vol. 64, no. 5

Court Rules Media Must Have Access to Executions

press, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn

Walker overturned restrictive Califor-

nia Department of Corrections rules and

ordered that the news media be allowed to

witness executions in their entirety.

Judge Walker's strongly worded ruling

was issued on July 26 in the ACLU-NC law-

suit brought on behalf of the California

First Amendment Coalition and the Society

of Professional Journalists' Northern

California Chapter (SPJ).

"Tm deeply gratified not only because

Judge Walker ruled our way but because

he articulated so well the whole context,"

said plaintiff Peter Sussman, former SPJ

President. "Death by execution is more

than a photo op or sound bite. It cannot

be reduced to the menu of a last meal.

Executions are the ultimate criminal

sanction; they are irreversible."

"We were pleased that Judge Walker

[: a major victory for freedom of the

concluded that even under the lower

standard required by the Ninth Circuit,

the Department of Corrections regulation

that limited public viewing of all aspects

of the execution procedures still violates

the First Amendment because it was

clearly an exaggerated response to the

security concerns proffered by the state,"

said Michael Kass of Pillsbury, Madison

and Sutro, who worked on the case as an

ACLU-NC cooperating attorney.

Under the challenged CDC regula-

tion, prison officials concealed behind a

curtain the entry of the condemned

inmate into the execution chamber,

strapping him down to the gurney and the

insertion of the IV catheters. With lethal

gas executions, the press and public wit-

nesses had observed the proceedings

from the moment that the inmate entered

the execution chamber. However, with

the introduction of lethal. injection,

California adopted the Texas method,

claiming that it was necessary to conceal

the identities of the participating guards

and medical technicians to prevent any

retaliation against them.

The permanent injunction came after

a two-day trial, in which the ACLU pre-

sented evidence establishing that prison

officials could conceal the identities of

the execution team members by having

them wear surgical masks during the pro-

cedure. The trial took place after Judge

Walker's initial injunction had been

reversed by the Ninth Circuit Court of

Appeals, which ruled that the regulation

would have to be upheld unless plaintiffs

could produce evidence that it was an

"exaggerated response" to the prison's

security concerns. Judge Walker ruled

that plaintiffs had met their burden of

proof during the trial.

VEIL OF SECRECY

"At trial we were able to demon-

strate that the veil of secrecy that the

prison was trying to place over the exe-

cution process had nothing to do with

real safety or security concerns, but

rather was an attempt to sanitize this

new method of execution in the public

mind," said ACLU-NC managing attorney

Alan Schlosser. "The court's opinion was

a forthright and courageous statement

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Sag ttt a aia ey ed)

that prison officials cannot be allowed to

prevent a free press from informing the

public about a matter as controversial and

important as the implementation of capital

punishment in this state."

The judge noted that eyewitness obser-

vation of executions "is crucial to the pub-

lic's evaluation of how this extreme

punishment is performed," forming the

basis for the public's determination of

whether specific methods of execution are

acceptable and even whether "no method of

`execution is acceptable."

DOUBTS ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY

Sussman of the SPJ explained, "There

are public concerns today about execution

methods, and rising doubts about the guilt

of many on Death Row. We journalists owe

it to the public to tell the execution story

as comprehensively and accurately as pos-

sible. But we cannot do so when secretive

prison officials stage-manage executions

to hide them from public view."

The judge ruled that execution wit-

nesses, including the news media, must be

able to observe "the entire execution, not

just `the dying," and that this mandate

includes "uninterrupted viewing of execu-

tions from the moment the condemned

enters the execution chamber through to,

and including, the time the condemned is

declared dead."

Walker justified his decision in part by a

finding that, far from having the safety of

executioners in mind, corrections officials

were motivated by the interpretation that

the news media might put on the use of force

to strap a condemned prisoner into the gur-

ney used for lethal injections. The opinion

also took note of the fact that the execution

ACLU Vows to Work for Data

Collection Law

SLAMS ""TOOTHLESS" BILL ON RACIAL PROFILING

sion on August 31, Governor Davis

rushed through the Legislature SB 1102,

touted as a racial profiling bill, but lacking

the key ingredient - mandatory data collec-

tion - to make it a meaningful solution to

the problem. The Governor promised to sign

the bill when it reaches his desk.

Just days earlier, civil rights leaders

applauded the demise of SB 66, an even

weaker measure that was pulled by its

author Senator Kevin Murray (D-LA) just

before it was scheduled to be voted on in

the Senate, because of widespread opposi-

tion to its toothless approach to race-

based police stops.

"Without data collection, it is impossible

to identify, track, prove or prevent racial dis-

crimination by the police," said Michelle

Alexander, Director of the ACLU-NC Racial

Justice Project. "But we have built a strong

movement and we will not let this slip off the

screen. We will continue to organize and

press for a data collection bill next session."

Marcos Contreras of the League of

United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

| nthe waning hours of the legislative ses-

protocol was imposed at about the same

time as regulations restricting press inter-

views with inmates and eliminating confi-

dential written communications to the

news media.

@00080O88HHHHHHHHHHHHHOHHHHHHHHHHHHEHHHHHHHHHHHHHEHHHH8HEOSEE

Non-Profit

Organization

US Postage

PAID

Permit No. 4424

San Francisco, CA

. | C- e .

The case was litigated by ACLU-NC

managing attorney Alan Schlosser,

Michael Kass and Jeffrey S. Ross of

Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro, and David

Fried. and

prominent death penalty attorney

ION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award

Bryan A. Stevenson

Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and

Day Celebration

Sunday, December 10

2:00 PM

The Argent Hotel, San Francisco

Lola Hanzel Courageous Advocacy Award

Grover Dye ACcLU-NC Paul Robeson Chapter activist

Performance:

Photo Exhibit: "Don't Kill For Me" by Murder Victim's Families

for Reconciliation

Agustin Lira and Alma Music of the Americas

For more info and tickets, please call Field Director Lisa Maldonado 415-621-2493

said, "We have marched, rallied, organized

and spoken out about the need to docu-

ment race-based police stops. The

groundswell of opposition by state and local

civil rights leaders cannot be ignored."

The groundswell that Contreras

referred to included packed town hall

meetings throughout California and a

major demonstration in Sacramento on

April 27 sponsored by the Racial Justice

Coalition, as well as statements from key

Black Congressional leaders and national

civil rights organizations.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters

charged that the recent overwhelming evi-

dence of the practice of racial profiling

around the country shows that "Data col-

lection is critical to any meaningful effort

to address the serious problem of racial

profiling that has plagued communities of

color for decades."

In a full-page ad in the New York Times,

published during the Democratic Conven-

tion, a score of national civil rights leaders

including Ira Glasser, Reverend Jesse

Jackson, Martin Luther King III, and the

Voting Card: NO on 38 AVCltitte) Fad) on 36 (Drug Treatment) and 39 (School Funds) - see page 2 for details.

directors of LULAG, the NAACP, and Japanese

American Citizens League asked Governor

Davis to "support efforts to enact a racial pro-

filing bill that includes data collection."

Alexander explained that although SB

1102 requires diversity training for police

officers, such training without data collec-

tion "is just another empty gesture by the

governor anxious to take credit for doing

something about racial profiling without

doing anything meaningful at all. SB 1102

also claims to `outlaw' racial profiling, even

though it is already illegal," she added.

Eight other states (Connecticut, Kansas,

Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island,

Tennessee, Massachusetts and Washington)

have data collection bills. All of those bills

have been signed by the Governors - four

Republican and four Democrats. Ml

ACLU-NC Annual

Naat te tT let

October 27-29

Agenda and Sign-Up

Information - page 6

roposition 38, the voucher initiative

Pp funded almost entirely by a wealthy

Silicon Valley venture capitalist, is

more than just a replay of Proposition 174,

defeated by California voters in 1993.

This measure would take money from the

public education system and give it to pri-

vate and religious schools. The ballot

measure is funded with $20 million from

Tim Draper; it is opposed by the state

PTA, Governor Gray Davis and

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Delaine Eastin, the California Business

Roundtable, as well as educators, trade

unionists, civil rights organizations, and

religious leaders. The ACLU, is part of

this major effort to defeat Proposition 38

and to defend equal educational opportu-

nity for all of California's children.

Francisco, CA 94103

Campaigns!

Name

Sign Me Up to Work on the Initiatives

The ACLU of Northern California will be working this fall on campaigns to.

DEFEAT Proposition 38 and to PASS Propositions 36 and 39. We need your help!

There are many things you can do before Election Day. Please fill out this coupon

and return it to: Field Department, ACLU-NC, 1663 Mission Street Suite 460, San

Yes, send me more information on how I can get involved in the ACLU- NC Fall

No on Proposition 38

Here are some answers to the key

questions dealing with the civil liberties

aspects of Proposition 38.

WHAT DOES THE PROPOSITION 38 DO?

When fully implemented, this measure will

provide an annual $4,000 voucher funded by

public tax dollars to students currently

enrolled in private or religious schools and to

every student who leaves a public school to

attend a private or religious school. The mon-

ey will be paid directly to the voucher school.

How DOES THIS IMPACT PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

The voucher initiative takes money away

from public schools. Every child who

leaves a public school for a voucher school

will result in a loss of funding to that local .

neighborhood school. Every dollar spent

a eee

Address

City.

eee ee ee

Phone

4

but rather a citation or fine.

of the United States Constitution.

the polls.

Email

Tue ACLU-NC URGES YOU TO VOTE FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES.

THIS CARD WITH YOU TO THE POLLS WHEN YOU VOTE ON NOVEMBER 7.

State. _Lip

~ ACLU Voting Card

PLEASE TAKE

Proposition 36-Substance Abuse Treatment - YES

Under this proposition, people convicted for simple possession of drugs or drug use

would be treated as victims of addiction instead of as criminals. Rather than being

incarcerated for the first two offenses, people would be placed on probation and into

community-based drug treatment programs. However, the proposition gives individ-

uals the choice of a court hearing if they feel their offense does not merit treatment

"a

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The ACLU-NC has long supported treatment over the current draconian sentenc-

ing laws, which have multiplied under the war on drugs and needlessly fill prisons 1

with non-violent offenders. Treatment is more effective than prison in reducing 1!

drug-dependence and subsequently, drug-related crime. I

In addition, the proposition would mitigate the impact of the 3 Strikes law-a

law the ACLU-NC vehemently opposes-since Prop 36 applies to those who have 4

been previously convicted for non-violent drug offenses. I

Drug abuse is a medical issue, not a criminal one, and this proposition couldlead 1!

the way in reforming the harsh drug laws across the country.

Proposition 38 --Vouchers - NO

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The voucher initiative, which is almost entirely bankrolled by a wealthy Silicon

Valley venture capitalist, is more than just a replay of Proposition 174, defeated by

California voters in 1993. This measure would use public funds for schools that dis-

criminate based on gender, religion, income, physical disability and more. And it

would allow tax dollars to fund religious schools in violation of the First Amendment

[For more information on this initiative, please see article this page. |

Proposition 39- Smaller Classes, Safer Schools -YES

If passed, this proposition would change the current two-thirds vote required for pas-

sage of all bond measures to a 55% majority for bonds to construct and improve pub-

lic schools. The existing "supermajority" requirement gives every "no" vote on bond

measures twice the weight of every "yes" vote. A supermajority requirement is justi-

fied for changes of grave and enduring importance, such as impeaching the

President or amending the Constitution. However, diluting the votes of people who

wish to raise funds for public education-a fundamental right-raises serious equal

protection problems. This initiative will put opponents and proponents of bonds to

improve California's public school buildings and equipment on an equal footing at

on vouchers for students already in private

schools is a dollar that could be spent

improving public schools. The landmark

ACLU lawsuit, Williams v. California pow-

erfully illustrates how schools in poor com-

munities already suffer from filthy and

unsafe facilities, outdated textbooks, lack

of basic materials, and a shortage of cre-

dentialed teachers. This measure would

relegate children from poor families and

communities to schools that have been

financially devastated.

DISCRIMINATION

WOULD THIS INITIATIVE ALLOW

SCHOOLS TO DISCRIMINATE?

Yes. Public schools accept and teach all

students. Under Proposition 38, voucher

schools may discriminate on the basis of

gender, religion, income, physical or men-

tal disability, prior academic achievement,

standardized test scores, interviews with

applicants and parents, and student

behavior history.

Voucher schools are not required to

tell parents why they have rejected a

child's admission.

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

WOULD PROPOSITION 38 VIOLATE THE

CONSTITUTIONAL SEPARATION OF

CHURCH AND STATE?

Yes. A central principle of religious liberty

is that tax dollars should not support reli-

gion. Under the voucher initiative, public

funds will subsidize schools where secular

education is inseparable from religious

doctrine. The use of tax dollars to fund

religious schools violates the First

Why the ACLU Opposes the Voucher Initiative

Amendment of the United States

Constitution. The measure will amend the

California Constitution to weaken its por-

tection for church-state separation.

ACCOUNTABILITY

WHAT REGULATIONS COVER VOUCHER

SCHOOLS?

Very few. Teachers in voucher schools

would not be required to hold a state

teaching credential or a college degree.

These schools will be exempt from the

state's curriculum, minimum _perfor-

mance standards and even attendance

requirements. Proposition 38 prevents

the Legislature from passing any additon-

al laws, other than penalties for fraudu-

lent conduct, pertaining to voucher

schools unless approved by a 8/4 vote of

both the Assembly and the Senate. This

requirement will be nearly impossible to

meet, preventing the Legislature from

enacting laws to require accountability

and prevent fraud.

- According to the California Depart-

ment of Education, our private schools are

already "among the least regulated in the

country." Their buildings don't even have

to meet earthquake standards. Proposition

38 requires no public accountability for the

billions of tax dollars it would transfer to

voucher schools. It prevents state agen-

cies and the news media from reviewing

financial records, administrative salaries

and curriculum information.

You can help defeat Proposition 38.

Please feel out the coupon below or

e-mail Imaldonado@aclunc.org to sign

up for the campaign.

S

(c)OHOHHHHHHHHHHSHHHHHHHHSHSHHSHHHHHHSHSHHHSHHHHSHSHHSHHSHHHHSHHSHSHHHHSHHSHHSSHHSHHHHHHSHSHSHHSHSHHHHSHHSHHSHHSHHHHHSHHHHHHHHSHHHOHSHSHHSHHHHOHSESOSSEHOO

Government Must Not

Threaten Doctors Over

Medical Marijuana

66 e are asking the court to put |

an end once and for all to the

White House's politically dri- |

ven attempt to negate the will of California |

voters by threatening physicians," stated

Graham Boyd of the ACLU's Drug Policy

Litigation Project. On August 3, Boyd pre-

sented the ACLU arguments before the

US. District Court in San Francisco in the

case of Conant v. McCaffrey, the ACLU

lawsuit that seeks to permanently block

the federal government from censoring or

criminally prosecuting California doctors

who recommend medical marijuana to

their patients.

The threat of jail or censorship

remains even after a 1997 preliminary

Continued on page 8

Graham Boyd, Director of the national

ACLU Drug Policy Litigation Project, fol-

lowing arguments in U.S. District Court.

, | ACLU News = SEPreMBER-OcTOBER 2000 a Pace 2 ;

ACLU Supports Dr.Wen Ho Lee's Demand for

Information on Anti-Asian Bias

n the eve of the key hearings on evi-

O dence, discovery and bail in the case

of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, the ACLU filed an

amicus brief supporting the nuclear scien-

tist's demand for any government evidence

that shows he is the victim of racial profil-

ing by officials.

The ACLU brief, submitted on August

11 in U.S. District Court in New Mexico,

argued that the evidence of selective pros-

ecution based on race in this case is so sub-

stantial that Dr. Lee's request for evidence

_ must be granted.

"Tt is unconstitutional for a decision to

prosecute to be based on race," explained

Robert Kim, ACLU-NC staff attorney, "and

Dr. Lee is entitled to the evidence to prove

his claim."

The ACLU, whose brief was cited

numerous times by Dr. Lee's defense attor-

ney during the hearing on discovery on

August 15, does not take a position on Lee's

guilt or innocence or whether Dr. Lee can

prove his selective prosecution claim.

Dr. Lee, a U.S. citizen born in Taiwan in

1939, worked at Los Alamos for 20 years

before his high-profile arrest on December

10, 1999. He was charged with mishandling

classified material. A full trial is sched-

uled for November.

Although Dr. Lee has not been charged

with espionage, and there is no evidence

that he transmitted classified information

to anyone, he has been branded as a

"Chinese spy." He has been kept in soli-

tary confinement, denied bail, and shack-

led with leg irons and chains when he

leaves his cell.

The ACLU brief cites statements by

high-ranking FBI and Department of

Energy (DOE) officials admitting that Dr.

Lee was singled out because of his Chinese

ancestry... For example, the Deputy

Director of the FBI, Paul Moore, in dis-

cussing Dr. Lee's case on national televi-

sion, stated, "There is racial profiling based

on ethnic background."

In addition, Department of Energy offi-

cial Charles E. Washington stated in a

memo that the DOE Director of Intelli-

gence Nora Trulock was "unfairly singling

out Lee and other Chinese American scien-

tists at Los Alamos."

In light of Dr. Lee's detailed evidence of

discrimination based on admissions of

high-ranking officials in the FBI and the

DOE and his evidence of similarly situated

non-ethnic Chinese who were not prosecut-

ed, the court must grant him further dis-

~ covery, the ACLU argued.

"Tf the government has nothing to hide

and can dispel the specter of racial profil-

ing that infects this case, then it should not

resist providing discovery,' said Lucas

Guttentag of the national ACLU. "Full dis-

closure is essential both to protect Dr. Lee's

constitutional rights and to restore public

confidence that the laws are being applied

fairly and equally."

In a separate amicus brief, the Asian Law

Caucus bolsters this argument with numer-

ous examples of government discrimination

against people of Asian descent, detailing a

shameful history of anti-Asian discrimination

dating back to the 19th century.

The ACLU brief was submitted by attor-

neys Lucas Guttentag and Steve Shapiro of

the national ACLU, Robert Kim of the

ACLU of Northern California and Phil Davis

and Maureen Sanders of the ACLU of New

Mexico. @

As the ACLU News went to press, Dr. Wen Ho Lee was granted a bail of $1 million on

August 24. Although the conditions are onerous - Dr. Lee is confined to his house,

monitored electronically, and even visits from his son and daughter have to be

cleared by the government - it ts an important turnaround for the scientist who has

been kept in solitary confinement for eight months.

New Students, Schools Added to

Landmark Education Suit

esponding to a flood of complaints

Re outraged parents and teachers,

civil rights groups expanded the

landmark education suit, Williams v. State

of California, on August 15 to include

scores of additional schools where students

endure pervasive, substandard conditions,

including unsanitary facilities, vermin

infestation, and outdated textbooks.

The amended complaint, filed in San

Francisco Superior Court, cites 46 schools -

including a dozen newly-cited ones in north-

ern California - where students lack the -

bare essentials necessary for an education.

One hundred student plaintiffs are

represented by the ACLU of Northern and

Southern California, Public Advocates,

Inc., the Lawyers Committee for Givil

Rights, law firm of Morrison and Foerster

and other civil rights groups and cooper-

ating attorneys.

"Since filing the original complaint we

have been inundated with calls from parents

across the state who are appalled at the con-

Pepper Spray Case

Can Go to Jury

pepper spray, the Ninth Circuit Court-

l na victory for victims of police abuse of

of Appeals ruled that protesters sub-

jected to the caustic chemical may present

their case to ajury. The ACLU-NC submit-

ted an amicus in the case, Headwaters

Forest Defense v. County of Humboldt, in

support of the demonstrators' appeal of a

U.S. District Court ruling that the use of

pepper spray against nonviolent demon-

strators engaged in civil disobedience is

reasonable force as a matter of law.

The case arose. from three separate

incidents in which, as a novel and danger-

ous experiment in facilitating the removal

of demonstrators who had locked them-

selves together, Humboldt sheriffs direct-

ed pepper spray at close range, or near the

protestors' eyes-sometimes directly on

the eyelids. The inflicted were not provid-

ed with sufficient water with which to

flush their eyes and instead endured

excruciating pain for hours. The demon-

strators sued the County and its officers in

United States District Court.

Reversing the lower court ruling, the

Ninth Circuit ruled that the manner in

which the Humboldt Police used pepper

spray on the protesters, passively resisting

arrest, may constitute unreasonable force

in violation of the Fourth Amendment and

therefore, the case merited a newjury trail.

"Under the Fourth Amendment

jurisprudence, `the most important single

element' in the Graham analysis is

`whether the suspect pose[d] an immedi-

ate threat to the safety of the officers or

others," Judge Myron Bright wrote in his

opinion. "Here the protesters were nonvio-

`lent and unarmed. Most were young

women, two of whom were minors; none

were physically menacing. They posed not

safety threat to themselves, the officers, or

the public at large."

Judge Bright also noted that the

Humboldt Sheriffs' use of the chemical

directly contradicted the guidelines of the

California Department of Justice, the

California Highway Patrol, and the

weapon's manufacturer.

In response to the ruling ACLU-NC

staff attorney Margaret Crosby said, "The

appeals court properly recognized that

using pepper spray as a kind of chemical

cattle prod on peaceful demonstrators may

well violate the Fourth Amendment." |

The trial in 1997 resulted in a hung

jury, and in an unusual judicial action, U.S.

District Court Judge Vaughn Walker did

not order a new jury trial. Instead he ruled

that application of pepper spray to the

demonstrators protesting against the log-

ging of old-growth redwoods, constituted

reasonable force as a matter of law.

In support of the appeal, the ACLU

argued that in justifying the denial of a jury

trial, the district court and Humboldt over-

Continued on page 6

ditions in which their children

are forced to try to learn," said

ACLU-NC staff attorney Michelle

Alexander. "The problems in

these schools are not isolated;

they are traceable to the state's

abdication of its responsibility to

ensure that every child receives

the basic minimum necessities

as required by the _ state

Constitution."

The new northern

California schools cited include

San Francisco's Balboa High

School; Oakland's Fremont High

School, Garfield Elementary,

Whittier Elementary ~ and

Webster Academy; Watsonville High

School; Redwood and Mt. Whitney High

Schools in Visalia; Tenaya Middle School in

Merced; as well as schools in Cloverdale,

Campbell and Berry Creek.

Alondra Sharae Jones, a senior at

Balboa, said "I hope this lawsuit will make

Fifth-grade teacher Lili Malabed at Bryant Elemen-

tary School in San Francisco said her students have

to study in noisy poorly insulated classrooms that

are freezing in winter and stifling in the hot weather.

sure that public school students get the

education they deserve. I don't want to see

kids having to take responsibility anymore

for mistakes that adults have made."

"The conditions under which kids at

our school learn remind me of Brown vs.

Continued on page 6

Full Court to Hear

Unfair Eviction Case

public housing units because of

alleged drug activity by their children

and grandchildren, will have another

opportunity to fight for their homes in

court. On August 11, the Ninth Circuit

Court of Appeals agreed to rehear the case,

Rucker v. Davis, en banc. The ACLU-NC

submitted an amicus brief in the case sup-

porting the tenants request for a rehearing

in front of the full Ninth Circuit.

"In deciding to rehear the case, the

court recognized that this case raises dis-

turbing questions about the rights of the

poor and the fairness of a statute that

would deprive innocent people of their

homes," said ACLU-NC managing attorney

Alan Schlosser.

The four elderly Oakland residents

who are plaintiffs in the suit found them-

selves in danger of becoming homeless

when the Oakland Housing Authority

evoked a federal statute that authorizes

the eviction of tenants for criminal and

| nnocent tenants, evicted from Oakland

ACLU News = SEPTEMBER-OcTOBER 2000 = Pace 3

drug-related activity regardless of

whether the tenants had any knowledge

of, control over, or ability to prevent the

unlawful acts.

The ACLU-NC argues that that the

eviction of innocent public housing ten-

ants is a violation of the due process prin-

ciple because the government cannot take

punitive action against an individual with-

out some connection to wrongdoing. In

addition, the ACLU argues that such an

eviction would be an "excessive fine' in vio-

lation of the Eighth Amendment.

Schlosser said, "It is hard to conceive

of a more compelling case for this principle

than when the homes of low-income fami-

lies are at stake."

The brief also pointed out that offenses

triggering the evictions included the pos-

session of marijuana, which under other

circumstances would result in a $100 fine

_and no incarceration; however, in this case

the plaintiffs face homelessness despite

the fact they committed no crimes. MH

For ten days in August, two dozen high school and college students went on ajour- .

ney sponsored by the Howard A. Friedman First Amendment Education Project

of the ACLU-NC, entitled "Corporate America: Unplugged." This is the second

ACLU trip for Shayna Gelender, a June graduate of Castro Valley High who

has been active with the ACLU for three years. Here, Gelender writes about what

they saw and learned as they traveled from Bayview-Hunters Point to Silicon

ACLU STUDENTS EXAMINE

CORPORATE IMPACT ON WORKERS'

RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM,

AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Valley to Los Angeles, visiting neighborhoods, union halls, agricultural fields, a

prison worksite and a political convention.

he youth on the ACLU "Corporate

America Unplugged" field investiga-

tion are consumers. We wear Tommy

Hilfiger clothes, shop at the Gap and Old

Navy, drink Coke and Pepsi, read the San

Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, and

patronize Starbucks, Microsoft, and

Chevron. These behaviors are typical of

most Americans, even those of us who have

a functioning social conscious.

On our journey, students dug deep

through the layers of corporate power, try-

ing to discover the depth of its influence,

the reach of its control, and the intimacy of

its connection to our health and well-

SHAYNA GELENDER

being. We fought inner battles against

class-induced comfort, universal compla-

cency, and personal choice. The abstract,

immense topic that "Corporate America"

once appeared to be was replaced by sober-

ing realities of a nation consumed, manip-

ulated, suffocating from greed, beholden to

the bottom line.

Our journey began in San Francisco's

Bay View-Hunter's Point, a predominantly

EE

Outside the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.

Black community. The area has long been

the site of government neglect. "Caltrans

determines how many people it can toler-

ate dying before they build a guardrail or

put a curve in a highway," said Karen

Pierce from Bayview Health and

Environmental Assessment Task Force.

A huge PG E plant looms over the com-

munity, visibly polluting the air and land.

The Navy has yet to clean up the numerous

toxic superfund sites left over from World

War Il. Organizations like SAFER (San

Francisco Bay Advocates for Environmen-

tal Rights) and LEJ (Literacy for Environ-

mental Justice) seek to educate the

community about and end these injustices.

Dave McKee from SAFER's Board of

Directors told us about the abnormally

high rates of respiratory ailments like asth-

ma, and of breast and cervical cancer,

which are among the highest in the nation.

PG E's pollution and the Navy's lack of

responsibility are the probable causes of

these alarming statistics, he said. In addi-

tion, PG E sponsors community events

designed to look like they care about resi-

dents, McKee charged, while its toxic

waste slowly kills people.

SAFER's long term goal is to shut down

the PG E plant there, he explained,

adding "Part of [PG E's] whole tactic is to

stall and hope you'll give up."

Barbara Brenner, Executive Director of

Breast Cancer Action (BCA) and former

ACLU-NC Board member, echoed McKee's

sentiments. "Seventy-five thousand known

NANCY OTTO

toxic chemicals are in daily use in our

country," says Brenner. "We're all part of a

chemical experiment.

"There are known carcinogens in pesti-

cides that are not prohibited because cor-

porations have a vested interest in not

changing the way things are done in the

country," Brenner added.

Some of us were dismayed to hear

Brenner refer to "Breast Cancer Awareness

Month" as "Breast Cancer Industry Month,"

and we pressed her to elaborate. Brenner

explained BCAs position that the Month is

a corporate campaign. AstraZeneca pro-

duces Tamoxifen, the most commonly pre-

scribed drug for breast cancer. Astra-

Zeneca puts up the money and puts out a

lot of the literature for "Breast Cancer

Awareness Month." AstraZeneca controls

cancer treatment centers, has financial

control of their drug, and, until last year,

ironically also made pesticides. (They've

since created a spin-off pesticide company

to disassociate themselves.) "In these

ways," Brenner explained, "AstraZeneca

~ makes breast cancer into an industry from

which it profits."

Brenner also pointed out that

Chevron, a major polluter in the Bay

Area, says things like, "Don't blame us; we

support breast cancer awareness," yet

corporations operate with their bottom

line as the one and only priority.

Brenner's advice to students when evalu-

ating corporate ties to issues like breast

cancer, is to ask key questions: who con-

trols the message, what gets studied, who

benefits from the studies, where does the

money come from, and what gets said

about the disease.

This really made us think about our

own lives: How do we deal with corpora-

tions who do harm as well as good? How do

we reconcile buying clothes that we like

that we know come from sweatshops? What

do we do with our anger and disgust about

corporate tyranny as we're bombarded with

commercials and advertisements which

dictate our desires to buy that Frappucino

from Starbucks or that sweatshop-made

Jessica McClintock prom dress?

ACLU News = SepremBer-OcToBER 2000 = Pace 4

Corporations benefit greatly from

establishing brand loyalty among chil-

dren. This is accomplished not only

through conventional methods like com-

mercials, billboards, and print media, but

also by for-profit companies taking over

public schools.

We learned about the Edison Schools,

and how they and other charter schools

operate. Teachers have actual scripts, cur-

riculum is scripted, schools must all be the

same, like the company's stores. If M M

Mars ran a charter school, a math book

would have kindergartners solving equa-

tions like, "Ifyou have 6 green M M's and 3

blue ones, and you eat 2, how many M M's

do you have left?" While this may appear

benign, the effects of children being indoc-

trinated in such a way, every day, year after

year, are incalculable, robbing them of

decision-making power.

Joe Wilson from Coleman Advocates

for Children and Youth explained, "We

want to focus on producing better people,

not better workers for corporations." Yet if

school boards had adequate resources,

Wilson asserted, they wouldn't be faced

with decisions about corporate involve-

ment in schools.

Roberta Achtenberg, Senior Vice-

President for Public Policy at the San

Francisco Chamber of Commerce, has a

long history of civil liberties activism.

However, her claim that "Corporations are

not a monolith," did not ring true to the stu-

dents who found a great deal of evidence to

the contrary.

One such monolith is the HMO indus-

try. Union organizer Gilda Valdez, of SEIU

(Service Employees International Union

AFL-CIO) Local 790 explained how HMO

propaganda tried to portray striking nurses

as unconcerned with patient care, which is

far from the truth. Daz Lamparas, also of

SEIU, said that HMOs want fewer nurses so

theyll make more profits. Profit-driven

insurance companies, not health care

workers, compromise the quality of patient

care, the labor organizers said.

As we headed down the Peninsula to

East Palo Alto, we saw parallels to the prob-

lems facing Bayview residents.

In 1992,-East Palo Alto, a 2.5 square

mile community, was, per capita, the mur-

der capital of the nation. Our hosts, Youth

United for Community Action (YUCA),

- explained why the new boom economy and

redevelopment hasn't benefited East Palo

Alto residents. For example, there is a new

strip mall in town with stores like Home

Depot and Expo that cater to middle and

upper class people from other communi-

ties, but there is still no grocery store in

East Palo Alto. One of the town's elemen-

tary schools is built right next to contami-

nated bay lands, where a pharmaceutical

At the PG E plant in San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point

company left a mess of toxins in the soil.

The school found arsenic, a carcinogen, in

the dirt.

YUCA members told us that of the fifty-

four big waste facilities in the country, fifty-

three are in communities of color.

The technological gold rush of Silicon

Valley is leaving many people behind and

displacing many families from their homes.

According to Michael Stanley-Jones from

the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, "work-

ing class people are in exodus right now

from Silicon Valley."

People come to Silicon Valley aspiring

to find high-paying jobs: they often end up

employed, but unable to find affordable

housing, because there simply isn't any.

Maury Kendall from the Emergency

Housing Consortium said that only 16% of

Santa Clara County residents can afford

the median home, compared to 80% in the

rest of the nation. Vacancy rates for apart-

ments in the area are a mere .6%.

In an ironic twist of fate, we learned

from Stanley-Jones that high tech giants

like Intel, AOL and other companies are

built on top of some of the 179 groundwater

contamination sites in Santa Clara County.

We were reminded of BCA's Brenner's warn-

ings when Stanley-Jones told us that there

are many thousands of chemicals in use

right now that the neither the public nor

the Environmental Protection Agency have

information about.

At Central California Women's Facility

in Chowchilla, we toured the Joint

Venture Program, where prisoners work

for private companies within prison walls

Nancy OTTO

Protests at the Democratic National Convention.

ACLU NEws = adda et 2000 = Paces

making PC boards.

This is the largest

women's prison in the

world, yet of the 3,600

women there, only 45

are in the program.

When Joint Venture

prison officials and

participants refused

to disclose informa-

tion. about - the

inmates' wages, we

reached the logical

conclusion that the

wages hover below

the legal minimum. ,

Whatever wages pris- -

oners do make are

divided up into 20%

increments: victim

restitution, prisoners'

savings account, per-

sonal spending, fami-

ly/child support, and

room and board in

prison.

Students _ inter-

viewed prisoners as

they worked, within

earshot of Joint

Venture officials, and

emerged with mixed

feelings. The women

were protective of the

program, relishing

their sense of inde-

pendence and _ the

opportunity to make

some money to send

birthday presents home to their children.

Yet when we talked among ourselves,

we felt uneasy knowing that the prisoners

are still being exploited and won't be able

to get the legendary high paying Silicon

Valley jobs that they're supposedly being

trained to do. Additionally, it's disconcert-

ing that corporations are making such a

profit by paying the women less than they'd

pay people on the outside.

Nowhere on our trip did we see workers

exploited as severely as the migrant labor-

ers on corporate farms in the Central

Valley. We visited California Rural Legal

Assistance and learned that the agricultur-

al industry wields tremendous economic

power in the state, yet most farmworkers

live in severe poverty. Bigger and bigger

companies are taking over the agricultural

industry, yet farm labor contractors run the

fields and no workers ever see the faces of

the agribusiness owners.

Towards the end of our journey, we

went to the Democratic National

Convention in Los Angeles, where we

attended protests against corporate greed.

At the United Farm Workers headquarters in La Paz.

There we witnessed the rising movement to

expose corporate power.

All of the trip participants are now

`empowered with knowledge to educate oth-

ers as we take to classrooms throughout

northern California to speak to fellow stu-

dents. We are questioning our roles as con-

sumers, activists and citizens. While we may

| still purchase Big Macs, Nike shoes and oth-

er corporate products, our awareness has

been forever heightened, and we continue

to seek truths about our own power, and the

greater powers at play in our world.

Senne TE

A Life and Legacy

Devoted to Civil Liberties

BY STAN YOGI

ike many ACLU supporters, long-

[i= member Sylvia Bulin, who

passed away in December, defended

civil liberties even when it meant standing

up against the expectations and assump-

tions of her community and workplace.

Bulin also showed the depth of her com-

mitment to civil liberties by remembering

the ACLU Foundation in her estate plan.

Bulin's parents struggled as farmers in

Oregon before moving to San Francisco,

where she was born in 1921. According to

her daughter, Marion, the social movements

generated by the Great Depression shaped

Bulin's deep commitment to freedom and

equality, and she objected to the injustices

revealed by the economic turmoil of that

period. Bulin's husband was involved in the

union movement after World War II and

became the target of red baiting. Still,

Bulin remained a progressive during an era

of social and political conservatism and

supported the Presidential campaigns of

Henry Wallace and Adlai Stevenson in the

late 1940s and 1950s.

Although she received bachelors and

masters degrees from UC Berkeley in

History, Bulin taught botany and biology,

her true academic loves, to high school |

students for over 30 years. Her teaching

career took her to Sacramento, San

Francisco, and the East Bay, and finally

back to San Francisco's Presentation High

School. She decided to leave Presentation

High, a Catholic school, after administra-

tors discontinued science courses and

replaced them with combined social sci-

ence and religion courses. Bulin objected

to this change because she believed that

science should be taught as science and

not be mixed with religion. After retiring

as a teacher, Bulin worked as an adminis-

trative assistant for 10 years, then fully

retired and traveled the world to study

native plants and animals and to promote

conservation and environmentalism.

Bulin lived for many years and raised a

family in Danville, then a conservative area

of Contra Costa County, before divorcing

and moving back to the Sunset District of

San Francisco. Marion Bulin recalls that

after their Danville neighbors saw the

ACLU newsletter in her family's mailbox,

they referred to them as "communists."

She also remembers that when she was in

Sylvia Bulin at her graduation from U.C.

Berkeley in 1943

high school her mother supported the

school librarian who opposed efforts to

steer students away from particular books.

"I've never met a child ruined by a book,"

Bulin recalls her mother commenting on

the censorship effort.

Bulin demonstrated her devotion to

the First Amendment and the free inter-

change of ideas by supporting the Free

Speech Movement at UC Berkeley, when

her daughter was an undergraduate. Bulin

also visited China soon after Americans

were allowed to travel there. She believed

that the unfettered dialogue of ideas was

essential to world development. Bulin exer-

cised her free speech rights here in the

U.S. by participating in protests and

marches early in the movement against the

Vietnam War.

She was also an early and vocal sup-

porter of the United Farm Workers.

"Sylvia Bulin's commitment to freedom

and justice in the face of opposition is a

testament to her courage and strength,"

said ACLU-NC executive Director Dorothy

Ehrlich. "The ACLU Foundation of North-

ern California is deeply honored that Ms.

Bulin remembered our civil liberties advoca-

cy in her Living Trust. She has left us a pow-

erful legacy, and we are very grateful."

Stan Yogi ts the Director of Planned

Giving at the ACLU-NC Foundation. For

more information on how you can leave a

bequest to the ACLU, please contact him at

415/621-2493 ext. 830 or by e-mail at

syogi@aclunc.org.

COURTESY OF MARION BULIN

ACLU News = SEPTEMBER-OcTCBER 2000 = PAGE 6

Education Suit...

Continued from page 2

Board of Education all over again," added

Balboa High history teacher Alison Dills.

"Now, however, the division is not about

race so much as socioeconomic status. The

education that my students receive is sepa-

rate, but certainly not equal, to the high

schools labeled as high achieving schools."

Science teacher Toai Dao at Oakland's

Fremont High School agreed, "We need to

give students a fair chance. The state

needs to take care of the bare essentials by

Pepper Spray...

Continued from page 2

stated the constitutional authority to use

pain compliance on people engaged in civil

disobedience, and understated the harm-

ful impact of pepper spray.

The ACLU brief noted that the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this

year, in the context of sentencing guide-

lines for criminal defendants, that pepper

spray may constitute a dangerous weapon.

Federal sentencing guidelines define a

dangerous weapon as "capable of inflicting

death or serious bodily injury," causing

"extreme physical pain or the protracted

impairment of a function of a bodily mem-

giving students books and desks and mak-

ing schools less crowded."

Though the original suit was filed in

May, the plaintiffs have still not had an ade-

`quate response from the state defendants.

"We remain perplexed by the State's

unwillingness to recognize its responsi-

bility to resolve these problems," said

Michael Jacobs of Morrison and Foerster,

which is working pro bono on the lawsuit.

"This amended complaint points to the

extent of the problems facing California

students trying to learn in substandard

conditions."

0000 OOCHCOHHHO COOH OEOOOEOOOO(R)e

ber, organ, or mental faculty; requiring

medical interventions such as surgery, hos-

pitalization or physical rehabilitation."

In addition to holding wilful infliction

of severe pain may be excessive force

against peaceful demonstrators, Judge

Bright also noted that in this case, pepper

spray also proved to be inefficient: "And

the use of pepper spray did not hasten the

removal of the protesters from the premis-

es, but prolonged the incidents. In these

circumstances, the need for the force used

during the protests falls far short of sup-

porting a judgment as a matter of law in

favor of the defendants."

No date for the jury trial has been

set.

Student Condom

Distribution Plan OK'ed

by School Board

BY DANIEL PUTNAM

iedmont High School senior Alex

Posie won a battle with the

school board - and his schoolmates

know more about their rights and their

health because of it.

In November 1999, DiGiorgio tried to

persuade the Piedmont Board of

Education that a condom distribution

program on campus was necessary for the

maintenance of public health. He met

with fierce opposition from some parents,

who argued that the proposed program

would be illegal and subject to a lawsuit

as a violation of parents' rights.

Undaunted, DiGiorgio sought the help of

the ACLU. Staff attorney Margaret Crosby

wrote to the Board in support of

DiGiorgio's proposal.

Noting that schools throughout the

country have instituted condom availabili-

ty programs, Crosby wrote that Piedmont

clearly has legal authority to establish a

school-based program that counsels stu-

dents on the use of condoms and distrib-

utes condoms to students, and should not

require parental permission for participa-

tion."Minors have a constitutional right to

obtain contraceptives and counseling,"

Crosby wrote.

At a packed 5-hour meeting in the

Piedmont High band room on. May 24,

DiGiorgio and 75 student supporters made

their case.

Crosby, who came in support of the stu-

dents' plan, testified to the Board in

response to those who argued that condom

availability would undermine efforts to dis-

courage teenagers' sexual activity. "The

government may not discourage activities

by making them more dangerous for young

people. Denying teenagers access to con-

doms to discourage sexual activity would

be the equivalent of forbidding young peo-

ple to wear seat belts to discourage them

from driving cars."

The Board voted 4-1 in favor of allowing

condom distribution at the high school.

While tempers flared among the divid-

ed parents, the students supported

DiGiorgio in solidarity. As senior Corey

Wong put it, "[ Distributing condoms] is not

about sex. It's about being safe. I feel it's

irresponsible not to do this."

Daniel Putnam is a freshman at Piedmont

High School and a volunteer with the

ACLU News.

ACLU Prevents Student's

Expulsion

made an even tougher journey for

14-year old Thomas Allan when sev-

eral students at his Modesto school

repeatedly harassed him because they

perceived him to be gay. At times, he was

even threatened with danger.

In April, after being harangued by'a

student in the school cafeteria, Thomas

allegedly said in the presence of other

students that he wished he could bring a

gun to school. Instead of punishing the

harasser, the school immediately sus-

Je high is never easy, but it was

Gay High School Students

Face Tough Issues

Panel moderator Carolyn Laub, coordinator of the Bay Area Gay-Straight Alliance

Network, (center) with high school student activists (left to right) George Loomis of

Fresno, Goeffrey Winder of Davis, and Ravi Rangi of Oakley, spoke at the LGBTI Chapter

community forum on "Homophobia in High School, Legalities and Realities," The August

13 forum, which attracted more than sixty people, included a lively question-and-

answer session on what protections the new state law provides to sexual minority high

school students and what students can expect when they exercise their rights.

JEFFREY MITTMAN

pended Thomas and brought expulsion

proceedings against him. He had no pri-

or disciplinary record. d

Thomas's family called the ACLU,

and staff attorney Bob Kim and cooperat-

ing attorney Doron Weinberg sprung into

action. They went to Modesto to repre-

sent Thomas before a three-person

administrative panel in Modesto.

"The Education Code requires that to

expel a student, a school must show that

other means of correction short of expul-

sion are not feasible, or that the student

is a continuing danger to himself or oth-

ers. Not only did this school not attempt

any other remedy, three independent

psychological examinations showed that

Thomas was not dangerous,' argued |

Weinberg.

"School officials are justified in

reacting vigorously to actions among stu-

dents that pose a danger to others," con-

tinued Weinberg. "But they have a duty

to find out whether a danger truly exists, |

or whether, as in this case, a student

made a comment in frustration that

revealed not his own dangerousness, but

that of other students who were harass-

ing him."

Persuaded by the ACLU's arguments,

the panel decided not to expel Thomas.

"What was unacceptable to us about

the school's response was that a student

who was perceived as gay - and who was

repeatedly harassed on that basis - was

the one facing the harsh punishment of

expulsion, not his harassers," said Bob

Kim, who also trains teachers and

school staff in ways to prevent harass-

ment of lesbian and gay students in

schools. "This case represented not only

an inadequate response to anti-gay

harassment, but a disturbing trend

among schools in this post-Littleton

[Colorado] era to enforce a `zero toler-

ance' disciplinary policy that does not

distinguish between expellable and non-

expellable actions."

Key Measures on Police, Civil Rights, and Abortion

By FRANCcIsco LOBACO AND

VALERIE SMALL NAVARRO

ACLU LEGISLATIVE OFFICE

CiviL REMEDIES TO POLICE ABUSE -

The legislation sponsored by the ACLU in

response to the Ramparts police scandals

in Los Angeles, is expected to land on the

Governor's desk in September. The bill,

AB 2484 (Romero, D-Monterey Park)

provides a remedy to systemic violations of

constitutional rights by police officers,

such as use of excessive force, false

arrests, discriminatory harassment and

illegal searches. The new law gives

California's Attorney General the statutory

authority to seek civil remedies against law

enforcement officials who engage in a pat-

tern or practice of depriving people of their

rights under the federal or state

Constitutions or laws.

The statute is modeled on a 1994 feder-

al law that granted the federal Department

of Justice similar authority. If the bill is

enacted, it will signal to Attorney General

Bill Lockyer the need to give cases of sys-

temic police misconduct high priority

within his administration. The bill has not

received one negative vote through the

entire legislative process - a rare event

indeed for a bill sponsored by the ACLU.

FIGHTING THE FALLOUT FROM

PROPOSITION 209

The Governor's Task Force on Diversity

and Outreach recently released its long

awaited report. The Task Force recom-

mended that Governor Davis replace pre-

vious Governor Wilson's Executive Orders

relating to Proposition 209 with a new

Executive Order that deals with the

_ state's commitment to nondiscrimination

and to diversity in public education, pub-

lic employment and public contracting.

The Task Force suggested to the

Governor that his Executive Order

include guidelines for targeted outreach

and recruitment to all diverse communi-

ties. The Task Force also suggested "that

the Governor take appropriate action

concerning the collection of data con-

cerning the racial, gender and socio-eco-

nomic composition of those contracting

with the state."

These important recommendations

are encompassed in legislation supported

by the ACLU that will reach the

Governor's desk in September. SB 2047

(Polanco, D-Los Angeles) clarifies that -

outreach and recruitment programs in

education and employment are not pro-

hibited by Proposition 209. When

`Governor Davis vetoed SB 44, a similar

measure last year, civil rights groups

were outraged. The Coalition for Civil

Rights, representing more than 50 organi-.

zations, wrote in a letter to Governor

Davis, "Your veto sends an unequivocal

message that your administration will

make no room for the women and minori-

ties that now constitute the majority of

California's population."

Senator Polanco's new measure also

reinstates the obligation of the state to

collect the data for minority, women and

disabled business participation in the

state's public contracting. Despite

repeated requests, Governor Davis has

refused to rescind Wilson's executive

order banning the reporting of data on

the race and ethnicity of people who are

awarded public contracts the states. As

a result, it is impossible to determine

from state records whether any minori-

ty-owned businesses are receiving any

part of the hundreds of millions of state

dollars awarded in public contracts.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that less

than 3% of the state's contracting dollars

are rewarded to people of color. The

information contained in state records is

crucial to determine whether there is

discrimination in awarding government

contracts.

ACLU News = SEPTEMBER-OcTOBER 2000 = Pace 7

ABOLISHING ARCHAIC

ANTI-ABORTION LAWS

SB 370 by Senator John Burton,

President Pro tem, eliminates nineteenth

century vestiges in our penal code mak-

ing abortion a felony for everyone con-

nected with it: the provider, the woman

who terminated her pregnancy, and the

_ people who helped the pregnant woman

obtain an abortion (Penal Code Sections

274, 275, and 276).

Our current laws - through civil,

criminal, and disciplinary systems - pro-

vide the means to prosecute individuals

practicing medicine without a license and

physicians who endanger their patients

regardless of whether they are illegally

performing abortions or plastic surgery.

By eliminating these abortion-specific

statutes, SB 370 codifies the medical and

scientific knowledge that abortion is a

safe and legal medical procedure and

should be treated like any other. This

seems like common sense. Yet, as of this

writing, it is unclear whether there will be

the requisite 41 votes in the

Democratically-controlled Assembly to

ensure that a hostile Republican amend-

ment will not be voted upon. Being "pro-

- choice" does not guarantee "pro-choice"

votes in this Legislature. Hf

Cruz Reynoso Headlines

Forum on Police Abuse

By MELISSA SCHWARTZ

ore than 250 people packed the

| / First Methodist Church in Santa

Rosa on August 10th to hear for-

mer California State Supreme Court

Justice Cruz Reynoso address the prob-

lems of police brutality in Sonoma

County. Reynoso, the vice-chair of the

U.S. Civil Rights Commission, was speak-

ing at a meeting organized by the

Sonoma chapter of the ACLU and other

civil rights groups.

In the wake of a 1998 U.S. Civil Rights

Commission hearing and report describ-

ing the tense relationship between the

police and community, a coalition of com-

munity organizations including the

ACLU, the Redwood Empire Chinese

Association, NAACP and the United Farm

Workers, put on the forum.

In speaking about the 1998 hearing,

Reynoso said "It was as if there were two

Santa Rosas and two Sonoma

Counties... the Sonoma County District

Attorney reported that his office has

investigated every police officer

involved in a killing and found no crimi-

nality while we heard from countless

witnesses who expressed concern for

both the killings and general interaction

between the police and residents."

Reynoso stressed the need for police

organizations to take responsibility for

their behavior and acknowledge that

changes need to be made before there

can be any progress in this area.

The forum was part of a continuous

effort by the Sonoma Chapter to bring

communities and police agencies

together to address police practices

problems in the county. In 1998, when

Kuan Chung Kao was killed in his drive-

way in Santa Rosa, police officers

claimed the broom he held was capable

of being used as a martial arts weapon.

In response, a coalition of Sonoma com-

munity rights and activist organizations

came together to organize, write letters

to local newspapers and mobilize

against police injustice. Their efforts

attracted the interest of the United

States Civil Rights Commission.

In 1998, the Commission held a hear-

ing to gather testimony from police offi-

cers and administrators as well as

community organizers, activists and vic-

tims. The ACLU Sonoma chapter helped

organize the hearing, which turned into a

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-Kensing- |

ton) Chapter Meeting: (Usually first Wednesday)

For more information, time and address of meetings, con-

tact Diana Wellum at 510/841-2069.

Chico Chapter: If you are a member in the

Chico/Redding area, please contact Steven Post-Jeyes at

530-345-1449.

Fresno Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth Tuesday).

Please join our newly reorganized Chapter! Meetings are

held at 7:00 PM at the Fresno Center for Non-Violence. For

more information, call Bob Hirth 209/225-6223 (days).

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender

Chapter For more information, contact Chloe Watts at

eS ER ST SNE

day-long, standing room-only event.

People told stories about being beaten,

harassed, and consistently abused by

police. In May 2000, the Commission

released its report targeting the alarming

number of police-related deaths in Santa

Rosa and Sonoma County and the polar-

ization this caused in the community.

The Commission also presented recom-

mendations, including diversity training

for officers and citizen review boards.

Commissioner Yvonne Lee wrote in

the appendix to the report, "While the

Commission has held hearings in many

instances where the two sides do not see

eye to eye on the issues, there has rarely

been, in my experience, a situation so

polarized such as Sonoma County where

one side so vehemently denies that there

is a problem at all."

"There had been a very strong coali-

tion of community organizations formed

following and prior to the 1998 hearing,

but it had not held together during the

long time it took for the Commission to

publish its report," said Steve Fabian, a

member of the Board of Directors of the

Sonoma chapter and event organizer.

"Once we knew the report was coming

out, we struggled to remobilize the for-

mer members of our coalition to put

together this forum."

Fabian and chapter members, along

with community activists Mary: Moore

- and Suzanne Regalado of the Sonoma

County Center for Peace and Justice

pulled over 20 groups together for the

August 10th event, which was covered by

the local media.

Fabian followed up the forum with a

series of letters to the editor to local

press, emphasizing the need for law

enforcement to listen to the concerns

about police abuse in their communi-

ties. Sonoma Chapter Chair, David

Grabill commented, "Members of our

chapter board, particularly Steve

Fabian, did an excellent job in not only

organizing the event, but in bringing in

new members of the community who had

stories that needed to be heard. We have

successfully joined a coalition of com-

munity organizations which will contin-

ue to fight against police brutality in

Sonoma County."

Melissa Schwartz is the Program

Assistant for the Field and Public

Information Departments.

510/763-3910 or Jeff Mittman at 510/272-9380.

Marin County Chapter Meeting (Usually third

Monday) Meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Marin Senior

Coordinating Council, "Whistlestop Wheels," Caboose

Room, 930 Tamalpais Ave., San Rafael For more infor-

mation, contact Coleman Persily at 415/479-1731.

Mid-Peninsula Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth

Thursday) Meet at 7:00 PM, at 460 South California

Avenue, Suite 11, Palo Alto. For more information, con-

tact Ken Russell at 650/493-2437.

Monterey County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Tuesday) Meet at 7:15 PM, Monterey Library. For more

information, contact Lisa Maldonado at 415/621-2493.

North Peninsula (San Mateo area) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Monday) Meet at 7:30 PM, at

700 Laurel Street, Park Tower Apartments, top floor.

Medical Marijuana...

Continued from page 2

court order barred federal law enforce-

ment officials from acting, according to

ACLU legal papers filed on behalf of a

group of physicians and their seriously ill

patients. Dr. Milton Estes, former chair of

the ACLU-NC Board of Directors and a

physician working with AIDS patients in

Marin County and the San Francisco Jail,

is one of the plaintiffs.

"Listening to the government's argu-

ments at the hearing was eye-opening and

frightening: it demonstrated how rigid its.

position is. The government attorney

argued that unless a doctor tells a patient

that medical marijuana is illegal and cannot

be used by them, the doctor is subject to

administrative censure and possibly even

criminal prosecution for aiding and abet-

ting," said Estes. "Although the government

says that a doctor can't be prosecuted for

making a public speech, in the privacy of

our examination rooms, we are restrained

from speaking frankly to our patients."

"This case is not about whether the

government should legalize the medical

use of marijuana," said ACLU-NC staff

attorney Ann Brick. "It is about whether

the government may prevent doctors from

providing a patient with an honest medical

opinion recommending marijuana."

"The federal government has conceded

that a doctor can discuss medical marijua-

na, but not recommend it," Boyd added.

"But the government refuses to explain the

difference between `discuss' and `recom-

mend.' Faced with a vague policy, the only

option for many physicians is silence."

The case is an outgrowth of Proposition

215, approved by California voters in

November 1996, which makes it legal for

sick people in the state to grow and possess

marijuana for medical use when recom-

mended by a doctor.

The Clinton administration main-

tains that marijuana is illegal under fed-

eral law and has pledged to punish

doctors who recommend its use. A key

part of the federal plan was a threat that

physicians who recommend marijuana to

patients could lose their right to pre-

scribe drugs, face cutoff from Medicare

and Medicaid eligibility and be exposed

to criminal prosecution.

Despite White House efforts to negate

the initiative's intent, courts thus far have

consistently rejected the government's

spurious arguments. In May 1999, the fed-

eral district court issued a preliminary

injunction in Conant v. McCaffrey pro-

hibiting the government from threatening

doctors who recommend medical use of

marijuana to their patients. The ruling

stated, "The government's fear that frank

dialogue between physicians and patients

about medical marijuana might foster drug

use...does not justify infringing on First

Amendment freedoms."

The defendants named in the suit are

the key federal officials involved in draft-

ing and implementing the Clinton adminis-

tration strategy.

The initial lawsuit was filed in

January 1997, by the national ACLU, the

ACLU of Northern California, the

Lindesmith Center, a drug policy agency,

and cooperating attorneys from the San

Francisco firm of Altshuler, Berzon,

Nussbaum, Berzon and Rubin. @

North Peninsula Chapter Presents

The Miracle Worker

The story of Helen Keller and her dedicated teacher, Annie Sullivan

A Theater Benefit

Sunday, September 24 at 2:00 PM

Hillbarn Theater

1285 East Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City

Tickets are $22. For reservations, call Francesca Guido at 650/344-9407.

Check-out our web page at: http://members.

aol.com/mpenaclu. For more information, contact Marc

Fagel at 650/579-1789.

Paul Robeson Chapter Meeting (Oakland):

(Usually fourth Thursday) For more information contact

Stan Brackett at 510/832-1915.

Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually every third Tuesday) Meet at Fiesta

Cafe, 850 Crescent Way, Sunnybrae, Arcata at 7:00 PM.

For information on upcoming meeting dates and times,

please call 707/444-6595.

Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting: For more

information, contact Lisa Maldonado at 415/621-2493.

San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Third Tuesday)

Meet at 6:45 PM at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission

Street, Suite #460, San Francisco. Call the Chapter Hotline

(979-6699) or www.ACLUSE org for further details.

Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting: (Usually

first Tuesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Peace Center, 48

S. 7th St. San Jose, CA. For further chapter information

contact Marie Crofoot at 408/286-1581.

Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Monday) Meet at 7:15 PM. For more information,

call the hotline at 831/429-2262.

Sonoma County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Tuesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Peace and Justice

Center, 540 Pacific Avenue, Santa Rosa. Cal! David

Grabill at 707/528-6839 for more information.

Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM, 2505 5th Street #154,

Davis. For more information, call Natalie Wormeli. at

| 530/756-1900 or Dick Livingston at 530/753-7255.

ACLU News = SEpremBerR-OcTOBER 2000 = Pace S