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ACLU OF PENNSYLVANIA | ANNUAL REPORT 2015 LEADING THE WAY FORWARD Founded in 1951, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is one of the commonwealth’s foremost guardians of liberty. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending and protecting our individual rights and personal freedoms. Through advocacy, education and litigation, our attorneys, advocates, and volunteers work to preserve and promote civil liberties, including the freedom of speech, the right to vote, reproductive freedom, and equal treatment under the law. We stand in defense of the rights of women, minorities, workers, students, immigrants, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, as well as others who have seen bias and bigotry threaten the rights afforded to all of us in this country by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. ACLU of Pennsylvania Board of Directors 2014-15 Staff Reginald T. Shuford, Executive Director Frankel Legislative Fellow Officers Lauri Rakoff Lebo Paul Anderson Kim Watterson, President Julie Lobur Ben Bowens, Communications Associate Tracey McCants Lewis, Vice President Michelin Cahill, Legal Intake Manager Howard R. Maniloff Grants Coordinator Carl Peridier, Vice President Barb Feige, Deputy Director Jeanine McCreary Peggy L. Curchack Steven Stough, Secretary (term ended December 2014) John Frisbee, Major Gifts Officer Cynthia M. Sneath, Treasurer Robert Meek Gloria P. Ginyard, Administrative Assistant Legal Fellows (term ended December 2014) Trisha Graham, Business and Operations Alex DeSimone Members Tina L. Nixon Manager Adrienne Ghorashi Bruce Boni Adrian Shanker Andy Hoover, Legislative Director Maheen Kaleem, Stoneleigh Emerging Lynn Cullen Rubina Tareen Harold Jordan, Senior Policy Advocate Leader Fellow Josh Etterman Louis Thomas Bruce Makous, Director of Development Scott Kelly William Ewing Arno Vosk Susan Davis McIntosh, Legal Program Ryan Very Peter Goldberger William W. Warren, Jr. Coordinator Paloma Wu Ronda Goldfein Joseph E. Welsh Sara Mullen, Associate Director (term ended December 2014) Jamie Pauls, Member Engagement Lois S. Hagarty Manager Tom Hollander Ex-Officio Members Mary Catherine Roper, Deputy Legal (term ended December 2014) Karl Baker (Equity Officer) Director Robert L. Jennings, Jr. James Crawford (Director Emeritus) Sara J. Rose, Staff Attorney Tammie Johnson Arthur M. Kaplan (Philadelphia Molly Tack-Hooper, Staff Attorney (term ended December 2014) Representative to the National Board) Witold J. Walczak, Legal Director Clyde B. Jones III Roslyn M. Litman (Affiliate Representative Tiffanny Walsh, Annual Fund Manager Stephanie Kato-Clark to the National Board) Julie Zaebst, Manager, Duvall Amara Kravitz Michael Louik (Immediate Past President) Reproductive Freedom Project OFFICES: Eastern Region Office Central Region Office Western Region Office /aclupa P.O. Box 60173 P.O. Box 11761 247 Fort Pitt Blvd. aclupa.org @aclupa Philadelphia, PA 19102 Harrisburg, PA 17108 Pittsburgh, PA 15222 215-592-1513 717-238-2258 412-681-7736 blog.aclupa.org [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] LEADING THE WAY FORWARD… ACLU of Pennsylvania | Annual Report 2015 contents Message from the In the Courts 4 2 President 10 12 Message from the In the Community 3 Executive Director 12 4 LGBT Rights 14 Supporters Volunteer Law Firms Police Reform 6 6 19 and Lawyers 14 8 Civil Asset Forfeiture 23 Volunteers 9 In the Legislature 25 Financials 9 23 From the President IF THERE’S ONE THING the In all of these cases, the ACLU took a principled (and of- A window of opportunity has been created by years history of the ACLU teaches ten lonely) stand against the status quo—not because and years of advocacy as people across the political us, it’s that sometimes you it was popular, but because it was right. Although it spectrum recognize the need to reform our criminal have to take the extraordi- sometimes took decades, a majority of Americans justice system. Real changes to bail and sentencing nary risk of being ahead of eventually came to the same conclusions we initially laws, police practices, and our indigent defense system the times. did in each case. are within our reach. The time to act is now. Very few people were on Today, we’re looking at a radically changed landscape So—whether you’re a member, a financial supporter, our side in 1944, when we on an issue we’ve been raising for decades: America’s a cooperating attorney, a volunteer, or simply an ally: argued against the deten- addiction to mass incarceration, and the tremendous thank you, thank you, thank you for standing with us tion of Japanese-Ameri- evidence of racial bias we’ve found in the failed War at an exciting time for the ACLU. Big things lie ahead. cans before the Supreme on Drugs. We’re challenging the excesses of Pennsyl- Court. Few questioned the legitimacy of school-spon- vania’s civil asset forfeiture laws with bipartisan legis- All my best, sored daily Bible readings in Pennsylvania when they lation in Harrisburg; we brought about much-needed were deemed unconstitutional in Abington School Dis- reforms to the discriminatory hiring practices of the trict v. Schempp in 1963. Certainly, in 1970, it seemed Pittsburgh Bureau of Police in a class action settlement Kim Watterson a fool’s errand to most when we filed a lawsuit in Min- this May; and we continue to monitor and expose the President nesota arguing that same-sex couples had a right to problems with stop-and-frisk policing in Philadelphia. ACLU of Pennsylvania marry. People celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision on Independence Mall on June 26. The ACLU of Pennsylvania contingent participates in a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march in Philadelphia. 2 From the Executive Director I N T H E PA S T Y E A R, the ACLU the city’s progress in ending illegal and racially biased our lawsuit challenging an ordinance that forced land- of Pennsylvania’s work has practices, potentially improving the lives of about lords to evict their tenants when the police were called touched the lives of more 400,000 people, most of whom are African-Ameri- to the property too often, we helped win passage of a than two million people in can men. On the other side of the state, our lawsuit in Pennsylvania law to prevent municipalities from en- Pennsylvania. That means, Pittsburgh on behalf of an African-American teacher forcing similar ordinances. Thousands of people, in- when you look around you, arrested for recording the police has led to the adop- cluding many victims of domestic violence, who need on average, about one in six tion of a citywide policy that acknowledges the public’s police protection are now able to call 911 without fear people you see was helped right to videotape police officers—a vital check on po- of losing their homes. in some way by our efforts. lice power—and provides for regular meetings in each That, to me, is an amaz- police zone with members of the community. And, in Lawsuits and lobbying are not our only tool for ex- ing accomplishment and a May, we announced a settlement to fix problems with panding the rights of Pennsylvanians. We have a ro- tribute to the purpose and impact of our work—pro- the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s hiring practices that bust public education program to provide information tecting civil liberties for everyone. discriminated against African-American candidates. about your rights. The latest initiative is our Your Body, Your Rights website (www.ybyr.org), which lets teens In the courtroom, we had several significant victories know about their rights to consent to and receive con- that helped large numbers of Pennsylvanians. Our fidential health care, with a special focus on sensitive historic marriage-equality lawsuit allowed same-sex ... about one in six people you services like reproductive and mental health care. couples to get married or to have out-of-state marriag- see was helped in some way es recognized in Pennsylvania. This was followed by Through these and other advocacy efforts, we have the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling this past June, which by our efforts. That, to me, is an had an impact on millions of people in Pennsylvania achieved true marriage equality in our country—some- last year. We are not resting on our laurels, however. thing we have only dreamed of for half-a-century. Also, amazing accomplishment and a Even as I write this, we are developing plans to meet our voter ID lawsuit secured a final victory when the new challenges that lie ahead, with all of the tools in state decided not to appeal our win in the lower court, tribute to the power and impact our toolbox, whether it be litigation, advocacy, or com- preserving the right to vote for more than 500,000 of our work—protecting civil munications. I hope we can count on you to continue to voters in Pennsylvania who lack acceptable ID. partner with us as we defend and expand the rights of liberties for everyone. all Pennsylvanians. Our work on ending the school-to-prison pipeline has helped to shape the conversation on this issue at the national, state, and local levels. Recently, our senior Our victory in Galarza, which found that local jails could policy advocate, Harold Jordan, helped to organize a be found liable for honoring Immigration and Customs Reginald T. Shuford, Esq. White House Summit on improving school discipline Enforcement (ICE) detainers, led to a wave of coun- Executive Director policies and practices. ties changing their policies, according to a March 2015 study by the Sheller Center for Social Justice. Nearly I am proud of our ongoing work to bring needed re- half of county jails in Pennsylvania now decline ICE forms to Pennsylvania police departments.

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