LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Pioneering actress Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura on the original 'Star Trek' television series, will receive the Liberty and Justice Award from the ACLU of Southern California Foundation on the closing night of this year's Outfest 2008: the 26th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on Monday, July 21, 2008.

The award, in recognition of Ms. Nichols' contributions to the fight for civil rights and social justice, will be presented at the closing night gala screening of 'Tru Loved' at 8 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre, 842 South Broadway, in downtown Los Angeles. Ms. Nichols is one of the stars of the film.

As Lt. Uhura, Ms. Nichols was the first African American actor to have a recurring, non-stereotypical role on a network television series. The series was broadcast from 1966 to 1969 and before that time, most black actors on television portrayed servants. Even though the role was groundbreaking, she felt it was not substantial and was tempted to quit the show. But Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. convinced her to stay with the series because Lt. Uhura was an important role model for black children.

'Ms. Nichols' trail-blazing role on "Star Trek" allowed her to portray racial equality in our nation's future, which brought us closer to full equality in our present,' said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU/SC, in announcing the award. 'She also worked to expand opportunities for women at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).'

After the series ended, Ms. Nichols worked as volunteer for NASA on a special project to recruit women and minorities to the space program. Among those recruited by that project were Dr. Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, and U.S. Air Force Col. Guion Bluford Jr., the first African American astronaut. Dr. Mae Jemison, a former astronaut who is African American, said seeing Ms. Nichols on 'Star Trek' inspired her to become a physician and astronaut.

Ms. Nichols co-stars in the film 'Tru Loved'. She plays the smart and sassy grandmother of a closeted high school football player, a role that has been earning her buzz on the festival circuit as the movie continues to wend its way around the country.

We are so honored to have the wonderful Nichelle Nichols in our film,' said the film's producer, Antonio Brown of BrownBag Productions. 'And that our friends at the ACLU/SC are eager to recognize her work on screen and off makes our screening at Outfest even that more exciting.'

The ACLU/SC Foundation Liberty and Justice Award will be presented to Ms. Nichols by her friend and fellow 'Star Trek' actor George Takei, who played Mr. Sulu on the series.

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The Calabasas City Council passed a resolution that prohibits grant funding to those who sue city officials or employees, which according to the ACLU of Southern California is a violation of First Amendment rights. In a letter, the ACLU/SC informed the City Council that if they do not repeal the resolution they will likely face a lawsuit.

The resolution, passed in April, prohibits city officials from considering community service grants for any organizations whose principals have ever sued or now are suing the City of Calabasas, any current or past member of the City Council, or any current or past city employee. The letter urges the council to repeal the rule or face litigation and a possible federal court injunction.

'This ordinance strikes at the heart of a core function of the First Amendment: to allow people to petition their government for redress of grievances, and access to the courts is part of the right to petition,' said Peter Eliasberg, managing attorney at the ACLU/SC, who sent the letter to the city. 'By discriminating in this way, the city punishes organizations for engaging in First Amendment protected activity just because the city disagrees with that activity.'

The City Council of Calabasas approved the policy as an amendment to an earlier ordinance that sought to formalize the procedures for awarding community service grants. Over the past few years the grants have grown in popularity, from more than $28,000 distributed to 16 organizations in 2005 to $70,000 budgeted for this fiscal year.

But a questionnaire that the city uses to determine eligibility for the money crosses a constitutional line when it asks organizations if they, their board members or their administrators have ever been or are now in litigation with the city, Eliasberg said. Materials considered by the Council make clear that if the organization's answer to that question is yes, it cannot receive funding.

'There is no reason to bar a group from obtaining city funding based on past or pending litigation,' said Eliasberg, who is also the ACLU/SC's Manheim Family Attorney for First Amendment Rights. 'That comes dangerously close to a loyalty test.'

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Seven years ago, the federal government accused several Los Angeles residents of providing support to a foreign terrorist organization because of their work on behalf of a charity that assists victims of the current Iranian regime.

According to prosecutors, the charity has ties to the Mujahedin-e Khalq ('MEK'), which is on the U.S. State Department's list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).

Today, the seven defendants, who now face 117 charges in the case, filed 15 motions before Judge Robert M. Takasugi in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, requesting that all of the charges against them be dismissed.

Attorneys for the defendants say the government's action is deeply hypocritical, both because their clients were engaged in free speech activity and because the Bush Administration has itself provided support to the MEK for years.

'The prosecutor's attempt to charge our clients through its twisting and stretching of terrorism laws and other charges has resulted in this unprecedented set of pre-trial motions,' said Abbe Lowell, one of the attorneys representing the group. 'The defendants and their counsel hope the federal court will rule the prosecutors are the ones who broke the rules in bringing charges that violate their First Amendment right to free speech, their Sixth Amendment right to have all facts presented to a jury, their Due Process Clause right to a fair trial, their Equal Protection Clause right against selective prosecution, and many other basic protections.'

In the motions, defendants Roya Rahmani, Alireza Mohammadmoradi, Moustafa Ahmady, Hossein Kalani Afshari, Hassan Rezaie, Navid Taj and Mohammad Hossein Omidvar argue the following points, among others:

• That the Administration has violated their due process rights by prosecuting them for helping the MEK when the U.S. Government for years has worked with the group and even used them to assist troops in a camp in the Iraqi desert.
• That the prosecution violates the defendants' First Amendment rights by punishing them for supporting political advocacy and charitable work.
• That the charges violate both the statute of limitations and the defendants' right to a speedy trial, and that prosecutors misled the court in seeking to extend the statute of limitations for acts which they allege occurred as long ago as 1997.

Defense counsel in this case are Abbe D. Lowell from McDermott, Will & Emery, LLP, in Washington, DC representing Roya Rahmani and Los Angeles, CA based attorneys Michael S. Meza representing Alireza Mohammadmoradi; Richard M. Steingard of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP representing Mustafa Ahmady; Thomas Nishi representing Hossein Afshari; Jay L. Lichtman representing Hassan Rezaie; Amy Fan of Saint Martin & Fan representing Navid Taj; and Peter J. Eliasberg and Ahilan T. Arulanantham of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California and William J. Genego of Nasatir Hirsch Podberesky and Genego representing Mohammad Omidvar.

A copy of a summary of the motions is included and the motions can be found at the McDermott, Will & Emery, LLP website.