In a strongly worded two-page letter sent this afternoon to United States Attorney Nora Manella, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California demands that authorities at the United States Federal Detention Center in Los Angeles give detainee Peter McWilliams his AIDS medications. The ACLU says that failure to provide these necessary medications violates Title II of the American with Disabilities Act that the U. S. Supreme Court ruled this year applies to persons with HIV and AIDS and the incarcerated.

McWilliams was arrested July 23 after being indicted by a federal grand jury for paying the rent of a property authorities allege was used to cultivate marijuana for sale. McWilliams, a best-selling author of such books as Life 101, is a strong proponent of medical use of marijuana. The text of the letter follows:

"The ACLU Foundation of Southern California ("ACLU") is writing to express its grave concern that prison authorities of the Federal Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles are in apparent violation of numerous federal laws as well as the U.S. constitution, by failing to provide adequate medical services for detainee and acclaimed author Peter McWilliams, who is gravely ill with AIDS and cancer. As the accompanying letter from his physician sets forth, Mr. McWilliams' health, and indeed his life, depend on strict adherence to his medication schedule six times per day. As his physician makes clear, altering or even missing one dose of his medication poses a direct threat to Mr. McWilliams' health. Federal authorities, however, apparently have denied Mr. McWilliams his medication for more than five days, already more than thirty doses.

"Denial of adequate medical services to a person suffering from AIDS or cancer is a clear violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. ﾌ_ 12101 et seq. ans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. ﾌ_ 12101 et seq. ("ADA"). As you are no doubt aware, in a pair of decisions issued this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unequivocally that the ADA applies to correctional facilities and to persons suffering from AIDS or HIV. Pa. Dep't. of Corrections v. Yeskey, 118 S.Ct. 1952 (1998) (correctional facilities); Bragdon v. Abbott, 66 U.S.L.W. 4601 (1998) (AIDS and HIV).

"Denial of adequate medical treatment to persons with AIDS or cancer likewise violates several provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations. For example, 28 CFR 39.170 requires nondiscrimination on the basis of handicap in programs conducted by the Department of Justice. In addition, 28 CFR 549.18(k) requires the delivery of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of AIDS infected inmates.

"Mr. McWilliams is extremely ill and his daily regimen of HIV medication is his only hope. Even missing a single dose provides the virus an opportunity to advance and potentially to mutate into a form of HIV which no drug can treat. Having AIDS also makes Mr. McWilliams unusually susceptible to airborne infections such as tuberculosis. Moreover, the plastic shoes issued to him reportedly have cut into his feet, leaving an open sore, and hence with the dangerous potential for infection.

"An author with 5 appearances on the New York Times Bestseller List, Mr. McWilliams presents no risk of flight and no danger to the community, yet he is incarcerated in condi tions which pose a grave risk to his health and in which he is denied crucial medical treatment. Placing his health and life in such jeopardy would certainly appear to constitute a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, as well as an infringement of his substantive due process rights to appropriate medical care while in the custody of the government.

"Given the urgency of the situation, the ACLU expects that federal authorities will take immediate steps to guarantee effective medical treatment for Mr. McWilliams. If the necessary medical regimen, as described by Mr. McWilliams' physician in the accompanying letter, is not implemented at once, we will have no choice but to take legal action to ensure that Mr. McWilliams' rights are protected. Please contact me tomorrow, Friday July 31st to discuss this matter."

In the first case of its kind following the implementation of Proposition 209, civil rights advocates filed a federal class action lawsuit (Lucy's Sales et al. v. Contra Costa County) in U.S. District Court today. The suit charges that Contra Costa County systematically and intentionally excludes minority- and women-owned businesses from doing business with the County in violation of federal law.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, the Employment Law Center, the ACLUs of Northern and Southern California and the private law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati filed the suit on behalf of businesses that are denied equal opportunity to bid for contracts with the County. The case is brought under the Equal Protection Clause of the United States constitution, as well as under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"Proposition 209 must not be used as an excuse to close the door to women and minorities." said Dan Tokaji, an ACLU staff attorney. "This lawsuit is an effort to make sure the door is open to them. Unless affirmative steps are taken, women and minorities will continue to be denied an equal opportunity to compete."

Plaintiff Lucy Lacy, an African American woman who owns a supply company, has experienced the County's exclusionary policies firsthand. Despite the fact that she is certified by the County as a minority and woman-owned business and has repeatedly approached the County for business, County officials have never asked her to compete for a contract. "I can't even get my foot in the door," said Lacy. "All I want is a chance to compete, but the County's system is just closed off to anyone who's not in the `good ole boys' network."

Other named plaintiffs include Lidia Tarango, a Hispanic owner of a trucking company; Lisa Harrison, owner of Harrison's Consulting; Glen Fox, owner of a flooring business; and Frederick Jordan, an African American civil engineer. Several organizations representing the interests of minority- and women-owned businesses are also parties to the lawsuit, including the Contra Costa branches of the NAACP, the Northern California Latin Business Association, and the Coalition for Economic Equity.

Contra Costa County is the first local government in northern California to drop its affirmative action program in the wake of Proposition 209. The County's own statistics show that white male-owned businesses receive almost 99% of the $100 million in County contracts for goods and services each year.

A crucial piece of legislation C AB 1264 C aimed at documenting the apparently widespread practice of racially motivated vehicle stops by California police officers is currently scheduled to be heard by the state Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3.

The bill, formally titled the "California Traffic Stops Statistics Act," but more commonly known as the "DWB" C Driving While Black or Brown C bill, was introduced in June by the Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus Democratic Assemblyman Kevin Murray of Los Angeles. The measure would provide the first comprehensive data on routine traffic stops in California, showing the extent to which discriminatory enforcement patterns may exist. The bill would require law enforcement to collect and report statistical information on motorists pulled over for a three-year period.

The bill has garnered strong support from minority law enforcement organizations such as the National Black Police Association, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National Latino Peace Officers' Association and the California organization Minorities in Law Enforcement.

"Passage of the bill is crucial in addressing the long-standing problem of racial discrimination in traffic stops," said Ramona Ripston, Executive Director of the ACLU of Southern California. "DWB stops continue to erode public confidence in law enforcement."

"The phenomenon of `Driving While Black' is a disturbing trend affecting African Americans, Latinos and other minorities across the nation," Assemblyman Murray said. "The fact that we do not know how many drivers are being pulled over or how many law enforcement officers are engaging in racial profiling is truly disturbing."

Murray's bill would require that the data be reported to Sacramento and summarized as part of an existing statistical report released annually by the California Department of Justice. Murray himself was celebrating winning a primary election for Democratic nomination to the state Senate on June 2 when his Corvette was inexplicably pulled over by a Beverly Hills police officer.

Other high profile African American public figures pulled over in questionable traffic stops in California, include actors Wesley Snipes and LeVar Burton; athletes Marcus Allen, Al Joyner, Jamaal Wilkes and Shawn Lee; and renowned former prosecutor Christopher Darden.

AB 1264 mirrors a bill introduced last year in Congress. The federal bill, HR 118 (the federal Traffic Stops Statistics Act), has passed the House but is currently stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee.