vol. 53 (1989), no. 7
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Volume LIIl
November 1989
No. 7
~ ACLU Honors
- Hernandez with
- Highest Award
/ | The life of Aileen Hernandez is truly
one to be honored, admired and
emulated. Her work reflects her
intense commitment to the cutting issues of
half a century of U.S. political life: racial
justice, the rights of labor, women's
equality and peace.
On Sunday, December 10, Hernandez
will be honored with the Earl Warren Civil
Liberties Award at the ACLU-NC 17th
annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration. The
event, which will be held at the Le
Meridien Hotel in San Francisco, is the
culmination of the ACLU-NC Founda-
tion's annual fundraising campaigns.
Congressman Don Edwards - will
present the award to Hernandez. The
keynote speaker will be Ralph Neas,
Executive Director of the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights, based in
Washington, D.C. The Lola Hanzel
Courageous Advocacy Award | will be
presented to veteran ACLU-NC activist
Frances Strauss.
Earl Warren Award
Each year, for the past sixteen years,
the Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award has
been presented to a person or persons who
have distinguished themselves as
champions in the battle to preserve and
expand civil liberties.
"Aileen Hernandez has dedicated her
entire career to the key civil liberties
issues of our times,' said ACLU-NC
Board Chair H. Lee Halterman. "From her
student days picketing segregated theaters
in Washington, D.C. to her current
leadership against the death penalty in
California, as a policy maker and as a
hands-on activist, Aileen is a fighter for
justice."
Hemandez graduated magna cum
laude from Howard University in 1947,
but interrupted her graduate studies at
New York University to accept the
challenge of the International Ladies
Garment Workers for "young people of
dedication to join union service." She
served the ILGWU for eleven years, as an
organizer of the union's Pacific Coast
- Region and later as the national Education
and Public Relations Director.
She served as assistant chief of the
California Fair Employment Practices
Commission where Hernandez's spirit and
skill caught the eye of national leaders. In
1965 she was appointed by President
Continued on page 7
Teens Do Not Need
Parental Consent for
~ Abortions
rights, the California Court of Appeal
upheld the temporary ban on a
California law that requires parental
consent or a court order for teenagers'
abortions.
The October 12 ruling in American
Academy of Pediatrics v. Van de Kamp,
was applauded by attorneys for the
ACLU-NC and the Adolescent Health
Care Project of the National Center for
Youth Law (NYCL) who originally filed
the suit in 1987.
ACLU-NC staff attorney Margaret
Crosby was especially pleased that the
Court reaffirmed that the California
Constitution guarantees the the right to
abortion and the right to privacy for
I n a major victory for reproductive
minors, independent of the federal
Constitution. "That should be very
reassuring to California women after the
U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Webster v.
Reproductive Health Services," Crosby
said.
The challenged law - which requires
teenagers to obtain parental consent or a
court order before they can get an abortion
- was passed by the state Legislature and
signed by the Governor in 1987. Although
it was to go into effect on January 1, 1988,
the legal challenge prevented that and,
because of court orders, the law has never
. gone into effect.
The unanimous Court of Appeal
decision, written by Justice William Stein,
Continued on page 3
Honoree Aileen Hernandez speaking at a NOW conference in Los Angeles in 1972;
Hernandez was the second President of NOW and later served as Chair of its
Advisory Council.
Courtesy of Hernandez Associates
Elaine Elinson
aclu news
november 1989
In a trial currently underway in U.S.
District Court in Sacramento, eight
inmates at the California Medical Facility
in Vacaville (CMF), are challenging
prison conditions which they charge are
so bad as to constitute cruel and unusual
punishment.
The ACLU-NC_ is __ representing
HIV-positive inmates who have been
segregated in the prison's "AIDS wing."
Northern California male prisoners with
AIDS, and most whom the Department of
Corrections has identified as infected with
HIV (the virus which causes AIDS) are
housed at CMF.
There are approximately 130 inmates
on the AIDS wing, officially called the
Special Program Unit.
One of them, James Haynes Camarillo,
testified at the trial on October 2. His
eloquent and _ profoundly personal
testimony brought many in the courtroom
to tears. Below are excerpts from
Camarillo' s testimony.
denied to learn a trade. I'm
denied work. I mean, you have
some jobs down there, but - you know,
really they don't amount to nothing."
Camarillo and the other HIV-infected
inmates sent prison officials two petitions
asking equal access to job training and
programs. Both petitions were denied.
Their requests for
Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous
programs also fell on deaf ears.
"T wouldn't really call it teaching,"
Camarillo said of the "special" courses
offered to HIV inmates. "[The teacher]
drops off a book and then comes back next
week to check up on you.
6 y 'm denied an education. I'm
No college classes
"T have six college units. I would like
to get on with my college education, but
I'm denied that," he said. Special Program
inmates can not take courses higher than
basic education and preparation for the
GED exam. Camarillo took college
courses in creative writing and accounting
before the ban took effect.
Camarillo testified that he and other
ACLU Board
Officers
The following have been elected as the
new officers of the ACLU-NC Board of
Directors: H. Lee Halterman, Chair; Tom
Lockard, Treasurer; Vice-chairs: Lori
-Bannai (Chair, Legislative Committee),
Marsha Berzon (Chair, Legal Committee),
Milton Estes (Chair, Development
Committee), Dick Grosboll (Chair, Field
Committee). These officers will be joined
on the Executive Committee by Marlene
De Lancie, Joanne Lewis, Jack Londen,
Nancy Pemberton, Margaret Russell,
Eileen Siedman, and Beverly Tucker.
Pemberton will also serve as_ the
ACLU-NC affiliate representative to the
national ACLU Board of Directors.
Alcoholics |
Inmate's Trial Testimony
"Why not Let Me Go on with My Life?"
CMF inmate James Camarillo transformed a dark closet and some discarded books into a "satellite" law library for the AIDS
Wing at the prison.
Darcy Padilla/courtesy of J. Camarillo
inmates signed up for classes in the spring
of 1989, but were put out of the program
on the first day. "I was waiting at the gate
along with some other people to get
escorted. And word came in, `You guys
from the AIDS unit can't go,' "
Camarillo filed an administrative
appeal for himself and four others. The
appeal was denied.
Camarillo told the court that HIV
inmates are allowed in the main library
only once a week for two to three hours.
- They are always segregated. "We get to
the library under escort down there, they
throw everyone out... They tell everyone,
"You can't go in there unless you got
"AIDS =
The use of the library is far from equal.
"We can't check out books. We can't
check nothing to go outside the library and
bring back like the mainline does. You
can't check them out and take them with
you. So what are you going to do, read a
novel in three hours?"
Despite his lack of formal education
beyond high school, Camarillo is the clerk
for the AIDS wing "satellite" law library.
`When I first started, I had a light bulb to
screw in and a cord to pull. It was just a
dirty little closet. A lot of stuff we get in
there is dated, it's stuff the main prison
library doesn't want."
The Department segregation policy
even covers exercise. On the one day a
week that HIV inmates are allowed into
the mainline gym, "It's without the
mainline inmates, it's always us
segregated down there." The AIDS wing
also has a segregated exercise yard, with
only minimal facilities.
No AIDS counseling
Camarillo was told on his birthday that
he was HIV positive. The prison medical
staff who gave him the news did not
provide counseling. He has received none
since.
"T've seen a pamphlet laying around
and you pick it up and read it if you want
to hear about it. There wasn't any AIDS
education at all." p
Camarillo said he helped run AIDS
education seminars for mainline and
newly arrived inmates for five months, but
usually without supervision by CMF
medical staff.
The prison policy
requires HIV
inmates to be escorted if they leave the |
AIDS wing. The scarcity of escorts caused
Camarillo to miss several appointments
with a prison psychologist. The doctor
decided he could not set aside time for an
inmate who often could not come, so he (c)
discontinued treatment.
According to Camarillo, it is the
combination of idleness and isolation in a
confined space with people who are very
sick which makes life on the AIDS wing
so difficult.
"You feel like you're on a shelf. And
what I mean by that is, like in San
Quentin, when you're sentenced to death,
youre on the shelf.' That's the
terminology they use.
"T see a lot of hurt and pain... and a lot
of people suffering and a lot of people
give up. I see this guy who is healthy and,
two weeks later, gone. And you wonder, is
that going to be me?
"Tt's a lot of hurt sitting there watching
people die and deteriorate and just
- that's all - you're exposed to that 24
hours a day." oe
Camarillo says mainline inmates do
not object to full integration. "The whole
institution attitude has changed. We're
accepted now." But he knows mainline
inmates who won't take the HIV test
"because of the segregation."
Camarillo scoffs at the Department's
argument that it needs to segregate to
provide medical care. "You'd think I'm
hooked to a machine five times a day or
something. But I just get a plastic bag with
five vitamins in it.
"Why should I be denied to better
myself, to get on with my life? The state
provides various programs to assist you,
and I'm denied all that. And it hurts a lot.
It hurts psychologically a lot."
Research for this article was done by
ACLU-NC Public Information Department
intern Paul Stein.
aclu news
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aclu news
november 1989 3
Court Halts ``Invasive" Searches of Prison Visitors
isitors to inmates at California
V prisons will no longer have to
endure "abhorrent" invasions of
their privacy, as a result of a Marin
County Superior Court order issued on
September 12.
The ruling followed a month-long trial
in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU-NC and
the Prison Law Office against the
California Department of Corrections
challenging random searches of inmates'
visitors and their cars in prison parking
lots.
Judge Robert. H. Breiner's injunction
forbids dog searches of visitors' cars
without written consent, and requires the
CDC to inform visitors of their right to
leave if they do not wish to be searched. It
also forbids officers from allowing their
dogs to "approach, much less sniff," any
visitor.
"The treatment of some visitors ... has
bordered on the abhorrent," wrote Judge
Breiner. He rebuked CDC personnel for
"acting without thinking, ignoring `the
sensibilities of wives, mothers, and
children, damaging visitors' personal
dignity, and forgetting basic rules of
courtesy and respect."
The case was tried by Prison Law
Office attorney Donald Specter,
ACLU-NC cooperating attorneys Richard
Goff, Jon Hayden, Richard DeNatale, and
Jo Kerlinsky of Heller, Ehrman, White and
McAuliffe, and ACLU-NC staff attorney
Alan Schlosser. The massive amount of
testimony and documentation for the trial
was organized by legal assistants Monica
Zukow and Craig Hennen, also of Heller,
Ehrman.
"Visitors are free citizens and can't be
treated like prisoners, whose rights are
diminished by their incarceration."
"The case originated because armed
guards and police dogs subjected prison
visitors, including children, to a
frightening, humiliating, and blatantly
excessive invasion of personal liberty,"
said Goll In domg so, the CDC
obstructed and deterred prison visits, and
indeed, undermined the values which visits
are intended to foster."
From now on, the dogs must be kept 20
feet from visitors at all times.
The judge also warned prison guards
"against reading visitors' private mail and
legal papers and rifling through personal
belongings.
Major victory
Specter called the ruling a "major
victory" for prison visitors. "It reinforces
the notion that prison visitors are free
citizens and can't be treated like prisoners,
whose rights are diminished by their
incarceration," he said.
The suit charged that the CDC's search
policy, initiated in 1985, violates the
Fourth Amendment and is unnecessary for
prison security, as all visitors are already
subject to a metal detector screening and
an examination of their personal
belongings as
buildings.
Judge Breiner, however, refused to
require that such searches must be
supported by individualized suspicion that
the person possesses contraband.
"Weighing the need for the search
program to combat the serious drug
problem in the state prisons, the balance
ults in its favor against the invasions of
they enter the prison
privacy of the visitors," he wrote, as long
as the Department adheres to the
restrictions imposed by his injunctive
~ order.
- "We are considering a further appeal,
and right now we are fighting over the
terms of the permanent injunction," said
Specter. A hearing was held on November
1 to finalize the details of the injunction.
Constitutionally, an administrative
search must be no more intrusive than
necessary, and the suit brought to light
many abuses of CDC guards. Unwarranted
strip searches, intimidation, damage to
visitors' cars and personal property by
police dogs, and marathon delays all serve
to harass and discourage visitors.
"This decision, although limited, will
encourage people to continue visiting and
maintain firm relationships with their
loved ones inside the walls," said
Schlosser.
As a result of the decision, parking lot
signs warning of "routine searches" no
longer sufficiently imply consent to dog
and strip searches. Visitors must be |
informed of a dog search and submit
written consent prior to being searched.
Visitors must also be informed of their
right to leave if they do not wish to be
searched.
To eliminate delays that have lasted up
to four hours, Judge Breiner set a 20
minute limit on all searches.
Law enforcement
"At some institutions the goal
became one in which law enforcement
became an important objective of the
search team," wrote Judge Breiner.
To remedy this he ruled that DMV
violations discovered by guards are not to
be reported, and that the discovery of
contraband not intended for smuggling is
not grounds to deny visitation. He also
forbade local police from taking part in the
searches.
Earlier in the case, in May 1986, a
preliminary injunction was _ issued
requiring the CDC to inform visitors of
their right to leave if they did not wish to
be searched.
The suit came to trial on April 7 of this
year and ran through May 11; the trial
included testimony from several prisoners'
wives who had been harassed during the
parking lot searches.
Parental Consent ...
Continued from page |
states, "The state Constitution is a
document of independent force, and the
rights defined therein are not mirror
images of federal counterparts.
The state Constitution, Stein wrote,
"provides that the right of privacy is
guaranteed to all persons."
Noting that the right to choose an
abortion cannot be infringed without a
compelling state interest, the Court stated
that the groups challenging the law had
already presented extensive evidence to
refute the state's claim of a compelling
interest. "There was evidence that in
reducing the ability of a minor to make her
own decision in the matter, [the law] will
cause increased stress and depression.
"There was evidence that most minors
are very frightened of court proceedings
and that such proceedings cause additional
stress and anxiety. There was evidence
that [the law] will cause minors to delay
making a choice whether to have an
abortion...and evidence that abortions
performed later in pregnancy are attended
with increased health risks," the Court
found.
The case will now go to trial in San
Francisco Superior Court at a _ yet
unscheduled date; the injunction will stay
in effect at least until a final ruling in the
trial. On October 23, defendant Attorney
General John Van De Kamp announced
that he will not appeal the ruling to the
California Supreme Court but will accept
the appellate court's decision and allow
the case to proceed to trial.
Walt Handelsman/The Scranton Times
AU ALGO
Cooperating attorney Linda Shostak of
Morrison and Foerster, who argued the case
before the Court of Appeal in July, said,
"This ruling puts the state to a heavy
burden of proof to support the law at trial.
And, until it can do that, teenagers can
continue to get abortions on a confidential
basis."
According to the most recent statistics
available (1985), about 34,000 teenagers
aged 17 and under have abortions in
California each year. California has the
second highest pregnancy rate for
teenagers and one of the highest abortion
rates for this age group.
According to NYCL attorney Abigail
English, "Evidence from Massachusetts,
Minnesota and other states where similar
laws have been enforced clearly show the
devastating impact on teenagers.
"These laws significantly increase
health risks to minors and punish young
women for becoming pregnant. They do
not promote family harmony, improve
parent-child communication, or help with
the teenager's decision-making process,"
she said.
Harmful impact on teens
These charges are verified by over 20
declarations included in the lawsuit from
judges who were involved in the judicial
bypass proceedings, health researchers,
psychologists, social workers, doctors and
nurses who provide counseling and
abortions to teenagers in states where the
parental consent laws are in effect.
For example, a Minnesota nurse stated
that minors would skip school and travel a
great distance - often in unsafe conditions
and sleeping in the street or in a car - to
have their petitions heard in another county
where they would not be known. She told
of a teenager whose parents beat up her
boyfriend in an abortion clinic and later
kicked her out the home.
Although new to California, parental
notification and consent statutes have been
enacted in about 14 other states (in another
dozen states, the laws exist but have also
been enjoined). Two ACLU challenges to
such laws - one from Minnesota and one
from Illinois - will be argued before the
U.S. Supreme Court this term.
aclu news
november 1989
Vietnamese Fishermen Fight Ban on Boats
undreds of Vietnamese fishermen
H: northem California are again
able to ply their trade as a result of
an emergency federal court order issued on
November 7. The fishermen had been
detained and cited by the Coast Guard for
allegedly violating a 200-year old statute
which effectively bars non-citizens from
commercial fishing.
On September 27, Vietnamese
Fishermen Association of America and six
individual fishermen filed a lawsuit in U.S.
District Court charging that the federal
statutes which bar non-citizens from
piloting and owning vessels over 5 tons
(approximately 35 feet long), deprives
them not only of their civil rights, but of
`their livelihoods as well.
__ The fishermen are being represented by
ACLU-NC staff attorney Ed Chen; Asian
Law Caucus attorney Dennis Hayashi;
Alan W. Spearer and Carl Blumenstein of
Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady,
Robertson and Falk; and Michael G. Lee of
Minami, Lew, Tamaki and Lee.
Although Judge William Orrick
initially issued a Temporary Restraining
Order (TRO) the day after the suit was
filed prohibiting the Coast Guard from
enforcing the antiquated law, on October
13, the TRO was lifted and an injunction
was denied after a hearing before U.S.
District Court Judge William Schwarzer.
Judge Schwarzer's ruling effectively kept
the fishermen from fishing for two weeks.
When attorneys appealed Judge
Schwarzer's ruling the Ninth Circuit Court
of Appeals issued its emergency order
enjoining the Coast Guard from enforcing
the law while the court considers the
appeal.
Equal protection
The attorneys charge that the
citizenship requirement - _~ which
originated in 1796 as a means of ensuring
that large private boats could be mobilized
to defend the United States from sea attack
- 1S unconstitutional because it violates
the fishermen's right to equal protection
under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution.
"The Fifth
Amendment bars
Vietnamese fisherman Hai Le, skipper of the Romance II.
Richard Gordon
citizenship to pilot or own
fishing vessels. If this law is not
enjoined, I believe that many of
the Association members will be
forced out of the fishing
industry."
"The Coast Guard's actions
have had a chilling effect on the
fishermen and their activities,"
said Chen. "It deprives the
fishermen and their families of
their livelihood and primary
means of support for no good
reason. This case raises
important questions about the
right os resident aliens to be free
from discrimination by the
federal government."
Attorney Blumenstein added,
"This outright discrimination
advances no national interest
and only succeeds in
economically and __ socially
displacing hardworking,
tax-paying members of the
community."
Hayashi said, "This case is
significant in light of the
struggle against rising
anti-Asian sentiment," noting
that Vietnamese fisherman had
previously been subject to
harassment in Texas and
southern California."
Zeke Grader, President of the
Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen's Associations, said
he had not heard of the law
being enforced for a long time.
"The law was kind of a joke.
Then with the Vietnamese, they
discrimination against non-citizens and
resident aliens," Hayashi explained.
The Coast Guard began citing
fishermen, many of whom have been
fishing since the early 1980's, in January
of this year, The fishermen in the
Association are permanent residents who
are refugees from Vietnam. Most have
applied for citizenship, but that process
takes years to complete.
On September 16, members of the
Coast Guard boarded several boats piloted
by Vietnamese, told them to cease fishing
and return to port immediately. Some of
the fishermen were threatened with seizure
of their documents and licenses if caught
fishing again, which would effectively
prohibit them from using their boats. At
least 80 Vietnamese-operated boats were
cited.
According to Chieu Pham, President of
the Association, "Until this year, the Coast
Guard has never charged any of our
members for violating laws requiring U.S.
decided to enforce it," he said.
As a result of the Ninth Circuit order,
the fishermen will be allowed to pilot their
vessels and engage in commercial fishing
at least for the next several months.
According to Chen, the Appeal Court is not
expected to hear arguments in the case
until early 1990.
Defendants in the lawsuit are Admiral
Paul Yost, Commandant of the U.S. Coast
Guard and Rear Admiral J.W. Kime,
Commander of the Eleventh Coast Guard
District.
Horsewoman Wins Final Round
fter more than a decade of fighting
Ae all-male preserve of the
ounted Patrol in Woodside,
equestrienne Sonya Sokolow has _ been
vindicated by a state Court of Appeal
judgment in her favor. In August, the
appellate court ruled that Sokolow's
ACLU-NC attorneys are entitled to
attorney's fees for the lengthy court battle
challenging sex discrimination by the San
Mateo Sheriff's Department.
In 1986, San Mateo Superior Court
ruled that the all-male Mounted Patrol
cannot exclude women from membership
as long as it maintained a "symbiotic"
relationship with the Sheriff's Department.
The superior court, agreeing with
arguments from ACLU-NC cooperating
attomey Leigh Ann _ Huntington of
Morgenstein and Jubelirer, ruled that the
Mounted Patrol's policy and practice of
limiting its membership to men violated
the equal protection guarantees of the
California Constitution and the Fourteenth
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"Apart from her sex, Ms. Sokolow is fully
qualified for membership in the Mounted
Patrol," the court stated.
Close relationship
Prior to the 1986 ruling, the Sheriff's
Department maintained a close relationship
with the Patrol by deputizing all Patrol
members, assigning a salaried Sheriff's
Department employee to supervise training
of members of the Patrol in search-and-
rescue techniques, conducting security
checks on candidates for Patrol member-
ship and calling on the Patrol to assist in
searching for lost persons. Patrol members
wore insignias of the Department on their
uniforms; and the Sheriff was honorary
Commander-in-Chief of the Patrol.
Following the superior court ruling, the
Mounted Patrol decided to sever its ties
with the Sheriff's Department rather than
admit Sokolow - or any other woman -
to membership.
The trial court, however, refused to
award attorney's fees to Sokolow
determining that despite its decision,
Sokolow "did not prevail" as she was not
admitted to the Patrol.
With its August ruling, the appellate
court reversed that decision, determining
that Sokolow was "unequivocally the
prevailing party under both federal and
State _ Statutes. [She] successfully
established that...the Patrol's discrimina-
tory membership policy constituted state
action in violation of the equal protection
clauses of the state and _ federal
Constitutions....
"Even though Sokolow did not achieve
an order forcing the Patrol to admit her,
she did [obtain] severance of the County's
significant involvement with the Patrol as
well as ending the Patrol's informal
`monopoly' on equestrian search and
rescue in the Country and opening up the
opportunity to engage in mounted search
and rescue to any qualified person
regardless of sex," the appeal court
concluded.
Sokolow, an accomplished horsewom-
an who belongs to four equestrian clubs,
was pleased with the ruling. "The County
should have changed its position a long
time ago, but instead it continued to spend
taxpayers money on a so-called private
organization, the Mounted Patrol, and, in
doing so, violated my constitutional rights.
"People should be aware that their tax
dollars were spent in this way - and that
if the County or the Mounted Patrol had
backed down, they could have saved the
taxpayers the legal fees incurred by
challenging their discriminatory policy,"
Sokolow added.
he Human Costs of Employer
` Sanctions, a new report by the
ACLU and the Mexican American
Legal Defense and Education Fund
(MALDEF) on the impact' of the
Immigration Act was released at
simultaneous press conferences around
the country on November 6, the law's
third anniversary.
The 118-page report reveals
discrimination against the Hispanic
community caused by the Immigration
Reform and Control Act (IRCA).
Speaking at the San Francisco press
conference, Manuel Romero, Regional
Counsel of MALDEF, said, "It is clear
that this law is the source of increased
employment discrimination _ against
`foreign-looking' and `foreign-sounding'
people. It is time to realistically assess the
financial and human costs of IRCA. At
the very least, we must work to minimize
its discriminatory effects against Latino
and Asian workers."
Signed into law on November 6, 1986,
IRCA makes it illegal for employers to
hire undocumented workers and
establishes procedures for employers to
verify the work authorizations of all
newly-hired employees. Employers who
fail to properly verify work authorizations
or who knowingly hire undocumented
workers may face fines and _ other
penalties. 7
The Human Costs of Employer
Sanctions documents the experiences of
individuals who have suffered various
kinds of discrimination under employer
sanctions. It contains compelling personal
histories of workers who have suffered
discrimination in hiring, discharge and
conditions of employment because of the
way the law has been implemented. The
case histories were compiled California,
Texas, New York, Chicago, and
Washington, D.C.
Frontline enforcers
"The ACLU and MALDEF opposed
the law when it was first being debated
because it was obvious that a
discriminatory impact was being built into
aclu news
november 1989 5
ACLU, MALDEF Release
- Report on Immigration Act
the system," said ACLU-NC staff counsel
Alan Schlosser. "The law puts employers
on the frontlines of enforcing this complex
law, and yet it failed to put resources into
educating employers and the public about
what the law requires.
"The Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) has spent less than $60,000
to educate employers about
discrimination. Rather, the INS continues
to put its energy and zeal into enforcement
- and we have seen an increase in raids
here in San Francisco, in San Rafael, in
San Jose, and the East Bay. The result of
such raids is that employers take up more
discriminatory practices. No wonder 16
percent of all employers admit to
implementing discriminatory practices
since the passage of IRCA. This impacts
the livelihood of a large segment of the
work force," Schlosser added.
Romero noted that the discriminatory
The law has had a discriminatory impact on Latino and Asian workers.
f
he ACLU-NC_ mourns _ the
i untimely death of former Board
of Directors member Judy
Newman who died on October 5.
Newman was praised by ACLU-NC
Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich as a
"dedicated civil libertarian who had a
lifelong commitment to anti-war,
anti-military and anti-draft work."
A New York native and former
professional ballerina, Newman came to
the ACLU-NC in 1980 through her
anti-draft work. When President Jimmy
Carter announced the resumption of
draft registration, Newman, then the
mother of two teenage sons, helped
found San Francisco Parents and Friends
Against the Draft.
She was also a member of CARD, a
national anti-draft coalition of which the
ACLU was also a member.
Newman became a familiar figure
around the ACLU-NC office as she
worked to educate and mobilize ACLU
.
Judy Newman
members about the civil liberties
violations of draft registration.
Newman's "brainchild" - a postcard |
`
campaign against draft registration -
had a national impact. A full-page ad
"How to Register Against the Draft"
appeared in newspapers across the
country and was distributed through a
nationwide network of anti-draft, civil
liberties, student and parent
organizations during the initial two-week
registration period in 1980. The ad,
which brought a tremendous response,
allowed everybody - of any age, male
or female - to "register against the
draft."
Newman was elected to the Board of
Directors of the ACLU-NC; she chaired
the Anti-Draft Working Group and also
served on the Nominating and Field
Committees. Most recently, she was
active in the Pro-Choice Action
Campaign. She was also Co-chair of the
Board of CCCO, the Central Committee
for Conscientious Objectors, and an
editor of their newsletter The Objector.
Newman leaves her husband, James
Newman, and two adult sons, Eric and
Daniel. :
Lawrence Frank
effects have been felt by people who
should not have been affected by the law,
including U.S. citizens, legal permanent
residents and temporary residents. The
report includes recommendations to the
GAO, which is preparing its third and
final report to Congress on employer
sanctions. If the GAO finds that IRCA has
caused discrimination, Congress may
repeal the law's employer sanctions
provisions.
Specifically, Human Costs of
Employer Sanctions asks the GAO to
conduct' a comprehensive
evaluation of the law, to broadly define
IRCA-related discrimination to include
any discriminatory practices that violate
other federal or state laws, and to consider
all discriminatory practices based on the
9. form to be IRCA-related
discrimination. Ultimately, the report asks
the GAO to conduct further studies if it
cannot determine if "widespread
discrimination" has occurred in 1989.
Increased funding
The report also calls for an increase in
appropriations for the Office of Special
Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair
Employment Practices, the government
agency charged with investigating and
monitoring charges of IRCA-related
and fair -
employment discrimination. Romero said
that the Special Counsel has only one
office in Washington, D.C., which makes
it difficult to monitor abuses in areas
where they mostly occur, such as Texas
and California.
The report also calls for the
implementation of a comprehensive public
education campaign on IRCA's
nondiscrimination provisions, and the
provision of | work authorization
documents by the INS in a timely and
efficient manner.
Lina Avidan, author of a report on San
Francisco businesses for the Coalition for
Immigrant Rights and Services, said that
"the overwhelming majority of Bay Area
employers have discriminatory practices."
Their study showed that SO percent of
employers in San Francisco feel that the
INS's documentation requirements make
it riskier to hire people who speak limited
English. "A large proportion feel it is
riskier to hire Latinos (40%) and Asians
(39%), Avidan noted.
Cathi Tactaquin of the National
Network for Immigrant and Refugee
Rights announced that, based on the
ACLU/MALDEF report and other studies
with similar findings, the Coalition was
launching a letter writing campaign to
Congress asking for the repeal of the
employer sanctions provisions.
aclu news
november 1989
Images from the
March Against State Killing
The statewide mobilization against
the death penalty, the March Against
State Killing, had carried its message
from Sacramento to Vallejo when the
earthquake struck on October 17.
The marchers. called' off the
remainder of the march (through the
East Bay and San Francisco) but
reunited at the planned vigil in front of
Karen Moise
Bill Feretti
San Quentin Prison on October 22.
Three hundred people gathered for
the vigil, where they had a moment of
silence for the victims of the earthquake
and collected a truckload of food and
blankets for earthquake relief.
Numerous speakers, including Isidro
Gali from American Indians and the
Death Penalty and Leigh Dingerson
from the National Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty pictured above,
denounced the U.S. Supreme Court's
recent decisions allowing the execution
of minors and the mentally retarded and
called for renewed efforts to prevent the
resumption of capital punishment in
California.
The March Against State Killing,
which was endorsed by 140
organizations including the ACLU-NC,
-. Set out on October 13 from the steps of
the state Capitol in Sacramento.
Marchers, who included American
Indians and the Death Penalty with
traditional drums, Japanese Buddhist
monks, families of prisoners on Death
Row and families of murder victims,
walked about 15 miles a day through
Davis, Dixon, Vacaville, and Fairfield.
At each stop, they were hosted by local
supporters and held informative rallies
against capital punishment.
The march attracted national
attention and widespread press coverage
A Will to Give to the ACLU
or more than half a century, the
ACLU of Northern California has
fought to defend the Constitution
and the Bill of Rights. Through the pages
of history - redbaiting, vigilantes, WWII
internment camps, HUAC, the Free
Speech Movement, Vietnam, civil rights,
the fight for legal abortion, gay rights and
more - the ACLU has pioneers the fight
for individual lliberties.
_ You can do something now to insure
that the ACLU will continue to fight -
and win - ten, twenty, and fifty years
from now, through a simple addition to
your will.
Every year, thoughtful civil libertarians
have, through their bequests, provided
important support for the ACLU. In 1988,
bequests from our supporters contributed
$75,000 for the work of the ACLU
Foundation.
Making a bequest is simple: you need
only specify a dollar gift or a portion of
your estate for the American Civil
-Liberties Union Foundation of Northern
California.
If you need information about writing a
will or want additional information,
consult your attorney or contact Martha
Kegel, Bequests, ACLU Foundation of
Northern California, 1663 Mission
Street, Suite 460, San Francisco 94103.
from ABC and NBC network news,
National Public Radio, Reuters and
other U.S. and international media.
The March was organized by Death
Penalty Focus, a statewide organization
committed to ending the death penalty
in California. For information on
future Death Penalty Focus activities,
please contact them at PO Box 806, San
Francisco, CA 94101 or call 415/255-
$100.
Karen Moise
Bill Feretti
aclu news
november 1989 7
Bill of Rights Day ...
Continued from page |
Lyndon Johnson as the only woman
Commissioner of the newly created United
States Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission. The Commission was
established under Title VII of the historic '
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
President of NOW
In 1971, Hemandez was. elected
President of the National Organization for
Women (NOW). During her tenure, she
helped lead an International Feminist
Planning Conference in Boston which
brought together women from 30 countries
and led to the International Women's Year
Conference in Mexico City almost a
decade later.
A long-time activist for peace,
Hernandez always had an internationalist
perspective. An exchange student in
Norway in 1947, she also traveled
extensively in Latin America in 1960 as a
labor education specialist for trade unions
in Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Peru,
Argentina, and Uruguay, lecturing in
Spanish and English. In 1975, at the
invitation of the U.S. State Department,
she traveled to Germany for a series of
lectures and conferences on the situation
of minorities in the U.S. A handbook for
high school teachers in Germany now
includes a chapter by Hernandez entitled
"On Being a Black Woman in the United
States." In 1981, she joined a foundation
sponsored Commission to South Africa to
investigate apartheid and its relation to
U.S. policy; the Commission issued a
widely acclaimed report South Africa:
Time Running Out.
Throughout the tapestry of her life,
Hernandez has woven into her work a
deep commitment to civil liberties.
Currently the Vice-Chair of the National
Advisory Council of the national ACLU,
Hernandez was Mistress of Ceremonies
for the first ACLU-NC Bill of Rights Day
Celebration in 1973. She recalls, "I
remember that the naming of the Earl
Warren Award was. not without
controversy, starting a dialogue which was
to culminate ten years later in the joint
awards to Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred
Korematsu and Minoru Yasui.
"Many ACLU members will remember
the eloquence of Edison Uno in expressing
his concern about the role of Earl Warren
in the internment of Japanese - a contrast
with his later role as Chief Justice. The
right of Edison to express his opinion
Voices for Choice
Fran Strauss (1.), Co-chair of the
Student Outreach Committee and
Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich
were part of the lively ACLU-NC
contingent at the October 15 pro-choice
march and rally in San Francisco.
Over 60,000 people participated in
the largest pro-choice demonstration
ever held in northern California. The
San Francisco march and rally, orga-
nized by NOW and the Bay Area
Pro-Choice Coalition, culminated a
week of reproductive rights victories: a
Congressional vote (later vetoed by
President Bush) to allow Medicaid
funding for abortions for victims of rape
and incest; the Florida Legislature's
rejection of the Governor's proposed
restrictions on abortion; and _ the
California Court of Appeal ruling up-
holding a ban on the law requiring
parental consent for teen abortions.
A Civic Center rally led by spirited
speakers and entertainment invigorated
the enthusiastic crowd who shouted that
there would be "No turning back on a
woman's right to choose." Speakers
included Norma McCorvey, the original
"Roe" in Roe v. Wade, U.S. Representa-
tives Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi,
and two leaders of the ACLU-NC
Pro-Choice Action Campaign, Dick
Grosboll and Ann Daniels.
Business was brisk at the ACLU-NC
table where buttons stating `Another
Card-Carrying ACLU Member for
CHOICE" were sold and demonstrators
signed up to become active in the ACLU
Pro-Choice Action Campaign.
The San Francisco demonstration is
part of a national pro-choice mobiliza-
tion which will hold the Mobilization for
Women's Lives on November 12 in
Washington, D.C. The national
mobilization is being organized by an
unprecedented coalition of women's,
religious, civil rights, labor and health
organizations. National ACLU
Executive Director Ira _ Glasser
announced at a September press
conference that "the 53 affiliates and
275,000 members of the ACLU support
the Mobilization and _ will commit
substantial resources to the effort."
Photo Credit: Totoy Rocamora
caused Mr. Warren to reassess his role
and to make a public declaration that he
believed the internment to be wrong.
"The nation has also recognized the
wrongness of the action and revisiting
Executive Order 9066 has alerted a new
generation of Americans to __ the
importance of our Bill of Rights,"
Hernandez says.
As Chair of the Education Committee
of Death Penalty Focus, the statewide
coalition against capital punishment,
Hernandez has raised her eloquent voice
in the media, in public forums, and on the
recent Sacramento-to-San Quentin march
against the death penalty. "The
forcefulness of her arguments and the
clarity of her commitment has mobilized
many Californians to understand the
injustice of the ultimate punishment," said
ACLU-NC Executive Director Dorothy
Ehrlich.
Now the President of her own urban
consulting firm, Aileen C. Hernandez
Associates based in San _ Francisco,
Hernandez's outstanding leadership in the
fight for racial and social justice continues
to dominate her agenda.
Though she sits on many national and
statewide boards, Hernandez is still the
consummate activist: her days are filled
with business of organizing - phone
calls, meetings, public speaking and - as
in October's massive pro-choice
demonstration - marching with familiar
picket signs and banners.
Keynote Speaker
Keynote speaker Ralph Neas's tenure
as Executive Director of the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights began almost
simultaneously with the beginning of the
Reagan Administration - and his work
was cut out for him. There has probably
been no more challenging era for those
who defend civil rights.
As coordinator of the efforts of nearly
200 national organizations in the civil
rights coalition with respect to advocacy
before the legislative and executive
branches of the federal government, Neas
has played a major role in the crucial
political struggles of the last decade.
He worked on_ the (c) successful
campaigns to enact the 1982 Voting
Rights Act Extension, the 1988 Civil
Rights Restoration Act granting an
official apology and funds to Japanese
Americans who were interned during
World War II, and the Fair Housing
Amendments Act of 1988. He was also
instrumental in the efforts to defeat the
nomination of William Bradford
Reynolds as Associate Attorney General
in 1985 and the nomination of Robert
Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987.
Even though Neas_ outlasted the
Reagan Presidency, he still finds himself
fighting the Reagan legacy: he is currently
in the forefront of an effort in Congress to |
pass an omnibus civil rights bill which
will address the major setbacks in
employment discrimination dealt by the
the U.S. Supreme Court during its last
term.
The Bill of Rights Day Celebration
will be held at the Le Meridien Hotel in
San Francisco on Sunday, December
10. The program begins at 4:30 PM
(refreshments and no-host bar at 3:30
PM). Tickets for the event are $12.00
and are available from the ACLU-NC.
Cal 415/621-2493 or send in the coupon
below. :
NOTE: The Le Meridien Hotel is
easily accessible by BART. Take the
Montgomery Street exit.
aclu news
november 1989
`Taking Liberties"
A monthly radio program on civil liberties
Wednesday,
November 29 at
7:00 PM
KPFA 94.1 FM
When Racism Dresses in Speech's
Clothing: Reconciling the First and
Fourteenth Amendments by Stanford
University Law Professor Charles
Lawrence. This provocative presentation
by an eminent legal scholar was taped at
the national ACLU Biennial Conference
in Madison, Wisconsin in June.
"Taking Liberties", a new radio
series on KPFA 94.1 FM explores how
the Bill of Rights affects our everyday
lives.
The monthly program, hosted by
ACLU-NC Public Information Director
Elaine Elinson, includes expert guests on
drug testing, English Only laws,
reproductive rights, the rise in racism on
campuses, school censorship and other
cutting edge civil liberties questions. It
also features a special section with civil
liberties news updates and information
on how listeners can make their voices
heard on crucial civil liberties issues.
Tune your radio dial to "Taking
Liberties"!
ACLU Activists Reach
Out to Students
receiving an extra dose of civil
liberties with their education this
year, thanks to the efforts of the newly
organized Student Outreach Committee of
the ACLU-NC.
Targeted as a priority by the Field
Committee, the Student Outreach
Committee launched its work at the
ACLU-NC Annual Conference in August
with a workshop, led by Mary Gill of the
S tudents in northern California are
constitutional
Davis added.
late thought, provoke discussion,
above all, to educate. Our purpose is to
examine liberty," Davis said.
work on
Sacramento, North Peninsula, Sonoma,
San Francisco and Marin, has already sent
out over 150 letters to educators asking
them to invite an ACLU speaker into their
issues," Co-Chair Harry
"Our purpose is to stimu-
and
The Committee, which is focusing its
schools in the East Bay,
classrooms. The program will
BY MEYER FOR THE DAN FRANCISCO) HRONIC E
expand to other ACLU-NC
Chapter areas in the next year.
A speaker training session
will be held on November 18 at
the ACLU-NC office in San
Francisco (see Field Program
Calendar, p. 8). The training will
be led by former ACLU-NC
Board member Bernice Biggs of
San Francisco State University,
with presentations by Chapter
leaders who have already
launched the high - school
speaking program in their areas.
Speakers and their student
audiences will be armed with a
new booklet just published by the
Sacramento Chapter and Steve Fabian of
the Sonoma Chapter, on how to speak to
students on civil liberties.
"As we near the Bicentennial of the
Bill of Rights, the ACLU-NC's student
Outreach program will help familiarize
high school students. with their basic
document of our republic - and their
constitutional _ rights," explained
Committee Co-Chair Fran Strauss.
"Our roster of speakers is composed of
teachers, lawyers, and other ACLU
members, all volunteers who are willing
and able to make classroom presentations
on the historical framework of the Bill of
Rights, the Constitution and current
welcomes
students and teachers of all grade levels.
If you would like to participate, or
would like an ACLU-NC speaker in
your classroom, please contact Michael
Alderson at the ACLU-NC, 415/621-
2493.
the ACLU-NC entitled "Kids
Have Rights Too...But What Are They?"
The booklet, written in an easy-to-read
question and answer format by staff
attorney Alan Schlosser
Information
addresses topics ranging from censorship
to locker searches, and from school prayer
to abortion rights for teenagers.
and Public
Director Elaine Elinson,
The Student Outreach Committee
new members, especially
Field Program Monthly
Meetings
Chapter |
Meetings
(Chapter meetings are open to all interested
members. Contact the chapter activist listed
for your area.)
B-A-R-K (Berkeley - Albany - Richmond -
Kensington) Chapter Meeting: (Usually
fourth Thursday) Members are encouraged to
join the Chapter Board, help staff the hotline,
and organize activities in the Berkeley area.
Contact Tom Sarbaugh 415/848-6267 (day)
or Florence Piliavin 415/848-5195 (eve.).
Earl Warren (Oakland/Alameda County)
Chapter Meeting: (Usually - second
Wednesday) Attend urgent Strategy Session
for improving the Oakland Citizen's
Complaint Board with ACLU-NC Police
Practices Project Director, John Crew, on
Tuesday, November 7th, 7:30 p.m.. Regular
Chapter meeting November 8th. December
meeting to be -determined. Contact Abe
Feinberg, 415/451-1122.
Fresno Chapter Meeting: (Usually third
Monday) Attention Fresno-area_ members:
The Fresno Chapter has a new hotline num-
ber, 209/225-7380, and a new meeting date,
now the third Monday. New members always
welcome! For more information, please con-
`tact Mindy Rose, 209/486-7735.
Gay Rights Chapter Meeting: (Now first
Thursday, but watch for possible change in
January) Meet Thursday, December 7, 7:00
p.m. at the ACLU-NC office, 1663 Mission
Street, Suite 460, San Francisco. Look for the
Chapter Table at the ACLU-NC Bill of
Rights Day Celebration, Sunday, December
10, Le Meridien Hotel. Volunteers needed for
Bill of Rights Campaign fundraising by
phone, date to be determined. Please contact
Mark Hartman if you can help, 548-6447.
For further information, Contact Doug
Warner, 415/621-3900
Marin County Chapter Meeting: (Usually
third Monday) Meet November 20 and
December 18, 7:30 p.m., at RoundTable
Pizza, Strawberry Shopping Center, Mill
Valley. New members always welcome.
Volunteers needed for the Bill of Rights
Campaign fundraising by phone' on
November 15, call Deborah Doctor for de-
tails at 331-6213. For general information,
contact Jerry Ellersdorfer, 383-1074.
Mid-Peninsula (Palo Alto area) Chapter
Meeting: (Usually fourth Wednesday) Meet
Wednesday, November 22, 8:00 pm, All
Saints Episcopal Church, 555 Waverly,
Room 15, Palo Alto, for installation of new
Board. For more information, contact Harry
Anisgard, 415/856-9186 or Leona Billings,
415/326-0926.
Monterey Chapter Meeting: (First Tuesday
of the month) Meet Tuesday, December 5,
7:30 p.m., Monterey Library, Pacific and
Jefferson Streets, Monterey. Annual meeting
to be scheduled. For information, contact
Richard Criley, 408/624-7562.
Mt. Diablo (Contra Costa County)
Chapter Meeting: Meet November 30. Save
the date: December 14 Potluck Dinner 6:30
p.m. For meeting place and more informa-
tion, contact Mildred Starkie, 934-0557.
North Peninsula (San Mateo area)
Chapter Meeting: (Usually third Monday)
Meet November 20, 7:30 p.m. Bank of
America, Third and El] Camino, San Mateo.
Contact Emily Skolnick, 340-9834.
Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting:
(Usually second Wednesday) There will be
no December meeting. January meeting to be
determined. For Information, contact Joe
Gunterman, 916/447-8053.
San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Usually
fourth Monday) Meet November 27, 6:00
p-m., ACLU office, 1663 Mission Street,
Suite 460, San Francisco. No December
meeting. Contact Marion Standish, 415/863-
320)
Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting:
(Meeting days to be determined) All ACLU
members in the Santa Clara Valley area are
encouraged to attend! For date and time, con-
tact Christine Beraldo, 408/554-9478.
Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting:
(Now fourth Monday) There will be no
November meeting. December meeting date
to be determined. Watch for announcement
of our January meeting with guest speaker
Jessica Mitford. Members urgently needed
to serve on Chapter Board, staff hotline, help
plan chapter activities in the Santa Cruz area.
Contact Bob Taren, 408/429-9880.
Shasta County Organizing Committee: A
new ACLU-NC Chapter is forming.
November and December meeting dates to be
determined. All interested members in the
Shasta County area are invited to attend, call
for date and time. For more information,
contact: 916/241-7725.
Sonoma County Chapter Meeting: (Third
Thursday of the month) November 16, 7:30
p-m., Roseland Community Law Office,
1680 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa. Save the
date: Annual Meeting Dinner, January 19.
All members welcome. Contact Judy
McCann, 707/829-5668.
Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Third
Thursday of the month) Meet Thursday,
November 16. For more information, con-
tact Doug Powers, 916/756-8274.
Field
Committee
Meetings
(All Field Committee Meetings listed below
will be held at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663
Mission Street, #460, San Francisco. Please
RSVP for all meetings at least one day before
the meeting is scheduled. To RSVP, or for
more information, contact Michael Alderson
415/621-2493.)
Student Outreach Committee: (Usually
third Saturday) Speakers Training with
Bernice Biggs on November 18, from 10
a.m. to 12 noon. Attention Teachers: We
need the participation of teachers (all grade
levels, all kinds of schools) in the ACLU
Student Outreach Committee. Please come to
a meeting, or call Michael Alderson at the
ACLU-NC office for more information.
Pro-Choice Action Campaign: (Usually
third Tuesday) Meet Tuesday, November 21,
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Save the date:
January 22, 1990! We will be discussing
plans to commemorate the anniversary of
Roe v. Wade with a day of activities in
Sacramento.
Death Penalty Action Campaign: (Usually
third Saturday of alternating months) Meet
Saturday, November 18, 12:00 noon to 1:30
p-m. Evaluate the March Against State
Killing and discuss plans for future lobbying
and legislative action.
Field Committee: The next general meeting
of the Field Committee is January 11 (1990),
6 p.m. at the ACLU-NC office.