vol. 46, no. 7

Volume XLVI

In November 1980, Marlene Penny

received notice of an arrest warrant: she

had not paid a $15.00 fine for failure to .

pay a dog license fee for a dog which she

no longer owned. When Penny, a mother.

of four from Fremont, surrendered her- (c)

self to the police, she was confined in the

Fremont Detention Center, forced to

remove all her clothing except her under-

pants and bra, and was strip searched.

In September 1980, Ramona Scott

was charged with failure to"pay a fine

for not properly leashing her dog and

failing to prove proper registration of a

- car which she had disposed of several

years before. Scott was locked`ina hold-

ing cell at the Oakland police station

and two matrons forced her to remove

all of her clothing, including her under-

wear. Though she told the matrons she

was menstruating, they made her bend

over and put her hands on the floor

while they searched her body cavities.

On August 27, the ACLU-NC filed

lawsuits against the City of Fremont

and the City of Oakland on behalf of

Penny and Scott for damages resulting

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October 1981

Ramona Scott (1.) and Marlene Penny told how they were strip searched by police.

from these unreasonable and unjustifi-

able searches, and challenging the prac-

tice of unconstitutional strip searches

by police.

At a press cern at the ACLU

office on the day of the filing, ACLU-

NC cooperating attomey Donald .W.

_ Brown of the San Francisco law firm of

Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison, said, "The

policy of requiring presumptively inno-

cent arrestees, like Ms. Scott and Ms.

Penny, who are detained under circum-

stances which provide no reasonable

grounds for believing that they are con-

cealing a weapon or contraband, to

submit to.a strip search is both unnec-

essary and unjustifiable.

"Strip searching arrestees without

Dreyfus, Stender to be Honored

Dellums, Speaker at Rights Day

On the ninth annual Bill of Rights

Day, the ACLU-NC Board of Directors

will present the Earl Warren Civil Lib-

erties award to veteran civil rights attor-

ney Benjamin "Barney" Dreyfus and

posthumously to former ACLU Board

member Fay Stender, who died in 1980.

Congressman Ronald V. Dellums will

give the keynote address at the Bill of

Rights Day Celebration which will be

held on December 13 at the Sheraton -

Palace Hote] in San Francisco.

The Bill of Rights Day Celebration is

the culmination of the ACLU-NC's an-

nual fundraising work. The Founda-

tion's entire legal program is virtually

sustained by donors who each year

make tax-deductible contributions and

are recognized in the Commemorative

Booklet issued the day of the celebration.

This year, the fundraising effort has

been enhanced by the Major Donors

Campaign, which has already raised

$80,000. In addition, the Field Commit-

tee will be mobilizing chapter members

to solicit gifts for Bill of Rights Day.

The combined goal of the fundraising

effort is $220,000.

The Board selected Dreyfus and Sten-

der as the award recipients in June.

Each year, the award is presented to a

person or persons who have distin-

guished themselves as champions in the

battle to preserve and expand civil lib-

erties.

Dreyfus, 72, was cited by the Board as

"one of the most respected and beloved

members of the Bay Area bar commu-

nity." A partner in the law firm of Garry,

Dreyfus, McTernan, Brotsky, Stender,

Herndon and Walsh, he is a leading legal

advocate and organizer in support of

the Bill of Rights.

Dreyfus, a founding member of the

National Lawyers Guild, was one of the

few courageous lawyers to wage an un-

remitting battle against the Smith Act.

In his defense of Communist Party

members in Los Angeles, he succeeded,

with others, in convincing the U.S. Su-

preme Court of the Smith Act's uncon-

stitutionality (Yates v. U.S.). a

The McCarthy era which engendered

the Smith Act was also the setting for

the origins of another famous Dreyfus

battle: the preservation of the indepen-

dence of the bar. In the 1950s in Califor-

nia, the Board of Governors of the State

Bar and legislators attempted to impose

oaths of allegiance and loyalty upon

lawyers as a condition of the right to

practice. Dreyfus organized lawyers to

oppose such legislation and action by

the State Bar and succeeded in defeating

every attempt to impose tests of ortho-

doxy upon members of the bar.

According to Dreyfus, "McCarthy-

ism and its offshoots represented a

serious threat to the independence of

the bar-a concept I've always consid-

Benjamin Dreyfus

ered basic to constitutional liberties in

this country. Without a truly indepen-

dent bar, the protection of constitutional

rights and liberties is impossible-it's

a myth."

Over his long career, including 18

arguments before the Supreme Court,

Dreyfus has also obtained significant

victories in the areas of the right to bail,

diminished capacity, the death penalty,

the rights of labor and civil nehts) in the

South.

A long-time active supporter of the

ACLU, Dreyfus served as co-chair of

news

"Strip Search -East | Sue

Michael Miller

the 1980 Bill of Rights Day Tribute

Committee. continued on p. 5

dated charges,"

No. 7

such probable cause constitutes illegal

government conduct," he added.

Brown explained that the suit is also

being filed on behalf of taxpayers in

Oakland and Fremont who object to

their tax monies being used to under-

write this unconstitutional practice.

Claiming that strip searching pretrial

detainees violates both the federal and

state constitutional guarantees of pro-

tection against unreasonable searches,

due process and privacy, the ACLU `is

seeking a permanent injunction to halt

this practice.

At the press conference, both women

spoke of their ordeals as victims of the

police strip search.

Marlene Penny said it was the first

time she had ever been arrested. De-

`tained for her failure to pay a dog

license fee, she said, "At first I didn't

think they were serious when they told

me to take off my clothes for a search.

"T would have understood it more if I

had been arrested on drug- or gun-re-

Penny said, "but I don't

even have a record."

Penny was released from custody on

the same day she was arrested and

found innocent of the charge. She wrote

numerous protest letters to city and

state officials and the ACLU, because "I

thought people should be aware that

this was going on," she said.

Ramona Scott explained that she was

arrested by an Oakland police officer

for failure to appear in response to a

citation for not properly leashing her

dog.

After she was booked, the arresting

officer instructed the two matrons at-

tending Scott that she was a "no-search."

Despite that instruction, and the fact

that the police were informed that Scott's

father was en route to the station house

to post the required $170.00 bail, the

two matrons entered her holding cell

and forced her to remove all her clothing.

Scott said, "I asked them to allow me

to keep my underwear on as I was men-

struating. But they made me remove

- everything and bend over and touch the

ground." The matrons then proceeded

to doa visual search of her body cavities.

"1 was detained for over four hours,

including two hours after my father

came to secure my release," Scott said.

Attorney Brown commented, "In both

instances, the police actions were under-

taken with reckless disregard for the

plaintiffs' constitutional rights. Strip

searches are only allowable when there

is reasonable ground to believe that an

arrestee is concealing a weapon or con-

traband," Brown said.

"Yet despite laws and policies limiting

strip searches, many police departments

still force some people suspected of

minor offenses to submit to a strip.

search. continued on p. 7

aclu news |

october 1981

Investigating Police Abuse

The issue of civilian investigation of

police abuse is still pending in San Fran-

cisco. After several weeks of heated

debate and public testimony this sum-

mer, the Police Commission voted to

hire one civilian investigator, and was

urged by Mayor Feinstein to hold off on

any further decision until the plan has

been in operation for six months. That

six month period will be up in December.

According to ACLU-NC staff coun- .

sel Amitai Schwartz, "It is important

that supporters of the Office of Citizen

Complaints continue to write to the

Mayor and the Supervisors. It is unlikely

that a proposal to the Board of Super-

visors will be made to establish the

office in the near future and the Super-

visors must be aware of widespread sup-

/port for it.

"We feel the Mayor's present course

is completely untenable-it is a sad joke.

How can one person possibly deal with

all of the complaints of police abuse in

San Francisco? In fact, the responsibil-

ities of that one person have not even

been defined yet.

"The Mayor's scheme will be reevalu-

ated in December, and the issue will rise

to prominence again at that time,"

Schwartz added.

In August, ACLU-NC Executive Di-

rector Dorothy Ehrlich wrote to all San

Francisco ACLU members and 12,000

other residents encouraging them to

write to Mayor Dianne Feinstein and

the Board of Supervisors President John

Molinari expressing their support for |

civilian investigations of police miscon-

duct. That request brought a flood of

`response, a sampling of which is repro-

duced below. (Letters have been short-

ened significantly. Ed.)

To the ACLU.

Bac. for your letter to us ACLU

members to write to Molinariand Fein-

stein.

This is the first time in eight years that.

I, as a rank and filer, have been asked

for something other than money.

I was, about ten years ago, an active

member of the local chapter's Police

Surveillance Subcommittee. I even wore

anarmband at political rallies. (A lot of

good I could have done.) Let's have

more calls to action.

Paul Ciena

San Francisco

The ACLU has done some truly won- -

derful things in the past and everyone

involved should be very proud of these

: accomplishments. However, the issue of

- police abuse and the establishment of an

Office of Citizens Complaints i isan area

in which I feel your priorities are in-

verted. A great deal of legislation has

been passed to protect the rights of the

accused in this country while the victim

has become a forgotten person.

Your campaign for civilian investiga-

_ tions of police activities is not wanted by

the majority of San Franciscans.

Merl Grossmeyer

San Francisco

To the Supervisors . . .

I am writing to express my strong

support of the establishment of an Office

of Citizens' Complaints, specifically the

legislation drafted by the Bar Associa-

tion of San Francisco.

I received a mailing from the Police

Officers' Association urging me to op-

pose this proposal, which strengthened

my belief that there is an urgent need for

New Board Chair has ACLUNG

Michael Miller

` Drucilla Ramey

Davis Riemer

Davis Riemer, an eleven-year veteran of the Board of Directors, was selected as

the new chairperson of the ACLU-NC at the September Board meeting. Riemer, a

partner in a pension consulting firm, has considerable experience in fundraising

and development and has been active in this year's Major Donors program.

Originally a chapter representative from Oakland, Riemer served as the Treasurer

for two terms and as Chairperson of the Staff Salary and Benefits Committee, which

over a two year period carefully developed ACLU-NC personnel policies.

Riemer takes over from Drucilla Ramey who resigned as Board chair after a ~

three-year term. At the meeting, Ramey was presented with a hand-calligraphed

scroll in appreciation for her leadership, which resolved that "The Board of

Directors of the ACLU of Northern California does hereby recognize, commemo-

rate and celebrate the triumphant three-year term of Drucilla S. Ramey, Chair-

person, a title engendered by your predecessors only retroactively.

- Inscribed plaques and grateful thanks were given to outgoing Board members

Irving Cohen, Bernie Moss, Naomi Lauter, Elizabeth Nelson and Frances Strauss.

Newly elected at-large Board members Bernice Biggs, Gordon Brownell, Eleanor

Friedman, and Oliver Jones began their terms of office, as did new Chapter

UePEesMa Len Karpman and Rose Bonhag.

an Office of Citizens' Complaints. The

letter was so strident and misleading

that it makes it impossible for me to

believe that asystem carried out by the

Police Department itself can work in an

impartial manner.

Warren Saltzman

San Francisco

Chinese for Affirmative Action is

writing to express our great dismay over

the recent letter sent by the S.F. Police

Officers' Association to persuade se-

lected S.F. citizens to oppose the crea-

tion of an Office of Citizens Complaints

as proposed by the Bar Association of

San Francisco.

Chinese for Affirmative Acuion takes

great exception to POA's characteriza-

tion of those individuals and organiza-

tions who support the Office of Citizens

Complaints as "left-wing street activ-

ists." In testimony before the S.F. Board

of Supervisors Select Committee on

Crime and Violence, Chinese for Affir-

mative Action has gone on record to

support the proposed Office of Citizens

Complaints. One can hardly label civil

rights organizations like CAA as "left-.

wing street activists."

Chinese for Affirmative Action be-

lieves that no police officer is above the

law, whether s/he is Chinese, black, His-

panic or white. While it is our belief that

~ an overwhelming majority of police offi-

cers are law-abiding public servants,

there must be an objective system to

investigate those police officers who

may have violated the civil rights of

common citizens in S.F.

Henry Derr, Executive Director

Chinese for Affirmative Action

. and the Response _

Thank you for your letter expressing

your support for some civilian involve-

ment in the Internal Affairs Bureau.

I am convinced at this point that the

recent action of the Police Commission

(The Commission voted in August to -

appoint one civilian investigator whose

specific duties. will be spelled out at

some later date. Ed.) is the best method

of dealing with those problems surround-

ing the investigation of civilians' com-

plaints of misconduct.

Dianne Feinstein

Mayor

Thank you for your letter relative to

the proposal to hire non-police investi-. -

gators in the San Francisco Police De-

partment to replace the Internal Affiars

Bureau.

] appreciate gowns your feelings 1 in

The Citizens Respond -

this matter and receiving your com-

ments, and I will bear them in mind

when this matter is considered further _

by the Select Committee on Crime and

Violence, of which I am the Chair.

John Molinari

President of the Board

Tune In

to the

ACLU

On Wednesday, October 28 civil lib-

erties will have their day on KPFA

radio. The full-day programming, pro-

duced by Ralph Steiner, will feature

several ACLU spokespersons.

12:00 (noon) What It Was Really Like.

Richard Criley, Monterey Chapter

board representative, will join Ralph

Steiner and Frank Wilkinson discussing

the role the FBI played during the

McCarthy era. Criley tells why that era

should be renamed the J. Edgar Hoover

Era:

12:30 The New McCarthyism. ACLU

Field. Committee chair Peter Hagberg

will discuss Reagan's war on terrorism.

Will the 1980s repeat the witch-hunts of

the 1950s? Will draft resisters, union

leaders and anti-nuclear protesters be

harassed and jailed as dupes of the

KGB? Will the Un-American Activities

Committees make a comeback?

1:00 Why Not Outlaw the Klan? San-

ford J. Rosen, chair of the ACLU Legal

Committee, will join others in a debate

about defending the free speech rights

of hate groups. Live discussion and ale

ins at 848-4425.

4:30 Americans Under Watch: Secrecy

and Surveillance Under Reagan. Board

member Steve Mayer will join others in -

a discussion on how the government

wants to spy on us. The discussion will

include how progressive groups from

labor unions to anti-war protesters were

disrupted by government surveillance,

' with prospects for the future. There will

_. be a special focus on the Freedom of

Information Act, why it is important

and who wants to repeal it. Phone-ins at

848-4425.

KPFA 1s a listener-sponsored Pacif-

ica radio station at 94.1 FM. Fora list-

ing of the full Civil Liberties Day pro-

gramming call KPFA and ask fora copy

of their Folio program guide.

aclu news

8 issues a year. monthly except bi-monthly 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

Davis Riemer, Chairperson Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Director {

Marcia Gallo, Chapter Page ig)

_ ACLU NEWS (USPS 018- 040)

1663 Mission St., 4th floor, San Francisco, California 94103. (415) 621-2488

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

and SO cents is for the national ACLU-bi-monthly pe oe Civil Liberties.

Elaine Elinson, Editor

aclu news

october 1981

Roger Baldwin: A Legacy of Liberty

be John de J. Pemberton, Jr.

Roger Baldwin, The New York

Times editorialized during the

week of his death, `Jeaves his heirs

two legacies: more spacious liberty

and the duty to keep fighting for it."

Few of us today have memories

long enough to appreciate how

significantly more spacious is the

liberty we enjoy today as our leg-

acy from Roger. The attention

people pay, that legislators and

public officials pay, that the press

pays, even the attention that courts

pay to the guarantees of the Bill of

Rights, isa phenomenon that was

unknown when Roger formed

ACLU's predecessor, the National

Civil Liberties Bureau, during

World War I. Nothing like that at-

tention was paid to the Bill of

Rights by the Congress that en-

acted the Sedition Act of 1917 or

by those who administered the

World WarI military draft so as to

exemptas conscientious objectors

only members of a `well-recog-

nized religious sect or organiza-

tion." People then were largely in-

different to either the liberty or the

due process implications of Attor-

ney General Palmer's wholesale

-deportment of aliens who were

thought to have non-conformist

views. And what happened to per-

sons suspected of crime would

make even the members of the Bur-

ger court shudder.

It was Roger Baldwin's ACLU

that made the difference, that

turned a whole nation into paying

attention to its central heritage. Of

course, the attention being paid to

the Bill of Rights reflects contro-

versy, not consensus, over the

meaning and value of its guaran- 0x00B0

tees. But the existence of contro-

versy demonstrates thatthosecon- |

troversial views are being heard.

In fact, even in the 1980's ACLU''s

views concerning the meaning

and value of the Bill of Rights con-

Roger Baldwin, founder of the ACLU

tinue to enjoy a creditable mea-

sure of success.

To speak of our organization as

"Roger Baldwin's ACLU" is to rec-

ognize much more than the histor-

ical fact of his having been its

founder. Rarely has one person's

imprint seemed so indelibly

stamped upon the character ofan

organization-even now, more

than thirty years since he retired

-as its Executive Director-as

Roger's has been impressed upon

the ACLU. Roger'senergyanden-

thusiasm, for instance, and his ex-

perimental, non-dogmatic, attitude

toward issues, areamong the best

and most useful characteristics of

ACLU's responses to issues and

crises. .

The most important of Roger's

traits claimed by the Union, of

course, is his commitment to the

rights of his opponents as well as

of his friends, of the wicked as well

as the good. And, one might add,

Roger always knew which groups

he thought were the wicked and

which the good-though, consis-

tent with his non-dogmatic atti-

tude, he changed his mind several

times on such judgments.

I think Roger possessed at least

one trait which he could not be-

queath to his corporate offspring.

He had a keen political pragma-

tism: a shrewd sense of which

causes, and which means to pro-

mote them, were politically pos-

sible and which were not. But like

his child, he never lacked the wil]

to pursue with boundless energy

those that were not, when the only

reason for doing so was that the

cause was right. Roger also sur-

passed his offspring in the quick-

ness of his wit, invariably illumi-

nating the foibles of those, includ-

ing himself, who were driven to

pursue objectives about which he,

as they, was nevertheless deadly

serious. Such virtues of the parent

which failed in the child apart, the

ACLU can be said to be the spit.

ting image of its parent.

Roger was distinctive, too, for

his optimism. "I'm still optimistic

enough to believe that fellows

much younger than Iare going to

keep on fighting," he told The Los

Angeles Ti

view. Butnobody, least ofall Roger,

has ever suggested that there could

be any basis for optimism about

liberty except that there are those

who are going to keep on fighting

for it. Eternal scrapping always

will be liberty's price. Roger was

right that the fighters will keep

coming. The New York Times is

right that the duty to do so is part

of the legacy which: Roger lett.

To Roger's friends, itseemed im-

possible to image a time when we

would be without his constdnt

guidance. We now know, however,

thateven Roger's rugged constitu-

tion clothed aman who was mortal.

But if we accept the duty which _

was Roger's legacy, we can also

know that the inspiration which

his memory leaves, and the traits

of his character with which he en-

dowed the ACLU, will always con-

tinue to be with us.

John de J. Pemberton is a former

national Executive Director of the

ACLU. Currently a Professor of

Law at the University of San Fran-

cisco specializing in employment

discrimination, Pemberton is a

member of the ACLU-NC Legal

C

Roger Baldwin (r.) with his friend and former jailmate Sam Krieger at the

premiere of The Wobblies at Lincoln Center in 1980. Over half a century ago, the

- two spent time together in a New Jersey jail, Baldwin for conscientious objection

and Krieger for being a Wobbly organizer. Krieger, who sparked Baldwin's interest

in the rights of labor, died earlier this year.

Grants Bolster ACLU Foundation

by Michael Miller

ACLU-NC Associate Director

The ACLU Foundation of Northern

California received $55,000 in local

foundation grants this summer to sup-

port abortion rights through litigation

and public education.

The Wallace A. Gerbode Foundation

and the van Loben Sels Foundation

both awarded $15,000 to support the

Foundation's Abortion Rights Project.

The Columbia Foundation granted

another $25,000. Gerbode Foundation

had given $15,000 for the Project last

year.

ACLU-NC Foundation litigation, co-

ordinated by staff counsel Margaret -

Crosby, has challenged the state legisla-

ture's annual cuts in Medi-Cal funding

for abortion for four years. Medi-Cal

funds for abortion have been main-

tained for over 100,000 California

women per year solely because of court

orders and decisions in this litigation. In

1981 there have been two other abortion

rights suits successfully brought by the

ACLU-NC, -

In addition to legal work, public edu-

cation and press relations, under the di-

rection of Public Information Director

Elaine Elinson, are critical components

of the ACLU's work to protect the pri-

vacy rights of women seeking abortions.

For example, Elinson responded to over

150 press calls since the beginning of

_1980 concerning the abortion issue.

The foundation support will allow

the Abortion Rights Project public in- 0x00B0

_formation work to expand, including

the production of several new publica-

~ tions in several languages.

The Project also includes education

and training of ACLU-NC members to

respond to local measures that interfere

with abortion rights, such as the at- _

tempt to impose a local "informed con-

sent" ordinance in Pleasant Hill.

According to ACLU-NC Field Repre-

sentative Marcia Gallo, ACLU mem-

bers are in a strong position to provide

leadership and to educate others in their

own communities about the pro-choice

battle.

According to ACLU-NC Executive

Director Dorothy Ehrlich, "The Moral

Majority, the evangelical new right, and,

their political colleagues have made the

attack on abortion rights their number

one social issue. Consider the noise they

are making around the appointment of

Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day

O'Connor.

"The ACLU in California and nation-

ally has always been a leader in the fight

to secure and now to preserve the consti-

tutional right to choose an abortion. We

must respond to this new politically in-

spired threat by widening our efforts

both in the courts and elsewhere. I am

gratified that these three foundations

share the same commitment to this issue

as the ACLU does. These grants insure

that for the coming year, and beyond,

~ the ACLU can continue and expand our

pro-choice work," Ehrlich said.

Bequests

to the

ACLU

The defense of civil liberties is a

never-ending task. No one genera-'

tion can secure liberty to all persons

for all times. But each generation

owes the next all the assistance it can

give.

A bequest to the ACLU in your.

will is the finest possible way to-

express your concern that constitu-

tional rights be protected for future

generations. _

Bequests to the ACLU Founda-

tion of Northern California are tax-

exempt and are very simple to add to

an already existing will.

For information on how to make a

bequest to the ACLU Foundation of

Northern California, call or write

Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Direc-

tor, ACLU Foundation, 1663 Mis-

' sion St., San Fr. ncisco, 94103.

aclu news

a october 1981

Pome the ALCU

The

The day that this issue of the ACLU

News went to press, President Reagan ~

spoke before the International Associa-

tion of Police Chiefs about his plans to

cure the "U.S. crime epidemic." If any-

one of us were feeling complacent about

the strength of the administration's fer-

vor to get tough on criminals-even at

the expense of basic constitutional rights

-now Is the time to shed those illusions.

Not only did Reagan advocate the

harshest proposals of the federal Task

Force on Violent Crime-limitations

on bail, fewer restrictions on police,

diminishing the exclusionary rule-the'

manner of his advocacy is enough to

send shudders down our collective spine.

For Reagan recommended redressing

the "imbalance between the rights of the

accused and the rights of the innocent"

_ -as if there were no presumption of

innocence on the part of the accused.

And Reagan's characterization of the

crime problem as "the jungle... ready

to*take us over," and his non-solutions

as an effort to "hold back that jungle

and restrain the darker impulses of

human nature," is as racist and dehu-

manizing as it is ignorant.

In the following analysis, written be-

fore the Reagan address, ACLU-NC

Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich

looks beyond the law and order rhetoric

of the administration and warns of the

dangerous climate being set by high

level politicians soapboxing on crime.

This summer | returned to speak toa

group which back in 1978 had issued an

angry dissent to the ACLU's defense of

the Nazis in Skokie, Illinois. It was re-

assuring to find that in 1981, "Skokie"

was no longer on the list of grievances:

in fact, although the ACLU's role in the

controversial free speech case was not -

forgotten, it seemed to be understood,

even appreciated..

What was disconcerting was that al-

though the emotional anger of the late

`70s was no longer directed to the

ACLU's representation of Nazis, it had

only been displaced. In the summer of

1981 some people felt that the ACLU

had let them down again, this time by

defending criminals. After all, as one

participant in the meeting said, the

ACLU really is the "criminals' obeys

isn't it?

Were it an isolated comment, it might

have been ignored. Unfortunately, Pres--

idential Counselor Edwin Meese's new

`label for the ACLU has stuck, and surely

that was Mr. Meese's intent. For label-

ing the ACLU the "criminals' lobby" is a

remark born out of a much larger cam-

paign which seeks to capture the anti-

crime climate for political gain, with

constitutional rights as the ultimate

target. The climate for this campaign

could not be better.

Creating the climate

The California Journal reported in

August that already 600 anti-crime bills

have been introduced in the California

Legislature.

Not since President Nixon began his

"law and order campaign in 1968 has

such a frontal attack against crime been

touted. Crime has become the quintes-

`Criminals' Lobby" Dissents

sential political issue of the '80s.

Thus it was timely for Presidential

Advisor Meese to plant the slogan which

identifies the ACLU as the "criminals".

lobby" early in the campaign. The events

which have followed are directly related (c)

to the "off-the-cuff" remarks he made to

to help the victims of crime sometime."

~ Or Abe Mellinkoff's Chronicle column

which begins "To nobody's surprise, a

few hours after the most recent anti-

crime commission issued a final report,

the American Civil Liberties Union at-

tacked it. This does not mean that the

EST. 1980

=p im ese

ATTY? ET

"Look for the White House Label"

the California Peace Officers last May

in a speech in Sacramento.

Thoughtless response

Although one label cannot discredit

the ACLU, it can trigger thoughtless

responses that seem to bear repeating.

For instance, in August, when the ACLU

issued its criticism of the report from the

Attorney General's Task Force on Vio-

lent Crime, particularly the proposal to

seriously modify the "exclusionary rule" _

(the rule which prohibits the prosecu-

tion from using illegally obtained evi-

dence against a defendant), the ACLU's.

position was automatically chided by a

Sunday San Francisco.Chronicle edi-

torial. The editorial stated, "any modi-

fication of the exclusionary rule goes

too far for the American Civil Liberties

Union, which warns that to abridge it

would risk the loss of important rights

that are the bedrock of our democracy.

_ `Maybe' said former Attorney General .

Bellina sardonic rejoinder, `they ought

organization necessarily favors crimi-

nals, even if it more often than not

comes out that way. Leaders of the

ACLU take a fervently proprietary in-

terest in the Constitution, almost as if

they had written it themselves in Phila-

delphia. It was automatic for them to

oppose a change in the Exclusionary

Rule."

Among those opinion makers and

editorial writers who do not stop to

question the criticism of government

officials, it is all to automatic to brush

aside the ACLU's defense of civil liber-

ties as simply the advocacy of a "erimi- :

nals' lobby."

Fortunately, that lack of analysis

does not prevail throughout the entire

press. The July 20 issue of the New

Yorker magazine provided the follow-

ing lengthy defense of the ACLU's

purpose:

The Administration's. human rights

policy has lately been further clarified

by some remarks by Edwin Meese, the

counselor to the President, in an inter-

view with Meg Greenfield of the Wash-

ington Post, in which he defends an ear-

lier allegation of his that the American

Civil Liberties Union is a "criminals'

lobby." In the interview, he describes

himselfas a strong believer in the Bill of

Rights but goes on to reveal an apparent

serious misconception of what political

rights are and what role they play in our

democracy. Describing the A.C.L.U.

and a few other organizations as being

"opposed to law enforcement" he pro-

poses the establishment of "a compar-

able citizens group that represents the

law-abiding citizens," which would op-

pose the A.C.L.U. "on the basis of the

rights of the law-abiding citizen to be

free from criminal activity." Ina country

that includes a Bill of Rights in its Con-

stitution, however, rights are laws, and

their enforcement is just as much law

enforcement-and just as much in the

interest of the law-abiding citizen-as

`the statutes against murder, burglary,

_assault and other crimes. The difference

is that the Billof Rights was designed to

protect citizens, on the whole, against

the power of the government, whereas

the criminal laws largely protect them

against one another. (It is much easier

for the government to silence a news-

paper or prevent an individual from

speaking than for another individual to

do so.) The protection of the citizens

from the power of government is an

essential part of the idea of democracy,

which places the government under the .

over-all scrutiny and supervision of the

people. On the other hand, the citizens'

need to be "free from criminal activity"

(that is from non-governmental crimti-

nal activity) is not, in the legal sense, a

"right" at all (and thus is nowhere men-

tioned in the Bill of Rights) but, rather,

an essential social good, like fire preven-

tion, or adequate medical care, or the

prevention of famine. Mr. Meese's devo-

tion to what he thinks human rights to

be is no doubt very strong, but his defi-

nition of them is at odds with what the

Constitution defines as rights.

Since such thoughtful comments are

more often the exception, however, law-

makers and other people in power have

failed to respond to the frustrating and

apparently increasing problem of vio-

lent crime, and are sorely in need of a

reasonable excuse. Surely it must be

someone else's fault. The ACLU's critics

seem to have planted the blame on a

combination of "soft-hearted judges"

and "legal technicalities" insisted upon

by the courts and the ACLU.

Sinister message

The sinister mesage that keeps being

repeated is not simply that the ALCU is

the criminals' lobby. but that the prin-

ciples it is lobbying to preserve are the

obstacles which stand in the way of gov-

ernment plans to reach (or over-reach)

out to solve the problems of crime in the

streets. Those "legal technicalities,"

those "obstacles" posed by the ACLU,

and enforced by the courts, are nothing |

less than the constitutional right to be

presumed innocent; the right to a fair

trial; the right to counsel; the right to be

protected from unreasonable searches

and cruel or unusual punishment. Not

continued on p. 7

~

Bill of Rights Day

Fay Stender served on the Board of

Directors of the ACLU-NC from 1974 |

until $980. A resolution by the ACLU-

NC Board at the time of her death stated

that "in that capacity, and in her other

endeavors on.a multitude of projects,

she was a guiding force and a deter-

mined advocate of the causes she em-

wey

Fay Stender

"Fay was a forceful voice for affirma-

tive action, the rights of women, of pris-

oners, and of other oppressed peoples.

Never taking a position for granted, Fay

challenged her colleagues on religious

freedom questions, and reminded us

always to practice our civil hberties

principles both inside and outside the

organization," the Board resolution

stated.

While on the ACLU-NC Board, Sten-

der was a moving force behind the for-

mation of the Women's Rights Commit-

-tee-a group which addressed issues

relating to equal rights for women but

which also had a great impact on the

work of the organization as a whole. As

Bernie Bergeson, a fellow Board mem-

ber of Stender's recalls, "The Commit-

tee began to involve people from other

organizations, from the community, and

from the ACLU's own staff. At that

time, there was a perceptible shift in

participation not just in the Committee,

but in the ACLU itself-away from a

lawyer-dominated hierarchy and toward-

a wider and more representative cross-

section of people interested in civil

rights and civil liberties."

Congressman Ron Dellums, who will

deliver the keynote address of the Bill of

Rights Day program, represents the

northern California Eighth Congres-

sional District. Dellums, who is cur-

rently Vice-Chair of the Congressional

Black Caucus, is one of a handful of

representatives. who was given a 100 per

continued from p. 1

cent rating on civil liberties voting by

the national ACLU publication Civil

Liberties Alert.

An active supporter of the ACLU,

Dellums has spoken at .several ACLU

chapter events in his congressional dis- -

trict. According to ACLU Washington

lobbyist David Landau, "As a member

of the House Armed Services Commit-

tee, Dellums is a strong and vocal oppo-

nent of the draft and registration.

"In addition, he is one of our most

important allies in working onthe House

floor onevery major civil liberties issue."

"This year's Bill of Rights Day Cele-

bration will have a uniquely local flavor.

By honoring two attorneys who have

had a great impact on the shape of civil

liberties in California and a keynote

speaker who makes our voices heard in

the nation's capitol, we will be celebrat-

ing not only the anniversary of the Bill

of Rights but also the role that the

Congressman Ronald V. Dellums

ACLU of Northern California has played

in defending it," said Bernie Moss, chair-

person of the 1981 Bill of Rights Day

program committee.

Other members of the committee are

Irv Cohen, Angela Blackwell, Caryl

Mezey and Fran Strauss. The commit-

tee is also planning music and entertain-

ment for the celebration.

The Bill of Rights Day Celebration

will be held at the Sheraton Palace

Hotel in San Francisco, December 13

from 4 to 6 PM. Tickets for the event are

$7.00 and are available from the ACLU |

office. For further information call Mar-

lene De Lancie at (415) 621-2488.

Bill of Rights Day Celebration

I want to honor those who protect the Bill of Rights.

Please send me

I am enclosing a check for $

Name

tickets at $7.00 each.

Addess

City

Zip. = Phone

Please make checks payable to ACLU-NC Foundation and mail to Bill of Rights

Day, 1663 Mission St., S.F., CA 94103. Please enclose a stamped, self-addressed

envelope.

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aclu news

october 1981

Voting Rights Act in Danger

"Members of Congress must hear our

united message," said ACLU-NC Exec-

utive Director Dorothy Ehrlich, "that

there is no justification to abandon the

1965 Voting Rights Act. We are mobiliz-

ing ACLU resources to insure the exten-

sion of the single most effective piece of

civil rights legislation passed during the

last two decades."

Ehrlich was speaking at a September

10 press conference organized by the

Mexican American Legal Defense and

Education Fund (MALDEF) to show

widespread support for the extension of

the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and to

encourage individuals to write to Con-

gress advocating extension.

Other participants in the press confer-

ence were Vilma Martinez of MALDEF,

Robert Harris of the National Bar Asso-

ciation, Mark Aronson of the S.F. Law-

yers Committee for Urban Affairs, Jack

Crowly of the California Labor Federa- .

tion AFL-CIO and Henry Derr of Chi-

nese for Affirmative Action.

A joint statement by the participants -

noted, "The Act stands as a symbol of .

our commitment to addressing one of

the nation's most disgraceful problems:

the systematic denial of the right to vote

because of race or language minority

membership.

"The Voting Rights Act is much more

than a symbol. It has outlawed devices

used to deprive minority citizens of their

right to vote, such as literacy tests, and

poll taxes. It has outlawed intimidation

and harassment of voters, tactics which ~

are unfortunately still used to discourage

minorities from registering and voting

for the candidates of their choice."

On July 31, the Judiciary Committee

of the House of Reprsentatives voted to

_report out a bill (HR 3112) extending

the Voting Rights Act. This was an im-

portant step in the process of the exten-

sion of the act before August 6, 1982

when key provisions of the act expire.

On September 9, the U.S. Commis-

sion on Civil Rights called for a ten-year

extension of the law. Arthur Fleming,

chair of the commission, said, "The Vot-

ing Rights Act and its amendments con-.

stitute a major effort to fulfill the most

basic right in our nation: the right to

yore Opposition

While this very strong bill was re-

ported out of the House Judiciary Com-

mittee by a vote of 23 to I, this vote did

not reflect the intense feelings of Repub-

licans Henry Hyde of Illinois and Cald-

well Butler of Virginia who expressed a

desire to further amend HR 3112 onthe

floor of the House.

Additional opposition comes from

the Senate, most notably from Strom

Thurmond. When he was named Chair

of the Senate Judiciary Committee,

Thurmond stated that an extension of -

the act was not necessary and he vowed

to get rid of it.

President Reagan has not yet articu-

lated his position on the act, but has

asked for a report and recommenda-

tions by Attorney General William

French Smith by October I.

Provisions

The bill passed by the House Judi-

ciary Committee has three main sec-

tions: extension of the pre-clearance

provisions, with a new "bail out" pro-

cedure, until 1982; modification of the

present standard of proof in voting dis-

crimination cases to allow victims of

discrimination to prove that a voting

practice resulted in the denial or abridge-

ment of the right to vote-as opposed to

having to prove that it was intentional,

and extension of the language assis- |

tance provisions of the act until 1982.

The new bail-out provisions enable

Jurisdictions with a genuine record of

non-discrimination in voting to be re-

lieved of the pre-clearance section.

Under the present law, all jurisdictions

become eligible to. apply for bail-out at

the same time. As amended, the act

would allow individual counties or states

to apply for bail-out on their own

record when the provisions go into

effect in 1984.

The joint statement noted that "Bilin-

gual elections have enabled countless

numbers of non-English speaking U.S.

citizens to vote, many for the ier time

in their lives."

The statement added that since bilin-

gual elections were first enacted in 1975,

the cost of providing them has decreased

dramatically. For example, in the 1980

general election in Los Angeles, where

over 45,000 voters requested Spanish (c)

language materials, the cost of provid-

ing bilingual assistance was only 1.9%

of the total election costs.

Ehrlich said, "We feel these three pro-

visions are vital to insuring the effective-

ness of the Voting Rights Act and the

future of minority parcipalion in our

demons

"We encourage all ACLU members

to write to their representatives in Con-

gress to urge support for the extension

of the act."

The next hurdle for the Voting Rights

Act is passage on the House floor.

House floor action on HR 3112 and

Senate hearings on the bill could come

as early as October.

All members of Congress need to hear

from constituents now. Call or write.

your members of Congress urging exten-

sion of the Voting Rights Act.

Hon. Senator Cranston/ Hayakawa

New Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Telephone: (202) 224-3121

Hon. Member of Congress

House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515 |

Telephone: (202) 224-3121

ante

aclu news

october 1981

Medi-Cal Abortion Funding - = | :

Unraveling the State's Response

In the normal course of state govern-

ment, it is the duty of the Legislature to

make laws, of the courts to determine

whether those laws are constitutional,

and of the executive branch to carry out

those laws, if they are indeed constitu-

tional. Events this summer surrounding

_ the issue of Medi-Cal funding for abor-

tion underscore the importance of that

separation of powers as the basis for our

system of government. Margaret Crosby,

chief counsel in the litigation to. main-

tain Medi-Cal abortion funding, ex-

plores the present conflict among the

branches of state government on the

issue of public funding for abortion.

The responses of state government of-

ficials to the ACLU-NC's current case

seeking to maintain Medi-Cal funding

for abortion, bears. out the fact that

abortion is one of the most politically

charged and divisive issues in America

today.

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a-vociferous supporter of anti-choice

legislation: But Deukmejian has advised -

the appeal court that he is no longer

. representing the state officials in the:

abortion funding litigation-a clear sig-

nal that the executive branch and the

Attorney General's office disagree about

the appropriate response of the govern-

ment towards legislative defiance of a

state Supreme Court decision.

Defendants' response

In response to an order from the

Court of Appeal, requiring the state to

file a formal response to the lawsuit, the .

three state officials adopted three sep-

arate approaches:

Treasurer Unruh, maintaining the

least controversial position, failed to

submit any brief at all.

Controller Cory filed a pleading which

acknowledges that the 1981 Budget Act

restrictions are unconstitutional under

the state Supreme Court ruling of March

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EDI-CAL ABORTIONS /

a decision of the Supreme Court; yet in

the political arena-before the Legisla-_

ture-Myers has consistently opposed

any restrictions on Medi-Cal financing

of abortion. The apparent inconsistency

of her positions before the courts and

the Legislature may be reconciled by

assuming that the brief filed on her be-

half reflects not a true statement of her

views on abortions for the poor, but

rather an attempt to placate the Legisla-

ture (with power over the Health Serv-

ices Department budget) in its ongoing

feud with the judiciary.

Head-on collision

None of the official positions is suffi-

`ciently aggressive for some anti-choice

legislators, who are aiming for a head-

on collision-and constitutional crisis-

with the state Supreme Court. On Sep-

tember 15, in the waning hours of the

1981 legislative session, the state Senate

enacted Senate Resolution No. 27, which

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The ACLU and four other public in-

terest organizations filed suit against

state Controller Kenneth Cory, Trea-

surer Jesse Unruh and Health Services

Director Beverlee Myers on July 16.

The suit came in response to the Legis-

Jature's enactment of Budget Act limita-

tions on public funding for abortion, in

defiance of the California Supreme

Court's ruling that such restrictions vio-

late the privacy guarantee of the state

Constitution. The high court has or-

dered the state to continue to fund Medi-

Cal subsidization of abortion until the

Court of Appeal issues a final ruling in

the case. (The case will be heard by the

Court of Appeal on October 27.) .

For months after the case was filed,

the state officials named as defendants

neither defended the challenged restric-

tions nor opposed the ACLU's request

for a stay of the legislation. This silence.

contrasted sharply with the government's

aggressive defense of abortion funding

cuts in prior years, mounted by state

Attorney General George Deukmejian,

1981, and agrees to obey any court order

maintaining Medi-Cal coverage of abor-

tion. (Cory, whois currently locked ina

dispute over payment of court-ordered

attorney's fees to a successful lawyer ina

separate public interest case, then used

his brief as a vehicle to explain his oppo-

sition to counsel fees, and stated that he

will refuse to obey any future court order

awarding the ACLU attorneys' fees in

the abortion litigation.)

Health Services Director Myers filed

a brief which denounces the California

Supreme Court decision maintaining

Medi-Cal funding for abortion as "judi-

cial legislation" with "flawed logic." She

reasserts the view, adopted by the U.S.

`Supreme Court but repudiated by the

California Supreme Court, that the

poverty which creates a barrier to indi-

-gent women's access to abortion Is not

the government's problem.

The curious aspect of Myers' position

is that her brief must be viewed only asa

political document, as the state Court of

Appeal is entirely powerless to overrule

asserts the legislative prerogative over

fiscal affairs, and resolves to "protect

the people of the State of California

from levy and use of their taxes without

legislative representation" by directing

the Attorney General to: initiate legal

action to halt state funded abortions in

the 1981 fiscal year; stop the state offi-

cials from complying with the Supreme

Court stay which maintains Medi-Cal

funding for abortion; and recover and

return all funds expended on state funded

abortions in the 1981 fiscal year (empha-

sis added, Ed.).

Since the Assembly failed to pass Sen-

ate Resolution No. 27 before adjourn-

"ment (the measure awaits final action in

the Assembly Rules Committee in Jan-

-uary, 1982), its binding force is unclear.

Presumably, however, the Attorney

General could represent the California

Senate in any litigation seeking to re-

instate the funding ban.

Several recent court decisions indi-

cate that Deukmejian may not ethically

take a position in the abortion litigation

antagonistic to the Governor and his

former clients, Cory, Unruhand Myers.

Deukmejian, however, has publicly ex- -

pressed his willingness to represent his

former colleagues in the Legislature,

and, with elections on the horizon, to

attack the state Supreme Court and

align himself visibly with the anti-choice

forces.

Regardless of who our opponents

turn out to be, however, the ACLU is

prepared to defend any such action and

continue the challenge to any attempts

to hinder or diminish the right to repro-

ductive freedom.

~ Police'

Harassment of

Sacramento

March `Excessive'

-Judge

A Sacramento judge denied the

ACLU's request for a preliminary in-

Junction against the Sacramento police

following their harassment and surveil-

lance of an anti-racism march (ACLU

News, Aug-Sept 1981), but left the door

open for further action in the case.

On September 21, Judge Horace E.

Cecchettini ruled in the case of the

International Comittee Against Racism

(INCA R) v. Sacramento that the plain-

tiffs "have not shown that there is an

imminent threat of harm or that there is

a likelihood of repetition of the offend-

ing conduct [by the police]." The ACLU

had sought.a preliminary injunction

after the Sacramento police used an

array of intimidating tactics-including

the videotaping of marchers and by-

standers, individual mug shots of dem-

onstrators, and requiring all partici-

pants in the march to undergo search by

metal detector-against marchers last

November.

However, the judge also stated, "The

declarations filed by Plaintiffs make it

clear that much of the conduct was ex-

cessive, particularly the use of metal de-

tectors and inordinate photographing."

According to. ACLU staff counsel

Alan Schlosser, "It is very important

that the judge characterized the police

conduct as `excessive.' We are obviously

not alone in our opinion that the police

tactics used against the demonstrators

are in violation of the right to free

expression."

Schlosser and ACLU cooperating at-

torney Mark Merin are now gathering

evidence for the trial. There has been no

date set yet for the trial.

The ACLU is seeking an order that

will prohibit the Sacramento police from

employing such tactics in the future as

well as a ruling that the International

Committee Against Racism does not

have to pay the $700 bill for police serv-

-ices for the demonstration which they

were charged by the city, and damages.

Criminals' Lobby Dissent cninedomns

surprisingly, each of these fundamental

rights is currently under serious attack

in the California legislature and in

Congress.

The attack goes beyond the issue of

defendants' rights and the traditional

principles we ascribe to the criminal jus-

tice system. The officials who call the

ACLU the criminals' lobby potentially

have a much longer enemies list.

Report on Terrorism

California Attorney General George

Deukmeyjian has added to his law en-

forcement campaign an issue which he

claims is "one of the greatest challenges

to lawenforcement... the identification

of individuals and groups which foment

hate and political unrest." The reason

for this concern, according to the Attor-

ney General's Annual Report on Terror-'

ism is the fact that "during 1980 there

was a Significant increase in the activi-

ties of domestic extremist groups in the |

form of rallies and demonstrations."

The President has his own version of

criminal activities. He has singled out

the air traffic controllers as criminals

because they went on strike.and for that

activity they are being criminally pros-

ecuted.

Add to that list the 19 versions of the

H.L.A. (the so-called Human Life

Amendment) currently before Congress

which provide that a doctor ora patient

who determines that a pregnancy should

. be terminated would be prosecuted as a

criminal even if the life of the mother

were at stake.

`The list alsosincludes the view es-

poused by the leaders of the Moral

Majority that homosexuality is a crimi-

nal act, and the death penalty would be

an appropriate punishment.

Finally, if complacency is setting in, it

often takes the kind of very local story

about strip searching in the Fremont

and Oakland jails (see page 1) to reaf-

firm our belief in the necessity of laws

against unreasonable searches.

The ACLU is well-prepared for this

unpopular battle for it has learned to

adhere to its principles, even when its

clients, or its purpose, run counter to a

given Administration's policy or the

most recent public-opinion polls. The

ACLU has become accustomed to rec-

ognizing the danger of attempts to dis-

credit the organization by using a de-

rogatory label that sticks. We under-

stand that Mr. Meese speaks for an

administration which could make crim-

inal the exercise of constitutional rights

and could make suspect the groups

which are in the forefront of advocating

for those rights. oe

When state or federal officials begin

to identify those who dissent as a "law

enforcement" problem or those who

strike as "criminals" the ACLU's pur-

poses become sharply defined. Perhaps

it was good fortune to have Mr. Meese

provide us with an early warning. It isa

reminder which has stuck.

Marin Marchers Paid Back

The City of San Rafael has reim-

bursed the Citizens Party of Marin $120

-a fee the City had demanded from the

Party "for additional police services"

when the group sponsored a peaceful

march and rally to protest U.S. involve-

ment in the war in El Salvador in April.

' The City paid the money-back only

able to the City for $100,000; post a $500

deposit to ensure proper cleaning and

_ pay $120 for additional police protec-

tion. :

The Party appeared before the City

Council several times to protest the new

requirements and to seek a waiver of the

fees. They noted that the fees had been

after ACLU-NC staff counsel Margaret

Crosby filed a claim on behalf of the

Citizens Party to the City Treasurer

protesting the charge.

"The collection of $120 for the exer-

cise of constitutional rights by members

of the Citizens Party was unauthorized

by any statute and constituted a viola-

tion of the First Amendment to the U.S.

Constitution and Article I, Section 2 of

the California Constitution," Crosby

wrote in the claim.

The Citizens Party had contacted the

ACLU-NC in April prior to the planned

' demonstration. Party representative

Alan Barnett explained to Crosby that

they had signed a contract with the City

authorizing use of a park for the rally,

and had paid a $20 fee for the use of the

public area.

Subsequently, however, the City

voided the agreement and issued a new

contract which granted the use of the

park on the condition that the Party

obtain a liability insurance policy pay-

waived in the past for other groups plan-

ning rallies, such. as the Kiwanis and the

French-Canadian students. The Party's

attempts were unsuccessful, however,

and they turned to the ACLU..

While Crosby was investigating the

case and contacting City officials, the

Citizens Party, under protest, paid the

$120 fee in order that their rally not be

cancelled, as the rally and demonstra-

tion were important to the Citizens

Party.members.

The rally did proceed, but so did the

pursuit of the Citizens Party members'

First Amendment rights. On July 20,

Crosby filed a formal complaint against

the City of San Rafael citing as damage

`and injury "Payment of $120 for the

exercise of constitutional rights."

In August, five months after the dem-

onstration, the City of San Rafael ac-

knowledged the claim. The insurance

premiums and cleaning deposit were re-

turned and the City reimbursed the Citi-'

zens Party the $120 fee for police services.

aclu news

october 1981

Unjust Fire Searches Halted

When Joseph Kramas was cited for

refusing to allow a warrantless fire

inspection of his electronics equipment

firm in Concord, he sought the help of

the ACLU in challenging the Contra

Costa ordinance which allowed fire de-

partment officials to enter premises with-

outa warrant. _

Asa result of the challenge, prepared

by ACLU-NC cooperating attorney

`Steven Brick of the San Francisco law (c)

firm of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe,

not only has the criminal complaint

against Kramas been dismissed, but the

Contra Costa District Attorney has

agreed that there will be no further

prosecutions under the statute (Uniform

Fire Code Section 1.209) based on a

property owner's refusing to permit a

warrantless fire inspection.

ae

a

as

(c)

fire inspectors had asked him to volun-

tarily submit to an inspection of his

premises in the 60s and '70s he had

always complied. "My cooperation

changed," he said, "when in-1973 the

inspections become compulsory.".

Kramas claimed that because of his

refusal to allow entry to fire inspectors

without a warrant, he was harassed by

officials who inspected the plant on un-

necessarily numerous occasions and

once filed a false report that there were

hazardous materials when there were

none.

In March 1981, Kramas was cited for

refusing to comply with a search under

the new ordinance which authorized

non-consensual routine fire inspections

without warrants.

"T faced a possible fine or imprison-

"Calm down. Just a routine fire inspection.'

Instead, the county will amend the

section to comply with federal and state

constitutional guarantees against war-

rantless searches.

Kramas, the president of Sigmanet-

ics, Inc., said, "I agree in principle with

the idea that a prevented fire is better

than an extinguished fire, but I am

appalled and frightened by the series of

events over the past ten years that has

led up to the present powers the fire

inspectors use to abuse human rights."

Kramas told the ACLU that when

Strip

_ "We hope that these suits will put an

end to this unconstitutional practice in

this area," Brown concluded.

ACLU-NC cooperating attorney

Donald Brown

ACLU-NC Execiittive Director Dor-

othy Ehrlich told the press conference

that the ACLU has challenged the prac-

tice of strip search in many areas around -

the country, including the famous case

against the Chicago Police Department

ment for refusing to have my Fourth

Amendment rights abridged," Kramas

said. ee

In a letter to the District Attorney,

Brick pointed out that the ordinance

was "clearly unconstitutional under the

Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Consti-

tution and Article I, Section 13 of the

California Constitution."

The complaint against Kramas: was

dismissed and the agreement to cease

warrantless inspections was reached

with the District Attorney in August.

SEdCCH ouniceens b

for strip searching 190 female arrestees.

That case, Doe v. Chicago, was settled

last year.

Ehrlich noted, "The tremendous pub-

licity surrounding these cases shows

that even in these times when a `law and

order' mentality seems the order of the

_ day-there can and should be public

outrage at unconstitutional police prac-

tices.

"The fact that these two women were

subjected to humiliating and degrading

strip searches after being arrested for

very minor offenses underscores the

importance of ACLU's work to con-

stantly remind police and other public

officials of their responsibility to abide

by legal and constitutional principles in

their treatment of suspects and arres-

tees," Ehrlich added.

The suits are seeking compensatory

and punitive damages for both Penny

and Scott, as. well as preliminary and

permanent injunctions to prohibit the

police from continuing the practice of

strip search.

. No hearing date has yet been set by

- the court.

aclu news

october 1981

1981 ACLU Conference

With the Marin Headlands providing

the scenery, ACLU members and sup-

porters generated the spirit of the 1981

ACLU-NC Conference, held October 9-4

at the Pt. Bonita Outdoor Center. The

focus of the conference was reproduc-

tive freedom. This year's conference was

the first to present a program aimed at

providing information and inspiration to

members organizing an affiliate-wide

campaign for reproductive rights.

Guest speakers included poet and

author Alice Walker, international health

care activist Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias,

director of the National Committee

Against Repressive Legislation Esther Herst, and staff counsel for the

ACLU's national Reproductive Rights Project Suzanne Lynn.

Workshop leaders shared organizing skills needed in developing

Conference organizers Field Representative Marcia Gallo and

Rodriguez-Trias and Howard Matson from the Monterey Chapter. Field Committee chair Peter Hagberg.

media to coalition building.

A spirited rally led by Eva Jefferson Paterson closed the weekend's

activities-and launched the new reproductive rights campaign for Oe

ACLU of Northern California.

Eva Paterson leads the rally.

effective membership action-from advocacy techniques to using local

B-A-K

BOARD MEETING: October 22,

8:00 p.m. Contact: Joe Dorst, 415/

654-4163.

Earl Warren

BOARD MEETINGS (third Wed-

nesday each month): October 21-

November 18;7:30 p.m. Guest speak-

er October 21: new ACLU-NC Chair-

person David Riemer. Sumitomo

Bank, 20th and Franklin, Oakland.

Contact: Barbara Littwin, 415/452-

4726.

UPCOMING: Special public forum

on reproductive rights. Contact: Rose

Bonhag, 415/658-7977 or Beth Nel-

son, 415/428-6638.

Gay Rights

ANNUAL MEETING: Sunday, Oc-

tober 25, 2:00 p.m. Wine and Cheese

Party with Guest Speaker Mary Dun-

lap on "The Family Protection Act."

243 Hartford, San Francisco. Con-

tact: Bill Ingersoll, 415/348-8342.

Marin

BOARD MEETINGS (third Mon-

day each month): October 19-No-

vember 16; 8:00 p.m. Fidelity Sav-

ings, Throckmorton Street, Mill Val-

ley. Contact: Len Karpman, 415]

383-5328.

Suzanne Lynn (1), Anne Jennings, chair of Pro-Choice

Task Force and ACLU volunteer Doug Warner.

ACLU lobbyist Beth Meador, pianist "par excellence,' and

Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich at post-midnight sing-a-long.

Chapter Calendar

Mid-Peninsula

GENERAL MEETING: Thursday,

October 29, 8:00 p.m. Guest Speaker

Beth Meador, ACLU-NC Legislative

Advocate. Palo Alto Community

Center, 1305 Littlefield Road, Palo

Alto. Contact: Harry Anisgard, 415/

856-9186.

BOARD MEETING: Thursday, No-

vember 19, 8:00 p.m. All Saints Epis-

copal Church, 555 Waverly, Palo

Alto. Contact: Harry Anisgard, 415/

856-9186.

Monterey

ANNUAL CELEBRATION: Sun-

day, November !-1:30 p.m. to 5:00

p.m. Dinner and Presentation of

Ralph Atkinson Civil Liberties

Award for 1981 to HELEN AVA

PAULING. Contact: Richard Criley,

408/624-7562.

BOARD MEETINGS (last Tuesday

each month): October 27--Novem-

ber 24; 7:30 p.m. Monterey Public

Library. Contact: Richard Criley,

408/624-7562.

North Pen

BOARD MEETINGS (third Mon-

day each month): October 19-No-

vember 16; 8:00 p.m. Allstate Savings

Loan, South Grant and Concar

Drive, San Mateo. Contact: Richard

Keyes, 415/367-8800.

Sacramento

GENERAL MEETING and POT-

LUCK DINNER: Friday, October

23; No Host Bar, 6:00 p.m.; Dinner,

7:00 p.m. North Dining Hall, CSUS.

Guest Speaker Former Congressman

John E. Moss on "Secret Govern-

ment and the Attack on Freedom of

Information." Donation $5.00 in ad-

vance, $6.00 at the door. Contact:

Myra Schimke, 916/487-5336, or Pat

MacDonald, 916/455-4259.

GARAGESALE: Saturday, Novem-

ber 7 (Rain Date November 14)-

3518 Ronk Way, Sacramento; ca//

916/455-9005 to have donations

picked up.

San. Francisco

BOARD MEETINGS (last Tuesday

each month): October 27--November

24; 1663 Mission Street, San Fran-

cisco. Contact: 415/621-2488 (ACLU-

NC office).

Santa Clara

BOARD MEETINGS (first Tuesday

each month): November 3-Decem-

ber 1; 7:30 p.m. Community Bank

Building, San Jose. Contact: Vic Ul-

mer, 408 | 379-4431.

Santa Cruz

ANNUAL MEETING: Wednesday,

November 4, 6:00 p.m. Dinner, Board

elections, entertainment, movie.

Telling Sing-a-gram

"On to Apple Pie Day."

Louden Nelson Center, Santa Cruz.

Contact: Blanche Greenberg, 408/

476-8653.

BOARD MEETINGS (second Wed-

nesday each month): October 14-

November I1, 8:00 p.m., Louden

Nelson Center, Santa Cruz. Contact:

Bruce Cooperstein, 408/429-2150.

FUNDRAISING EVENT: Sunday,

November 22. Contact: Blanche

Greenberg, 408/476-8653 for more

information.

Sonoma

BOARD MEETINGS (third Thurs-

day each month): October 15-No-

vember 19; 7:30 p.m. Center for Em-

ployment Training, 3753 Santa Rosa

Avenue, Santa Rosa. Contact: Wayne

Gibb, 707/523-1155.

Stockton

Public Forum on Pro-Choice Issues:

Wednesday, November 18, 7:30 p.m.

Madison School Auditorium, 2939

_ Mission Road. Contact: ACLU, 209/

' 462-1884.

Yolo County

BOARD MEETINGS (third Thurs-

day each month): October 15-No-

, vember 19; 7:30 p.m. Contact: Larry

Garrett, 916/427-4990.

UPCOMING: Organizing meeting

for ACLU Yolo County Chapter aux-

iliary at Martin Luther King School

of Law, UC Davis. Contact: Ernie

Faitos, 916/758-7830.

CONFERENCE PHOTOS BY MICHAEL MILLER