vol. 61, no. 3

Lye [la D |

harging that the "welfare reform" bill

OC passed by Congress and signed by

President Clinton last August vio-

lates the constitutional rights of indigent

legal immigrants who are disabled, blind

and elderly by unfairly barring them from

receiving SSI (Supplemental Security

Income), a coalition of civil rights attor-

) neys filed a class action in U.S. District

Court in San Francisco on March 26. A

motion for a preliminary injunction was

filed on April 17.

The suit will affect hundreds of thou-

sands of legal permanent residents who

receive subsistence-level SSI benefits

because their age or disabilities prevent

them from working. More than forty per

cent of those affected live in California. The

lawsuit, Sutich vu. Callahan, Commissioner

of Social Security Administration, is ask-

ing the federal court to issue an injunction

to halt the aid cut-off (scheduled for August

22 of this year) by barring enforcement of

Section 402 of the Personal Responsibility

1996, because it violates the constitutional-

ly guaranteed rights of indigent legal resi-

dent immigrants.

"This anti-immigrant legislation is

beyond the constitutional pale," said

Judith Z. Gold of Heller, Ehrman, White and

McAuliffe. "It will jeopardize the very sur-

vival of poor legal residents with disabili-

ties or who are elderly, and who are

full-fledged members of our society, pay

taxes and have been welcomed to reside

permanently in the United States."

The named plaintiffs are legal perma-

nent residents who will have their SSI bene-

fits terminated under the new welfare reform

"0x2122 harging that the April 8 ruling by a

(Gime panel of the Court of

Appeals lifting the injunction against

the anti-affirmative action measure

and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

NEWSPAPER OF THE AMERICAN Civil LIBERTIES UNION oF NORTHERN GALIFORNIA

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S Postage

PAID

Permit No. 4424

San Francisco, CA

ACLU Sues to Protect Elderly, Blind and

Disabled Immigrants from Losing SSI Benefits

| Award-winning Washington High School sophomore Saman Muy (left), pictured here the board-and-care facility where he is cur-

| with her mother Eam Tak, is threatened with losing her SSI benefits because she was rently living and become homeless or

| born in a refugee camp in Thailand. Continued on page 4

|

|

| law; they have all resided in this country

|

S9OOSSSHHSHHSHHOHSHSHSHOHSHHHHHHSHSTHSHHHHSHSHHHTHHHHHSEHCHHHHHH8HHESHE8HE88SEE

Civil Rights Advocates

Appeal Decision on 209

Three-Judge Panel's Ruling

"Ignores Law, Society's Racism"

| blind or disabled legal residents who are

eT ee 1997 No. 3

"DEATH NOTICES"

Gayle Zahler of Jewish Family and

Children's Services, said that when SSI

recipients began receiving notices of the

SSI cut-off they began to refer to them as

"death notices."

"This is not hyperbole," said ACLU-NC

managing attorney Alan Schlosser. "People

who receive the notices cannot reasonably

foresee any future for themselves except

homelessness and starvation. At least two

people - and probably more - have

already reacted to their `death notices' by

committing suicide."

Plaintiff Ivo Sutich has been a resident

of the U.S. for over forty years. After escap-

ing for political reasons from Yugoslavia,

he entered this country under the U.S.

Department of State's Escapee Program in

1956. He worked for almost eight years

before being involuntarily hospitalized for

psychiatric care. He has been diagnosed as

having paranoid schizophrenia. Sutich

was recently discharged from a nursing

facility and for the first time in several

years, he is living in the community with

the help of caseworkers. Sutich is 65 years

old and has severe visual impairment.

Without SSI, Sutich will be evicted from

| since prior to the passage of the 1996 welfare

_ reform act. The named plaintiffs represent a

_ class of hundreds of thousands of elderly,

being denied SSI benefits or who will be soon

purged from the SSI rolls.

| filed a petition for rehearing to the full Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals on April 22.

Proposition 209 will not go into effect

| while the Ninth Circuit judges consider the

"The panel could only come to the conclusion

that Proposition 209 is constitutional by

turning a blind eye to Supreme Court

precedents, the factual record in this case,

and the reality of racism in our society today."

Proposition 209 is against Supreme Court

precedent and denies women and minorities

access to remedies for discrimination, the

ACLU and other civil rights organizations

INSIDE: Minors' Access to Abortion # Civil Rights in Sacramento

|

| appeal. The injunction against Proposition

| 209 was issued on December 23, 1996 by U.S.

| District Court Judge Thelton Henderson

| Continued on page 2

Appeal on 209...

Continued from page |

based on the grounds that the new lawis like-

ly to be deemed unconstitutional-after a full

hearing on the merits.

The petition charges that the three-judge

motions panel overstepped its bounds when

it determined that Proposition 209 was con-

stitutional. This panel was only supposed to

rule on the government's motion to lift the

injunction - not on the ultimate constitu-

tionality of the measure, an issue which has

_ yet to be fully argued in court. "The impor-

tance of this case and the legal questions it

raises require an en banc reconsideration,"

the plaintiffs argue.

"It is difficult to imagine a case of

greater public import than this one," said

ACLU-NC staff attorney Ed Chen. "Millions

of Californians have an immediate and

enduring stake in this controversy, which

affects their education, business and

employment opportunities. Moreover, this

case involves a central concern of equal

protection law: the access of minorities to -

the political process to seek remedies to

past discrimination. "All of California -

indeed the entire nation - is watching,"

said Chen.

UAC. Berkeley.

"The panel could only come to the con-

clusion that Proposition 209 is constitutional

by turning a blind eye to Supreme Court

precedents, the factual record in this case,

and the reality of racism in our society today," |

Chen added.

_ Eva Paterson, Executive Director of the

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, said that

she is confident that the plaintiffs - a coali-

tion of women and minority business, labor

and academic organizations who filed the

class action challenge the day after the

November election - would prevail in over-

turning Proposition 209. "The struggle to rid

society of racial and gender discrimination

has never been an easy one. Civil rights

activists have often suffered setbacks in our

long struggle for justice."

Paterson was particularly critical of the

panel's ruling not to have a full hearing on

the facts of the case, arguing that the facts

show the devastating impact of this mea-

sure. "California must realize that the

elimination of affirmative action will reseg-

regate society," said Paterson, citing exam-

ples of projections of a minuscule number

of Latino and African American students at

"Whatever the resolution of this lawsuit,"

said Julian Gross of the Employment Law

Center, "there is no case in recent history for

ACLU News = May/June 1997 = Pace 2

Medical Groups Oppose

Law Restricting Teens'

Access to Abortion -

n May 7, the California Supreme

Oem: will again hear oral argu-

ments in American Academy of

Pediatrics v. Lungren, the case challeng-

ing the 1987 California law requiring

minors to obtain parental or judicial con-

sent for abortions. Plaintiffs, which

include the American Academy of

Pediatrics, the California Medical

Association and other leading health care

organizations, are asking the state high

court to uphold the permanent injunction

issued by the San Francisco Superior

Court in 1992, and upheld by the state

Court of Appeal on June 30, 1994, barring

the state from enforcing the law.

Although .the California Supreme

Court upheld the law in April 1996, the

Court agreed the following month to

rehear the case. By granting a rehearing,

the Court vacated its earlier opinion, leav-

ing in place the injunction which prevents

_ enforcement of the consent law.

"We welcome the opportunity to pre-

sent our arguments again in this profound-

ly important case. The Court's decision will

affect the lives of thousands of teenagers,"

said ACLU-NC staff attorney Margaret

Crosby who will argue the case before the

high court. :

"We hope that on reconsideration the

Court will protect the right of all women,

including teenagers, to decide whether to

become parents, and will continue in its

historic leadership in interpreting the |

California Constitution to safeguard pri-

vate decisions from government intrusion."

The challenged law restricting

teenagers' access to abortion has never

gone into effect because of court orders

issued in the suit, filed on behalf of the

American Academy of Pediatrics

(California District IX); the California

Medical Association, the American College

of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

(District IX); Planned Parenthood of

Alameda/San Francisco and Philip Darney,

M.D., former Director of Family Planning

at San Francisco General Hospital.

After five years of litigation and a

month-long trial in October 1991, San

Francisco Superior Court Judge Maxine

Chesney issued a permanent injunction in

June 1992 barring the state from enforcing

the law. The Court ruled that the law vio-

lated teenagers' rights of privacy and

equality under the California Constitution.

During the trial more than twenty

expert witnesses - including doctors and

other health care providers who work with

teenagers, psychologists and judges from

states where similar laws are in effect -

testified about the disastrous effect of such

laws on the physical, mental and emotional

health of teenagers who are forced to con-

front unsupportive or even violent parents

or navigate a formidable judicial system to

obtain a court order for an abortion. In

addition, California physicians and coun-

selors testified that the state's current sys-

tem, which has been in place for twenty

years, insures informed consent. National

experts also testified that adolescents are

capable of making informed decisions

about their reproductive health care.

Existing California law provides for many

important medical decisions to be made by

unemancipated minors without parental

consent including those related to HIV

testing, treatment of sexually transmitted

diseases and all aspects of carrying a preg-

nancy to term.

Judge Chesney ruled that the state had

failed to justify the law's burden on

teenagers' rights to privacy. In upholding

Judge Chesney's decision, the Court of

Appeal ruled that the statute "does not and

cannot further the interests it purports to

protect" - the health of teenagers and the

relationship of parents with their children.

Indeed, the court noted, the challenged

statute "injures those interests....[T]he

judicial bypass procedure creates a sub-

stantial obstacle whose only effect is to hin-

der the minor from obtaining an abortion."

Plaintiffs argue that the competent

counseling and health care by the current

medical system, in place for more than two

decades, better serves the welfare of preg-

nant teenagers.

The California Supreme Court has the

final authority to decide this case because

it involves the interpretation of the state

Constitution.

Plaintiffs are represented by ACLU-NC

staff attorneys Margaret Crosby and Ann

Brick; Abigail English of the National

Center for Youth Law's Adolescent Health

Care Project; and Linda Shostak, Annette

Carnegie, David Robertson, and Lori

Schechter of Morrison and Foerster who

have litigated the case on a pro bono basis

as cooperating attorneys for the ACLU-NC

and the NCYL. @

SC9OS9HSHSHOHHSHHSHHSHSHSHHSHHHSHSHSHSHSHHSHHSHSHHSHHHSHOHHHOHHSHOHBHOHOHSSHSHSSESSEEOeS

which it is more important for the public to

have confidence in both the substance and

_ the process of this decision-making.

"Unfortunately, the actions and opinion

of the motions panel undermine that confi-

dence," he said.

"There is

nothing neutral about.

Proposition 209," said Chen, responding to

the panel's statement that this is a race-neu-

tral law. "If implemented, only women and

minorities will be excluded from public edu-

cation, jobs and business opportunities. Only

women and minorities will be barred from

equal access to the political process." i

(): March 19, the ACLU-NC filed suit in |

U.S. District Court in Sacramento |

against the Galt Joint Union High |

School District Board of Trustees and Galt

High School officials, charging that forcing

students and teachers to relinquish book

bags, purses, jackets and other personal

belongings to random inspections by drug

sniffing dogs violates their constitutional

guarantee against unreasonable searches

and seizures.

The practice of using dogs to search stu-

dents' belongings is used in over 40 school dis-

tricts throughout the Central Valley. This

lawsuit is the first to challenge such policies

under which school districts bring in a private

company to search students' belongings with

dogs. :

ACLU-NC cooperating attorney John

`Heller of Chapman, Popik and White, said,

"The school board is bringing in the dogs

and subjecting students to searches and

seizures without having any basis for sus-

pecting that they have done anything

wrong. We would never tolerate that type

of suspicionless search and seizure of

adults. There's no reason why students

should be forced to endure it."

Last June, the Galt School District

entered into a contract with Interquest

Group, Inc. for random, unannounced dog-

sniff inspections of lockers, classrooms,

vehicles and communal areas for the pur-

pose of detecting illegal drugs, weapons

and other contraband.

On February 6, 1997, Galt High School

Vice-Principal Donna Gill entered teacher

Michael Millet's Criminal Justice class and

directed the students and Millet, who has

taught in the District for 25 years, to vacate

the classroom and leave all their belong-

BY Mona Laczo

n March 18, more than 1,000 high

Op students from 55 high schools

throughout northern California gath-

ered on the U.C. Berkeley campus for the

sixth annual ACLU "SAY WHAT??!! -

Students Celebrating Freedom of Expression"

to discuss the many controversial and diffi-

cult civil liberties issues that face today's

youth. The conference, organized by the

Student Advisory Committee of the Howard A.

Friedman First Amendment Education

Project, included debates and workshops on

issues ranging from racism to religion in

schools, from cyber-liberties to gay bashing on

campus, and from immigration to music cen-

sorship.

The students were also entertained by

sel 0 ACLUN_1981.MODS ACLUN_1981.batch ACLUN_1982 ACLUN_1982.MODS ACLUN_1982.batch ACLUN_1983 ACLUN_1983.MODS ACLUN_1984 ACLUN_1984.MODS ACLUN_1984.batch ACLUN_1985 ACLUN_1985.MODS ACLUN_1985.batch ACLUN_1986 ACLUN_1986.MODS ACLUN_1986.batch ACLUN_1987 ACLUN_1987.MODS ACLUN_1987.batch ACLUN_1988 ACLUN_1988.MODS ACLUN_1988.batch ACLUN_1989 ACLUN_1989.MODS ACLUN_1989.batch ACLUN_1990 ACLUN_1990.MODS ACLUN_1990.batch ACLUN_1991 ACLUN_1991.MODS ACLUN_1991.batch ACLUN_1992 ACLUN_1992.MODS ACLUN_1992.batch ACLUN_1993 ACLUN_1993.MODS ACLUN_1993.batch ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1994.batch ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1995.batch ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1996.batch ACLUN_1997 ACLUN_1997.MODS ACLUN_1997.batch ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_1999 ACLUN_1999.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log

Ebonics.

ACLU Sues to Stop School's

Drug-Sniffing Dogs

Students line up to question speakers at the plenary on

"This type of dragnet search is exactly

what the Fourth Amendment was

intended to prevent. Galt school

officials are giving the students a

terrible civics lesson."

ings behind for a "dog-sniff"

inspection. Student Jacob Reed

objected to the dog-sniff inspec-

tion and refused to give up his

belongings. Claiming that his

refusal created a "reasonable sus-

picion" to believe that he had ,

something to hide, Vice- ga

Principal Craig Murray

necessary, they didn't take into con-

sideration that students are people

and they have rights. Also, I didn't

want the dogs to slobber all over my

papers, books and other stuff."

In the meantime, the dog-sniff

i. inspection continued in Millet's

o classroom. When

the teacher began to

took Reed to the g leave with some of

Principal's office tobe 4 a his personal belong-

searched. | 3 ings, he was ordered

Behind the closed and by Vice-Principal

office door, Vice = oe 5 Gill to leave them to

Principal Murray Galt High School senior Jacob Reed spoke be sniffed as well.

searched Reed's out against an unwarranted search of After the inspection,

binder, jacket and es belongings by drug dogs - and was Gill announced' to

rewarded with a trip to the principal's

office and a more extensive search.

the entire class that

the dogs had "alert-

ed" to a jacket and

bookbag and ordered the owners to identify |

themselves. Chris Sulamo identified him-

self as the owner of the jacket. After

Sulamo refused to submit to a search

unless it was conducted in the presence of

a police officer, Gill telephoned a Galt

police officer, who arrived and directed

| Sulamo to submit to the search.

hat. Murray ordered

Reed to empty his

pockets, and to turn

up his pants cuffs to show his socks, which

he then inspected. Murray stuck his hands

into Reed's pants pockets. No illegal drugs

or contraband were found.

"Drugs are a bad thing, but they are

going about this all wrong," said senior

Jacob Reed. "I felt although the adminis-

tration believed what they were doing was

(c)OCOHSHHSHHSHOSHOHSHHSHSHSHHOHSHSHOHSHHSHSHSHHOHHSHHSHSHHOHEHHHHKTHHHSHSHHSSHSHSHSHSSHHSHHHE8SEHEHESEHESEHEHEH8ESEH8EHEH8THHHHCH8HEHEHESEHEHHSESEO

Students Celebrate

Freedom of Expression

musicians Bird in the Hand, and

"T felt uncomfortable - my rights were

not being served," said Sulamo, a junior.

Principal Callas searched his clothing, put

his hands in Sulamo's pants pockets,

checked his socks and disassembled his

pens. "I had no say in what they did to me

or my belongings," Sulamo said. Again, no

illegal items were found.

"After being contacted by the students

and their parents, we informed the school

board that these searches are illegal

because they violate the students' rights,"

said ACLU-NC managing attorney Alan

Schlosser. "However, the district insists

that they will continue the program. This

type of dragnet search is exactly what the

Fourth Amendment was intended to pre-

vent. Galt school officials are giving the

students a terrible civics lesson," he added

Teacher Michael Millet noted the irony

of his students being yanked from a class on

criminal justice and treated like criminals

for no reason. "This is an intolerable situa-

tion in a democratic society. For the money

- that the District is paying for dogs to teach

negative points about our Constitution, we

could have more educational assemblies or

we could take our students to Solano State

Prison at Vacaville to talk to incarcerated

people who used drugs.

"There are more positive ways to

address the drug problem with our youth. :

Let's not take the Constitution and use it

against our future citizens," added Millett.

In addition to attorneys Schlosser and

Heller, the plaintiffs are also represented

by cooperating attorneys Mark White and

Robert Lash, also of Chapman, Popik and

White.

The plaintiffs in the suit are students

Jacob Reed and Chris Sulamo and their par-

| ents as well as teacher Michael Millet. The

defendants are members of Galt Joint Union

High School District Board of Trustees, the

high school principal and vice-principals.

The ACLU is asking the court for an injunc-

tion to halt the illegal practice of dog search- -

es in the school district.

of different racial groups separating them-

selves in school cafeterias, corridors and

courtyards. Students expressed serious

concerns over "academic tracking" which

they see as the school's tool for separation

that leads to racial tension. Although there'

was no unanimity on the solutions to the

problem, almost all participants supported

the call for multi-cultural education and

awareness programs that can bring stu-

dents of different backgrounds together.

At the workshop on "Invasion of

Privacy: Locker Searches, Breathalyzers -

and Sniff Dogs," ACLU-NC managing

attorney Allan Schlosser responded

to students' questions about how

far their privacy rights extend at

school, providing useful tips on

how students can claim their

rights without provoking too

much negative reactions

from their teachers. or

by the Medea Project: Theater for Ky as school security person-

Incarcerated Women, whose moving yw) nel. Schlosser urged

poetry and dance addressed domestic 0 08 eno" students to learn more

violence, drug addiction, betrayal, loss sil about their constitutional

and recovery. rights.

Dr. Cheryl Kirk-Duggan,

Director of the Center for oT ae

Women and Religion of the pt (ne no ga dents, sit-

Graduate Theological Union at | joe ot ting two to a chair,

U.C. Berkeley, opened the day inl of and on the window-ledges,

| go" were anxious to talk about how

with a rich historical, political

and cultural presentation on

Ebonics. Her powerful remarks

drew scores of students asking

questions at the open mike ses-

their schools in poor and minority neighbor-

| hoods lack key resources for learning: One |

_ sophomore from Oakland said, "We don't have -

anything at our school - no library, no com-

sion. puters, nothing. But when we look out our

ea windows we see how rich people ride their golf

= about racism emerged in the | carts and swing their clubs all day long. How

. workshop on "Addressing Racial | do you think that feels?"

Unity in Schools." The work-

shop was packed and many stu-

Many students of all races talked about

the pros and cons of the common practice

Students' deep concerns

|

"The all-day conference was entirely stu-

dent-planned and student-run," said ACLU-

NC Friedman Project Director Nancy Otto.

_ "Our goal is to provide a forum for students to

| express their opinions on controversial, cut-

ting-edge issues without fear of adult censure

- and to give them tools to work for civil lib-

erties even though they may be too young to

vote."

The conference was organized by 30 high

school members of the ACLU Student Advisory

Committee, and sponsored by the Howard A.

Friedman First Amendment Education

Project and the Berkeley Student Caucus.

Mona Laczo is an intern in the Public

Information Department of the ACLU.

oe ACLU News = May/June 1997 = Pace 3 : 7

SSI Benefits...

Continued from page |

returned to a psychiatric institution.

- Sixteen-year old Washington High

School sophomore Saman Muy uses a

wheelchair because she had a spinal cord

injury when she was a child. Over the past

eleven years, Muy has undergone major

surgery three times, has had extensive

physical therapy and takes medication

every day; she receives SS] and Medi-Cal.

Muy's family came to the U.S. from war-

torn Cambodia in 1982 when she was two

years old. She lives with her mother, step-

father and four younger siblings in a one-

bedroom apartment in San Francisco's

Tenderloin District. As even her own apart-

ment building is not fully wheelchair

accessible, her mother spends a good deal

of time helping Saman, including adminis-

tering her nine different medications and

assisting her in the bathroom.

Muy, who won an Outstanding Youth

Award in 1993 from the Delinquency

Prevention Commission, loves school and

hopes to be the first in her family to attend

university. She is worried about what will

happen to her and her family if she loses

her SSI check which is used to cover a

share of the rent, food, utilities. and trans-

portation. Her father has a physical dis-

ability and also has depression and anxiety

from his days in Cambodia. Her mother, a

former rice farmer with little formal edu-

cation, was turned down for citizenship

two years ago because her English was not

good enough; she does not work outside

the home as she must spend a good deal of

time assisting Saman and looking after her

younger children. Muy is planning to

become a U.S. citizen but cannot do so

until she is 18. "If I lose my SSI support it

will be very difficult for me to get by in the

next year and a half," she said.

Other plaintiffs include Wing Yim Chan

is a 60-year old widow from Hong Kong who

lost her sight - and her job - after work-

ing as a seamstress in California for seven

years; and 90-year old Scottish-born

Elizabeth McEwan, who worked for many

years as a cleaner in private homes, clubs

and restaurants.

=

BY TOM MEYER/THE CHRONICLE.

"These are the political refugees and

asylees which America welcomed and

promised to shelter. These are the

hardworking immigrants who have

sacrificed everything to come to this

country, but who have become

disabled."

The lawsuit charges that denying SSI

to needy individuals based solely on their

citizenship status is in direct violation of

the Fifth Amendment's Due Process

Clause, which protects all residents from

discrimination at the hands of the govern-

ment.

"While lawfully resident noncitizens

can be denied certain privileges, such as

the right to hold certain kinds of public

office, it is patently outside our constitu-

tional norms to discriminate against legal

immigrants in a manner that threatens

ACLU-NC First Amendment Education Project presents

Lesbian and Gay Sensitivity and

TT BCH ee GOS yy

This workshop is for those working with teenagers, including educators, school

administrators, school nurses, social workers, counselors, mental health

professionals, and probation officers.

Schools are legally responsible for creating safe learning environments for all

students including lesbian and gay questioning youth. However, all too often,

schools fail to adequately address homophobic slurs and attacks in the classroom

orinthe hallways. The controversial nature of lesbian and Say issues scares many

teachers from knowing how to facilitate discussions with students on the topic.

This course is designed to sive teachers the tools necessary to talk about lesbian

and Say issues in the classroom, to create safe space for lesbian and gay

questioning youth on campus, and to inform teachers and school officials of their

responsibility to protect all students from hostile and homophobic environments.

Presented by the Howard A. Friedman First Amendment Education Project of the American Civil Liberties

Union Foundation of Northern California.

their very ability to exist, as this does,"

explained Gold.

CRUEL, ARBITRARY

The law denies most legal immigrants

access to SSI, which previously was avail-

able to all indigent people living in this

country for more than five years who are

elderly, blind or disabled. "To single out

this group who are already living in this

country and who are unable to work

because of their disabilities and advanced

age, does not further any legitimate gov-

ernmental purpose. It is cruel, arbitrary

and irrational - and a clear example of

invidious discrimination in violation of |

equal protection

Schlosser.

SSI provides a minimal income for peo-

ple who are elderly, have disabilities or are

blind, and who have no assets and no abili-

ty to work. The monthly payments - in

1997, the national base amount is $484 per

individual, and is $640 in California - cov-

er only the very basic necessities of food,

clothing, and shelter. Eligibility for SSI has

always been strictly need-based and never

guarantees," said

ACLU NEws = May/June 1997 = Pace 4

distinguished between citizens and lawful

permanent non-citizens and their depen-

dents. All legal resident immigrants are

subject to the new restrictions except for

those who fit into such narrow categories

as having proof of legally working in the

country for over 40 quarters (10 years), are

veterans or are certain recent refugees. -

Ironically, those affected by this legis-

lation came to this country under United

States' national immigration policies like

family unification, worker recruitment,

and refugee asylum.

"These are the political refugees and

asylees which America welcomed and

promised to shelter. These are the hard-

working immigrants who have sacrificed

everything to come to this country, but who

have become disabled. These are the

grandmothers and grandfathers, mothers

and fathers who have come here under a

U.S. policy of encouraging the reunifica-

tion of families. These are the children like

Saman Muy who will be punished because

she spent the first two years of her life in a

refugee camp instead of being born in the

United States," said attorney Victor Hwang

of the National Asian Pacific American

Legal Consortium.

"Moreover, the goal of `self-reliance' is

absurd," said Hwang. "Congress may wish

that Sam Muy may walk and Wing Ying

Cham will see, but it is irrational for

Congress to believe that denying them SSI

benefits will transform them into fully self-

sufficient people. Ivo Sutich's schizophre-

nia will not diminish because Congress cuts

off his SSI check; ninety-year-old Elizabeth

McEwan will not be able to work again."

ACLU-NC attorney Schlosser, added

"This arbitrary cut-off of benefits will cause

inestimable hardship to legal immigrants

who due to their age or disability cannot

work to support themselves - it reflects

an unfortunate historical tradition in this

country of singling out immigrants because

of racial antipathy and their political pow-

erlessness."

A hearing on the preliminary injunc-

tion has been requested for June 13.

The case is being litigated by attorneys

Judith Z. Gold, Paul W. Sugarman, Roger W.

Doughty, Thomas P. Brown, Robert Mahnke

and Jeff Hessekiel of the San Francisco law

firm Heller, Ehrman, White and McAuliffe;

ACLU-NC attorneys Alan Schlosser and

Edward Chen; Yolanda Vera and Linton

Joaquin of the National Immigration Law

Center; and Victor Hwang and Gen Fujioka

of the National Asian Pacific American

Legal Consortium; Gerald A. McIntyre and

Herbert Semmel of the National Senior

Citizens Law Center; Melinda Bird and

Gioconda R. Molina of Protection and

Advocacy, Inc.; Robert Rubin of the

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; and

ACLU National Immigrants' Rights

Director Lucas Guttentag.

_ U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to

Hear City's Appeal in Cross Case

n March 17, the United States

QO Supreme Court let stand the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that

the City's ownership and maintenance of

-_

Strollers at the base of the cross on Mt.

Davidson lend perspective to the size of

the towering religious symbol on the

highest hill in San Francisco.

Union Matp

this means that

children and

adults of all faiths

will be able to

enjoy Mt. Davidson

park without feel-

ing like second

class citizens.

the cross on Mt. Davidson is

unconstitutional. The high

court refused to hear the

city's appeal in the case of

Carpenter v. San Francisco, a

lawsuit brought by several reli-

gious leaders and taxpayers

represented by the ACLU-NC,

the American Jewish Congress

and Americans United

tolerance and ensuring that faith is a mat-

ter of individual conscience. This country

was founded on these principles, which are

particularly compelling in a pluralistic city

like San Francisco," Crosby added.

In accordance with the Court ruling,

the City must decide how to divest itself of

the religious symbol. "The Supreme Court's

decision conclusively demonstrates that

the city's ownership and maintenance of

the cross is unconstitutional," said Fred

Blum, counsel for the American Jewish

Congress. "As a faith-based organization we

are particularly sensitive to religious sym-

bols. We have never suggested that the

for the

Separation

of Church

and State

arguing tha

the citymus |

divest itse,

of the tower.

ing religious

"The ruling means that San

Franciscans of all faiths will

be able to enjoy Mt.

Davidson park without

_ feeling like second class

citizens."

symbol on =

public land. =

"The Ss

5

Court's order

is a victory for

religious free-

dom," said brought. this

ACLU-NC staff attorney Margaret Crosby. | case-a Baptist pastor, a rabbi, a Unitarian

"The Court has once again told government | minister and a Buddhist priest-under-

that it has no business promoting the sym- | stand that the separation of church and

bols of favored religions. InSan Francisco, | state strengthens religion, by promoting

Tom Steel, attorney for Americans United for the

Separation of Church and State, with the San

Francisco Examiner headline.

"The religious

leaders. who

| only response to this lawsuit is for the City

to remove the cross.

"There are many options open to the

City which will not diminish religious liber-

ty," added Blum. "And it is the City's

responsibility to determine how to resolve

this problem.

ACLU Represents Hmong Family (c)

Harassed by Yuba County Sheriff

BY Marcia ARCHULETA

esponding to a claim that a three-

R year-old child shot a neighbor with

ab.b. gun, the Yuba County Sheriffs

`Department subjected the Her family,

members of the Hmong community, to two

unlawful searches, detained them -

including the seven small children - at

the police station all day without a warrant

and interrogated a ten-year-old girl with-

U.S. Supreme Court |

Asked to Hear Case on

Anti-Gang Injunction

ivil rights advocates filed a petition

G6 for a writ of certiorari with the U.S.

Supreme Court on April 30 seeking

review of the California Supreme Court's

January 380 decision in People v. Acuna,

which upheld a preliminary injunction -

based on public nuisance law - against

young Latinos whom the City of San Jose

branded as gang members.

The petition charges that the injunc-

tion prohibits the so-called gang members

from constitutionally protected freedoms

_ of expression, association and lawful con-

duct such as being seen in public with

another "known gang member."

Additionally, the petition contends that

the City unlawfully named individuals in the

injunction on the basis of alleged gang

membership because it was not required to

show that they have actually engaged in or

are likely to engage in any criminal conduct. -

According to ACLU-NC staff attorney ||

Ed Chen, "We believe that such injunctions

unlawful searches. The claim also asks for

$10,000 in damages for emotional distress,

loss of reputation in the community, and for

the door which was broken during an unlaw-

ful search.

"This is an example of the pervasive and

`shocking problem of police abuse spurred by

anti-immigrant sentiment. The Her family

deserves to be justly compensated for the

discrimination and mistreatment they have

suffered," said ACLU-NC staff attorney Kelli

Evans who is representing the family.

Despite the Hers' allegations of repeated

police intimidation and harassment, the

Yuba County Sheriff Department denied

Evan's request under California Public

Records Act for information regarding the

County's policies-on searches, communicat-

ing with people who have limited English,

and removing children from school.

On March 27, a week after the County

Supervisors meeting, Evans received a letter

from the supervisors denying the claim. At

the meeting, Evans charged the claim had

not been adequately probed, pointing out

`that the Yuba County Personnel

Director/Risk Manager never made an

_ attempt to talk to the Her family or to Evans.

"In all likelihood we will file a lawsuit in

federal court. The Hers and the Hmong

community in general have been the target

of extensive hostile action by local govern-

ment," said Evans.

The Her family's troubles with the Yuba

County Sheriff's Department began in

August, 1996. Investigating a report that the

three-year-old member of the Her family

shot a neighbor with a b.b. gun, Officer

Freeman walked into the Her family home in

`the City of Marysville without knocking,

announcing his presence or a warrant. He

ordered Vang Her to give Freeman ab.b. gun.

After Vang Her explained that his family did

not own a b.b. gun, Freeman became abu-

sive, and threatened to jail Her.

Freeman then ordered Her's ten-year-

out her parents' consent until she burst |

into tears. |

The family's repeated attempts to obtain |

information regarding these police actions

proved to be futile. Finally, with the ACLU-

NC's help, they filed a claim against Yuba

County on February 20.

The claim, filed with the Yuba County

Board of Supervisors, charges officers violat-

ed the Hers' constitutional rights to privacy,

equal treatment, and protection against

flagrantly violate the rights of groups tar-

geted specifically because of their age, eth-

nicity and relationships. Law enforcement

could claim that warrantless searches, for

example, would help fight crime - but our

Constitution doesn't permit them, lest we

were to allow the government to impose a

complete police state."

In 1998, the San Jose identified over

thirty young Latinos as gang members and

obtained the preliminary injunction against

them via a civil suit, prohibiting those

declared gang members from protections

ensured in a criminal proceeding such as

the right to an appointed attorney, a jury tri-

al or criminal justice standards of proof.

Those who violate the injunction face up to

six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.

The petitioners are represented by

ACLU-NC staff attorney Ed Chen; Public

Interest Law Firm attorney Amanda

Wilson; and Sara Campos of the Lawyers'

Committee for Civil Rights

ACLU News = May/June 1997 = Pace 5

old daughter, Bee, to go outside with him. |

When Her informed Freeman that he did not

want his daughter questioned outside of his

presence, the officer responded that he did

not care about the father's wishes and again

threatened to jail him. After several min-

utes, Her went to check on his daughter and

saw that she was crying. When Freeman saw

Her, he screamed at him to return to the

house or be put in jail. Freeman took the

child to the back-seat of the police car,

closed the door and continued the interroga-

tion.

When Freeman returned with Bee, he

proceeded to search the house without a

warrant or consent and directed Bee to open

the locked areas of the house which he then

searched. No b.b gun was found.

Unfortunately, the Hers' trials did not

end with this incident. The following

month, in September, Detective Saechao

went to the Her residence and demanded

that all present come with him to the

Sheriff's Department. Saechao did not

have a warrant and threatened that if they

did not cooperate, he would jail the entire

family.

Sai Xiong, Vang Her's wife, asked if she

could first prepare food and diapers for the

small.children, but Saechao refused her

request and the mother and children were

detained in a room at Sheriff's Department

for most of the day.

While Xiong and the small children were

held at the Sheriff's Department, Saechao

seized the three other children out of their

elementary schools without warrants and

without their parents' consent and brought

them to the Sheriff's Department. Once

there, he proceeded to interrogate Bee with-

out her parents' consent.

Following the interrogation, Saechao

and Officer Johnson took the family back to

their home and conducted another unautho-

rized search of the Her residence. They had

no warrant and did not obtain the Her fami- .

ly's consent to the search.

Nob.b. gun was ever found. and

Term Limits-A

New Ball Game?

BY VALERIE SMALL NAVARRO

Legislative Advocate

here are a lot of new faces in

PY Nssranen this session. Term lim-

its forced out 34 legislators - most-

ly Democratic veterans who took a wealth

of experience with them - and the bare

Democratic majorities in each house

(Assembly: 48 Democrats

Republicans; Senate: 23 Democrats, 37

Republicans, and 1 Independent) set the

stage set the stage for "elect-me-again"

bills over honest long-term and thoughtful

legislative proposals. Not to mention that

the Governor's veto pen forces a race

toward the lowest common denominator.

The good news is that two strong pro-

civil liberties voices have assumed power-

ful leadership positions in the Assembly:

Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles),

Democratic Floor Leader and Shiela Kuehl

(D-Santa Monica), Speaker pro Tempore.

There are also strong chairs of the key

committees-that deal with civil liberties

issues; for example: Senate Judiciary

Committee: John Burton (D-San Francisco);

Senate Public Safety Committee: John

Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara); Senate

Health and Human Services Committee:

Diane Watson (D-Los Angles); Assembly

Appropriations Committee: Carole Migden

(D-San Francisco); and Assembly Budget

Committee: Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego).

ACLU's PROACTIVE AGENDA:

CIvIL RIGHTS AND FREE PRESS

Against this backdrop, the ACLU boldly

launched several bills. Two measures deal

with discrimination, and the third with

removing secrecy orders in prisons.

and: ol

The first is an omnibus civil rights mea- |

sure (AB 310, Assemblymember Shiela |

Kuehl). to strengthen and add to the pro- |

tections afforded to people suffering from

discrimination or harassment in the work-

place or housing market. Among its provi-

sions are sections that remove the $50,000

cap on damages that the Fair Employment

and Housing Commission may award for

employment-related issues, conform the

state's religious exemption to the narrower

federal law standard, extend protections

against harassment to contract workers,

prohibit genetic testing, and require that

employers provide reasonable accommo-

dation for pregnant employees.

A second measure (SB 1251, Senator

Charles Calderon, D-Whittier )is restrict-

ed to the damages and fees issues in the

Kuehl bill (removing the $50,000 cap on

damages for employees) and ensuring that

prevailing parties may recover expert wit-

ness fees for people who file claims under |

the Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Both of these bills merit vigorous sup- |

port from ACLU members. When you write

to Governor Wilson, urging him to sign these

two bills, remind him of his post-Proposition

209 commitment to stop discrimination.

A proposal from Senator Quentin Kopp

(I-S.F.; SB 434) would ensure media

access to prisons following the extremely

restrictive rules were put in place recently

by the Department of Corrections (see arti-

cle this page). We are urging ACLU mem-

bers who support the rights of the media

and the public to understand how the

prison system - one of the largest bureau- |

cracies in our state - is spending tax dol-

lars, to write the Governor urging him not

to veto this bill.

CHOOSOKSHSOHHSHOHOHKEHHHOHOHEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH8E8E8HEESSED

Re-neg on CDC

Regulations

Law has accepted the Department of

Corrections' revised application for

a permanent ban on news media inter-

views with specified state prisoners. As a

result, the "emergency"

|" he California Office of Administrative

the Department's facilities," claiming that

inmates have other avenues for "resolving

their problems which are more direct than

contacting media which might not be

interested in their particular problem....

[T]he Department has

ban on _ face-to-face

interviews in state pris-

ons has now been made

permanent.

The only immediate

hope of overturning the

regulations, which also

ban confidential inmate

mail to the news media,

is SB 434 (Kopp, San

Francisco), sponsored

by the Society of

Professional Journalists

and with major support

"Freedom of the

press involves more

than the right of

the news media to

reprint government

press releases."

-Peter Sussman

a Communications

Office and each facili-

tye nas a Public

Information Officer.

Such personnel are

sufficient to ensure

that statements to

media or press releas-

es are disseminated to

correct any inaccura-

cies in media report-

= "

ing.

Society of Professional "It is shocking that

Journalists the Office of

Administrative Law

from the ACLU (see arti-

cle Report from Sacra-

mento, this page). The bill is scheduled

for a vote on the Senate floor in late April

and will then head to the Assembly. "The

expansion of the prison system should not

be accompanied by an expansion of secre- _

cy about its operations," said ACLU-NC

managing attorney Alan Schlosser.

In response to criticism of its proposal

from the ACLU and leading media outlets

and associations, the CDC states, "There is

no dearth of public access and scrutiny of

has now found the

Department's submission to be acceptable

and credible," said Peter Sussman,

ENDING WELFARE AS WE Know IT

Because close to 100 welfare reform bills

have been introduced, the Legislature start-

ed the task of fashioning a welfare reform

program through a "super committee"

`which is looking at the various proposals on

the table. The Governor, the Legislative

Analysts' Office, the California State

Association of Counties/California Welfare

Directors Association, and the children's

advocates all have legislative proposals that

are being compared and considered. This

"super committee" has four chairpersons

[Dion Aroner (D-Berkeley), Denise

Ducheny (D-San Diego), Diane Watson (D-

Los Angeles), and Mike Thompson (D-St.

Helena) |; The 18-member "super commit-

tee" is comprised of 9 members from each

house, 6 Democrats and 3 Republicans. In

addition, there are several smaller working

groups to which the public has been invited

to attend and participate.

The Committee plans to submit a com-

prehensive program to the policy and fiscal

committees in May.

In the meantime, the regular policy

committees (i.e., Assembly and Senate

health and human services committees)

have been working on the individual bills.

The bottom line, however, will be the

bottom line: the dollars in the state budget

and many of the important issues will be

decided through the budget process.

Unfortunately, this process is particularly

difficult to affect because of the deal-cut-

ting that takes place outside of the public's

access.

Thus, it is important that in addition to

lobbying each representative, we must also

target the Chairs and committee members

of the Budget Committees and the "Big

Five" (the Governor, Senate Majority

Leader Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), Senate

Minority Leader Rob Hurtt (R-Garden

Grove), Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante

(D-Fresno) and Assembly Minority Leader

Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove).

The ACLU has been focusing primarily

on General Assistance and immigrant

issues.

We strongly oppose the Governor's pro-

_ posal which hinges on unrealistic expecta-

tions of the job market. The Governor

_ would wipe out the counties' duty to pro-

| vide General Assistance (the tattered

|

|

|

|

|

|

remains of the safety net for people who do

not qualify for any other program) and lim-

its their health coverage to emergency

medical care and those services necessary

_ to alleviate severe pain. We have been

advocating that both General Assistance

and county-provided preventative care are

necessary to maintain any pretext of a civi-

lized society. Whether the state or the

counties (or both) should be responsible

for funding these rudimentary services can

and should be discussed; but, not whether

the services should be provided at all.

We have also focused on immigrant

issues in welfare reform. Our principal

concerns are

" to provide a nutrition program that

meets the needs of the approximately

345,000 legal immigrants left without food

stamps under the federal food stamp ban;

" to ensure that the approximately

200,000 aged, blind, and disabled legal

immigrants who are barred from federal

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will

| not end up homeless and destitute;

" to ensure that Temporary Assistance

for Needy Families (TANF, formerly known

as AFDC) and Medi-Cal are available to

legal immigrants who enter the U.S. if their

sponsors are unavailable or abusive; and

}" to enable as many permanent resi-

dents to become U.S. citizens through

English-as-a-Second-Language programs

and assistance in completing the paper-

work for the elderly and disabled.

Ce ee ee ee

Judge Orders: Doctors

May Recommend

Marijuana

he government may not punish doc-

ik who discuss medical marijuana

with their patients ruled U.S.

District Court Judge Fern M. Smith on May

1. Judge Smith's injunction followed an

April 11 Temporary Restraining Order

(TRO) against federal prosecution of

California physicians who recommend

marijuana to seriously ill patients.

"The government's fear that frank dia-

logue between physicians and patients

about medical marijuana might foster drug

use... does not justify infringing First

Amendment freedoms," Smith wrote in her

40-page opinion.

ACLU-NC staff attorney Ann Brick said,

"Judge Smith's order unequivocally recog-

nizes that the First Amendment prohibits

government intrusion into the advice that

physicians provide their patients.

"Significantly, the judge's opinion rec-

ognizes that the government policy that

was challenged here was an impermissible

attempt to silence a viewpoint with which

it disagreed. Judge Smith's order guaran-

tees that doctors can now speak freely to

their patients," Brick added.

The injunction will remain in place

| while the case works its way through the

President of the Northern California |

Chapter of the Society for Professional

Journalists, which is organizing support

for the Kopp bill. "We must make it clear to

the Department of Corrections that the

freedom of the press guaranteed by the

First Amendment involves more than the

right of the news media to reprint govern-

ment press releases."

courts. Under the May 1 order, doctors may

discuss and recommend the medical use of

marijuana with seriously ill patients but

cannot help patients obtain the drug.

"The judge understood the vital impor-

tance of free speech in the medical arena,"

said Graham Boyd of the law firm,

Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Berzon and

Rubin. "The injunction ensures that doc-

ACLU News = May/June 1997 = Pace 6

tors can provide patients with an honest

medical opinion regarding marijuana and

_ that whatever the government may think

about that opinion, the First Amendment

does not permit the government to punish

a doctor for voicing it."

The case, Conant v. McCaffrey, was

originally filed on January 14, two weeks

after several Cabinet officials announced

at_ a December 30 news conference in

Washington, D.C., their response to the

passage of California's Proposition 215

allowing the medical use of marijuana. A

key part of the federal plan included a

threat that physicians who recommended _

marijuana to patients could lose their right

to prescribe drugs, face being cutoff as

Medicare and Medicaid providers and be

exposed to criminal prosecution.

The judge issued her injunction after

court-ordered settlement negotiations

failed to resolve the matter between the

parties.

Federal officials claim they clarified

their position in a February 27 letter to

medical leaders. While conceding the

right of physicians to discuss the risks and

benefits of medical marijuana, the letter

sharply warned that there are "limits" to

such discussions.

"The judge's order makes clear that

these `limits' do not include silencing doc-

tors who would otherwise recommend the

medical use of marijuana to a patient,"

Brick said. "Rather, it is the First

Amendment that limits - indeed pro-

hibits - the ability of the government to

silence opinions it does not like." Hf

Council members.

Censorship Talk at

Founders Circle Dinner

ACLU-NC supporters David Bunnell and Barbara Brenner at the Founders

Circle Dinner on March 17 at the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco.

Former ACLU-NC Board member Bunnell, currently the CEO of "Upside" magazine

and the founder of leading computer magazines including PC Magazine and

MacWorld, spoke at the event on Censorship on the Internet. Brenner is a former

national ACLU Board member and former Vice-Chair of the ACLU of Northern

California. The annual event drew more than 100 Founders Circle and Liberty

Twenty-Somethings

and Planned Giving

BY ROBERT NAKATANI

`Director of Planned Giving

en 27-year-old Derek Chung

established a $10,000 ACLU

Foundation deferred gift annuity,

he not only became the youngest person to

join our DeSilver Society. He also demon-

strated that planned gifts in general, and

deferred gift annuities in particular, are

attractive giving options for anyone with a

long-term view of their own retirement

planning and the needs of the ACLU.

Here's how the deferred gift annuity

works for Derek. He donated $10,000 to.

the ACLU Foundation last December and

chose to start receiving annuity payments

on December 31, 2026 - a 80-year defer-

ral period. (The longer the deferral peri-

od, the larger the annuity payments.) At

that time, when Derek is 57 years old, he

will begin receiving annual payments of

$2,480. A 24.8% annual return for as long

as he lives!

What's more, Derek received a charita-

ble income tax deduction of $7,810.20 in

1996. If he can't use all this deduction in

1996, the IRS allows him to carry forward

the excess deduction for up to five more

years. Further, when he begins to receive

payments from his annuity, part of them

' will be tax-free. And if he passes away with

a large estate, the deferred gift annuity will

mean a reduction in federal estate taxes.

Derek is comfortable with the long

deferral period. He knows that his pay-

ments, when they begin, will be fixed and

backed 100% by the ACLU Foundation's

own assets. He's confident that this 77-

year-old organization will see its 107th

anniversary. In fact, he's helping to ensure

the ACLU Foundation's longevity, because

what remains of his gift at the time of his

death will pass to the ACLU Foundation for

its civil liberties advocacy.

A San Francisco engineer and graphic

designer, Derek developed his commit-

ment to the ACLU while at Carnegie

Mellon University in Pittsburgh. There he

was involved in the local radio station and

music scene and linked the ACLU's work

against censorship and in defense of free

expression to his interests in broadcast

and musiC. Still a card-carrying member

after all these years, Derek retains his

interest in the ACLU's free speech work,

and in its efforts to defend affirmative

action and minority rights and to limit con-

stitutional abuses resulting from the gov-

ernment's war on drugs.

If you, like Derek, see a link between

your retirement planning and our

deferred gift annuity program, please

contact Robert Nakatani, our Director

of Planned Giving, at 415/621-2493. Or

just fill in and send the coupon below to

request personalized and confidential

information. -

POOH HOHOHOEHHHOHHHHOHHHHOOHOHHHHHHHHOHOHHEHHOH HOH OHHH HHHHHHOHOHHOHOHHOHHHHOOOOLCHO LOLOL OOL(R)E

(c) Please mail me a personalized illustration showing how a deferred gift annuity

might benefit me. (Information below to be kept confidential.)

NAME:

ADDRESS:

City/State/ZI:

PHONE: BEST TIME TO CALL:

BIRTHDATE: YEAR PAYMENTS ARE TO BEGIN:

AMOUNT OF CONTRIBUTION ($5,000 MINIMUM): [ CASH

(c) SECURITIES

Place completed form in an envelope and mail to:

Robert Nakatani; Director of Planned Giving, ACLU Foundation

1663 Mission Street, Suite 460, San Francisco 94103

ACLU Women

Lawyers Honored

CLU-NC Monterey County Chapter

Ave Katherine Stoner was hon-

ored by Monterey County Bar

Association with the Chief Justice Phil

Gibson Award in April. Stoner, a Board

member of the Monterey Chapter, also

served as an ACLU-NC cooperating attor-

ney successfully representing a woman

juror who was held in contempt and jailed

for refusing to answer questions that she

considered sexually discriminatory.

Stoner, a partner in the Pacific Grove law |

| firm of Stoner, Welsh, and Schmidt and a pro-

fessor at Monterey College of the Law, was

awarded the Lola Hanzel Courageous

Advocacy Award by the ACLU-NC in 1992.

ACLU-NC Board member Martha

Jimenez, Regional Counsel for the

Mexican American Legal Defense and

Education Fund (MALDEF) was honored

by the League of Women Voters of San

Francisco at their sixth annual "Women

Who Could Be President" luncheon in

April. Jimenez played a leading role in the

Campaign to Defeat Proposition 209 and is

also co-counsel with the ACLU in Pedro A.

| v. Wilson, the litigation challenging

Proposition 187.

ACLU-NC staff attorney Margaret

Crosby will be honored on June 17 by the

American Jewish Congress with its

"Mensches in the Trenches" award. Crosby

has worked with closely with the AJC for

.- many years on a wide range of- First

Amendment issues, most recently as co-

counsel on the successful challenge to the

city government's ownership of the Mt.

Davidson cross.

SCOHSHHHHOHHHOHHSHHHSHHHHOHHHHHHHHHHHHHOHHSHHHHHHHHHOHHOHHHOHHOLEOO(R)E

ACLU News = May/June 1997 = Pace 7

Mid-Pen Chapter

Stands Up for Right

to Sit

BY LISA MALDONADO

Lesbian/Gay Rights Chapter

If you are an ACLU member in northern

California and would like to join the

Lesbian/Gay Rights Chapter, call or write

Membership Department

ACLU-NC, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460,

San Francisco, CA 94103

telephone: 415/621-2493

Please mention your membership number

located on the mailing label.

Field Representative

n April 24, ACLU-NC Mid-Peninsula

QO Chapter activists took a strong

stand against the criminalization of

poverty in a campaign to oppose the Palo

Alto City Council's unjust sit/lie ordinance.

The ordinance, which targets the poor and

homeless by forbidding sitting or lying

down on a public sidewalk on University

Avenue between High Street and Cowper,

went into effect that day.

The Mid-Peninsula Chapter, which

has been focusing on attacks on the |

homeless for the last six months, had

worked hard to oppose the new law, testi-

fying against the ordinance before the

Gity Council and participating in the (c)

Homeless Task Force created by the city

to make recommendations. The Council

ignored the suggestions of the Task Force, |

and passed the ordinance.

After the ordinance passed, Chapter

members participated in a broad-based

effort to protest the ban. The April 24

Chapter Meetings

(Chapter meetings are open to all interest-

ed members. Contact the Chapter activist

listed for your area. )

B-A-R-K (Berkeley-Albany-Richmond-

Kensington) Chapter Meeting: (Usually:

fourth Thursday) For more information,

time and address of meetings, contact Jim

Chanin at 510/848-4752 or Rachel

Richman at 510/540-5507.

Earl Warren (Oakland/Alameda County)

Chapter Meeting: (Usually first

Wednesday) Meet at 7:30 PM at Claremont

House/Activity Room, 4500 Gilbert Street,

Oakland (nr. Rockridge Shopping Center).

For more information, call the Chapter

Hotline at 510/286-0233.

Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter

Meeting: (Usually first Thursday) ACLU-

NG office, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460,

San Francisco. Mailings and other activi-

ties start at 6:30 PM. Speakers at 7:00 PM.

Business meeting starts at 7:30 PM. For

more information, contact Burton Weiss at

0x00A710/531-6253.

Marin County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Monday) Meet at 7:30 p.m. at the

demonstration began with a rally in front |

of Palo Alto City Hall where Paul Gilbert,

Chair of the Mid-Peninsula Chapter, joined

representatives from the Palo Alto Peace and

Justice Center, Food Not Bombs and other

~ social justice groups in addressing the

crowd. "A community is fairly judged by

how it treats its members who have the

least standing and are least able to take

care of themselves," Gilbert said.

The lively and diverse group of protes-

tors then marched to University Avenue for

a sit-in which drew a great deal of media

attention. Chapter activist Ken Russell

videotaped the demonstration for local

cable access Channel 6.

Although the sit/lie ban remains in

effect, efforts continue to establish more

creative. and proactive solutions to prob-

lems facing the poor and homeless in Palo

Alto - and the ACLU-NC Mid-Pen Chapter

is central to those efforts. "We helped to

bring out a lot of people to the demonstra-

tion and we are going to continue our

efforts to oppose mean and unjust laws like

this one," said Chapter Board member -

Chris Cook. @

Corte Madera Town Center, Community

Meeting Room. Join us for our Annual

Meeting on June 22. For more informa-

tion, contact Arnie Scher at 415/332-5704.

Mid-Peninsula (Palo Alto area) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually fourth Thursday) Meet

at 7:30PM, at 460 South California Avenue,

Suite 11, Palo Alto. For information, con-

tact the Chapter Hotline at 415/328-0732.

Monterey County Chapter Meeting: Meet

at 7:15 PM, Monterey Library. For more

information, contact Richard Criley at

408/624-7562.

North Peninsula (San Mateo area).

Chapter Meeting: (Usually third Monday)

Meet at 7:30 PM, at 700 Laurel Street, Park

Tower Apartments, top floor. For more.

information, contact Marshall Dinowite at

415/695-6131.

Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Wednesday) Meet

at the Office of Paul Gallegos at 320 2nd

Street in Eureka at 7:30 PM. Come White

Water Rafting at the Trinity River on July

12. For information on upcoming meet-

ing dates and times, contact Christina

Huskey at 707/444-6595.

LisA MALDONADO

ACLU News = May/June 1997 = Pace S

Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting:

(Usually first Wednesday) Meet at 7:00 PM

at the Java City in Sutter Galleria

(between 29 and 30, J and K Streets) in

Sacramento. For more information, con-

tact Ruth Ordas at 916/488-9955.

San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Third

Tuesday) Meet at 6:45 PM at the ACLU-NC

Office, 1668 Mission Street, Suite #460, San

Francisco. Mary Dunlap, who heads the

Office of Citizen Complaints, will speak at

the May 20 meeting. For more informa-

tion, call the Chapter Information Line at

415/979-6699.

Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting:

(Usually first Tuesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at

the Community Bank Towers, Ist Floor

Conference Room, 111 West St. John

Street, San Jose. John Kahn will speak on

civil liberties and cyberspace at our

Annual Meeting on June 8, at 7 p.m. at the

Friends Meeting House, 1041 Morse Street,

in San Jose. For more information, call

the Chapter Hotline at 408/293-2584.

Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Monday) Meet at 7:15 PM.

For more information, contact Dianne

Vaillancourt at 408/454-0112.

Sonoma County Chapter Meeting:

(Usually third Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM at

| eT ry. Chapter

Santa Clara Valley Chapter

the Peace and Justice Center, 540 Pacific

Avenue, Santa Rosa. Call Judith Volkart at

707/526-2898 for more information.

Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Thursday) Meet at 7:30 PM, 2505 oth

Street #154, Davis. The next chapter meet-

ing will be on May 24, same time and same

place. For more information on any of

these events or other general chapter activ-

ities, call Natalie Wormeli at 916/756-1900

or the Chapter Hotline at 916/756-ACLU.

Chapter Reorganizing

If you are interested in reviving the

Fresno, Mt. Diablo or North Valley

Chapter, please contact Field

Representative Lisa Maldonado at 415/621-

2493,

Field Action Meetings

(All meetings except those noted will be

held at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission

Street, #460, San Francisco. )

Student Outreach Committee: Meet to

plan outreach activities. For more infor-

mation, contact Nancy Otto at 415/621-

2006 ext. 37.

Student Advisory Committee: For more

information, contact Nancy Otto at

415/621-2006 ext. 37.