me, he

finds sending women to war offensive.

But being offensive doesn't make it

unconstitutional.

Can it be that Mr. Brennan (and his

associates) will be willing to suspend the

Constitution because of money or to

prepare us for another war?

Paul J. Palmbaum, MD

Walnut Creek

e(R) @ @

The ACLU News special edition on

the draft is great. I'd like to get ad-

ditional copies.

If you decide to do a second edition,

you may want to add that the

Sacramento Peace Center is doing draft

counseling.

Pat McDonald

Sacramento

Ed. Note: Address of Sacramento Peace

Center is 1917A 16th St., Sacramento

95814. Telephone: (916) 446-0787.

8 issues a year, monthly except bi- -monthly i in January-February, June-July,

August-September and November-December

Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

- Drucilla Ramey, Chairperson Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Director {

Elaine Elinson, Editor Michael Miller, Chapter Page iz

ACLU NEWS (USPS 018-040)

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.

Spain Conviction `Disgrace'

On July 24, the state Court of Appeal,

in an unpublished opinion, denied that

there was any "miscarriage of justice"

in the conviction of San Quentin 6

defendant Johnny Larry Spain. During

the course of his trial, which was the

longest and most expensive in the

history of the state, Spain, a Black

Panther Party member, was shackled to

his chair in the courtroom and one of

the jurors told the trial judge in

chambers that her close friend had been

`murdered by a Black Panther Party

member.

The ACLU entered the case as a

friend of the court, arguing that due

process violations during the trial

should merit a reversal of Spain's

earlier conviction of offenses arising out

of the 1971 uprising at San Quentin

Prison in which George Jackson, two

other prisoners and three prison guards ~

were killed.

The

Eugene G. Iredale for the ACLU and

California Attorneys for Criminal

Justice, cited the shackling of the

defendant to his chair during the trial

and the improper contact beteween the

judge and a juror asa blatant disregard |

of due process.

- upholding

LNS Graphics/Peg Averil!

The Court of Appeal, however, in

Spain's conviction,

discounted these due process violations

as harmless errors which did not alter

the conclusion of guilt. The Court

addressed itself to the shackling of the

defendant, dismissing that apparent

maltreatment in a single paragraph o

the opinion.

Cooperating attorney Iredale ex-

plained, `The court's use of the

"harmless error' doctrine comes very

close to a holding that all error is per se

harmless.

"For the court to have held that in a

trial involving a member of the Black

Panther Party, the undisclosed in-

formation of the juror concerning her

own extremely negative experience with

the Party was not relevant, is an

exercise in Alice-in- Wonderland

manipulation of legal concepts and a

complete derogation of the reality that

was perceived by the defendants and

would have been perceived by anyone

even reading the transcript of the trial."

Spain's attorney, Deptuty State

Public Defender Ezra Hendon, has

filed a petition for rehearing with the

Court of Appeal.

Hendon explained, `During the

extended period the Court took to

resolve the case, Spain comforted

himself with the belief that he would at

least receive the benefit of a careful,

deliberate decision. What he has

received instead is a disgrace.

"The court has effectively insulated

this performance from public scrutiny

by burying it in an unpublished

opinion. For a case of this magnitude

and involving such dire consequences to

the appellant, to have been treated in

this way is neither fair to him nor

worthy of the Court."

`Victorian' Rape Law Challenged

California's statutory rape _ law,

characterized by ACLU attorney

Margaret Crosby as "a relic of Vic-

torian attitudes toward female chastity"

is being challenged on equal protection

- grounds before the U.S. Supreme court

in the case of Michael M. v. Superior

Court.

The law, California Penal Code

Section 261.5 punishes men who have

sexual intercourse with girls under 18

years of age, and entirely permits

women to have intercourse with boys

under 18.

Michael M., who has been accused of:

"unlawful sexual intercourse" and

faces a potential three-year prison term

for the offense, was 17'4% years of age

at the time of the alleged crime and his

"victim" was 16%.

In an amicus brief prepared by

national staff counsel Charles Sims, the

ACLU argues that the California

statutory rape law is invalid under the

equal protection clause for two in-

dependent reasons.

First, the law discriminates on the

basis of gender without satisfying a

legitimate governmental purpose. The

brief argues, ""`The purpose asserted,

prevention of pregnancy, is only a

hindsight rationalization; the statute's

actual purpose, the protection of female

virtue, is constitutionally im-

permissible."'

Second, .Michael M., like his "`vic-

tim,"'

alleged crime. The brief states,

"California has advanced no reason

justifying holding only under-age

males, and not under-age females

culpable for consensual sexual in-

tercourse with an under-age partner."'

The majority of jurisdictions have

Statutory rape laws which are sex

neutral. Most states have statutes which

prohibit intercourse with children, male

or female, recognizing that minor males

can and do suffer from sexual in-

tercourse harm as grave as, albeit

different from, that suffered by minor

females.

"The law is dangerous because it pro-

vides an opportunity for discriminatory

prosecution against young males.

"In a state where over 27,000

adolescent girls obtained Medi-Cal

abortions last year, this law is obviously

widely ignored. Thus, the police may

use the statutory rape law selectively to

incarcerate `unpopular' youths,"

Crosby explained.

Crosby cited the example of a 15-year

old boy prosecuted by the Sonoma

juvenile authorities in 1977 under

Section 261.5 for an act of sexual in-

tercourse with a 17-year old girl, who

was clearly the agressor: the male was

black and the female white.

The case will be heard before the

U.S. Supreme Court in the fall.

was a minor at the time of the |

aciu news

Aug-Sep 1980

Police Libel Suit Threatens Press Freedom

A small, family-run newspaper in

San Leandro may be forced to shut

down its presses for criticizing the local

police. a

In 1974, The Friday Observer, a

weekly newspaper serving southern

Alameda County, printed a critical

editorial entitled, ""How Good Are the

San Leandro Police?"

The editorial accused the police of

"overacting during certain situations,"

being "`punch-happy and officious"' and

asked that San Leandro policemen

"show more respect for individual

rights."'

A police officer pictured in an ac-

companying photo, George Gomes,

sued the paper for libel.

-When the case went to jury trial,

Observer editor Ad Fried and his son,

publisher Michael Fried, represented

themselves. The jury awarded Officer

Gomes damages of $170,000, including

$75,000 in punitive damages.

Faced with an order for financial

damages which would have im-

mediately closed the paper down, the

Frieds contacted the ACLU for legal

help. -.In March. 1980; ACLU

cooperating attorney, Boalt Hall

professor Stephen Barnett, and staff

counsel Amatai Schwartz, made a

motion for a new trial, raising a variety

of First Amendment arguments that

had not previously been considered.

On the motion for a new trial, the

Superior Court reduced the damage

award from $170,000 to $35,000, but

did not grant a retrial. .

However, serious legal problems

emerged in trying to seek a stay of the

money judgment pending appeal.

Under California law, an appellant

cannot obtain a stay of judgment for

money unless a bond for twice the

amount is posted.

Draft Update from page 2

before taking any action.

In another attempt to halt

registration, the national ACLU office

filed a challenge to the government's

requirement of Social Security numbers

on draft registration forms.

Under Selective Service regulations,

failure to correctly complete the

registration card, including omitting

the Social Security number, could result

in fine and/or imprisonment. However,

the Privacy Act of 1974 forbids .

government agencies, without consent

of federal statute, to coerce people to

give their Social Security number. The

Selective Service System has no such

consent. :

`Though U.S. District Judge Gerhard

A. Gesell denied the ACLU motion for

a temporary restraining order, Rostker

announced ``We want it (the Social

Security number) but prudence dictates

that if people don't have it, we're not

going to prosecute them."'

Judge Gesell will hear the case in the

fall.

Registration resumes on January 5,

1981, when young men born in 1962 will

be given a one week period to register.

The REC will continue to provide

draft information to those of

registration age. The REC is also

planning special outreach to minority

communities, training Black, Chicano

and Asian leaders in draft counseling at

a conference to be held in the fall.

In practice, insurance companies will

not give bonds under these cir-

cumstances unless the defendant can

_ post full cash collateral.

In the case of The Friday Observer, it

was impossible to obtain such a bond:

there was no way that the Frieds could

financially obtain a stay without giving

up the newspaper.

The ACLU attorneys then took the

case to the Court of Appeal. In late

May, the court granted a stay without a

money bond.

Staff counsel Schwartz explained,

"The situation faced by the Observer

presented serious First Amendment

problems.

"Although the jury had found the

editorial to be libelous, there had not

been a final determination of libel

because the determination is subject to

review or appeal.

"If the newspaper had been shut

down in order to pay the damages

awarded, and the Court of Appeal later

determined that the editorial was not

libelous, freedom of the press would be

lost,'' Schwartz said.

"We argued that forced payment of

damages in a libel case operates as a

prior restraint until all-appeals have -

been exhausted. -

"In this case a newspaper would have

been put out of business while the

newspaper's legal right to criticize the

police was still being considered by

higher courts," Schwartz concluded. -

No hearing date for the appeal has

been set.

With just a phone call, you can

participate in a unique opportunity

- the first of its kind - you can

convey a message to the readership

of the ACLU News by purchasing

space in a special 60th Anniversary

Ad Program, a centerfold pull-out of

the November ACLU News and the

annual Bill of Rights Day booklet.

All the proceeds will directly benefit

the efforts of the ACLU of Northern

California. Your message will reach

the eyes of at least 44,500 individuals

(29,000 in the Bay Area) with space

costing as little as $75. Interested?

Call Sherrie Holmes at 777-4880.

Deadline is October 15.

Congratulatory messages com-

mending the ACLU's persistence -

from 1920-1980 would be a nice -

touch, but don't let us put words in

your mouth!

aclu news

Aug-Sep 1980

Abortion Funds Srom page 1

The September hearing follows

closely on the heels of the June 30 U.S.

Supreme Court decision cutting

federal funds for abortion.

Crosby explained, `Our lawsuits

focus, and have always focused, on the

privacy and equal protection

guarantees of the California Con-

stitution which are more protective than

their counterparts in the U.S. Con-

stitution. The state constitution is

particularly more protective of the

rights of the poor, and that is the

central issue of this litigation,"' she said.

In addition to arguing that the

California guarantees of privacy,

equality and due process are more

expansive than their federal coun-

terparts, the ACLU claims that the

interlocking criminal and _ welfare

statutes in California directly prohibit

an indigent woman from obtaining an

abortion in the private sector.

`The lives of the poor are very tightly

regimented in this state," Crosby said.

"The web of legal regulations and

restrictions on income and expenditure

amount to a criminal law which

proclaims that the poor may not

exercise their right to abortion.

"Our comprehensive analaysis of the

California state welfare scheme was

never attempted in other suits, or

presented to the U.S. Supreme Court.

We think that this evidence alone -

which the state has not disputed -

compels invalidation of the Budget Act

restrictions of abortion funding,"

Crosby added.

Crosby pointed out that adolescents

especially will suffer if the funding

restrictions go into effect. Last year over

27,000 teenagers received state financed

abortions which is why the National

Center for Youth Law is co-counsel to

the lawsuit.

`Pregnant teenagers will drop out of

school, run away from home, or

jeopardize their survival by attempting

self-induced abortions," Crosby said.

"Every day that the legal issues

presented in this action await

`resolution. the health - indeed the

lives - of women in this state will be

threatened should the budget cuts take

effect,'' Crosby concluded.

Medi-Cal funding for abortion will be

maintained at least until the Supreme

Court makes its final ruling in the case.

The decision is not expected until early

next year.

Bail System

to let a guilty man go free."'

from page I

The court stated that approximately

one-half of all detainees in San

Francisco are unable to post bail and

are not released on their own

recognizance, yet that many of these

_ persons could safely be released on OR.

The city's own witness, professional

bail bondsman, Al Graf, testified that

`the people who are being released are

the affluent - the poor are staying in

jail."

The Court also acknowledged that in

other jurisdictions, notably

Washington, D.C. and _ Portland,

Oregon, which operate under systems

that create a presumption in favor of

OR release, there is uncontradicted

Gay Rights

Public Meeting. Monday, October

20, 7:30 p.m., Women's Building

3543 18th St., San Francisco.

Speakers: Gays and the Draft with

Anthony Ricco and Patrick Delaney

of Gays Against the Draft and the

American Friends Service Com-

mittee.

Santa Clara

Upcoming Events. A Forum on

Registration and the Draft is being

planned for the fall. For details call

Aurora Sallitto (408) 356-3280. In

December, the Chapter will be

having a fundraiser at the Bill Cosby

performance with block seats

Performing Arts. An ACLU cocktail

party with special guest Cosby will

follow the show. For details call

George Green (408) 354-9313.

statistical evidence that despite the

greater rate of OR release, the failure-

to-appear rate for those released on OR

was no higher than in San Francisco.

Indeed, it was often lower.

The decision will result in many more

detainees being granted OR, regardless

of their financial standing.

The detainee must prove that he or

she has ties to the community which

would encourage appearances at trial.

Proof of family relationships, em-

ployment, school attendance, receipt of

Calendar:

Conference Rm., Madison and Pacific. .

Panel:

available at the San Jose Center for :

Yolo 2

Rummage Sale. Sunday, September

28, 9-4. Central Park, Sth and `B'

Sts., Davis. Please save your saleable

rummage to benefit the ACLU. Call

Chris Dearth (916) 753-4147 for pick-

up or more information.

Monterey

Public Meeting. Tuesday, September

23, 8 p.m., Monterey Public Library |

Update' on

Registration.

Annual Award Celebration. Sunday,

October 5, 1:30 p.m., Santa Catalina

School, off Mark Thomas Dr., -

Monterey (near Aguijito Rd. exit on

Highway 1). Ralph Atkinson Civil

Liberties Award will be presented to

the Reverend Howard Matson. Din- j

Draft

ner and bar. For more information:

408-624-7855.

welfare benefits that depend on

residency, would all indicate to the

court that the person is not likely to flee

if released on OR.

Once community ties are established,

release without money bail should be

granted unless the prosecution can

prove that the arrestee is an escape risk.

The prosecution must show. that the -

detainee's record of non-appearance at

prior court hearings, and the severity of

potential sentence prove that the ac-

cused will fail to appear at trial.

1979 Conference photos by Michael P. Miller

Aliens

Juveniles

Speakers

Lively

Learned

`Medical Patients

Erwin Knoll - Editor, `"The Progressive'

Peter Schrag - journalist and author

Pauline Tesler - Natl. Cent. for Youth Law

Rodolfo Alvarez - Chair, ACLU of So. Cal.

and others to be announced

Laidback

Panels, "The Rights of.. .

, Films -

"Operation Abolition'

`Operation Correction'

'- HUAC in S.F.

'- Our response

Point Bonita Outdoor Center

Fri., (eve) Oct. 3 to Sun., Oct. 5

e You can join ACLU leaders, activists, staff and special guests for a

weekend of education, entertainment, good company, good food,

lodging and recreation (hiking, jogging, volleyball, and more).

e In the Marin County headlands, just 20 minutes from San Francis-

co, overlooking beaches, bay, and ocean.

Registration Information:

e Call or write: Michael P. Miller, ACLU- NC, 814 Mission St., Suite

301, San Francisco 94103, 415-777-4880. !

Childcare available, wheelchair accessible.

1980 Chapter/ Board Conference

AMERICAN

CIVIL LIBERTIES

UNION-NEWS

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

"This branch sprung into being

as a result of the San Francisco

General Strike in 1934. That

strike was marked by destructive

vigilante raids on the headquarters

of labor and radical organizations.

Chester Williams and I were

sent by the national ACLU to

oppose the reign of lawlessness

that was tolerated, and many times

participated in, by law enforcement

Photo: courtesy Dispatcher/ILWU

officers."

le Ernest Besig

During the 1934 dock strike, local police attacked. Executive Director ACLU,

strikers with tear gas and bullets. : 1935-1971 |

Vol Il.

ss

Court Orders Eight Syndicalism

Victims Discharged From Custody

SACRAMENTO, Sept. 28.-The Third District Court of Appeal today reversed the

conviction of the eight Sacramento criminal syndicalism victims, because the verdicts ren-

dered by the jury were inconsistent. The case was not sent back to the lower court for

a new trial. Instead, the appellants were ordered discharged from custody because "No

good will be subserved by a second trial. We are of the opinion the verdict of. acquittal

which was rendered by the jury on the sec- oo

ond indictment will furnish conclusive proof acquitted by the jury of resorting to writ-

- of a former acquittal of the charges con- ten or spoken language or personal conduct,

tained in the first indictment." to advocate, teach, aid or abet criminal

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, MAY, 1938

Vol. III.

Assaults A.C.L.U. Director

And S.i. News Cameraman

Camera-Shy Stanley Doyle, professional red-baiter and former Communist Party

stoolpigeon, went berserk during the course of a demonstration before the Nazi Con-

sulate in San Francisco on Saturday, April 23rd, and assaulted Ernest Besig, local director

of the Civil Liberties Union, and Carl Bergmark, photographer for the San Francisco

NEWS. Doyle and 4n unidentified companion destroyed motion pictures taken by Besig,

but failed in an attempt to ruin a picture

taken by Bergmark showing the destruc-

tion of Besig's films.

two shots which apparently escaped Doyle's

attention.

History from the pages of the ACLU News 1936-

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, OCTOBER. 1937

FREE SPEECH

FREE PRESS

@

LAL

86

1980.

Photo: courtesy Dispatcher /{LWU

On Bloody Thursday, July 5, 1934, a longshore-

man and a cook from the strike kitchen, were

_ felled by police bullets.

No. 10

The Story of Tessie

Tessie Palmaymesa won't be six years old

until November 14. She's pretty, with black

hair and dark eyes, and quite bright, too.

And, what's more, Tessie is a good little

girl-she obeys her mother. For that rea-

son she was made the innocent victim of

the following flag salute incident:

Registered in the first grade of San Lean-

dro's Roosevelt School, her teacher noticed

that she failed to join the other pupils in

the flag salute ceremony. "Why won't you

salute the flag.' Tessie was asked. "Be-

cause my mother told me not to,'"' she re-

enandad Taccia'a taanhar wae inranaad end

No. 5

SS

IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL

DRAWN INTO CALIF.

"RED NETWORK"

Another amendment has been tacked un

to the $5,100,000 complaint filed by Ivan

Francis Cox, erstwhile International Long-

shoremen Workers' Union official, who

claims he was ousted from his job as the re-

sult of a state-wide red plot engaged in by

more than five thousand named and un-

named defendants.

It charges that Edward W. Cahill, Com-

FREE ASSEMBLAGE

1930's

_ Birth of the ACLU-NC

Vol. I.

SI

Six Santa Rosa tar and feather party vigilantes were acquitted of criminal charges

in 16 minutes by a Sonoma County jury on October 26. Only two ballots were necessary.

The first stood 11 to 1 for acquittal, while the second liberated the defendants. A ser-

vile judge set the pace for the jury by dismissing charges against six others, though

they were all identified by state's witnesses.

Of course, no one expected convictions

in mob-ruled Sonoma County. But what

was hoped for, if not expected, was a com-

petent and diligent prosecution of the case

by the Attorney General's office, and an

impartial and fair judge to preside at the

trial. Our hopes were smashed; we got

neither.

"I remember waking up and

sensing that something was

terribly wrong in the house. I went

to the bathroom and the tub was

an inch thick with grease, oil

and feathers.

Then, I saw my father, he was

all black and blue and clumps of

his hair had been ripped out.

I was seven years old."

George Green

Secretary, Santa Clara Chapter

ACLU. Son of Santa Rosa

vigilante victim Jack Green

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, APRIL, 1938

Tom Mooney Asks

Your Help

We urge our readers to respond to the

following appeal for help received from

Tom Mooney: .

Through the energetic, consistent support

of our many friends throughout the coun-

try and in Congress, a Sub-committee of the

Judiciary in the House of Representatives

has finally been appointed to conduct hear-

inbs on and consider the Murray-O'Connell

Resolution. (Memorializes the Governor -

of California to pardon Tom Mooney.)

May I once more indulge upon your good

nature and your sincere and expressed in-

terest in our cause, and request you to write

to the Congressman from your State who

is on this Sub-committee? (Hon. John H.

`Tolan, House Office Bldg., Washington,

D.C.). Please request them to conduct the

hearings at once. Ask them to call me to

Washington as a witness to testify in my

own behalf.

Last week, in an unprecedented, history-

making action, I was called to Sacramento

and there I told the story of the frame-up

to the California Assembly, which later

voted 41 to 39 to grant me an immediate

legislative pardon, which Resolution, how-

ever, was tabled by the reactionary Senate.

If this could be done in California, where

I have been kept prisoner for twenty-two

years and where the forces against me are

strong and organized, it certainly can be

done in the United States Congress, where

we have a host of friends. San Francisco

`SSS ETS NSIS SDE NSE IE SES ISTE SG RGSS Ie Re a ae ee ee ee

organizer Tom Mooney, imprisoned for over 20 years on a framed-up bomb ihreying

charge, talks with early ACLU activist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. C. 1930

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, NOVEMBER, 1936

SACRAMENTO FLAG SALUTE TRIAL

SET FOR NOVEMBER 5

The Gabrielli flag salute case goes to

Photo: ACLU New.

Sol.

Nitzberg

and

Jack Green

leading

procession

of vigilantes

out of

Santa Rosa,

and who,

it is now

claimed,

"did pull,

push,

jerk,

jostle

and

strike"'

the

vigilantes

who

tarred and

feathered

them.

Photo: courtesy California Historical Society

-1940's.

Losing Liberty By Duress

Vol V.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, JANUARY, 1940

FO

Aiding Fellow Migrants To Enter

State Becomes Deportable Offense

- The Oakies and other dust-bowlers are being deported from California. In Tulare

and Kings County welfare authorities and district attorneys, without fanfare, are prose-

cuting anyone who assists an indigent person in entering the State, under an obscure

California law which makes such an act a misdemeanor. Under threat of imprisonment,

such persons are generally compelled to return the migrants to their former homes.

During the: past couple of months, we are (c)

informed about a score of cases have QOakland, so the criminal action merely

arisen. The A.C.L.U. has announced that stimulated their intention.

Vol. VI SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, DECEMBER,

(R)

x

aa @

Sa

`

A. C.L. U. Test of Calif. Law Ends

Successfully in U. 5. Supreme Court

The almost two-year effort of the American Civil Liberties Union in challenging the

constitutionality of California's "anti-Okie law", making it a misdemeanor to aid an in-

digent to enter the state, ended successfully on November 24 when the United States

Supreme Court reversed` the conviction of Fred F. Edwards of Marysville and held the

statute to be unconstitutional. While the decision was unanimous, the members of the

court differed as to why the law was. in-

~ valid.

1941

SEES

4 BS . Ao Ee

, ee e

5 eo

Citizenship Hened Pomner

Reader of Radical Paper

Because more than seven years ago

George Bogunovich subscribed to the Croa-

tian newspaper "Radnik," organ of the

Communist Party, he was denied citizen-

ship by Superior Judge James in San Jose

on December 21. At the same time, the

court granted citizenship to Mary Boguno-

vich, his American born wife, who lost her

citizenship when she married the alien in

1920. The court, however, did so reluct-

antly, although the only evidence against

aS eS

No. 12

Fed. Court Bans Segregation

Of Mexican School Children

Segregation of children of Mexican descent by

officials of four school districts in Southern Cali-

fornia was ruled unconstitutional when the Ninth

Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in San Fran-

cisco on April 14 upheld a similar decision by

Federal Judge Paul J. McCormick. The ACLU

and three other organizations had filed briefs as

friends of the court supporting Judge McC

mick's ruling.

Man wsmanimano Aaniainn af than aaAwan Wadannnt

Vol. IX

-No. 3

SAN FRANCiSCO, CALIFORNIA, MARCH, 1944

Servicemen Freed After Driving

Car on Sidewalk and Killing Negro

A Negro was killed in San Francisco on February 14, and another injured, when

two servicemen' drove their car onto the sidewalk and ran them down. The police,

Vol. VI

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, OCTOBER, 1941

50 Negro Seamen Convicted

Of Mutiny Restored to Duty

Court martial sentences of 8 to 15 years im-

posed on 50 Negro sailors for alleged mutiny

at a munitions loading port in California in

1944 were set aside and the men restored to

duty by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal

1en -lomscen. fal near mn nvorart' AB o7tee

No. 10

Public and Private Buildings -

SAN FRANCISCO, JULY, 1947.

Legislature Leaves A Poor

Closed To Anti-War Groups Record In Civil Liberties Field

Discrimination in the right of assemblage in public buildings is becoming an increas-

)

The California Legislature adjourned late last

month with a poor record of accomplishment in

3

1940's

Losing Liberty By Duress

Vol. IX

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, MAY, 1944 No. 5

Wayne Collins Will Argue Korematsu

Before Supreme Court On May f

Union Condemns Suits To

Disfranchise American-

Born Japanese

Two injunction suits were filed in the

Vol. IX SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AUGUST, 1944 No. 8

18 Citizens Imprisoned Without

Charges For Over Eight Months

The American Civil Liberties Union charged last month that citizens of Japanese an-

cestry at the Tule Lake Segregation Center are being denied the constitutional right to

counsel. Ernest Besig, local director of the Union, declared that he and his secretary

were ordered to leave Tule Lake by the project director, Mr. R. R. Best, after spending

two days there, but without being allowed to interview most of the citizens who had re-

quested counsel. Two armed members of

the Internal Security (Caucasian) police

escorted the Union's representatives from

the Center after the camp director declared

that their presence was interfering with an

investigation of a recent murder.

Gestapo-like conditions at the Cen-

ter can be judged by the fact that

someone there poured a sack of sugar

into the gas tank of Mr. Besig's car.

While the ancient car misbehaved on

the more than 400-mile return trip to

San Francisco, the cause of the diffi-

culty was not discovered until two |

weeks later when the car finally broke

down. The gas tank will have to be

removed and thoroughly cleaned.

Photo: courtesy JACL

have since been accused of other brutali-

ties. This aspect of camp administration

had not been fully investigated when Di-

rector R. R. Best ordered the Union's rep-

`resentatives to leave.

"... most of those evacuated will (c)

never see their homes again...and

that while the group is tucked away

in the limbo of these camps, the

Native Sons of the Golden West

and others of their ilk are going to

muster up sufficient popular

support to disenfranchise us."

Letter to the ACLU from a

woman detainee at the

Tanforan Assembly Center

May 21, 1942

SAN FRANCISCO, FEBRUARY, 1946

No. 2

Slave Labor Racket Enjoyed by Caucasians

At Tule Lake Concentration Camp

War Relocation Authority employees at the

`Tule Lake Center are exploiting the Japanese

under their charge as virtual "slave labor." That

fant urna jnet Aicaanwarad Auring tha nact manth

Auto repair and car washing used to be

handled for the camp's personnel by the same

slave labor. In general, it is interesting to note

Photo: courtesy JACL

The March of Civil Liberties Through the Decades

The headlines and the stories that appear in this special

historical issue of the ACLU News come exclusively from

' past issues of the ACLU News, the organ of the ACLU of

Northern California. The News. has been in continuous

publication since January 1936 and contains an overflowing

storehouse of the vital civil liberties issues which have

emerged in this state for nearly 50 years.

Examining the history of the ACLU of Northern

California is like looking into the social history of the state

of California itself. Since its founding in 1934, the ACLU-

NC has been involved in the major struggles of the people of

this state against repression and for the preservation and

extension of our basic freedoms.

In 1934, one of the most dramatic labor struggles in the

United States took place in San Francisco. In an attempt to

gain union recognition and improve the notoriously bad

working conditions on the waterfront, Bay Area

longshoremen went out on strike.

After vicious police attacks on strikers, culminating i in

Bloody Thursday when two trade unionists were shot in the

back and killed outside the union hall on Mission Street, a

general strike was called by other San Francisco unions to

support the longshoremen.

Governor Merriam called in the National Guard who

posted themselves on top of the piers and the Ferry Building

with machine guns. Police and private vigilante groups

attacked union halls, strike kitchens and strikers' homes

with teargas, bullets and bricks.

The national ACLU, then 14 years old and based in New

York, sent two southern California organizers, Chester

_ Williams and Ernest Besig, to help combat the wholesale

attack on workers' civil liberties.

- Chester Williams recruited the first Board of Directors for

the ACLU including Dr. Alexander Meikeljohn, Mary

Hutchinson, Helen Salz and Dr. Charles A. Hee who

became its first Chairperson.

One of the first actions of the local ACLU was to seek

redress of workers' grievances by hitting the city where it

hurt - the city pocketbook. The ACLU-NC sued the cities

of San Francisco and Oakland, among others, for not

protecting the strikers' First Amendment rights to free

speech and.assembly - and won.

_- When the Holmes-Eureka lumber strike broke out,

ACLU co-founder Salz requested Besig to go north to in-

vestigate. Three pickets had been killed, eight wounded by

company goons and over 150 persons had been arrested. No

attorney in Humboldt County was willing to defend the

strikers, so the ACLU-NC undertook to supply legal counsel

and to oppose the reign of terror in the community.

Besig was assigned to Eureka for 30 days. But his 30 days

extended to a lifetime of service to the ACLU and he served -

as the Executive Director of the affiliate from 1935 until

1971,

ILWU members in Labor Day March, San Francisco 1939.

In 1937, the ACLU-NC procured full pardons for 22

members of the I.W.W. (Wobblies) who, between 1919 and

1925, had been convicted under California's criminal

syndicalism law.

The affiliate also aided in the defense of Tom Mooney and

Warren Billings, San Francisco labor leaders falsely con-

victed of the 1916 "Preparedness Parade" bombings. After

a massive campaign for their release, which eventually

reached around the world, Mooney and Billings were

pardoned, having served over 20 years in San Quentin for

_ the frame-up.

In the 1940's, the ACLU-NC succeeded in having the U.S.

Supreme Court overturn the state's infamous "`anti-Okie"'

law which prohibited indigents from entering California.

The ACLU was one of the few early fighters against race

discrimination in the state, challenging segregation of

Mexican school children and denouncing the race bar and

subsequent mob violence directed at blacks in the Madera

public swimming pool.

One of the proudest episodes of ACLU-NC history was

our challenge to the World War II relocation and forced

detention of Japanese Americans from the West coast.

The Korematsu case, the first to challenge the con-

stitutionality of the internment of Japanese Americans, was

argued by ACLU counsel Wayne Collins before the U.S.

Supreme Court in 1944.

The ACLU-NC also filed amicus briefs and provided .

further support in three other challenges, Yasui,

Hirabayashi and Endo.

The ACLU-NC argued that the exclusion and detention

laws violated basic constitutional rights, depriving citizens

and aliens of liberty and property, subjecting them to

unreasonable search and seizure, denying them a speedy

and public trail, and without justification labeling them

"suspects, disloyals and criminals."

Despite these strong constitutional arguments, the

Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against the ACLU and upheld all

of the war measures on the grounds of military necessity in a

time of immediate danger.

Unfortunately, the ACLU national office disagreed with

ACLU-NC's strong stand against Japanese-American

detention and did not support the affiliate's litigation. The

deep disagreement over this egregious issue produced long-

standing strain between the affiliate and the national office.

That the ACLU-NC never capitulated to pressure from

the government, the general wartime anti-Japanese hysteria

or the ACLU national office is truly a credit to the local

organization.

Apart from litigation, the affiliate also investigated and

publicized the `"`Gestapo-like"' conditions at the con-

`centration camps. Detainees at Tule Lake, Manzanar,

Tanforan and other so-called Assembly Centers turned to

the ACLU-NC for help in improving conditions at the

camps.

Exclusion and detention were not the only unpopular

wartime issues that the ACLU-NC championed. The af-

filiate also fought for the rights of conscientious objectors

(as the national ACLU had done since its inception). As the

ACLU-NC fought for the rights of atheists to be con-

scientious objectors on moral, as opposed to the traditional

religious grounds, this issue became quite controversial.

The affiliate also sued on behalf of groups advocating peace

to use public facilities to hold their meetings.

The end of the war presented new dangers for civil

liberties as the Cold War on the home front gave rise to an

era of political suppression.

`the ACLU-NC successfully defended hundreds of victims

of post-war federal "`loyalty and security'' programs. It

opposed the witch-hunting activities of congressional and

state legislative committees.

Through litigation, the affiliate obtained state and U.S.

Supreme Court decisons striking down various types of

loyalty oaths - from those required by taxpayers in order to

get exemptions (1938), through those requiring recipients of

unemployment benefits to take government jobs requiring -

loyalty oaths (1960) to the Levering loyalty oath exacted of

all public officials and employees in California (1967).

After HUAC held its widely disapproved-of hearings in

1960, and anti- HUAC demonstrations on the steps of San

Francisco City Hall were broken up by police firehoses,

' HUAC issued a distorted propaganda film Operation

Abolition. To counter the HUAC film, the ACLU-NC

produced a refutation called Operation Correction which

was distributed nationwide.

The widespread political ferment of the 1960's brought

new challenges to the ACLU. In 1964, the Free Speech

Movement at U.C. Berkeley set off campus demonstrations

around the state and country. The ACLU went to battle with

university officials in an attempt to protect the rights of

students and academic freedom.

The affiliate also became propelled into the growing civil

rights movement. On the grounds of equal protection of the

law, the ACLU-NC joined other organizations in

challenging the 1964 statewide referendum permitting

discrimination in the sale or rental of private housing. The

affiliate was also successful in obtaining religious freedom

rights for Black Muslim inmates in California's prisons.

The first challenge to the constitutionality of the state's

death penalty came from the ACLU-NC in conjunction

with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. In 1967, in the

Anderson case. the California Supreme Court halted all

executions in California.

Women's rights also became a major area of concern for

the ACLU. An early advocate of reproductive freedom, the

affiliate defended the right of two women to disseminate

_ information about abortion techniques.

The ACLU also became involved in gay rights, including a

legal challenge to the Briggs initiative (1978), a measure

which would have prohibited homosexuals from teaching i in

the public school system.

In attempts to redress past wrongs, the ACLU-NC

supported affirmative action programs in education and

unemployment, and pursued both litigation and legislation -

to protect school desegregation programs.

The affiliate took many cases to defend the rights of

prisoners, including protection against cruel and unusual

punishment, access to counsel, and the right to read. The ~

affiliate also challenged the massive burdensome govern-

mental security surrounding political trials, particularly of

black activists.

As governmental surveillance became increasingly ex-

posed to the public eye through the Nixon era, the ACLU _

campaigned for restrictions on wiretapping and other"

surveillance by the FBI and other agencies.

In 1974 the ACLU-NC's successful arguments before the

California Supreme Court in Burrows ensured that the

police may not obtain an individual's bank records without

uthorizatio bya judge. The affiliate i is still campaigning to

Anti-War Protest, San Francisco 1971

The Vietnam War and. opposition to it generated ACLU

support on behalf of demonstrators as well as conscientious

objectors. The ACLU vigorously opposed peacetime draft

and registration as well as the military's abridgement of the

constitutional rights of service people.

_ . Looking back on ACLU history, there are many -

perhaps too many - recurring themes. Police brutality

against strikers in the 1930's continues against black people

in Oakland in the '80's. Sex and race discrimination have

been legislated against, but continue to recur: gains made

through affirmative action programs are currently under

attack. The suppression of civil liberties under the guise of

national security affects Iranian visa holders now as it did

Japanese Americans during World War II. The ACLU

continues to fight against capital punishment, abortion

restrictions, government surveillance and censorship. The

affiliate continues to fight for the rights of privacy, equal

protection and the basic First Amendment guarantees of

free speech, free press and free assemblage.

There are many lessons to be learned from our history. A

major lesson articulated by the late Edison Uno, an ACLU-

NC Board member, when he was awarded the Meikeljohn

Civil Liberties Award on behalf of the Japanese American

Citizens League in 1972, can serve as a guide for the future:

Uno said, `"We may have eliminated the statutory

provisions for detention camps, but we must always

remember it takes eternal vigilance to improve democracy.

We must struggle to eliminate the camps of poverty. . . and

the psychological camps of fear, hate, racism and

repression." September, 1980

This special historical issue of the ACLU News was

prepared by editor Elaine Elinson. Grateful thanks for their

invaluable help and information to Ernest Besig, Germaine

Bulcke, George Green, Leo Nitzberg, Michael Ungar, the

Japanese American Citizens League, the California

Historical Society, the Dispatcher/IL WU, Enlisted Times

and all former editors of the ACLU News whose zealous and

careful reporting throughout the decades have provided us

with the living history we have today.

ee ee

Join the ACLU

Name

Address

City Zip

Membership: Single $20, Joint $30.

Send with check or money order to ACLU-NC,

814 ne ats S.F., CA 94103.

}

Or