California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative Collection, 1977-1980 Coll2011.018

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative Collection, 1977-1980 Coll2011.018 http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8hh6p6k No online items Finding Aid to the California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative Collection, 1977-1980 Coll2011.018 Marc LaRocque and Loni Shibuyama Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California 909 West Adams Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90007 (213) 821-2771 [email protected] Coll2011.018 1 Language of Material: English Contributing Institution: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California Title: California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative collection creator: Bay Area Committee Against the Briggs Initiative (Organization) creator: Kight, Morris creator: No on the Briggs Initiative Committee (Organization) Identifier/Call Number: Coll2011.018 Physical Description: 5.5 Linear Feet3 boxes, 2 cartons, and 1 flat box. Date (inclusive): 1977-1980 Abstract: Correspondence, clippings, legislative and legal documents, pamphlets, flyers, photographs, financial records, meeting minutes, event posters, petition forms, memoranda, speakers' manuals, volunteer forms, and other material documenting the campaign to defeat California Proposition 6, introduced by State Senator John Briggs in 1978. The initiative's intent was to require the dismissal of public school teachers and schoolworkers who "engaged in advocating, soliciting, imposing, encouraging or promoting of private or public homosexual acts." Biographical / Historical Beginning in 1977, California State Senator John Briggs from Fullerton authored and introduced State Ballot Initiative 6, also known as the Briggs Initiative, for the November 1978 election. The initiative's intent was to prohibit hiring or requiring the dismissal of public school teachers and schoolworkers who "engaged in advocating, soliciting, imposing, encouraging or promoting of private or public homosexual acts." Proposition 6 was defeated in the November 1978 election with 58.4 (No) to 41.6 (Yes) percent. Conditions Governing Access The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions. Conditions Governing Use All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. Immediate Source of Acquisition This collection was separated from the ONE Subject Files Collection, Coll2012-001. A portion of the collection was donated by Morris Kight. The donor and date of the remaining materials are unknown. Preferred Citation [Box/folder #, or item name] California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative Collection, Coll2011-018, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California. Processing Information Collection processed by Marc LaRocque and Loni Shibuyama, with assistance from Cooper Moll, October 2014. Related Materials California Human Rights Advocates Records, Coll2013-035, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California. Coalition for Human Rights (Los Angeles) Records, Coll2011-025, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California James Goltz and Jean Wood Ethnographic Fieldwork Research on the Committee Against the Briggs Initiative, Los Angeles Chapter, Coll2014-003, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California. Morris Kight Papers and Photographs, Coll2010-008, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California. Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club Records, Coll2013-006, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE) Records, Coll2011-058, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California. Scope and Contents The collection consists of correspondence, clippings, legislative and legal documents, pamphlets, publicity flyers, photographs, financial records, meeting minutes, event posters, petition forms, memoranda, speakers' manuals, volunteer forms, and other material documenting the campaign to defeat California Proposition 6, also known as the Briggs Initiative, in 1978. The bulk of the collection documents the activities of the three groups organized to oppose the initiative: the No Coll2011.018 2 on the Briggs Initiative Committee (NOBIC) and the Committe Against the Briggs Initiative/Los Angeles (CABI/LA), both based in Los Angeles, and the Bay Area Committee Against the Briggs Initiative (BACABI) based in San Francisco. The collection also includes legal papers and other material documenting the activists' lawsuits filed against the Briggs Initiative in an attempt to remove it from the November 1978 ballot. Subjects and Indexing Terms Discrimination in employment Gay teachers Homosexuality -- Law and legislation -- California Lesbian teachers Briggs, John V. Bay Area Committee Against the Briggs Initiative (Organization) Kight, Morris No on the Briggs Initiative Committee (Organization) California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative collection box 1, folder 1 Anti-LGBT handouts 1977-1978 box 1, folder 2 Ballot and voter information, general 1977-1978 box 1, folder 3 Ballot fraud complaints 1977-1978 box 1, folder 4-5 Bay Area Committee Against the Briggs Initiative (BACABI) 1977-1978 box 1, folder 6 Boycott activities 1977-1978 box 1, folder 7 Briggs, John, election campaign 1977-1978 box 1, folder 8-9 Briggs, John, and the Defend Our Children publicity materials 1977-1978 box 1, folder 10 Briggs (John) Proposition 7 1977-1978 box 1, Brochures, information handouts, and publicity material 1977-1978 folder 11-12 box 1, folder 13 Bryant, Anita, publicity material 1977-1980 box 1, folder 22 Bumper stickers 1977-1978 box 1, folder 14 California Democratic Party 1977-1979 box 1, California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative fact sheets and information resources folder 15-17 1977-1978 box 1, California Statewide Conference and coalitions 1977-1978 folder 18-19 box 1, folder 20 Cartoons and illustrations 1977-1978 box 3, folder 1-18 Clippings circa 1977-1978 box 1, folder 21 Committee Against Briggs Initiative Los Angeles (CABI/LA) 1977-1978 box 4, folder 5 Ephemera, miscellaneous 1977-1978 box 2, folder 1-2 Event flyers, Greater Los Angeles area 1977-1978 box 2, folder 3 Event flyers, San Francisco and Bay Area 1977-1978 box 2, folder 4 Event flyers, other California cities 1977-1978 box 2, folder 5 Event invitations 1978 box 2, folder 6 Gay Teachers and Schoolworkers Coalition; Lesbian Schoolworkers 1977-1978 box 2, folder 7 Jews Against Briggs 1977-1978 box 2, folder 8 Johnson, Paul, manuscripts circa 1977-1978 Legal cases box 5, folder 2-5 California Federation of Teachers, et al. vs. March Fong Eu, et al. circa 1977-1978 box 5, folder 6-7 It's Fun Going Places, Inc. vs. March Fong Eu, et al. circa 1977-1978 box 5, folder 8-9 Morris Kight, et al. vs. March Fong Eu; Taxpayers Suit circa 1977-1978 box 2, folder 9 Media coverage transcripts and manuscripts 1977-1978 box 2, folder 10 Meeting minutes and notes (unidentified creator) 1977-1978 box 2, folder 11 National fundraising campaign against Briggs Initiative 1977-1978 box 2, folder 12 New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE) 1977-1978 box 2, folder 13 No on 6 Committee 1977-1978 Coll2011.018 3 California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative collection box 2, No on Briggs Initiative Committee (NO BIC); Morris Kight 1977-1978 folder 14-19 box 2, folder 20 Notes (unidentified creator) 1977-1978 box 2, folder 21 Pamphlets, right wing and conservative 1978 box 5, folder 1 Plaque circa 1977-1978 box 2, folder 22 Polls, miscellaneous 1978 box 2, folder 23 Post-election material 1978-1980 box 5, folder 10 Photographs circa 1977-1978 Physical Description: 4 b&w photographs. Scope and Contents Includes publicity photographs of John Briggs with his wife, Carmen, and with Lt. Governor Ed Reinecke; and a group photo of No on Proposition 6 activists in San Francisco. box 6 Posters 1978 box 2, folder 24 Press releases 1977-1978 box 2, folder 25 Questionnaires 1977-1978 box 2, folder 26 San Diego Save Our Teachers 1977-1978 box 2, folder 27 Sermon given by John Dobrer 1978 box 2, folder 28 Solem and Associates campaign proposal 1977 box 2, folder 29 Speakers' manuals 1977-1978 box 4, folder 1-2 Vel, Frank, walk 1977-1978 box 4, folder 3 Volunteer sign-ups 1977-1978 box 4, folder 4 Workers Rights Conference 1977-1978 box 4, folder 6-8 Unsorted material circa 1977-1978 Coll2011.018 4.
Recommended publications
  • “Destroy Every Closet Door” -Harvey Milk
    “Destroy Every Closet Door” -Harvey Milk Riya Kalra Junior Division Individual Exhibit Student-composed words: 499 Process paper: 500 Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources: Black, Jason E., and Charles E. Morris, compilers. An Archive of Hope: Harvey Milk's Speeches and Writings. University of California Press, 2013. This book is a compilation of Harvey Milk's speeches and interviews throughout his time in California. These interviews describe his views on the community and provide an idea as to what type of person he was. This book helped me because it gave me direct quotes from him and allowed me to clearly understand exactly what his perspective was on major issues. Board of Supervisors in January 8, 1978. City and County of San Francisco, sfbos.org/inauguration. Accessed 2 Jan. 2019. This image is of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from the time Harvey Milk was a supervisor. This image shows the people who were on the board with him. This helped my project because it gave a visual of many of the key people in the story of Harvey Milk. Braley, Colin E. Sharice Davids at a Victory Party. NBC, 6 Nov. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/sharice-davids-lesbian-native-american-makes- political-history-kansas-n933211. Accessed 2 May 2019. This is an image of Sharcie Davids at a victory party after she was elected to congress in Kansas. This image helped me because ti provided a face to go with he quote that I used on my impact section of board. California State, Legislature, Senate. Proposition 6.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Santa Cruz UC Santa Cruz Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Santa Cruz UC Santa Cruz Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Organizing for Social Justice: Rank-and-File Teachers' Activism and Social Unionism in California, 1948-1978 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6b92b944 Author Smith, Sara R. Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ ORGANIZING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE: RANK-AND-FILE TEACHERS’ ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL UNIONISM IN CALIFORNIA, 1948-1978 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in HISTORY with an emphasis in FEMINIST STUDIES by Sara R. Smith June 2014 The Dissertation of Sara R. Smith is approved: ______________________ Professor Dana Frank, Chair ______________________ Professor Barbara Epstein ______________________ Professor Deborah Gould ______________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright © by Sara R. Smith 2014 Table of Contents Abstract iv Acknowledgements vi Introduction 1 Chapter 1: 57 The Red School Teacher: Anti-Communism in the AFT and the Blacklistling of Teachers in Los Angeles, 1946-1960 Chapter 2: 151 “On Strike, Shut it Down!”: Faculty and the Black and Third World Student Strike at San Francisco State College, 1968-1969 Chapter 3: 260 Bringing Feminism into the Union: Feminism in the California Federation of Teachers in the 1970s Chapter 4: 363 “Gay Teachers Fight Back!”: Rank-and-File Gay and Lesbian Teachers’ Organizing against the Briggs Initiative, 1977-1978 Conclusion 453 Bibliography 463 iii Abstract Organizing for Social Justice: Rank-and-File Teachers’ Activism and Social Unionism in California, 1948-1978 Sara R.
    [Show full text]
  • Memo (Professional Design)
    6XSUHPH&RXUWRI&DOLIRUQLD 6XSUHPH&RXUWRI&DOLIRUQLD -RUJH(1DYDUUHWH&OHUNDQG([HFXWLYH2IILFHURIWKH&RXUW -RUJH(1DYDUUHWH&OHUNDQG([HFXWLYH2IILFHURIWKH&RXUW (OHFWURQLFDOO\5(&(,9('RQDW30 (OHFWURQLFDOO\),/('RQE\$SULO%RHON'HSXW\&OHUN IN THE SUPREME COURT FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, Capital Case No. S171393 Plaintiff and Respondent, v. (Los Angeles County Superior Court No. TA074274) DON’TE LAMONT McDANIEL, Defendant and Appellant. APPELLANT’S THIRD SUPPLEMENTAL REPLY BRIEF Appeal from the Judgment of the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles HONORABLE ROBERT J. PERRY MARY K. McCOMB State Public Defender ELIAS BATCHELDER Supervising Deputy State Public Defender State Bar No. 253386 1111 Broadway, 10th Floor Oakland, California 94607 Telephone (510) 267-3300 [email protected] Attorneys for Appellant TABLE OF CONTENTS Page APPELLANT’S THIRD SUPPLEMENTAL REPLY BRIEF ............. 12 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 12 I. STARE DECISIS SHOULD NOT STAND AS A BARRIER TO RECONSIDERATION OF THIS COURT’S PAST DECISIONS ON THE APPLICATION OF THE STATE JURY RIGHT TO THE PENALTY PHASE ................ 19 II. EXISTING PROCEDURAL PROTECTIONS DO NOT SUPPLANT THE NECESSITY FOR REASONABLE DOUBT OR UNANIMITY AT THE PENALTY PHASE ........ 22 III. HISTORY SUPPORTS APPLICATION OF CALIFORNIA’S JURY RIGHT PROTECTIONS TO THE PENALTY PHASE ............................................................................. 29 A. California and Common Law History Support the Application of the Jury Right and the Reasonable Doubt Burden to the Ultimate Penalty Determination .......................................................................... 29 B. The Attorney General’s Remaining Critiques of Reasonable Doubt at Penalty Are Flawed ....................... 37 C. History Strongly Supports the Principle that the Protection of Unanimity Should Apply to the Existence of Disputed Aggravating Crimes ...................
    [Show full text]
  • California Death Penalty Laws and the California Supreme Court: a Ten Year Perspective Gerald F
    Santa Clara Law Santa Clara Law Digital Commons Faculty Publications Faculty Scholarship 4-22-1986 California Death Penalty Laws and the California Supreme Court: A Ten Year Perspective Gerald F. Uelmen Santa Clara University School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/facpubs Part of the Law Commons Automated Citation Gerald F. Uelmen, California Death Penalty Laws and the California Supreme Court: A Ten Year Perspective (1986), Available at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/facpubs/799 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ---------i-'.,---~,,~··-·"---·· -~~;;_; rlI;i\.Ii'=_~1{ ZJi~-~;1 ]..)~ .. ~_£_~:. ;'" .... '.y ~"' SANTA CLAnA, CALHt" 95Ui)~, CALIFORNIA DEATH fENALTY ~ AHQ ~ CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT: A ~ ~ PERSPECTIVE By Gerald ,F. Uelmen Professor of Law, Loyola Law School PREPARED FOR THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY OF THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE, SENATOR BILL LOCKYER, CHAIRMAN, UNDER THE AUSPICES , OF THE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, DR. LARRY L. BERG, DIRECTOR. NOT FOR RELEASE PRIOR TO APRIL 22, 1986 kpc. {toe c~ A:<5' I~ Q-~ -\' CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION •.••..••.•••..••.••.•••• . .. - . .1 II. HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL OVERVIEW. • .6 III. THE CONVICTION OF GUILT .••••..•••••• . .17 IV. THE FINDING OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES •. .26 A. The 1977 Law .............. · . 28 B. The 1978 Briggs Initiative. · . .32 V. THE DETERMINATION OF PENALTy •••• · . .47 A. The 1977 Law ..............
    [Show full text]
  • Jerry's Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty
    California Supreme Court Historical Society 2010 Student Writing Competition Second Place Entry “Jerry’s Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty: 1977-1982” Joseph Makhluf Graduate Student in History California State University, Northridge Jerry’s Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty: 1977-1982 On February 12, 1977, California Governor Jerry Brown nominated Rose Elizabeth Bird as Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, making her the first female member of the Court.1 Along with Bird, Brown appointed Wiley W. Manuel as the first African American to serve on the Court.2 The Los Angeles Times wrote, “They are outstanding persons. They deserve confirmation. They bring the promise of new dimensions, new vitality, new qualities to a court already recognized as among the best.”3 Robert Pack wrote for the Los Angeles Times that with their nominations, “A genuine social revolution is taking place in Sacramento—bloodless, quiet and little discussed.”4 He further claimed, “Governor Edmund Brown Jr., not quite a thousand days in office, is slowly transferring power from the white, male elite groups where it has traditionally resided to the broader citizenry in California.”5 As of August 1, 1977, of 1,862 appointments by Governor Brown, 575 appointments went to women, 182 to Chicanos, 141 to blacks, 53 to Asians, 28 to American Indians, and nine to Filipinos, and he also appointed 65 consumer representatives to various boards and commissions. Jerry Brown‟s appointment of Rose Bird as the first female chief justice was immediately controversial, and she became the target of attacks from conservative groups who criticized her for being soft on crime.
    [Show full text]
  • Capital Punishment in California
    COMMITTEE ON REVISION OF THE PENAL CODE STAFF M EMORANDUM March 12, 2021 Memorandum 2021-04 Capital Punishment in California I. Introduction Consistent with its mandate to “simplify and rationalize the substance of criminal law,” the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code undertakes this analysis of the state’s death penalty system to determine if there is a rational path forward that will ensure justice and fairness for all Californians. It is the first examination of the death penalty in California by a state agency or organization since 2008. California has the largest death row in the country, currently numbering 707 people, and has sentenced more than 1,000 people to death since 1977. Yet, no executions have occurred in the last 15 years and only 13 total executions have taken place since reinstatement of the death penalty. Currently, 363 people on death row – more than half – are still awaiting appointment of post-conviction counsel and it now averages more than 30 years for people convicted of capital offenses to exhaust their appeals. Indeed, most people die of natural causes before their appeals are resolved. It is estimated that the state has spent more than $5 billion tax dollars on the death penalty since it was reinstated in 1977. At the same time, a majority of death cases to be fully litigated in California have been reversed on appeal or in other post-conviction proceedings.1 Meanwhile, over the past decade, California voters have (narrowly) signaled support for the death penalty in three separate ballot measures.2 No area of criminal law in California is more deeply confounding politically, legally, and morally.
    [Show full text]
  • CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Jerry's Judges And
    CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Jerry's Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty: The Judicial Election of 1986 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts In History By Joseph Makhluf May 2011 The thesis of Joseph Makhlufis approved: Thomas Maddux, PhD. Date Andrea Henderson, PhD. Date Josh Sides, PhD., Chair Date California State University, Northridge 11 Table of Contents Signature Page 11 Abstract IV Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The California Supreme Court, 1978-1982 5 Chapter 2: The 1978 Gubernatorial Election 10 Chapter 3: TheNew Right Attack on the Courts 14 Chapter 4: The Death Penalty in the United States 20 Chapter 5 The 1982 Gubernatorial Election 22 Chapter 6: The Death Penalty Cases 34 Chapter 7: The Rose Bird Court and the Death Penalty 36 Chapter 8: The Judicial Election of 1986 40 Chapter 9: The Business Cases 58 Chapter 10: ANew California 63 Chapter 11 : The Verdict 71 Bibliography 73 lll Abstract Jerry's Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty: The Judicial Election of 1986 By Joseph Makhluf Master of Arts in History On February 12, 1977, California Governor Jerry Brown nominated Rose Elizabeth Bird as chief justice ofthe California Supreme Court, making her the first female member of the court. Throughout her tenure on the Court, Bird faced criticism over her stance on important economic and social issues facing the state such as Proposition 13 and the death penalty. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s numerous California politicians campaigned on law-and-order and anti-tax issues, and accusations of pro-defendant and anti-Proposition 13 rulings became the latest and most popular criticism of the Court by those such as Howard Jarvis and Attorney General George Deukmejian who would work hard to remove her and her liberal colleagues from the California Supreme Court.
    [Show full text]
  • California Voters Guide 2012
    Reason Foundation California Voters’ Guide: November 2012 Ballot Propositions By Adrian T. Moore, Ph.D 15 October 2012 Table of Contents Proposition 30: Governor Brown's Temporary Sales and Income Tax Increase Proposition 31: State Budget and Funding Reforms Proposition 32: Restrictions on Union and Corporate Campaign Contributions and Payroll Deductions for Political Funding Proposition 33: Auto Insurance Based on Driver's History of Insurance Coverage Proposition 34: Replace Death Penalty with Life in Prison Proposition 35: Increased Punishment for Human Trafficking Proposition 36: Reform of Three Strikes Law Proposition 37: Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods Proposition 38: Tax Increase for School Funding Proposition 39: Tax Increase on Multistate Businesses and Funding Clean Energy Proposition 40: Redistricting State Senate Districts Executive Summary It is election season and that means Californians once again face a daunting package of ballot questions on difficult public policy issues. This year’s initiatives cover a wide range of topics including taxes, campaign contributions, criminal justice, budget reform, food labeling and much more. As has been the case in years past, the ballot measures are not always as straightforward as they first appear. Some are grounded on questionable assumptions and value judgments. Others, despite admirable motivations, would nevertheless lead to unintended or unforeseeable adverse consequences. Some of these initiatives would empower the government to restrict individual freedom and choice in the name of uncertain benefits. And several would further burden California taxpayers by dramatically expanding the size and scope of state government. California’s unemployment rate is at 10.7 percent (as of July data), and the current state budget is already billions in the red due to shortfalls in tax collections.
    [Show full text]
  • The Extra-Legal Consequences of Anti-Gay Ballot Measures
    37526 chp_19-1 Sheet No. 116 Side A 03/15/2016 15:53:04 Do Not Delete 2/21/2016 2:31 PM Rethinking the Tyranny of the Majority: The Extra-Legal Consequences of Anti-gay Ballot Measures Amy L. Stone* INTRODUCTION On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, legalizing same-sex marriage across the country.1 This case directly overturned the Ohio Definition of Marriage Amendment, a 2004 initiated constitutional amendment that 61% of voters passed.2 This initiative was one of thirty ballot measures since 1998 that explicitly restricted marriage to a “union of one male and female.” In addition, ballot measures in states like Hawaii, Maine, Washington, and Maryland permitted voters to veto existing same-sex marriage laws or permit the legislature to make new laws against same-sex marriage.3 These same-sex marriage bans fit into a history of ballot measures on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights that began in the mid-1970s.4 Although Obergefell overturned same-sex marriage bans across the country, other anti-gay and anti-transgender ballot measures persist in the United States. Since 1974, there have been over 175 ballot measures on 5 LGBT rights at the town, municipal, county, and state levels. 37526 chp_19-1 Sheet No. 116 Side A 03/15/2016 15:53:04 These ballot measures are typically referendums on municipal or * Associate Professor, Trinity University Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Ph.D. 2006, University of Michigan. B.A.
    [Show full text]
  • The California Supreme Court and the Popular Will
    37526 chp_19-1 Sheet No. 82 Side A 03/15/2016 15:53:04 Do Not Delete 2/14/2016 10:50 AM The California Supreme Court and the Popular Will Kenneth P. Miller* INTRODUCTION Over the past half century, California has been a battleground for conflicts over the nature, scope, and limits of rights. While Americans have always clashed over rights, the modern rights revolution has expanded the conflict throughout the country, and nowhere more than in California. These struggles have been hard fought, because rights have power. Once an interest is converted into a right, it can trump competing interests that lack the status of right. The ability to recognize, create, or limit rights is consequential, indeed.1 California’s prominence in these conflicts can be traced to several factors. First, the state has deep ideological divides. California is home to progressive social movements that have sought to establish new rights in areas including abortion, capital punishment, criminal procedure, school funding, gay rights, aid-in-dying, and more—and home, as well, to highly motivated conservative groups that have resisted many of these changes. Second, California exists within a federal system that allows states to innovate in the area of rights. State constitutional rights operate semi-independently of the U.S. Constitution—that is, states may define state constitutional 37526 chp_19-1 Sheet No. 82 Side A 03/15/2016 15:53:04 rights more expansively than the Federal Constitution requires. An assertive state supreme court, through state constitutional interpretation, can establish new rights. The California Supreme Court, more than any other state court, has expanded state constitutional rights beyond federal minimums.2 Third, citizens of California have extraordinary power to counter their state supreme court, through state constitutional amendment or * Associate Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College.
    [Show full text]
  • Pdfannual Report 2013
    WELCOME The national ACLU turned ninety-four this year — five hundred thousand Americans united in one cause. Since 1920, the political currents have repeatedly threatened to take — and sometimes have taken — America off course. But the ACLU’s compass has always been true, the vision always clear: to THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION IS FOUNDED make our union — these United States — more perfect by upholding constitutional rights for everyone. In 1920, the United States is awash in fear, sparking a series of raids There’s much to celebrate. This report highlights key successes from by the U.S. Department of Justice this year, while recalling some of the historic milestones that helped that target anyone suspected of THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF bring us here. being a communist and immigrants SOUTHERN CaLIFORNIA whose activism is at odds with the The ACLU struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year government. Thousands of individuals Three years after the national ACLU was formed, and look at how the freedom to marry has spread — for the first time, are imprisoned or deported. Their journalist Upton Sinclair helps form the ACLU of most Americans live in states where same-sex marriage is legal! civil rights and liberties trampled. Southern California (ACLU SoCal) in Los Angeles. In response, Roger Baldwin, Crystal Angered by the Los Angeles Police Department’s But even as we celebrate this advance, we must recognize the rising Eastman, Albert DeSilver, and others brutal treatment of striking dock workers in San tide against basic rights. Some states have taken the election and re- form the American Civil Liberties Pedro, Sinclair and others protest by attempting to election of a black president as a call to arms and want to prevent Union.
    [Show full text]
  • Case No. S238309 in the SUPREME COURT of CALIFORNIA En Banc
    Case No. S238309 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA En Banc RON BRIGGS et al., Petitioners, V. JERRY BROWN as Governor, etc. et al., Respondents APPLICATION OF CALIFORNIA ATTORNEYS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND DEATH PENALTY FOCUS FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAR AS AMICI CURIAE ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER(RULE 8.520(f)) AND BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER Robert M. Sanger, SBN 58214 Thomas H. Speedy Rice, SBN 127006 Stephen K. Dunkle, SBN 227136 CLARKE JOHNSTON THORP & SANGER SWYSEN & DUNKLE RICE, APPC 125 East De La Guerra Street, Suite 102 1010 Second Avenue, Suite 1800 Santa Barbara, California 93101 San Diego, California 92101 (805) 962-4887 (619) 308-8484 [email protected] [email protected] Melissa Bobrow, SBN 264440 LAW OFFICE OF MELISSA BOBROW 1010 Second Avenue, Suite 1800 San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 800-5434 [email protected] Counsels for Amici Curiae CALIFORNIA ATTORNEYS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEATH PENALTY FOCUS TABLE OF CONTENTS APPLICATION OF CALIFORNIA ATTORNEYS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND DEATH PENALTY FOCUS FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAR AS AMICUS CURIAE ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER (RULE 8.520(F)) AND BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER 1 I. APPLICATION 1 II. INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE 2 III. DISCLOSURE OF AUTHORSHIP AND MONETARY CONTRIBUTION 5 BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE 5 I. INTRODUCTION 5 ARGUMENT 7 A. The Act Deprives the Courts of their Constitutional Jurisdiction 7 1. The Act Deprives the Courts of their Constitutional Jurisdiction 7 2. The Act Specifically Diminishes the Jurisdiction of the California Supreme Court over Capital Cases and Removes Safeguards 8 B. On its Face Proposition 66 Violates the Single Subject Rule 11 C.
    [Show full text]