Text of ACLU/SC statement delivered at Jan. 16 L.A. Police Commission meeting:

This city has had two years to explain the tragedy of the Devin Brown shooting and ensure it will not happen again, and many more years to learn the lessons of the Christopher Commission, the Rampart Commission, and the federal consent decree. As things now stand, we have failed.

American justice is done in the open, but the conduct of LAPD officers is now judged in secrecy. Secrecy communicates dishonesty, and the product of secrecy is distrust that undermines the efforts of good and conscientious officers to do their jobs. Improvement of the LAPD requires trust as a starting point, built on transparency and openness.

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Copley Press surprised the state by pulling police governance out of public view. But today, a chorus that includes this Commission, Chief Bratton, the Mayor, City Council members, state legislators, and community groups is calling for a return to transparent discipline as a basic foundation of sound policing, a foundation for the crucial trust between community and police.

But words alone are not enough. We cannot call for action and leave it to others to act.

First, today, in a public resolution or open letter to the Senate and Assembly leaders, this Commission must demand that Sacramento undo the damage Copley has done.

The Commission and the Chief must also follow through by publicly and vigorously pursuing legislation, formally requesting that the Mayor and City Council make this measure the highest priority of the city's legislative liaison, and working with both community members and officers to ensure that transparency becomes a reality.

Support for restoring transparency is strong and must not be derailed by forces of inertia. The drive to stifle outside criticism and protect the Department from scrutiny has been cited by report after report as a cultural failing in the LAPD. This is the time to address that failing. Abandoning this legislative action would admit that real reform of the LAPD has not yet been and never will be achieved. This Commission has the responsibility to make sure the city's interest in sound police policy and the chance to place real trust in its Police Department are not so lightly cast aside.

Police secrecy is risking the future of reform, the ACLU/SC said in a statement to Los Angeles leaders. On Jan. 8, a review panel issued a report exonerating the officer who shot 13-year-old Devin Brown in 2005. The report was initially squelched because of a state Supreme Court case the ACLU/SC opposed.
"American justice is done in the open, but the conduct of LAPD officers is now judged in secrecy," said the statement. The ACLU/SC called for the Police Commission, L.A.'s elected leaders, and its police chief to strongly support state legislation to reopen the discipline process, and local measures to strengthen the Police Commission, which is responsible for L.A. police policies.
The California Supreme Court ruled last year that details of police conduct were now off-limits to civilian review boards, newspapers, and the public. Across the state, reform efforts in place for 30 years have been hobbled. Oakland and San Francisco police commissions no longer hold public disciplinary hearings or identify officers facing termination or lengthy suspensions for misconduct.
In L.A., the shooting of Brown as he backed a car toward police officers prompted a change in L.A.'s use-of-force policy to prevent firing at moving cars. The Police Commission and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the shooting "out of policy" and recommended discipline for the officer involved.
But the closed-door ruling reversing that recommendation raises doubts about the city's commitment to reform.
"Transparency could have helped heal the grief and outrage sparked by this tragic shooting," said ACLU/SC executive director Ramona Ripston. "Reform is built on trust between the community and police. That trust is in jeopardy."

Nearly 150,000 Californians have regained the right to vote. Most are young African American and Latino men who have served their time for nonviolent crimes.

A state appeals court reversed a year-old policy that disenfranchised those who had been convicted of certain felonies but who had been given probation instead of prison time.

"This is an important step toward restoring full citizenship rights to those who have served their sentences," said ACLU/SC Executive Director Ramona Ripston. "California must do a better job of educating those released from prison about their right to vote."

Like most states, California does not allow those currently in prison or on parole to vote. Those who have completed post-prison parole or who are on court-ordered probation may vote. Probation is similar to parole but is commonly granted to those who commit nonviolent crimes, and may include time in local jail.

Nationwide, an estimated 5 million Americans currently in prison or who have served their sentences are disfranchised by punitive state laws. Many do not know their voting rights are restored when they leave prison, particularly among minority voters. Felon disenfranchisement policies affect 2.5% of Americans, but prevent 13% of African American men from voting, according to a report by the ACLU.

Several states permanently disenfranchise former felons who have served their sentences. Florida has created over 600,000 "ghost citizens," in the words of the ACLU in that state.

The ACLU of Northern California filed the case on behalf of several Californians on probation, the League of Women Voters and other voting-rights groups. The ACLU combats the disenfranchisement of former inmates and promotes education campaigns to inform them of their rights.