Open forum, vol. 66, no. 5 (September-October, 1989)

Fr?

OPEN FORUM

alte One: Identifying the. ele ue

Crack, Crime and Street Gangs i Tae

Mit City oli l=) Tee

According to the California Depart-

ment of Justice's Western States Infor-

mation Network, Los Angeles has now

replaced Miami as the cocaine capital

of the United States. With this new-

found and undesirable status has

come a vicious, bloody struggle among

local street gang members to control

the trade in rock cocaine, the results

of overproduction of cocaine by the

Columbian cartels in 1983-84. Medical

authorities say crack cocaine is the

most addictive substance known to

medical science. With the potent com-

bination of street gangs, crime, and

crack, the black community has been

pushed to the breaking point, where

gang deaths now average more than

one per day in L.A., threatening the

entire city's livability.

Crack is a 50-50 mixture of cocaine

and baking soda that is heated and,

once dry, "cracked" into chunks for

sale. It is usually smoked in heat resis-

tant pipes, or in cigarettes. The supply

and demand of the street controls the

Price of crack, and currently it costs

about $100 per gram, but a single $10

Tock is enough to get high four or five

times. It's cheap, easily concealable

and is the blue-collar version of the

"china white" that had been the recrea-

tional drug of choice for the rich and

Powerful who party and play in the

shadow of L.A/'s enormously profita-

ble entertainment, music, and finance

communities.

"Crack is a totally different pheno-

menon from other drugs like PCP and

heroin," says Karen Bass, Clinical In-

structor with USC's Physician Assis-

tance Program. "It is devastating in its

effects because it is so addictive and

has such violent manifestations. We

haven't seen anything like this."

Over 61 percent of all felony cases

filed this year by the Los Angeles dis-

trict attorney involved possession or

sale of cocaine. L.A's black community

has been hit particularly hard. More

than 53 percent of all crack cocaine-re-

lated admissions to outpatient drug

treatment programs were black. Co-

caine addiction admissions to county-

wide facilities increased 128 percent

over a four year period from 1982 to

1986. Southeast L.A. has the smallest

number of drug treatment programs in

the County, yet has the largest concen-

tration of cocaine admissions. Almost

100 percent of all admissions are for

crack, and close to 100 percent of those

admitted are black. Southeast L.A. is

60 percent black and 35 percent Latino.

L.A/s status as the cocaine capital

of the U.S. is no accident. The city has

a history of street gang activity that

dates back to the zoot-suited period of

een mae ume ect aiele mnt

the 1940's. By the mid-60's, when

L.A's black community exploded in

political frustration and rage, gangs

like the near-legendary Slausons had

become charismatic and politicized.

An inordinately large percentage of the

Black Panther Party leadership, like Al-

prentice "Bunchy" Carter, Raymond

"Masai" Hewitt, Elmer "Geronimo"

Pratt, and Jon Huggins, came directly

from the ranks of the Slausons. How-

ever, the FBI's COINTELPRO activities

combined with LAPD attacks decimat-

ed the Panthers, and left the old gang

structures in disarray.

Since the late 1970's, working-class

blacks in the flatlands of L.A. have

suffered through relentless economic

Vol. 66 No. 5

Photo by Frederick C. Land

decline. Small black businesses have

shriveled, and job programs have all

but disappeared. The manufacturing

belt of rubber, steel, electrical, and

autos, that once provided high-wage

employment has moved out of the

area, and in many cases, out of the

country. Efforts at "reindustrialization"

have centered around minimum-wage

sweatshop operations.

Young black men, in particular,

have faced extinction in the job areas

that traditionally provided them with

economic options. The truckdriving

and factory jobs once held by their

fathers have moved to predominantly

white suburbs that sprawl outward

from downtown L.A. The South Cen-

tral Organizing Committee estimates

that unemployment among young

black males in the inner city is a fright-

ening 45 percent. This figure stands

with the equally staggering statistic

that in L.A. County 40 percent of all

children live either below or slightly

above the official poverty line.

A major factor in the economic de-

cline of the black community has been

the attack and elimination of youth

employment programs under presi-

dents Nixon and Reagan. The Nixon

administration dismantled the Neigh-

(continued on page 3)

Widespread Tapping of Phones

ACLU Sues Government

The American Civil Liberties Union

Foundation of Southern California, the

Center for Constitutional Rights, and

a range of prominent civil rights attor-

neys announced at an August 9th

press conference that they were suing

the U.S. government for illegally tap-

ping the phones of both attorneys and

clients during the ongoing case of the

"L.A. Eight.'

Documents, uncovered in March of

this year, revealed that government

wire taps had "overheard" conversa-

tions between attorneys and clients in

the L.A. Eight case.

"The fact that the government might

have been listening to our phone con-

versations could have compromised

not just our work in the `L.A. Eight'

case," said Ramona Ripston, Executive

Director of the American Civil Liber-

ties Union of Southern California.

"There is ongoing work in more than

200 other extremely important cases,

and the possibility of electronic intru-

sion chills all phone conversations in

our office, sending a signal that no

professional or private telephone con-

versation is beyond the reach of gov-

ernment espionage."

The complaint, filed in Washington

D.C., charges U.S. Attorney General

Richard Thornburgh and the other

government defendants with the

widespread tapping of telephones be-

longing to the attorneys and the sev-

en Palestinians and one Kenyan they

represent in a case that originated in

_ January 1987..That year the eight were

arrested and prosecuted under the

ideologically based McCarran-Walter

Act. The result, according to the com-

plaint, was the unlawful government

interferences with the defense strate-

gy devised between. attorneys. and

their clients.

`-The 1987 case of the "L.A. Eight,'

covered widely in the national and lo-

cal.media, involves the government's

attempts to deport the eight individu-

als who were accused of belonging to

an organization which advocates Pales-

tinian rights. This position is counter

to the official U.S. policy in the Mid-

dle East. However, a federal court

judge in Los Angeles found certain

provisions of the McCarran-Walter Act

. to be unconstitutional. Nevertheless,

the government is proceeding with de-

portation attempts without ever

producing a shred of evidence that the

eight have ever committed a single ille-

gal act.

Revelations that the government

has been listening to the phone con-

versations of attorneys and clients adds

yet another dimension to a case that

has grown quite complex over the

course of the past two years. But the

issue of electronic surveillance is one

of the most ominous aspects yet to sur-

face.

"The FBI's wire tapping of the de-

fendants and their attorneys is unlaw-

ful, unconstitutional and seriously in-

terferes with their ability to defend

against the pending deportation charg-

es,' said Peter Schey, of the National

Center for Immigrants Rights. "It also

violates their First Amendment rights

to hold and express views in support

of the Palestinian people, whether or

not those views are consistent with the

U.S. government's foreign policy posi-

tions."

To date the government has refused

comment on whether the phone taps

are ongoing. "The government's sur-

veillance of our conversations - with

clients in the midst of trial - is the

most outrageous and fundamental vio-

lation of client's right to counsel," stat-

ed Marc Van Der Hout, lead counsel

for the overall defense of the "L.A.

Eight." "In direct response to a ques-

tion in open court the government re-

fused to state that surveillance was not

ongoing at the present time and that

attorneys' phones were not being

tapped. It's a tragedy that both our

clients and we have had to undergo

this unconscionable invasion of our

private lives."

The ACLU Foundation lawsuit

names Thornburgh, the Federal Bu-

reau of Investigation, the Immigration

and Naturalization Service, and the

Executive Office for Immigration Re-

view as defendants. The team of plain-

tiff/lawyers is led by Paul Hoffman, Le-

gal Director of the ACLU of Southern

California; Marc Van Der Hout, past

President of the National Lawyers

Guild; David Cole, attorney with the

Center for Constitutional Rights; and

activist/attorney Leonard I. Weinglass.

The plaintiffs are represented by Pe-

ter A. Schey and Kate Martin from the

ACLU's national office in Washington,

Do. a

Stull protecting our rights

LESBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS CHAPTER

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

of Southern California

1989 HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD DINNER

Saturday

September 23, 1989

Social Hour 6:30

Dinner 7:30

Hyatt on Sunset

Sunset Ballroom

8401 Sunset Boulevard

West Hollywood, California

UE en ee

Newsletter of

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California

ACLU Officers: Eve Triffo, President;

Ellen Greenstone, First Vice President;

Glenn Goodwin, Second Vice President;

Duncan Donovan, Third Vice President;

Gary Mandinach, Fourth Vice President;

Sylvia Sims, Secretary; Mary Ann

Yurkonis, Treasurer; Lloyd Smith, Assis-

tant Secretary-Ireasurer; John Tate,

National Board Representative

ACLU Foundation Chair: Danny Gold-

berg

Executive Director: Ramona Ripston

OPEN FORUM

OPEN FORUM Editor: Joe R. Hicks

OPEN FORUM (ISSN 0030-3429) is pub-

lished bimonthly, at 633 South Shatto

Place, Los Angeles, CA 90005. Telephone

(213) 487-1720. Membership is $20 and

up, of which $2 is the annual subscrip-

tion fee for OPEN FORUM. Entered as

second class postage paid at Los An-

geles, CA, under the act of March 3, 1879.

Postmaster: send address changes to the

OPEN FORUM, 633 South Shatto Place,

Los Angeles, CA 90005.

Death Row Inmates Threatened

California Supreme Court

Speeds up Death Penalty Hearings

Over objections by Justices Stanley

Mosk and Allan Brussard, the Califor-

nia State Supreme Court recently an-

nounced new procedures that will

speed up death penalty appeals.

The new policies require defense at-

torneys to move more rapidly in filing

habeas corpus petitions and severely

limit the kind of work for which law-

yers will be paid. Habeas corpus is a

writ for inquiring into the lawfulness

of the restraint of a person who is im-

prisoned or detained in another's cus-

tody.

However, the most serious new

policy may be the requirement that

lawyers file habeas corpus petitions

while the automatic appeal of a death

sentence is still before the Court. Pri-

or to the Court's new policies, lawyers

customarily waited until a conviction

had been upheld to file a habeas cor-

pus petition.

The new policy states that a habeas

corpus petition is considered timely

only if filed within 60 days after the re-

ply brief has been filed in the automat-

ic appeal. After that, petitions may be

filed only if the defense attorney can

present facts showing that the petition

was filed within a reasonable time af-

ter the attorney discovered the facts

supporting the petition. Petitions fail-

ing to meet this criterion will be de-

nied, the Court ruled.

Announcement of the new court

policies came in the form of a press re-

lease, without explanations of why the

new policies were adopted. The

Court's action was unexpected and

surprised attorneys working on death

penalty cases throughout the state.

Michael Laurence, director of the

Death Penalty Project of the Northern

California American Civil Liberties

Union, said that the new Court poli-

cies came with no warning. Laurence

noted that any new Court policies are

normally released for comment

through the Administrative Office of

the Courts before they are finally

adopted.

According to Laurence, the impetus

behind the new rules is that the Court

wants to deal with a death penalty

case - direct appeal and habeas cor-

pus - all at once. The Court was an-

noyed that it was receiving post-

affirmative habeas corpus petitions -

some running over 100 pages -

months after the direct appeal had

been completed. Thus, despite the

prevalence of these procedures in oth-

er states, the Court devised a strategy

to eliminate these petitions.

Arguments against the new rules

are several: First, the rules will pro-

mote waste of scarce judicial and attor-

ney resources. Even the California Su-

preme Court as currently constituted

reverses 30% of all direct appeals. For

an attorney to spend hundreds of

hours of time and thousands of dollars

to prepare a habeas corpus petition

when the case may be reversed on the

record is illogical. Second, the rules

ask that the attorney be both an appel-

late and a trial lawyer. Habeas work is

much closer to the work of a trial at-

torney than to an appellate attorney.

Appellate attorneys may be ill-

equipped or unwilling to research the

facts of a case. Given the current short-

age of death penalty attorneys, the

new rules will make it all-the-more dif-

ficult to find capable and willing attor-

neys. Finally, the manner in which the

rules were promulgated causes great

concern. The rules were announced

without any public input or comment

from the judiciary, attorneys, or liti-

gants. Additionally, the authority of

the Court to change rules by press re-

lease is unknown.

"There is a risk that innocent peo-

ple may be rushed through the system

because an appellate attorney was

rushed through the system," Laurence

stated. x

,

| *

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F

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"

Crack. .

(continued from page 1)

borhood Youth Corps, Reagan killed

the Comprehensive Employment and

Training (CETA) Program, and effec-

tively trimmed back the Jobs Corps to

the point of trivialization.

The flip side of the coin - educa-

tion - provides no bright spots. The

Los Angeles Unified School District,

which serves 590,000 students, has

classrooms more crowded than Missis-

",. Unemployment

among young black males

in the inner ctty 1s a

frightening 45%. This figure

stands with the equally

staggering statistic that in

L.A. County 40% of all

children live either below

or slightly above the

official poverty line."

sippis and a drop-out rate of between

30-50 percent in inner city high

schools. In L.A. county estimates of

"latch-key" kids run as high as 350,000.

These are children between the ages of

five and fourteen who have no adult

supervision between the time school

lets out and when their parent(s) ar-

rive home from work. Central City

parks provide no haven for these latch-

key kids, as they are the domain of the

street gangs.

In the face of harsh realities, many

of the Inner City's youth have refused

to become "expendable" and have

found an alternate economy in crack

cocaine, and a social organization that

offers them respect and fear: the street

gang. The LAPD estimates that there

are 150 to 200 "rock houses" operating

in South Central L.A., each producing

upwards of $5,000 per day in drug

profits. Each house typically employs

a leader, a seller, a guard, and lookout.

Facing the option of flipping burgers

at a fast food chain at minimum wage,

these youngsters can make up to $750

each week, and often are the only

source of income for an entire house-

hold.

Two rival super-gangs, the Bloods

and Crips, control the distribution of

crack. These two factions are divided

into several hundred "fighting sets"

and identify through the use of colors,

red for Bloods and blue for Crips. The

colors are displayed through wearing

bandannas, T-shirts, shoelaces, and

particular kinds of athletic shoes (Brit-

ish Knights, Columbia Knights). Esti-

mates of gang strength peg the num-

ber of gangs operating in L.A. Coun-

ty at 700, with upwards of 30,000 hard-

core members operating on city streets.

Who are these gang members (who

have been called everthing from "cow-

ards" to "terrorists" by LAPD's Chief

Darryl Gates), whose actions instill

fear throughout the L.A. Basin? Are

they really expendable people, as

some have suggested? To get a brief

glimpse into the reality of L.A. street

gangs, Open Forum spoke with two

jailed young men with long histories

of criminal and street gang activity.

Both admit to extensive involvement in

the L.A. drug trade. In the November!

December issue, Open Forum will inter-

view L.A. law enforcement officials, to

Set their perspective on the over-

whelming problem of crack, crime,

and street gangs. a

A View from the Street:

Ex-Gang Bangers' Reveal Facts about Ghetto Life

Frank "Hooron" Miller is a 29-year old

_ex-gang member, currently awaiting

trial in the Los Angeles County Jail for

a murder charge of which he asserts

he is innocent. Miller grew up, and

lived most of his 29 years all in South

Central L.A. - in the area of 69th

Street and Figueroa. He attended

Bethune Jr. High School and Fremont

High School, dropping out short of

graduation, and received a high school

equivalency diploma (GED) while in-

carcerated. Miller is considered an

"OG" (original gangster) because of

his long history of involvement with

the Crips. The following conversation

took place inside L.A. County's Mer's

Central Jail:

Q. Are you currently affiliated

with a street gang?

A. Not now, but I used to be a

member of the Seven Four Hoover

Crips.

Q. When did you become involved

with the Crips?

A. In December, 1969.

Q. What situations led you into in-

volvement with a gang?

A. I became involved when I was

nine, almost ten, with the collective.

The collective started as a group of

people making money, hanging out to-

gether, going to a certain specific

school with each other. We had to

identify ourselves because older peo-

ple had a tendency to take advantage

Of uss =

Q. What's the relationship be-

tween drugs and gangs?

A. Money! It's a way for gangs to

make money. America is a drug socie-

ty. Gangs aren't responsible for that.

We just took advantage of the econom-

ic opportunities that drugs presented.

Q. Do you use drugs?

A. No, but! did at one point. I used

to drink a lot and smoke weed at one

point in time, but I quit that.

Q. What about crack?

A. Never use the stuff. I have sold

drugs before but, shit, I saw it as a way

for me personally to make money. I

didn't necessarily associate it with my

gang. Also, selling drugs allowed me

the time to hang out with my counter-

parts, my homeboys in the gang. I

couldn't do that working seven or eight

hours on a job.

Q. If the economic conditions in

the black community were healthier

do you think the same large number

of young people would be drawn to

gangs?

A. Hell no. Out of every ten peo-

ple in the black community that sell

drugs, seven of them don't want to, but

they do it because they see no other

way out. You might have two or three

who thrive on selling drugs but a lot

of gang members don't want drugs in

their areas period.

Q. What are most of the gang kill-

ings about?

A. The killings you read about in

the papers, or see on TV are because

of dope and gang activities, but it's ex-

aggerated because of all the current

hype over gangs. Sometimes a killing

will go down and the news media or

the police will call it "gang-related"

even though the gangs didn't have

anything to do with it at all.

Q. When you were still involved in

gang activities, how did you relate to

your "set?''

A. Through drug sales, hangin' out

with my counterparts. I saw selling

drugs strictly in economic terms - it

was a means of financing mamma

with a place to stay. It was a means of

putting food in the refrigerator. It was

a means of achieving status, of buying

a Jaguar in a week or two, and also a

way of getting out of the ghetto. But

some people see power behind drugs

and gang activity, and this has a big

effect on a majority of youngsters that

are out there now.

Q. Why are so many youngsters

joining gangs?

A. There are a lot of young kids out

there with almost no place to stay at

night - their mamma's smoking dope

and their sister's smoking dope -

quite naturally they are looking for

something to do and somewhere to be-

long. Especially if that something can

make them two or three hundred dol-

lars a day. Also, they feel protected in

gangs, when in reality they aren't, but

they feel that they are. Plus the news

media helps to create a prestigious im-

age for belonging to a gang. My view

of it all now, is that it's a poison - a

poison that's destroying everything.

Q. What made you quit gang

bangin'? (A street term for gang con-

frontations)

A. I haven't been involved in gang

activity since 1980, and I got out be-

cause two people got killed that I was

close to and their deaths were taken

very lightly by others around me. They

really didn't care. I just didn't want to

be a part of that anymore. I view the

killings as senseless - over nothing.

",.. Out of every ten

people in the black

community that sell drugs,

seven of them don't want to

but see no other way out."

Q. What's your family like?

A. I have three brothers and four

sisters, and all of us have been in fos-

ter homes at an early age. My family

has been involved in what has led me

into difficulty - drug sales. My father

did time in San Quentin, and my

mother did time in the penitentiary. So

my family situation has, by and large,

been negative. Everybody in my fam-

ily is on drugs except for one of my sis-

ters.

Q. What has been the effects on

the younger members of your family?

A. I'm seeing the same cycle going

on with my sister's kids. There is no

support, no help to get them to try and

escape the cycle of gangs and drugs.

Q. What's the difference between

older guys like you who used to gang

bang and the younger gang members

who are coming into the institutions

today?

OPEN FORUM

A. A big difference. The "drive-by"

shootings are the new factor. You

couldn't catch me in a car driving by

shooting at a bunch of people. That

never used to happen with people in

my age bracket. People driving by

shooting at crowds killing nine-year

old kids and people's mammas just

didn't happen. The younger genera-

tion operates under the law of the jun-

gle. They feel that if anybody repre-

sents the opposition, well fuck `em.

Back when we first started, AK-47 and

the Uzi were something we didn't

know anything about. We were lucky

to have a .22 or a .38.

Q. How have the series of police

sweeps effected the ability of gangs to

operate in L.A.?

A. Not at all. In fact it elevates gang

activity. It makes it seem as if the Crips

are the baddest motherfuckers in town

and that only adding more police or

bringing in the national guard will

control the situation. All this does is

add to the image of gangs. Today,

gangs are being idolized. Gangs are

being challenged and they are stand-

ing up to fight the challenge.

Q. So what should be done to dif-

fuse the violence?

A. Instead of writing off gang

members and trying to squash them,

the City needs to come to the commu-

nity and say, "We want to help." They

should put in parks and recreation

centers instead of offering genocide to

young black men. There are young

men in South Central with seven or

eight Mach 10s (automatic pistol) in

their closet and they don't give a fuck

about anybody's task force or "Opera-

tion Hammer" Their attitude is, "bring

`em on." So mammas are scared, dad-

dys are scared cause their sons don't

care. Pe

Q. Can parents prevent their chil-

dren from being involved in gangs?

A. If they can't pack up all their'shit

and move to a new environment that

doesn't have all the problems of the

ghetto, there isn't anything they can

do. A mother or father can't just tell

their kid to put down that rag (gang

colors), that's not going to work!

Q. Do most parents know that

their kids are involved in gang activi-

?

A. Yeah, but they can't stop it, or

even control it. They want to stop it,

would do anything in the world to stop

it, but can't. Just like any parent, they

don't want to get a phone call from the

hospital at one a.m. telling them that

their son is DOA (dead on arrival).

They don't want people hanging

around the house at all hours of the

day and night, the threat of drive by

shooting a constant worry. The majori-

ty of people's mothers and fathers go

through the whole routine. They sit

their kids down and tell them that

what they are doing is no good, stop

it. But they don't have enough to of-

fer, besides love. When you tell your

son don't gang bang, dress nice and go

to school, and he gets the shit beat out

of him, guess what he's going to do

when the homeboys say, "if you kick

it over here that shit won't happen to

you," he's going to kick it over there

and it won't happen. Mothers are go-

ing through a lot of torment over

what's happening to their kids, and

now they're getting blamed for it.

Q. If you were in a position of

authority in this city, what would you

do to deal with the problems of gangs

and drugs?

A. Well, solutions have to be

(continued on page 4)

comers te he aa (a

United States Supreme Coy :

A Bad Year For Civil Rih

By Erwin Chemerinsky

The Supreme Court's 1989-89 Term

was devastating for civil rights and civil

liberties. Probably few years in Amer-

ican history had so many decisions

that did so much damage. The Court

narrowed abortion rights, limited gov-

ernment affirmative action programs,

restricted the scope of civil rights laws,

permitted the use of capital punish-

ment for juveniles and the mentally

retarded, approved drug testing, and

constricted the availability of habeas

corpus.

The Term demonstrated that there

is a consistent, very conservative work-

ing majority on the Court. The newest

Justice, Anthony Kennedy, repeated-

ly joined with Chief Justice Rehnquist

and Justices White, O'Connor and

Scalia, to restrict individual liberties

and civil rights. The future is bleak: the

Reagan legacy of a conservative Court

seems secure for many years to come.

The Rehnquist Court's open hostil-

ity to constitutional claims is best un-

derstood by examining some of the

major areas of constitutional law.

First, the Supreme Court will not

recognize new individual rights and

often will restrict the protection of ex-

isting liberties. In virtually every case

involving claims by criminal defen-

dants during the 1988-89 Term, the Su-

preme Court ruled in favor of the gov-

ernment and against the individual.

For example, the Court held that it was

not cruel and unusual punishment for

a state to execute mentally retarded in-

dividuals or individuals who were 16

or 17 years old when they committed

the crime.

-- The government was the winner in

cases involving illegal drugs. The

Court held that customs workers could

be tested for drug use even though

there was no individualized suspicion

as to particular workers and no evi-

dence of a drug problem in the cus-

toms service. The Court also'held, in

a case involving drugs, that the Con-

stitution is not violated by aerial sur-

veillance of a person's home by police

officers without a warrant or probable

cause. And they approved the use of

drug courier profiles as a basis for

searching individuals in airports even

when there is no evidence of illegal

conduct.

In these decisions the Supreme

Court ignored the text of the Fourth

Amendment by permitting searches

without probable cause of illegal con-

duct or a warrant. Cumulatively, these

decisions reveal a Court that sees con-

stitutional rights to be little more than

a dispensable inconvenience in drug

cases.

The scope of due process rights was

narrowed during the 1988-89 Term. For

example, the Court ruled against an

unmarried father's challenge to a state

law that denied him all parental rights

by irrebuttably presuming another

man to be the father. Although biolog-

ical evidence conclusively established

paternity and there are many prece-

dents for Supreme Court protection of

unmarried fathers, the Court approved

an automatic end to all of the father's

involvement with the child. In anoth-

er case, the Court held that a child's

guardian could not sue the govern-

ment because of its failure to adequate-

ly protect the child from a parent's

physical abuse which caused irrevers-

ible brain damage. In a broadly writ-

ten opinion, the Court concluded that

the due process clause does not obli-

gate the government to protect an in-

dividual's life, liberty, or property from

interference by private citizens.

Most notably, in Webster v. Reproduc-

tive Health Services, the Court approved

greater state regulation of abortions

and indicated that there likely are at

least four Justices willing to overrule

Roe v. Wade. In Webster, five Justices vot-

ed to allow Missouri's prohibition of

government funding of abortions and

its requirement that after twenty weeks

of pregnancy, doctors must test for fe-

tal lung development to determine via-

bility.

The only area during the 1988-89

Term where the Court ruled in favor

of individual rights was First Amend-

ment claims. For example, the Court

protected the right to burn the flag as

a form of expression. Yet, for all of the

publicity that this decision has gener-

ated, it is a relatively minor victory for

civil liberties. The Court did not sub-

stantially expand the protection of

symbolic speech; rather, it wrote a very

narrow opinion applying precedents.

Compared to the millions of people

who will be hurt by the Supreme

Court's rulings restricting individual

rights, safeguarding flag burning

seems a relatively hollow victory. In

fact, the Court limited First Amend-

ment rights in other cases by ruling

that regulation of speech in public for-

ums need not be by the least restric-

tive `alternative, by restricting the

speech rights of prisoners, and by re-

ducing the protection of commercial

speech.

In other words, virtually across the

board, the Supreme Court rejected

claims of constitutional rights. The

Term revealed a Court extremely like-

ly to side with the government and to

rule against the individual in constitu-

tional cases. The Constitution exists to

protect citizens from the government.

Yet, the Rehnquist Court seems obliv-

ious to this need.

Second, the Supreme Court will

narrowly interpret civil rights laws and

the government's ability to use affirm-

ative action to protect civil rights. Per-

haps the most remarkable aspect of the

1988-89 Term was the Supreme Court's

many decisions ruling against civil

rights plaintiffs. The Court held that

government affirmative action pro-

grams must meet strict scrutiny; that

is, the government can use affirmative

action only if it meets the daunting

burden of demonstrating that it is

necessary to achieve a compelling gov-

ernment objective. The government

rarely succeeds in this task. In the case

before the Court, City of Richmond v.

J.A. Croson Co., statistics demonstrat-

ed that minority owned businesses

received less than one percent of City

public works contracts, even though

blacks comprised more than 50 percent

of the population of the City. Despite

a long history of discrimination in

Richmond, the Court declared the af-

firmative action program unconstitu-

tional.

In another case, the Court held that

white employees could challenge a

consent decree that provided for af-

firmative action as a remedy, even

though the employees had notice of

the lawsuit and the proposed settle-

ment, but chose not to participate in

the initial proceedings. The effect of

"One wonders whether the

majority still believe that

race discrimination - or,

more accurately race

discrimination against

non-whites - is a problem

in our society, or even

remembers it ever was."

this ruling will be to make the govern-

ment far less likely to settle civil rights

cases and to open to attack many past

consent decrees.

Additionally, the Court substantial-

ly limited the use of federal statutes,

to remedy employment discrimina-

tion. In Patterson v. McLean Credit

Union, the Court narrowly interpreted

a civil rights law adopted after the Civil

War (42 U.S.C. 0x00A71981). The Court ruled

that the statute could be used only for

claims of discrimination in the forma-

tion of contracts, and not for allega-

tions of racial harassment or discrimi-

nation after hiring.

In Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Antonio,

the Court significantly restricted the

ability of plaintiffs to prove employ-

ment discrimination claims under Title

VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The

Court substantially overruled a prece-

dent that is almost two decades old by

limiting the type of statistical evidence

that can be used to prove discrimina-

tion and by holding that employees

must show that specific employment

practices caused the discrimination.

Under the earlier law, it was much eas-

ier for an individual to prove discrimi-

nation by showing that the effect of the

employer's practices was to disadvan-

tage racial minorities or women. Most

employment discrimination cases are

based on such statistical proof. But af-

ter Wards Cove such evidence is much

less likely to be successful.

Thus, during the 1988-89 Term the

Court created substantial new obsta-

cles to the prevention and remedy of

discrimination. As Justice Blackmun

lamented in a dissent: "One wonders

whether the majority still believes that

race discrimination - or, more accur-

ately race discrimination against non-

whites - is a problem in our society,

or even remembers that it ever was.'

Examining the Court's civil liberties

and civil rights rulings reveals an ac-

tivist Court guided by a conservative

ideological agenda. This is not a Court

that practices judicial restraint. Quite

the contrary, it overruled or narrowed

precedents in many areas including

the speech rights of prisoners, abortion

rights, and employment discrimina-

tion. Moreover, in individual liberty

cases, the Court emphasized deference

to the government in approving gov-

ernment restrictions of individual

liberties. But in civil rights cases, the

Court ruled against the government in

invalidating affirmative action pro-

grams and consent decrees and in ig-

noring the legislative intent behind civ-

il rights laws. The only thing consis-

tent about the Rehnquist Court is its

hostility to civil liberties and civil rights

claims. :

By any standard, the 1988-89 Term

was momentous. For those who care

about civil rights and civil liberties

there is nothing good to say about it.

Nor is there any reason to believe that

the foreseeable future will be better.

Erwin Chemerinsky is a Professor of

Law, University of Southern California

Law Center, and member of the Board of

Directors of the American Civil Liberties

Union of Southern California.

SESE ESE A RIES IRIN SS a SR RS 2 LS

Ghetto Life...

(continued from page 3)

presented that make people know that

you understand what the problem is.

I'd make sure that schools had all the

books that they need, that security

people were in the schools to protect

the students that wanted to learn, par-

ents need jobs so they can earn the

money they need to live decently and

provide for their kids. We need peo-

ple to come help.

f 7 sah?

Big Will

Will Packer is a mentally and phys-

ically impressive young man, who at

28 years old, has spent some of his

most productive years behind prison

bars. He is alleged to have organized

one of the most effective crack sales

operations in the area of southwest Los

Angeles surrounding Crenshaw High

School. This is Blood terrain, and

Packer began "running" with the

Bloods in 1972.

Also an "Original Gangster," Big

Will, as he is known, says that gangs

have, "always been a fact of life for

most of the Black community." He said

that the Bloods and Crips simply su-

perseded gang organizations that had

been around since the early 1960s."

Like his "OG" counterpart "Hooron,'

Big Will says that life in the communi-

ty has become a matter of "dog-eat-

dog" and gang members sell drugs just

to survive. However, he does not de-

fend his drug selling, "I always knew

that it was a wrong thing to do," Pack-

er said.

He says that the incident that woke

him up to the destructive nature of his

drug operation was a jailhouse inter-

view that NBC's Today Show conduct-

Will Packer

ed with him about one year ago. "At

the end of the interview, the female

reporter asked me about drug babies,

which was something that I was un-

aware of even after all the years of in-

volvement in drug sales. I really had

no idea that the drugs I was selling to

women were damaging children yet to

be born. This information went

straight to that soft spot in my heart.

I was devastated."

This event affected him in such 4

dramatic way, Packer said, that he read

every newspaper and magazine article

on the subject that he could lay his

hands on. He now counsels other in-

mates in Los Angeles County Jail

against the destructive nature of crack

sales as he awaits his trial for a mut

der charge.

ri ACLU of Southern California

ae ee

; 7

`ot Summation, 1988-89 Term

Rints and Civil Liberties'

a

et Db

le

(R)

By Fred Okrand

When the United States Supreme

Court adjourned on July 3rd, it left be-

hind a year of decisions which, with

notable exceptions, spelled serious set-

backs for civil liberties.

The court wrote opinions in 140

cases. Of the 140, 29 favor civil liber-

ties and 52 do not. Sometimes, be-

cause of the way it was decided, a case

may have both favorable and unfavora-

ble aspects. Here, however, except for

one case in the church/state area, a

case was listed as one or the other. Not

listed are cases which, as decided, are

neutral in their impact but which, be-

cause of the language of the opinion,

may portend future decisions by the

court which would affect civil liberties.

Ed. - In deference to space considera-

tion, a complete listing of Court rulings

could not be included in this issue. For a

full listing of all Supreme Court decisions,

write to OPEN FORUM. Please include

a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

ABORTION

Unfavorable

WEBSTER v. REPRODUCTIVE

HEALTH SERVICES

A state may deny a woman the abil-

ity to obtain an abortion in a public

hospital; it may prohibit public em-

ployees from counseling as to abortion

rights; and it may require viability tests

after 20 weeks before an abortion will

be allowed.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Favorable

SOUTH CAROLINA v. GATHERS

Contents of a religious tract and vot-

er registration card found on murder

victim's person had nothing to do with

the defendant's culpability. Therefore,

reading them to the jury at the sen-

tencing phase of the trial violated the

rule that personal characteristics of the

victim in a capital case are not to be in-

troduced as evidence at that stage.

Unfavorable ;

PENRY v. LYNAUGH

A state may excecute an adult with

the reasoning capacity of a 7-year-old.

STANFORD v. KENTUCKY

A state may execute a 17-year-old

minor.

WILKINS v. MISSOURI

Same as Stanford v. Kentucky as to a

16-year-old.

CHURCH/STATE

Favorable

ALLEGHENY COUNTY v. GREATER

PITTSBURGH ACLU

Public display of religious symbols

(here, a Christian nativity scene inside

a county courthouse) which has the ef-

fect of government endorsement and

violates the principle of the separation

of church and state.

TEXAS MONTHLY, INC. v. BULLOCK

A statute which exempts from sales

and use taxes only religious periodi-

cals, violates the Establishment Clause

of the First Amendment.

Unfavorable

ALLEGHENY COUNTY v. GREATER

PITTSBURGH ACLU

Inclusion of a Hannukah menorah

on. the front steps of a government

building along with a Christmas tree

and a sign saluting American liberty

does not violate the principle of the

separation of church and state.

CIVIL RIGHTS

Favorable

BLANCHARD v. BERGERON

A contingent fee contract between

a civil rights plaintiff and his/her law-

yer does not limit the amount of attor-

neys fees a prevailing plaintiff may re-

cover from the defendant under the

Civil Rights Attorneys Fee Award Act

of 1976.

HARDIN v. STRAUB

A state statute which tolls the stat-

ute of limitations for personal injury

actions while an individual is in jail is

applicable to an inmate's right to file

a federal civil rights suit against pris-

on authorities.

MISSOURI v. JENKINS

Award of attorneys fees under the

Civil Rights Attorney's Fee Award Act

against the state in an injunction action

is not prevented by the 11th Amend-

ment state-immunity-from-suit stric-

ture. The amount of attorneys fees al-

lowed may be enhanced by the going

rate at the time of judgment rather

than at the time the services were ren-

dered.

TEXAS STATE TEACHERS

ASSOCIATION v. GARLAND

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

So long as he/she prevails on "any

significant issue,' a plaintiff need not

prevail on the "central issue" of a case

in order to be entitled to a statutory fee

under the Civil Rights Attorneys Fee

Award. Act.

OWENS v. OKURE

The court chose the longer of two

possible state statutes of limitations

within which a person may file an ac-

tion under the federal Civil Rights

Statute.

Unfavorable

CITY OF CANTON v. HARRIS

Inadequate training of law enforce-

ment officers is not alone sufficient to

allow a cause of action under the Fed-

eral Civil Rights Act.

CITY OF RICHMOND ". J.A. CROSON

A city's set aside ordinance which

seeks to ameliorate the historical fail-

ure of the city to contract with minori-

ty contractors is invalid unless there is

a positive showing of intentional dis-

crimination.

INDEPENDENT FEDERATION OF

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS v. ZIPES

In a sex discrimination case, the

court refused to allow attorneys fees to

the plaintiffs against intervenors who

opposed a settlement and caused pro-

tracted litigation and great increase in

the expenditure of costs when the set-

tlement was clearly within well estab-

lished guidelines and furthered the

national policy against sex discrimina-

tion.

JETT v. DALLAS INDEPENDENT

SCHOOL DISTRICT

A white teacher claimed his trans-

fer, ordered by his principal and ap-

proved by the superintendent, was ra-

cially motivated. The court held that

the school district could not be held

liable unless there was a policy of ra-

cial discrimination even if the individ-

uals themselves acted by reason of ra-

cial motivation.

PATTERSON v. McLEAN CREDIT

UNION

A federal statute which guarantees

to all persons the "same right to make

and enforce contracts . . . as is enjoyed

_ by white persons" does not apply to

racial discrimination on the job.

WARDS COVE PACKING CO. v.

ANTONIO

Albeit all the lower paying jobs are

filled by non-whites, and the higher

paying, by whites, there is no relief for

the non-whites unless they can show

that the disparity is as a result of em-

ployment practices.

WILL v. ANTONIO

Neither a state nor its officials act-

ing in their official capacities and un-

der color of state law, may be sued for

violation of an individual's civil rights.

DRUG TESTING

Unfavorable

CONSOLIDATED RAIL

CORPORATION v. RAILWAY LABOR

EXECUTIVES ASSOCIATION

A railway decided unilaterally to in-

stitute a urine drug testing program

periodically and upon those returning

from leave. The union protested. The

company claimed this was the type of

a dispute which allowed the company

to institute the change at once and

then the matter is subject to arbitration

before the National Railroad Adjust-

ment Board. The union claimed it was

the type of dispute which did not al-

low the company to institute the

change until after (if the company

won) a process of bargaining and

mediation. The Court held the compa-

ny could institute the change at once.

NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES

UNION v. VON RAAB

Suspicionless drug testing of Cus-

tom Service employees seeking pro-

motions, while searches within the

meaning of the 4th Amendment, are

valid.

SKINNER v. RAILWAY LABOR

EXECUTIVES ASSOCIATION

Drug testing pursuant to regula-

tions of the Federal Railroad Adminis-

tration authorizing blood and urine

tests of employees following certain

train accidents and fatal incidents, and

breath and urine tests in other circum-

stances, including rule violations, al-

though searches within the meaning

of the 4th Amendment, are neverthe-

less valid without the requirement of

search warrants.

FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Favorable

FRAZEE v. ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT

OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY

Simply because an individual's be-

lief is not dictated by a particular reli-

gious sect, a state may not deny unem-

ployment compensation to one whose

sincere religious belief is that he/she

"may not work on Sunday.

FREE SPEECH

Favorable

EU v. SAN FRANCISCO

DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL

COMMITTEE

A state statute which prohibits po-

litical parties from making endorse-

ments in primary elections violates the

First Amendment right to freedom of

speech and association. In addition, a

state statute which regulates the size,

composition and selection of a politi-

cal party's official governing board vio-

lates the party's and its members' right

to freedom of association.

SABLE COMMUNICATIONS OF

CALIFORNIA v. FEDERAL

COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Government may not ban dial-a-

porn telephone messages.

SHEET METAL WORKERS v. LYNN

A union's trustee may not remove

an elected business agent for speaking

out at a union meeting in opposition

to a proposal of the trustee.

- TEXAS v. JOHNSON

The burning of an American Flag as

an expression of dissent is protected by

the First Amendment.

Unfavorable

MASSACHUSETTS v. OAKES

A state statute prohibited adults

from taking pictures of minors "in a

state of nudity.' This prevented parents

from taking pictures of their baby on

a bear rug, for example, or of family

pictures at a nudist camp, etc. But the

Court refused to strike the statute

down on its face, allowing a trial as to

whether under some circumstances it

could validly be applied.

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

v. FOX

A state university may prevent ven-

dors from making presentations as to

their products in dormitories.

WARD v. ROCK AGAINST RACISM

A city required that users of a band-

stand in a public park must use the

city's equipment and sound engineer

who would have control of the equip

ment throughout the concert. The:

court held this was not a violation of

the concert-givers' right of free speech

and was not a prior restraint although

the city's employee could turn the

sound off at any time and regulate its

volume and presumably its quality, at

all times.

RIGHTS OF CHILDREN

Unfavorable

MISSISSIPPI BAND OF CHOCTAW

INDIANS v. HOLYFIELD

State adoption court had no juris-

diction over Indian child born out of

wedlock off the reservation, who never

resided there, and whose mother vol-

untarily surrendered the child for

adoption by a non-Indian couple.

Only the tribal court has jurisdiction.

SEARCH and SEIZURE

Favorable

BROWER v. INYO COUNTY

A police roadblock is a "seizure"

within the meaning of the 4th Amend-

ment. Whether or not any particular

block is "reasonable" under the

Amendment depends on the circum-

stances.

WORKERS RIGHTS

Unfavorable

TRANS WORLD AIRLINES, INC. ".

INDEPENDENT FEDERATION

OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS

An employer may lay off employees

with greater seniority who had struck,

before it lays off employees with less

seniority who had worked during the

strike. a

OPEN FORUM 5

; cent ie MF aol

a

ACLU Hosts Evening with Jon Davidson

The lesbian and gay civil liberties agen-

da in the age of AIDS was the focus

of last month's special ACLU "Evening

With ... Jon Davidson." More than 70

people gathered at the home of Val

Marmillion to hear Davidson, the

American Civil Liberties Union of

Southern California's lead attorney on

the wide range of its litigation involv-

ing lesbian and gay rights, women's

rights, and AIDS-related issues.

Davidson outlined the crisis in the

courts, the general political climate in

the U.S., and how this political climate

affects the fight to establish and pro-

tect the civil liberties of lesbians and

gays.

"We have reached over 100,000 diag-

nosed cases of AIDS which have been

reported to the Centers for Disease

Control,' Davidson told the group.

"Think about it: 100,000 diagnosed

cases which have been reported. At

least 15 times that many Americans

(one and one-half million people) are

now infected with HIV. The number of

Americans who have died from AIDS-

related complications (over 58,000 peo-

ple) now exceeds the number of Amer-

icans killed in Vietnam.'

Given the disease's toll on the gay

community, Davidson asked the group

how the community could not afford

to put all of its energies into fighting

the irrational and cold-hearted dis-

crimination in employment, in hous-

ing, and in insurance being encoun-

tered daily by those living with AIDS.

At the same time, Davidson stated,

"Anita Bryant has not disappeared, she

Jon Davidson

just keeps popping up in drag!" He

noted that the spirit of Bryant lives on

in the form of individuals such as Cal-

ifornia Congressman Bill Dannemey-

er, Senator Jesse Helms, the Reverend

Lou Sheldon, and L.A. County Super-

visor Pete Schabarum. Davidson

pointed out that the homophobic state-

ments of these men contribute to the

rising tide of violence directed against

lesbians and gay men.

"We are at least seven times as like-

ly to be victimized by violence as the

average adult American, with 90 per-

cent of all lesbians and gay men ex-

periencing some form of victimization

in our lives."

Davidson said that for lesbians and

gay men to be effective in the face of

both AIDS and increasing homopho-

bia, "we must work hard ... all the

time; we have to mobilize; we have to

speak out; we have to act up; and we

have to build real coalitions to help."

He outlined the three major battles

for the gay and lesbian community as:

the fight to be seen and recognized in

the fullness of who we are; the fight

against oppression in all its guises; and

the struggle to be cared about and ac-

cepted as members of this nation with

equal dignity to everyone else. "That,"

said Davidson, "is what the struggles

for the rights of people living with

AIDS and for lesbians and gay rights

generally are all about."

From the audience, Davidson rec-

ognized three individuals who have

epitomized the struggle for dignity by

lesbians and gay men.

",... Anita Bryant has

not disappeared, she just

keeps popping up in drag!

. ". (her) spirit lives on in

the form of individuals like

California Congressman

Bill Dannemeyer, Senator

Jesse Helms, the Reverend

Lou Sheldon, and L.A.

County Supervisor

Pete Schabarum."

e John Stout is a resident of West

Hollywood who regularly flew a "Gay

Pride" flag from the balcony of his

apartment. When he was ordered to

cease this display by the new owners

of his building, the ACLU filed suit,

and won his right to fly the flag on his

property.

e The Reverend Dusty Pruitt is a

former Captain in the U.S. Army, who

was discharged from the service after

she announced in a newspaper inter-

view that she is a lesbian. Pruitt, an or-

dained minister, has been seeking re-

instatement to the U.S. military, ever

since she filed a lawsuit with ACLU as-

sistance. A ruling is expected shortly.

cent Tim Curran is a gay man who ap-

plied to the Boy Scouts of America,

seeking a position as a Scouter. Cur-

ran had been a Boy Scout from an ear-

_ ly age, was awarded 22 merit badges,

and attained the rank of Eagle Scout,

the highest rank a Boy Scout can at-

tain. After an article appeared in an

Oakland newspaper noting that Cur-

ran is openly gay, his application was

rejected solely on the basis of his sex-

ual orientation. With assistance from

the ACLU, Curran filed suit against the

Boy Scouts of America. After a lengthy

battle through the courts, the lawsuit

is now scheduled to go to trial in late

November.

The event was hosted by ACLU

Foundation Board Member Larry

Sprenger. eA

Pa ee ee

The ACLU Topanga Chapter

presents

The First Annual

Freedom Fair

at

Theatricum Botanicum

in Topanga Canyon

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8

1:00 p.m. - ?

Music! Comedy! Food!

More Music! Entertainment!

Tickets $10, in advance or at the door.

Proceeds to benefit

the ACLU of Southern California.

For tickets and information

call 213-455-1767

Retrospect:

Frank Wilkinson, a History of Struggle

Frank Wilkinson

The month of August, 1989, was an im-

portant milepost for Frank Wilkinson.

He celebrated his 75th birthday and

witnessed the 30th anniversary of his

personal struggle against the U.S. gov-

ernment's covert operations against its

own people.

In 1958 Wilkinson was called to tes-

tify before the House Un-American Ac-

tivities Committee (HUAC) in Atlanta,

Georgia. He was asked about his po-

litical affiliations, and declined to an-

swer on First Amendment grounds.

As a result, Wilkinson was cited for

contempt and sentenced to a one-year

term in the federal penitentiary. This

repressive action by the government

only hardened Wilkinson's resolve to

expose the government's repressive

operations against those it politically

disagreed with.

Over the past 30 years, as the na-

tional executive director of the National

Committee Against Repressive Legis-

lation (NCARL), Wilkinson has visit-

ed over 75 states carrying his message

of the urgent need to protect the Bill

of Rights.

Wilkinson's political career began to

take shape in 1939, when he became

secretary of the Citizen's Housing

Council of Los Angeles, a privately

funded public-interest organization

designed to promote the construction

of low-rent integrated public housing.

Three years later, he joined the Los

Angeles Housing Authority, where he

served as assistant to the director and

quickly became a national authority on

slum housing.

He was abruptly removed from his

housing position in 1952 when he was

called before California's "little HUAC"

committee and asked to name all the

organizations he had belonged to since

1931. Refusing to answer, he was re-

moved from his government job.

Undaunted, Wilkinson began to

fight back. In 1953, he became execu-

tive director of the L.A.-based Citizens'

Committee to Preserve American Free-

dom, dedicated to abolishing HUAC

activities. His first activity was to or-

ganize a February, 1954, banquet to de-

fend the National Lawyers Guild, then

under attack by HUAC. He then |

launched a national effort to abolish

HUAC, as a staff member of the Emer-

gency Civil Liberties Committee. It

was during the course of this cam-

paign in 1958, that Wilkinson was sub-

poenaed to appear before the Atlanta

HUAC, resulting in his imprisonment.

On his way to prison, Wilkinson

stated the civil liberties credo which he

personified throughout his life: "I have

made the First Amendment Challenge

. . .as a matter of personal conscience

and the responsibility we share to de-

fend the Constitution against all ene-

ACLU of Southern California

mies,

if we are not prepared to go to jail in

its defense. I am prepared to pay that

price."

Thousands of Americans, at the urp-

ing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rein-

hold Neibuhr, Howard Schomer and

others, petitioned for their freedom. In

1962, Wilkinson and his jailed counter-

part, Carl Braden, emerged from pris-

on as leaders of a progressive move-

ment to preserve free speech.

Now free, Wilkinson returned to the

National Committee to Abolish

HUAC, which had been founded in

1960 by civil libertarians Dr. Alexander

Meikeljohn and Aubrey Williams. La-

beled by both Congress and the me-

dia as a "Communist plot," the com-

mittee succeeded and by 1969 HUAC

had a new sanitized name, the House

Internal Security Committee. This gov-

ernment committee was disbanded al-

together six years later.

In 1980, the American Civil Liber-

ties Union filed suit against the Justice

. We will not save free speech i

Department and the FBI on behalf of |

Wilkinson and the National Commit-

tee Against Repressive Legislation. The

suit seeks $16 million in damages for

years of illegal wiretapping, surveil- ` ~

lance of staff members and the bur-

glary of the committee's Chicago office.

Thus far, NCARL has obtained, via the

Freedom of Information Act, over

132,000 documents sustaining its

claims of government wrongdoing.

Wilkinson, NCARL and the other

plaintiffs in the lawsuit are represent-

ed by Paul Hoffman, Legal Director of

the ACLU of Southern California, and

Douglas E. Mirell of the law firm of

Loeb and Loeb, among others.

In February of this year, thirty years

after he was found guilty of contempt

of Congress, Wilkinson asked the

court to vacate his conviction, citing

improprieties by the FBI. A newly dis-

"I have made the First

Amendment Challenge ...

as a matter of personal

conscience and the

responsibility we share to

defend the Constitution

against all enemies...

We will not save free

speech if we are not

prepared to go to jail in its

defense. I am prepared to

pay that price."

covered internal FBI memorandum ;

shows that the bureau knew that their |

chief witness against Wilkinson was

"emotionally unstable and unreliable"

as a witness. Dated November, 1961,

the document said information and

testimony provided by Anita Edith Bell

be

Schneider, an alleged ex-Communist "

Party member, "comes from sources

not considered advisable to use as gov-

ernment witnesses."

Lawyers from the ACLU Founda

tion of Southern California and Loeb

Loeb petitioned the Federal Court 3

for the Northern District of Georgia,

where Wilkinson was convicted, for 4

writ of error coram nobis, a procedure

used when new evidence comes 10

light after a conviction. If the writ is

granted, admission of government

wrongdoing in this case may finally

see the light of day. B

ars

pt

he

Ng

ee) alc vin) Speaking

Complaint Filed on Behalf of Libros Revolucion

The first challenge under the landmark Coalition Against Police Abuse v. Board

of Police Commissioners lawsuit has been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union

Foundation of Southern California on behalf of Libros Revolucion, a political

* pookstore operating in a predominantly Latino community in central Los Angeles.

Filing of the complaint was announced at a press conference at the ACLU on

August Ist, and outlines incidents of alleged LAPD harassment of both book-

store customers and employees. The complaint documents incidents where em-

ployees have been harassed and questioned by uniformed police officers, books

__ knocked from shelves by undercover officers, and police loitering in the store

`for extended periods of time, frightening off potential customers, many of whom

are Spanish-speaking immigrants.

"The basis for this complaint to the Board of Police Commissioners is very

simple. In America, bookstores are free to sell and distribute publications even

though the materials may be unpopular or offensive to some in the society.

_ Harassment and intimidation of bookstore owners, employees, or customers can-

| not be tolerated under any circumstances," said Paul Hoffman, Legal Director

of the ACLU of Southern California.

' Monterey Park Settles with Taiwanese

Terms of a settlement in a five-year-old lawsuit against the City of Monterey

-. Park was announced. at a press. conference; held August 2nd at the American

' Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. The press event featured the ap-

pearance of several hooded Taiwanese activists, who had been the focus of the

original lawsuit in 1984.

In May 1984 the Taiwanese Human Rights and Cultural Association staged

a peaceful demonstration aimed at protesting 35 years of martial law and the

activities of government death squads operating in Taiwan. Some of the demon-

,- Strators, fearing government reprisals against their relatives still living in Taiwan,

_ attempted to wear masks to hide their identity. Officers of the Monterey Park

Police Department prevented the demonstrators from wearing the masks and

set about photographing and videotaping the group, allegedly for "training pur-

poses."

Paul Hoffman, ACLU Legal Director, and masked member of the THRCA.

In December 1984, the ACLU of Southern California sued the City of Mon-

ps terey Park on behalf of the Taiwanese Human Rights and Cultural Association,

to reaffirm their right to freedom of association, assembly and freedom of ex-

Pression guaranteed by both the United States and California Constitutions.

_On August 14, at the Monterey Park City Hall, police chief Ken Hickman threw

videotapes into a fire to comply with the terms of the settlement. ACLU attor-

ney Carol Sobel observed the destruction of the court-ordered materials and mem-

.. bers of the Taiwanese Human Rights and Cultural Association looked on ap-

Provingly.

ACLU Sues L.A. Dictrict Attorney and City Attorney

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California has

: = sued both the L.A District Attorney and City Attorney, asking that a controver-

Sial law, threatening parents with criminal prosecution if declared unfit as par-

ents, be found unconstitutional. The lawsuit was announced by Ramona Rip-

: Oma eu 7

ston, ACLU of Southern California Executive Director and Paul Hoffman, the

ACLU's Legal Director, at a press conference held at the ACLU on July 20. Ira

Reiner and James K. Hahn are named as the defendants in the ACLU action.

"The law does not define in any way just what is reasonable care,' said Ra-

mona Ripston, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South-

ern California. "Has a mother who works and comes home at five oclock, while

her child comes home at six o'clock, failed to provide reasonable care? Each time

a kid commits a crime, is a parent to be examined to determine fitness? Will peo-

ple on the West side of Los Angeles be prosecuted in the same way as people

in poorer communities? Who will be the target of this law? Urban violence in

Los Angeles will not be eliminated by prosecuting mothers who are unable to

prevent their children from being caught up in the cycle of gang activities." Rip-

ston added, "This law is just one example of politicians applying cosmetics to

a critical problem at the expense of Constitutional rights."

Operation Rescue Activist Sues the ACLU

An activist from the radical anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue, has sued

the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California. The law-

suit additionally names a clinic whose doors he unlawfully blocked, in violation

of a federal court order, and a woman who defended the clinic doors.

The activist, Warren Fain, has been a regular participant and leader of unlaw-

ful blockades of women's clinics in the Los Angeles-area since February of this

year. Fain has been arrested on at least one occasion for his activity. The ACLU

obtained the federal injunction barring such activities last March.

"The legal action filed today by Mr. Fain is utterly absurd,' said ACLU of South-

ern California Executive Director, Ramona Ripston. "Operation Rescue went to

the Midland Clinic with the intention to break the law. They accomplished that

and carried out a deliberate plan to break through the line of clinic defenders

by assaulting a number of women by pushing them and trapping them against

the building. Now it looks like Operation Rescue has adopted a strategy of filing

harassment lawsuits against its victims. I wonder how most people would react

when getting crushed by hundreds of people and then intentionally blocked from

a route of escape."

California Court Rules on Raytheon Case

In a significant decision impacting thousands of persons diagnosed as hav-

ing AIDS, a California Appellate Court unanimously ruled on August 7th that

people with AIDS are protected under state laws which prohibit job discrimina-

tion against the handicapped.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which filed an

amicus brief in Raytheon v. Fair Employment and Housing Commission, hailed the

Court's decision as a momentous victory.

"The decision is sure to be cited and relied on in every future effort to protect

the rights of people living with HIV infection in California,' said ACLU attor-

ney, Jon Davidson. "This is a clear signal from the Court that it will not take

seriously any claims that discrimination towards people with AIDS is necessary

because those people endanger the health of their fellow workers. This is un-

true and promotes the type of illegal discrimination exposed by this case"

ACLU Suit Against Hawthorne Set for Trial -

In April, 1983, 47 homes were searched and virtually destroyed by the Haw-

thorne Police Department. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of

Southern California filed suit on behalf of the residents of those homes and that

case, Antelli v. City of Hawthorne, is finally set to go to trial on September 5 after

a six-year span of time.

The Hawthorne police were allegedly searching for a suspect in an attempted

murder. The pretext for the mass destruction of the 47 homes was that they were

inhabited by members of the "Vagos" motorcycle club who might be hiding the

murder suspect. However, evidence produced by the ACLU will show that the

search for the suspect was simply an excuse to harass and punish members of

the Vagos without justification.

The Hawthorne police had no reason to believe that the suspect was in any

of the houses searched, yet they arrived with maximum force and caused the

maximum possible destruction of property in the course of their searches. Most

of the homes searched did not even belong to a member of the Vagos club.

Lead counsel on the Antelli case is Paul Hoffman, legal director of the ACLU

of Southern California.

ee eee eae eee Se

Meet the `New' ACLU Staff:

From left, Rebecca Shehee, Director of Administration; Dick Hingson, now Public Educa-

tion/Communications Assistant; and Susan Fuller, Assistant to the Executive Director.

Committee Meetings

SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER

Following is a list of committee meetings for September and October. Unless

otherwise noted, all meetings are held at the ACLU Seniel Ostrow Building, 633

South Shatto Place, Los Angeles. The building is wheelchair accessible.

Committee Date Time

Women's Rights*** Sept. 6 7:30 p.m.

Lesbian and Gay Rights Board Sept. 11 7:00 p.m.

Executive Committee Sept. 12 7:30 p.m.

National Legislative Committee Sept. 18 7:30 p.m.

Board of Directors* Sept. 20 7:00 p.m.

Feminist Forum** Sept. 25 7:10 Dan,

Medical Rights Committee Sept. 25 7:30 p.m.

Lesbian and Gay Rights Gen. Mtg. Sept. 26 7:30 p.m.

Women's Rights*** Oct. 4 7:30 p.m.

Worker's Rights Oct. 4 7:30 p.m.

Lesbian and Gay Rights Board Oct. 9 7:00 p.m.

Executive Committee Oct. 10 7:30 p.m.

National Legislative Committee Oct. 16 7:30 p.m.

Chapter Council Oct. 18 7:30-p.m.

Feminist Forum Oct, 23 7:15 p.m.

Lesbian and Gay Rights Gen. Mtg. Oct. 24 7:30 p.m.

Medical Rights Committee Oct. 30 7:30 p.m.

"Board of Directors will meet at the United Way, 621 S. Virgil, Los Angeles.

"Feminist Forum study group also meets 2nd Sunday of each month, 5:00 p.m.

Call Betty Brooks for info. (213) 861-1606.

""Women's Rights meets at the home of Chris Littleton, call (213) 939-4842 for

information.

Chapter Meetings

Lesbian and Gay Rights

Tuesday, September 26, 7:30 p.m. Richard Green, Ph.D., and Jackie Gelfand,

M.A., MFCC, will speak on "The Duty to Warn': The controversy over HIV-

infection disclosure.

Location: Plummer Park (multipurpose room), 7277 Santa Monica Blvd., West

Hollywood.

For information call Deborah Hanan (213) 385-5585 or Richard Green (213)

206-8716.

Long Beach

Monday, September 18, 7:30 p.m. General business meeting. The Long Beach

Chapter continues to focus on achieving a Long Beach civilian police review

board, as well as continuing to fight for reproductive freedom. Please join us.

We need you!

Location: 3736 Cedar Avenue, Long Beach.

For information call Zheta Rea (213) 427-6260 or Kristi Fischer (213) 434-2324.

Pasadena-Foothills

Sunday, October 1, 2:30 p.m. Meeting to select delegates to the Annual As-

sembly.

Location: 1290 Meadowbrook, Altadena.

For information call Bob Knox (818) 794-5929,

San Fernando

Friday, September 29, 7:15 p.m. Monthly steering committee meeting. Topics

will include measures to protect the First Amendment and the ongoing struggle

to preserve reproductive choice. Final plans for the Chapter Election/Brunch in

October will be discussed and nominations for chapter officers and delegates

to the General Assembly (Board Elections) are now open.

Location: The Chapter Brunch/Election will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday,

October 15, 7626 Pomelo Drive, Canoga Park. We are in special need of volun-

teers to help defend women's clinics, particularly Spanish speaking individuals

to help with mobile phones.

For information call Norm Beal (818) 344-9241.

San Luis Obispo

Thursday, September 28, 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, October 26, 7:30 p.m. Ex-

~ ecutive Board meets.

Location: 160 Graves Street, San Luis Obispo. Members are welcome to attend.

For information call (805) 528-5134.

Tuesday, September 7, 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, October 5, 7:30 p-m. Legal Re-

view Committee meeting.

Location: call for information.

For information call (805) 528-5134:

A Chapter Fundraiser/Buffet will be held at the San Luis Obispo Grange, 880

Broad Street, San Luis Obispo, on October 21. Guest of honor will be Don Jack-

son, former police sergeant who gained national recognition for a "sting" oper-

ation which exposed racism and police misconduct in Long Beach.

New ACLU Group

A new group has recently been formed by ACLU members who prefer day.

time meetings. The group is currently sponsoring educational presentations, wil]

become active in legislative lobbying and other projects important to ACLU goals,

Friday, October 13, 1:00 p.m.

Location: Conference Room, Plummer Park, 7277 Santa Monica Blvd., West

Hollywood.

The agenda will include an update on Pro-Choice activities and a special guest

speaker on a topical issue. To be on the mailing list to receive specific details

about the meeting and further information, call (213) 487-1720, and leave your

name, address and phone number.

i ae ea i a

Governor's $24 Million in Healthcare

Cuts May Cause Clinics to Close

Governor George Deukmejian's severe

cuts to the state Office of Family Plan-

ning budget will create a health dis- .

aster for thousands of poor women in

California. It is estimated that the

Governor's $24.1 million cut from the

state budget for family planning ser-

vices will eliminate access to health

care for over 235,000 women statewide.

The two-thirds cut is the maximum al-

lowed by law.

Without state funding, many clinics

will be forced to close, and almost all

will have to reduce the services which

they now offer.

The medical care offered by family

planning clinics includes screening for

cancer, diabetes and hypertension,

screening and treatment of sexually

transmitted diseases, birth control,

AIDS testing, and pregnancy testing

and counseling. State funds are not

used for abortion. Agencies may use

state money to counsel pregnant wom-

en about the option of abortion, but

not to pay for abortions.

"What Governor Deukmejian is do-

ing is immoral. These health care fa-

cilities provide vitally needed health

care for women," said Ramona Rip-

ston, Executive Director, ACLU/SC.

"When the Governor took these funds

out of the budget, he was literally sign-

ing a death sentence for some of Cali-

fornia's poor women. He should be:

held accountable for his actions. We

are going to try to alert the public to

what has happened, and to the urgent

need to reinstate the funds."

Deukmejian justifies his cuts by

claiming that the rising rate of teenage

Pregnancy indicates that the family

planning program has failed. Anti-

legal abortion activists are commend-

ing the governor for making the cuts,

Ironically, as a result of the cuts, thou-

sands of women and teenage girls will

be faced with unwanted pregnancies

that could have been prevented if they

had had access to contraception and

reproductive health care.

"What Governor

Deukmejian is doing is

immoral. These health care

facilities provide vitally-

needed health care for

women."

The health care clinics affected by

the budget cuts typically serve low-

income women who earn no more

than twice the official poverty-level in-

come. As many as 73% have annual in-

comes below the poverty level, but the

majority of these women are not eligi-

ble for Medi-Cal benefits. Approxi-

mately 70% of the women who use the

services are either Hispanic, Black or

Asian/Pacific, so minority women will

be disproportionately affected by the

cuts. i

Next Issue

y Part two of Crime, Crack and Street Gangs.

SAVE THE DATE!

Bill of Rights Dinner

Saturday, December 2, 1989

The Registry Hotel

Universal City

Honoring

Academy Award-Winning Songwriters

Marilyn and Alan Bergman

and

Film Producers

Mark Rosenberg and Paula Weinstein

See the next OPEN FORUM for more information,

or call Phyllis Silverberg at (213) 487-1720. a

ACLU of Southern California.

ox in