News & Commentary

LOS ANGELES - The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a blow on Friday, February 16, to Mattel's efforts to block artist Tom Forsythe from using Barbie in his artwork. Forsythe used the image of Barbie in a variety of poses to critique the materialistic and gender-oppressive values he believes the doll embodies. Mattel, in keeping with its history of employing heavy-handed litigation to squelch free speech involving its iconic doll, sued Forsythe, alleging a variety of claims, including trademark and copyright infringement. The company sought a preliminary injunction against Forsythe, represented by the ACLU of Southern California and the private firm of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin. A Federal District Court denied the motion, and the corporation appealed to the Court of Appeals to overturn that decision.

LOS ANGELES - In a letter written to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California on January 5, Deputy City Attorney Deborah Sanchez notified the organization that the City had revised Municipal Code �_ 41.59, which restricts individuals' rights to solicit in a variety of places and contexts. Two of the primary passages of the ordinance that the ACLU objected to, one dealing with a ban on solicitation near restaurants, and another dealing with a ban near bus stops, bans which, together would have effectively placed much of the City off limits as a forum for any kind of solicitation, have been deleted. The repeal comes after the ACLU won a series of legal victories in its challenge to the ordinance, most recently, when the 9th Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction issued by a lower court that prohibited the City from enforcing the ordinance.

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LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed an amended complaint in Porter v. Jones today in federal court. The ACLU/SC initially sought a temporary restraining order against California Secretary of State Bill Jones for threatening criminal prosecution against a web-site similar to Porter's "votexchange2000.com," which helped like-minded voters connect on-line and discuss voting strategies. The court denied the request for a temporary restraining order, and Porter did not re-open his web-site. The ACLU now seeks a permanent injunction against Jones and damages for Porter and other plaintiffs, alleging that their Constitutional rights were violated and will likely be violated again in future elections if Jones's threats are allowed to stand.

We are disappointed. In its one sentence order denying the TRO, the Court has failed to grapple with the substantive free speech and free association issues involved in the closure of web sites devoted to matching like-minded voters with one another for the purpose of discussing politics and voting strategies. California's Secretary of State, Bill Jones, has taken action that could threaten our ability to exercise our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms on the Internet - action with potentially profound implications for the future of democratic discourse.

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU affiliates of Southern California and San Diego announced today that they will seek a temporary restraining order against California Secretary of State Bill Jones, who threatened criminal prosecution against a voter discussion and strategizing web site called Voteswap 2000. As a result of a letter Jones sent to Voteswap, that web site and two others, including the plaintiff votexchange2000.com, decided to shut down this week rather than run the risk of being prosecuted. The ACLU is also filing the lawsuit on behalf of a prospective voter. The National Voting Rights Institute joins the ACLU as co-counsel in the case.

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed motions today in defense of tenant activists at Lincoln Place, a 795-unit affordable housing complex in Venice, who are being sued by the development companies that own their apartments. Tenants include seniors on fixed incomes, working families, and children. The tenants have been engaged since 1987 in a struggle to stop evictions and to preserve their homes from the owners' plans to demolish them and turn them into condominiums and townhouses. The owners claim that the tenants intentionally interfered with their economic advantage. The ACLU of Southern California maintains that tenants were engaged in Constitutionally protected activities, and that the landlords are seeking to chill their tenants' freedom of speech.

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California succeeded this week in persuading the National Park Service to respect religious diversity and the separation of church and state on federal land in San Bernardino County, California and to remove a permanent cross over 8 feet tall from the Mojave National Preserve. The cross was plainly visible from the road that runs through the preserve, and the site was not open as a forum forany other form of religious expression, or other speech. The decision on the part of the National Park Service came after months of negotiation with the ACLU of Southern California, culminating in the threat of a lawsuit.

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of attorney Tony Capozzola, who represents Marie Elise West, in People v. West. Ms. West is charged with murder and hate crimes after allegedly using her car to run down and kill a Latino man in Van Nuys earlier this year. The gag order prevents Capozzola from discussing the case or related issues with the media.