News & Commentary

Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition to rehear arguments in a pivotal case involving the alleged policies of Los Angeles Police Department and Santa Monica Police Department 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 successfully that police officers were not free to ignore a suspect's assertion of Miranda rights whenever they chose.

The ACLU of Southern California, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Japanese American Citizens League and NAACP Legal Defense Fund are urging the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Lee Baca to retain crucial information regarding officer misconduct. At issue is how long the County will retain data tracking employee performance on its 'Personnel Performance Index' (PPI). This agenda item is scheduled to be discussed at 11:00 am Tuesday, December 21 before the Board of Supervisors.

The ACLU of Southern California, along with the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of homeless individuals who have been the victims of a campaign of lawlessness on the streets at the hands of private security guards in downtown Los Angeles.

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 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.

As a parting shot against women's health and despite public objections, including the opposition of more than 75,000 ACLU members, the Bush Administration pushed through the Health Care Denial Rule, which undermines the ability of American women to obtain basic reproductive health care, including birth control and information about abortion.

The ACLU today applauded Governor Davis for signing into law a bill that reverses the California Supreme Court's June 1, 1999 decision in Regents of the University of California v. Superior Court (Molloy). The ACLU's of Southern and Northern California, along with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, the First Amendment Project, and Equal Rights Advocates, represented the UC Santa Barbara Daily Nexus and one of its student reporters, Tim Molloy, in this case.