News & Commentary

The ACLU of Southern California today announced that it would pursue legal action against the Board of Education of the Orange Unified School District if it refuses to allow a Gay-Straight Alliance Club at El Modena High School.

The decision this week by the Val Verde school board to ignore the U.S. Constitution and post copies of the Ten Commandments on school house walls is deeply troubling. The Supreme Court has said that such action violates the religious freedom guarantees of the First Amendment. Nevertheless, the school board has proclaimed that it is free to disregard the law of the land. Educators should teach our children that, in this country, it is the rule of law that governs, not the whims of administrators and bureaucrats.

The ACLU of Southern California applauds the Los Angeles City Council for today's 9 to 1 vote in opposition to the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Initiative (Prop 21) that will appear on the March 2000 ballot. We agree with the council that the measure "would enact an overly punitive approach to juvenile crime. Punishment is significantly emphasized over rehabilitation, thereby having devastating effects on high-risk youth."

Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled "unconstitutional" the alleged policies of the Los Angeles and Santa Monica Police Departments authorizing police officers to interrogate suspects "outside Miranda" despite the suspects' invocation of their right to remain silent and their requests for an attorney. The case is California Attorneys for Criminal Justice v. Butts (U.S. District Court for the Central District, Case No. 97-56499). The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, along with Boalt Hall professor Charles Weisselberg, had argued that police officers were not free to ignore a suspect's assertion of Miranda rights whenever they chose.

The ACLU of Southern California applauds the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for adopting the Burke-Yaroslavsky motion calling on the Sheriff and the Office of Public Safety to report back to the board on the cost and feasibility of tracking the race of motorists stopped for traffic infractions. The motion is an important first step in determining if Sheriff's deputies are engaging in racial profiling.

Today, the ACLU of Southern California, the California Women's Law Center, and the law firm of Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays, and Handler announced the settlement of their federal class action lawsuit, Baca v. City of Los Angeles, a suit which has drawn national attention for highlighting the institutional inequities facing girls' sports and municipal recreation programs. The lawsuit alleged that the overwhelming majority of girls have no access to city-sponsored programs, services or facilities offered by their local parks and recreation facilities.

The ACLU of Southern California today announced a landmark victory, overturning a California law allowing police to sue individuals who lodge complaints against them.

Today the ACLU called on Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan to issue an Executive Order requiring the Los Angeles Police Department to collect data on the race and ethnicity of motorists stopped by police officers. The ACLU earlier this week requested similar action from the Los Angeles Police Commission.

The ACLU condemns Governor Davis's veto of SB 78 - known as the "DWB - Driving While Black or Brown Bill," which requires law enforcement to collect data regarding the race and ethnicity of all drivers stopped by the police. The bill (formally "California Traffic Stops Statistics Act"), authored by Senator Kevin Murray, overwhelmingly passed the Assembly 61-16 and the Senate 29-0.