LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California announced today the launching of a media campaign to inform ex-offenders of their voting rights and encourage civic participation among persons who have served their sentences and parole after being convicted of a felony.

"Far too many ex-offenders are not aware that they have a right to regain their voting privilege once they have served their time," said Ramona Ripston, executive director for the ACLU of Southern California. "This campaign will both inform people of their rights and encourage them to take full advantage of being re-integrated into civic society."

The ACLU/SC will run two different radio spots urging ex-offenders to register or re-register to vote.

The English-language radio ad features popular television personality Judge Greg Mathis of the nationally syndicated "Judge Mathis Show" and will air on KKFR 92.3 FM and KJLH 102.3 FM. Judge Mathis, who went from teenage gang member to becoming the youngest judge in Michigan history, encourages others to register to vote prior to the October 18 deadline.

The Spanish language ad features bilingual underground rapper Azteka and will run on KSCA 101.9 FM. The East Los Angeles native draws on his years spent in the California Youth Authority (CYA) before he turned his life around through music. He urges listeners to register to vote as various propositions on the November ballot will have a direct impact on the Latino community.

The ads will run through the week of October 15. The deadline to register to vote is October 18.

The California parolee population numbers approximately 112,000. In 2003, California discharged approximately 42,204 people from the parole system. The California Department of Corrections reports that 22,400 people have been discharged from parole through June of this year, and they estimate a total of 44,800 will be discharged by the end of 2004.

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California will host the Los Angeles premiere of "Unconstitutional," the latest groundbreaking documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Robert Greenwald, at Laemmle's Music Hall 3 on Thursday, September 23, 2004 at 7:00 PM.

"'Unconstitutional' is a chilling expos� of the ways in which the 'war on terror' has been used to infringe upon and roll back basic civil liberties and constitutional rights since 9/11," said Ramona Ripston. "The ACLU is excited to team up with Robert Greenwald to bring "Unconstitutional" to Los Angeles."

"Unconstitutional," which was written, directed and produced by Nonny de la Pe�a, explores how the Patriot Act has taken away checks on law enforcement and endangers the civil liberties of all Americans. The Patriot Act, which was passed just 45 days after September 11 with virtually no debate, is being met with a significant grassroots groundswell from across the political spectrum. Resolutions opposing the Patriot Act have passed in approximately 340 communities in 41 states, including four statewide resolutions. These communities represent over 53 million people who believe that the Patriot Act goes too far.

By focusing on the personal stories of real people, "Unconstitutional" aims to reveal how paranoia, fear and racial profiling have led to gross infringements on freedom and democracy without strengthening national security. In addition to interviews with ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero and ACLU Legislative Director Laura Murphy, "Unconstitutional" features a diverse cross-section of people, including:

' Vincent Cannistraro, former director of the CIA's counter-terrorism operations

' Sam Hamoui, whose parents and sister were detained under Attorney General John Ashcroft's "Absconder Apprehension Initiative"

' Anne Turner, Librarian, Santa Cruz Public Library

' Bob Barr, former Republican Congressman from Georgia

' Major Michael Mori, the U.S. military lawyer appointed to Guantanamo detainee David Hicks

Greenwald has brought more than 45 films to audiences worldwide. In the last three years alone, Greenwald has produced and/or directed more than 30 hours of television movies and miniseries, a feature film and a feature documentary. The films have won numerous awards including 25 Emmy nominations, two Golden Globe nominations and a Peabody Award.

De la Pe�a has contributed investigative reports for BBC's Omnibus & Inside Story, A&E's Investigative Reports, HBO's American Undercover and the Discovery Channel, among others.

Her first production for HBO, "Death on the Job," was nominated for an Academy Award.

A question and answer session with Robert Greenwald, Nonny de la Pe�a and Ramona Ripston will follow the film premiere.

Laemmle's Music Hall 3 theaters are located at 9036 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Admission to the film is $15.

For a complete list of screenings or to view a trailer of the film, go to http://http.dvlabs.com/carolina/UnConst/UnConstTeaser_Av2.wmv

To learn more about the Patriot Act and the erosion of civil liberties, go to http://www.aclu.org/safeandfree/

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a lawsuit today on behalf of pregnant and parenting teens who were funneled into sub-standard alternative education programs instead of being given the opportunity to continue their education at their local high schools. The suit names the Antelope Valley Union High School District and the Los Angeles County Office of Education as defendants and alleges violations under state and federal law, including Title IX.

"This school district has essentially coerced pregnant and parenting teens into leaving their local comprehensive public high school," said Soly Perez, Equal Justice Works Fellow with the ACLU of Southern California. "Instead of providing these students with the opportunity to continue receiving the best education possible, administrators presented students with what amounts to a false choice between child care for their children and receiving a quality education. These students here today want nothing more than to attend regular high school without losing critical support services."

In response to the large number of pregnant and parenting teens dropping out of school, in 1998, the California legislature passed a law creating a program designed to provide pregnant and parenting students with support services necessary to stay in school. This program is known as the California School Age Families Program, or Cal-SAFE. Cal-SAFE provides students with services such as child care and parenting and life skills instruction. By enrolling in Cal-SAFE students cannot be denied the right to take classes in their regular high school. The law gives students the option of enrolling in Cal-SAFE while continuing to take classes at their local high school.

"At my school we don't have the option of participating in the Cal-SAFE program while being enrolled in regular school courses," said Cecilia [not her real name], an Antelope Valley High School junior. "We are being asked to choose between day care for our children and receiving a good education."

"I would like to continue taking the college preparatory courses that I was taking before my daughter was born," she added. "That won't be possible under the way the program is currently being run."

"In California, about 60,000 teens give birth each year," said Nancy Solomon, senior staff attorney at the California Women's Law Center. "Teen child bearing generally leads to poor life outcomes for both mother and child, continuing a pattern of teen pregnancy, lack of education, and poverty. Completing high school is the first step in breaking this cycle and this lawsuit should be a wake-up call to school districts that they cannot deny pregnant and parenting students their rights without consequences."