News & Commentary

LOS ANGELES ? On International Women's Day, Friday, March 8, 2002 the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California announced the launch of its Latina Rights Project. The Project, a pilot initiative of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, will utilize model litigation, bilingual/bicultural public education and public policy advocacy to address priority civil rights issues facing Latina women and girls in Southern California.

LOS ANGELES ? Gary Williams, ACLU of Southern California board member and professor at Loyola Law School was elected president of the ACLU of Southern California's Board of Directors on January 22, 2002. A civil rights and civil liberties litigation professor, Williams began his involvement with the ACLU/SC in 1979 as a Staff Attorney. Williams has served as vice president of the ACLU/SC since 1997 and is also a sitting member of the ACLU's national board of directors.

LOS ANGELES ? United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson has granted plaintiffs' request for judgment in the Common Cause v. Jones suit, a ruling that will require California to get rid of its "hanging chad" voting machines by 2004. This is the first post-Bush v. Gore ruling to require that obsolete voting systems be retired in time for the 2004 election.

LOS ANGELES ? The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU/SC), representing employees of a Los Angeles child placement agency, Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (GLASS), today filed a lawsuit against the Southern Counties Placement Committee and several county officials and agencies, for violating the GLASS employees' First Amendment right to express disagreement with the counties' choice of "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger as the keynote speaker at a county-sponsored conference in Palm Springs.

LOS ANGELES ? The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU/SC), together with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and screeners from the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), announced today that they are filing a lawsuit today challenging the new citizenship requirement for airport screeners enacted as part of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act last November. Under the new law, thousands of trained, experienced workers will be terminated no later than November 19, 2002.

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California together with the law firm of Greines Martin, Stein & Richland, the American Library Association and the National Coalition Against Censorship are pleased to announce that the Norwalk-La Mirada High School district has agreed to return William Styron's acclaimed novel Sophie's Choice to the La Mirada High School library. The book was abruptly removed from the school's library after a parent complained about selected isolated portions of the novel.

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California together with the law firm of Greines Martin, Stein & Richland and the American Library Association have asked the Norwalk-La Mirada School District and La Mirada High School to return the novel Sophie's Choice to the school's library collection after the book was pulled by La Mirada High School's principal. The book was apparently removed from the school's library after a parent complained about certain isolated portions of the novel.

LOS ANGELES -- A California Superior Court today reversed the conviction of a Santa Barbara man who was cited for violating the city's ordinance prohibiting sleeping, human habitation or camping in a recreational vehicle on city streets (Santa Barbara Municipal Code section 15.16.080). The court ruled that the City of Santa Barbara did not provide an adequate housing alternative to the man.

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California today stepped up its campaign to make available brochures in English, Spanish and Arabic advising people about their rights when stopped by the FBI, police or INS officials. The pamphlet ? "Know Your Rights: What to Do If You're Stopped by the Police, the FBI, the INS or the Customs Service" ? contains information for citizens and non-citizens alike. It is intended to inform those who might become innocent targets caught in the Justice Department's increasingly expanding dragnet. The FBI recently announced they are seeking to interview over 5,000 men who have entered the United States on non-immigrant visas from January 1, 2000 to the present.