Helping to Lead the Fight for Women's Equality

SPRING 2013 www.nyclu.org Published by the New York Civil Liberties Union Vol. LV III , No. 2 2 3 4-6 6 7 8

Director’s Column: An Uncommon Bond in Election 2013: Discrimination at Court Victory Against Solitary Confinement Reclaiming the Defense of Civil Liberties Biographies and Wedding Venue NYPD Stop-and-Frisk Reform Update Progressive Mantle for Statements of NYCLU Abuse New York Board of Directors NYC Council to Appalling Conditions in Candidates Establish Inspector Stop-and-Frisk Watch Long Island Jails Challenging NYPD General to Oversee App on iPhone Surveillance of Muslims NYPD

Helping to Lead the Fight for Women’s Equality

wo years ago, Governor Cuomo staked his equally participate in society.” reputation as a progressive leader on getting the The NYCLU has for years been working the chan- TMarriage Equality bill passed. During his State nels of Albany and helping to lay the foundation for a of the State address this year, to a standing ovation, the movement to ensure that all of New York’s 10 million governor pledged to make 2013 the year of Women’s women, from the Bronx to Binghamton, can more fully Equality. and equally participate in society. Shortly after his address, the governor met with a The Women’s Equality Agenda recognizes that to small group of advocates to discuss how best to move have equal opportunities, a woman in New York must forward with a large and complex campaign to sweep be able to protect her health and make the reproductive away many barriers to women’s equality in the Empire health decisions that are best for her and her family. A State. NYCLU leaders attended the meeting. cornerstone of the agenda is the protection of reproduc- “The NYCLU is proud to support Governor tive rights. New York law needs to be in line with the Cuomo’s Women’s Equality Agenda,” said NYCLU federal constitution and current practice. Our abortion Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “The governor’s law must be moved out of the penal code and into the NYCLU supporter Anna Quindlen at our first house party in groundbreaking 10-point plan will undoubtedly help public health law, where it belongs. support of the Women’s Equality Agenda, hosted by Sheila Lambert and Nancy Solomon, expresses why she supports the level the playing field and ensure that all of New York’s The Women’s Equality Agenda also includes groundbreaking proposal to remove barriers to women’s full mothers, daughters, sisters and wives can fully and measures to help achieve pay equity; extend sexual participation in society. So far, we’ve held a dozen house parties throughout the state. Photo by Marc Loresto Continued on page 3 Ms. Windsor Goes to the Supreme Court Highest Court Hears New York Widow’s Challenge to DOMA

n March 27, New York City resident Edith “Edie” Windsor stood on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court before a throng of TV cameras and reporters and described how it Ofelt to stand up for her rights before the nation’s highest court. “Today is a spectacular event for me,” the 83-year-old said. “I know that the spirit of my late spouse, Thea Spyer, is right here watching and listening and would be very proud of where we’ve come to.” That morning, the Supreme Court heard arguments in United States v. Windsor, the lawsuit Windsor filed challenging the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” – a federal law that defines marriage for all federal purposes as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. It is the last explicit federal declaration that gay people are inferior. The NYCLU, the ACLU and the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton & Garrison, and the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic represented Windsor. NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman attended the argument with NYCLU Attorney Mariko Continued on page 7

Non-Profit Org. 125 Broad Street U.S. Postage New York, NY 10004 PAID www.nyclu.org New York, NY Permit No. 2723

Edie Windsor, pictured here with lawyer Roberta Kaplan (far left) and NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman (far right) and other members of the legal team on the the steps of the Supreme Court, took her challenge to the so- called “Defense of Marriage Act” to the Supreme Court on March 27 because the discriminatory federal law says that her marriage to her deceased spouse, Thea Spyer, doesn’t count under federal law. Photo by Molly Kaplan 2 Words from NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman Reclaiming the Progressive Mantle for New York

hen Governor Cuomo delivered his 2013 just as in the push for inclusive and fair marriage laws, The trial began just days after the NYCLU project- State of the State address, he issued New the success of this campaign depends on you. NYCLU ed that the NYPD had recorded its 5 millionth stop-and- WYorkers a call to action: “Our mantle as members are hosting house parties, leading lobby visits, frisk under Mayor Bloomberg, a disturbing milestone to the progressive capital is a continuing responsibility. It calling their representatives, asking their workplaces and say the least. doesn’t end.” places where they do business to join the movement, and Just days before the NYCLU marked the 5 millionth We couldn’t agree more. calling on their neighbors and friends for help. Like in stop-and-frisk, we marked another sad milestone. This And this spring, with your help, we’re pushing our all of our work, we need your involvement and support spring was the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wain- progressive agenda through the halls of the state capitol to make the Women’s Equality Agenda a reality. Please wright, the unanimous Supreme Court decision requiring and through communities across New York State. visit www.nyclu.org/we to join our statewide team to- states to provide a competent lawyer to a poor person When the governor made his remarks, he laid out day. And get on the bus and join us in Albany on June 4 accused of a crime. New York cannot really celebrate an ambitious 10-point plan for women’s equality. The for an unprecedented day of rallying, lobbying and fun. this anniversary because our state has abdicated this Women’s Equality Agenda is the NYCLU’s top legisla- Though New York is already a leader in the move- responsibility. tive priority and we’re helping to lead a coalition of ment for LGBT rights and fair marriage laws, the federal Every day in courtrooms in some parts of the state, more than 750 organizations and businesses from every government still refuses to respect the marriages of New Yorkers appear for their initial hearings before corner of the state to make this the year that New York lesbian and gay New Yorkers because of the so-called judges without attorneys by their sides. Unrepresented, State law catches up with the needs of women and re- Defense of Marriage Act. That’s why the NYCLU and people accused of low-level misdemeanors like shop- flects New Yorkers’ overwhelming support for the prin- our colleagues at the ACLU have been working with lifting or possessing small amounts of marijuana often ciples of fairness, dignity and equality for all women. Roberta Kaplan of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & end up languishing in jail for weeks and even months The Women’s Equality Agenda creates a level play- Garrison, LLP to represent 83-year-old New York City because they can’t afford exorbitant bail. Or they plead ing field and a fair shot at success for all of New York’s widow Edith “Edie” Windsor in the Supreme Court in guilty to crimes they didn’t commit because it’s easier women. It will help protect access to reproductive health her quest to see DOMA struck down as a violation of and they can avoid jail time. Some meet their public care, achieve pay equity, end sexual harassment in the the equal protection principles guaranteed by the U.S. defenders for the first time just moments before a court workplace and stop pregnancy discrimination. Our soci- Constitution. hearing. Justice cannot be served under these conditions. ety depends on the health and well being of all women, New York is on the right side of history, and we’re But the NYCLU is determined to right this terrible in all walks of life – on the job, in the courts, in the doc- confident in our case. The federal government must not injustice. Five years ago, the NYCLU and the law firm tor’s office and in the home. treat New York’s lesbian and gay families as if they of Schulte, Roth & Zabel filed a class-action lawsuit This statewide campaign has generated an excite- don’t even exist, and loving couples like Edie and Thea challenging the state’s failure to provide a functioning ment and energy unparalleled in my 20-plus-year history must not be viewed as total strangers in the eyes of the public defense system. The case is slated to go to trial working on reproductive rights for the NYCLU. But law. later this year. We’ll keep fighting until justice is served. We’re also making history as another landmark You’ll read about more victories and battles, big and trial unfolds. In March, the eyes of all New Yorkers small, throughout the pages of this newsletter – we’re on and much of the world turned to a federal courtroom in the verge of seeing an Inspector General for the NYPD lower Manhattan as Floyd v. City of New York began, in New York City, we’re celebrating two great wins a class-action lawsuit filed by the Center for Constitu- over conditions in Long Island jails, and we’re honoring tional Rights challenging the constitutionality of the lifetimes of dedication and volunteerism to the NYCLU NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices. and its mission. The remedy phase of the trial also involves Ligon Our impact and ability to make the New York we v. City of New York, a lawsuit filed by the NYCLU, want rests in your hands. Whether we have the resources NYCLU News (ISSN 0746-0801) is published The Bronx Defenders, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the we need to accomplish our work depends on you. If you twice a year by the New York Civil Liberties law firm of Shearman & Sterling LLP challenging the raise your voice and take action, it vastly improves our Union, 125 Broad St., New York NY 10004 NYPD’s enforcement of Operation Clean Halls – a city- chances of achieving progressive reforms on a host of wide program within the Police Department’s stop-and- issues that we know you’re passionate about. We need 212.607.3300 www.nyclu.org frisk regime that allows police officers to patrol in and you to continue your support now more than ever. Thank around certain private apartment buildings. you for all that you do. Subscription by membership only at $20 and up, of which 50 cents is for a one-year subscription. In the NYCLU’s case, U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the NYPD has a pattern and prac- Jonathan Horn, President; tice of illegally stopping innocent people in public areas Follow Julie Kowitz Margolies, Vice President; outside thousands of private apartment buildings in the Ronald Tabak, Secretary; Lara M. Rios, Treasurer @JustAskDonna and @nyclu Bronx. She also ruled that she would consider specific Donna Lieberman, Executive Director remedies at the same time that she considers possible on Twitter Nanette Francia-Cotter, Deputy Director remedies by the plaintiffs in Floyd. Arthur Eisenberg, Legal Director Christopher Dunn, Associate Legal Director Robert Perry, Legislative Director Kerry Watterson, Development Director Jennifer Carnig, Communications Director Ana Vasquez, Operations Manager NYCLU Challenges NYPD Surveillance of

Capital Region Chapter Melanie Trimble, Director Muslim Communities 90 State St., Albany NY 12207 518.436.8594 he NYCLU and partnering attorneys have and religious activity. The NYPD’s Muslim surveillance Central New York Chapter filed papers in federal court seeking to stop the program violates a consent decree in Handschu that Barrie H. Gewanter, Director NYPD’s widespread surveillance of innocent restricts the Police Department’s ability to investigate or 731 James St., Suite 205, Syracuse NY 13203 T 315.471.2821 Muslim New Yorkers. spy on people when there is no “reasonable indication” “The NYPD’s widespread surveillance of New York of unlawful activity or terrorism. Genesee Valley Chapter City’s Muslim communities rests upon the erroneous Queens resident Shamiur Rahman, a former NYPD KaeLyn Rich, Director perception that all Muslims, regardless of their indi- infiltrator, was paid as much as $1,500 a month to spy 121 N. Fitzhugh St., Suite 300, Rochester NY 14614 585.454.4334 vidual beliefs and values, are inherently suspect,” said on members of the Muslim community. In a declaration NYCLU Legal Director Arthur Eisenberg. “In this way, included in the court filing, Rahman describes taking Nassau County Chapter the NYPD stigmatizes the Muslim communities by photos of people worshipping at mosques, writing down Jason Starr, Director 33 Front St., Suite 205, Hempstead NY 11550 conveying the message that all Muslim have a proclivity cell phone numbers on sign-up sheets for Islamic educa- 516.741.8520 toward violence and disloyalty.” tion classes, and taking photos of students and license In a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of investigative plate numbers at lectures held by the Muslim Student Suffolk County Chapter articles that began in August 2011, the Associated Press Association at John Jay College. Amol Sinha, Director Touro Law Public Advocacy Center, 225 Eastview Dr., exposed and documented the NYPD’s massive domestic “My NYPD boss Steve told me that the NYPD did Central Islip NY 11722 surveillance program targeting Muslims in greater New not think the John Jay Muslim Student Association was 631.650.2301 York City and surrounding areas. doing anything wrong, they just wanted to make sure,” Lower Hudson Valley Chapter Officers have routinely monitored restaurants, Rahman said. “The members of the MSA were religious Daniel Berger, Director bookstores and mosques. They’ve created detailed Muslims, and according to my NYPD boss Steve, the 297 Knollwood Rd., White Plains NY 10607 records of innocent conversations they’ve both had with NYPD considers being a religious Muslim a terrorism 914.997.7479 individuals and eavesdropped on. The Police Depart- indicator.” Western Regional Office ment has also sent paid infiltrators – called “rakers” The Handschu case was filed in 1971 in response John A. Curr III, Director – into mosques and college student associations to take to the NYPD’s widespread surveillance of anti-war The Ansonia Center, 712 Main St., Buffalo NY 14202 photos, write down license plate numbers and keep protestors in the late 1960s. The case was settled with a 716.852.4033 notes on people for no reason other than because they consent decree entered in 1985, in which the NYPD was Jennifer Carnig, NYCLU News Editor are Muslim. prohibited from investigating political and religious or- Mike Cummings, NYCLU News Co-Editor The Feb. 4 filing is the latest chapter of the decades- ganizations unless there was “specific information” that Lauren Alexander, NYCLU News Writer Helen Zelon, NYCLU News Writer old Handschu v. Special Services Division proceeding, the group was linked to a crime that had been committed Abby Allender, NYCLU News Designer a decades-old federal case that has produced a series of or was about to be committed. court orders regulating NYPD surveillance of political 3 An Uncommon Bond in Defense of Civil Liberties

County branch. building, including litigation.” Barbara Shack proposed kick-starting the project Under Bernstein’s direction, the chapter brought with a party – something social and socially conscious. another landmark First Amendment lawsuit to the “We went to the ACLU and said we wanted to Supreme Court. The case, Island Trees School invite all of the Nassau County ACLU members,” District v.Pico, successfully challenged a local school Barbara Shack said. The ACLU mailed invitations to board’s decision to remove certain books it deemed 200 prospective guests, she said, “and everybody came. objectionable from its district’s junior high and high We were overwhelmed!” school libraries. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that That fall, in a borrowed house in Sands Point, the school board could not restrict the availability of on Long Island’s tony North Shore, Nassau County’s books in its libraries because its members object to their NYCLU chapter threw its first cocktail party and content. barbeque, now an annual September tradition. Free speech and the separation of church and state Not long after, the Nassau County Chapter set up are issues Barbara Bernstein remains passionate about. shop at a borrowed desk in Don Shaffer’s office, with “I have the instinct for fairness,” she said. “You Barbara Shack working part-time as the chapter’s first have to be fair to everyone, even people you totally director. disagree with. You have to do the right thing. It’s what Don Shaffer, center, flanked by Barbara Shack (L) and Doris “I earned $25 a week,” she said. my mother taught me.” Shaffer (R), at the 2006 retirement celebration for Barbara The fledgling chapter made national headlines when Don Shaffer served as the chapter’s first president Bernstein. the NYCLU represented five sets of parents of students and later its legal director. When Don Shaffer’s hen Jim Bernstein and “the Donalds” – Don at Herricks High School in New Hyde Park who presidential term was complete, Donald Shack, a Shaffer and Donald Shack – first met at objected to the mandatory daily recitation of a prayer Harvard-trained attorney, took on the role. WP.S. 138 in Brooklyn, nobody could have in the school’s classrooms. The prayer, approved and Don Shaffer wasn’t a lawyer when he helped predicted that their schoolyard friendship would bloom recommended by the State Board of Regents in 1951, found the chapter, but he became one in his 60s, into lifelong loyalty and a dogged commitment to civil invoked God’s blessing on the students, their parents when he retired from work and enrolled in New York liberties. and teachers, and the country. Law School. After earning his law degree, Shaffer It’s also safe to bet that those three little boys NYCLU Emeritus Board Member Bill Butler took volunteered as the Nassau County Chapter Legal from Crown Heights never could have guessed that the case, Engel v. Vitale, to the U.S. Supreme Court, Committee Chair. He also served for decades on the their futures would include marriages to three dynamic which ruled in the parents’ favor in 1962. Writing for a Nassau County and NYCLU boards, as did his wife, women, who worked as hard as they did to advance and 6-1 majority, Justice Hugo Black said mandatory daily Doris, who died in 2004. promote New Yorkers’ civil liberties and basic rights. recitation of a prayer in public schools violated the “Don and Doris were the living history of the The three couples – Jim and Barbara Bernstein, First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which bars NYCLU for decades,” Lieberman said. Don and Doris Shaffer, and Donald and Barbara Shack government-sponsored religious activity. Doris served on the NYCLU board before her – formed the engine that drove the NYCLU’s Nassau “We didn’t know what we were doing,” Barbara husband, and was the Nassau County Chapter’s County Chapter. Shack said. “There was no real staff; it was all grass defacto archivist for years. Don Shaffer passed away in “It was a confluence of sympathies,” said Barbara roots. We just battled, but everything just seemed to February, leaving a legacy as a fighter for New Yorkers’ Bernstein, a former Nassau County chapter director and work.” civil rights – and no shortage of fond memories among current NYCLU volunteer. Barbara Bernstein directed the Nassau County those who knew him. “We had similar social and personal values,” added Chapter for 32 years. Trained as a teacher, she was “Don was passionate, sure of his ideals and beliefs, Jim, a retired gastroenterologist. often mistaken for an attorney – a misimpression she with a deep sense of justice,” Lieberman said. Nassau County’s NYCLU chapter was established never hesitated to correct. Yet, even without formal The Shaffers, Shacks and Bernsteins shouldered the in 1962, after Don Shaffer, who was an insurance and legal skills and training, she built an organization that burden of sustaining and growing the Nassau County pension broker for labor unions at the time, suggested to achieved landmark civil liberties victories. Chapter. Their friendship thrived through it all. They Barbara Shack, “let’s start a local ACLU.” “Barbara was a force to be reckoned with in vacationed together and their children grew up together. “I said, what’s an ACLU?” Barbara recalled. When Nassau,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman Together, they made history. she learned about the national organization’s mission said. “She grew that chapter into a model shop – a “Our lives were all entwined,” Barbara Shack said. and achievements, she was all for starting a Nassau model for advocacy and civil liberties and movement “We all had a wonderful time.”

NYCLU Helps Lead Fight for Women’s Equality From page 1 harassment laws to all workplaces; and protect pregnant advocates from a number of issue areas,” said John drawn the most amount of criticism from the small, vo- women and mothers (or fathers) from employment dis- Curr director of the NYCLU’s Western Regional Office. cal minority. However, a Siena Poll released in March crimination. The agenda also would strengthen protec- “Together with our coalition partners we have been able showed that more than 80 percent of New York voters tions for victims of domestic violence; protect people to effectively thwart our opponents’ attacks and focus on across religious and political spectrums support enact- who need low-income housing assistance from discrimi- the incredible impact this agenda seeks to create across ing a law “protecting reproductive freedom for women, nation and expand laws against human trafficking; and the board.” ensuring a woman’s right to make private health care ensure that victims of discrimination can have their day The campaign for the agenda is blanketing the state. decision regarding pregnancy.” in court. On April 4, regional press conferences hosted by local The campaign is organizing a lobby and rally day These measures would tackle enduring barriers to leaders and advocates drew attention across the state. on June 4 in Albany to provide a final push for this land- full equality that affect the well-being of women and Each of the NYCLU’s seven chapters and regional of- mark legislative package. families across New York. Consider the following: fices outside New York City were instrumental in orga- “We need to make sure opponents of equality do nizing these press events and forging regional coalitions not have the last say,” said Katharine Bodde, NYCLU • Women in New York earn only 84 percent of in support of the agenda. policy counsel. “Legislators need to hear from every what men earn, and that disparity is even starker Lower Hudson Valley Chapter Director Daniel single one of us. The NYCLU invites you to join us on for black and Latina women. Berger attended and spoke at the April 4 event in West- June 4 as advocates from all over the state descend upon • Inequality persists throughout the course of a chester County. Albany to let legislators know that inequality is not an woman’s life, meaning a woman is twice as likely “The chapters have really focused on putting boots option.” as a man to live out old age in poverty. to the ground in regards to our regional coalition work, For more information about the women’s equality • Women who are pregnant or have children are wherever people are talking about issues that affect agenda or how you can Get on the Bus for the June 4th less likely to be hired, promoted or given raises. women we want to be there talking about the importance rally and lobby day please visit www.nyclu.org/we. • Female-headed households account for 76 of the Women’s Equality Agenda,” Berger said. percent of all those who receive Housing Choice Central New York Chapter Director Barrie Gewant- Vouchers (otherwise known as Section 8) to help er said the local organizing will help in lobbying key pay for housing. legislators to support these progressive reforms. • Women are five times more likely than men to be “This is a genuine statewide effort,” Gewanter said. sexually harassed, and 1-in-4 women will experi- “We’re rallying support locally that will be instrumental ence intimate partner violence in her lifetime. in convincing local legislators to get on board and support the Women’s Equality Agenda.” The expansive set of issues included within the KaeLyn Rich, director of the Genesee Valley agenda requires tight coordination among a wide array Chapter, published a letter in the Rochester Democrat of advocacy groups. After weeks of intense planning, & Chronicle explaining the agenda’s economic justice the New York Women’s Equality Coalition was launched aspect. on March 4 at a successful press conference in Albany. “About 70 percent of children of single mothers The NYCLU is prominent role in developing the coali- in New York are classified as poor or low income,” tion’s strategy across several fronts, including legisla- Rich said. “Several of the Women’s Equality Agenda’s tive lobbying, public education and fundraising. Across provisions – such as measures to close the wage gap and every corner of the state, hundreds of businesses and protect mothers and pregnant women from workplace To find out more about the Women’s organizations have signed on in support of this ground- discrimination – will provide much-needed financial breaking legislative package. stability for female-headed households in Rochester and Equality Agenda and to join us on June 4, “The Women’s Equality Agenda has provided statewide.” please visit: www.nyclu.org/we. a unique and exciting opportunity to bring together The agenda’s reproductive health provisions have 4 Election 2013: Biographies and Statements of Candidates NYCLU Board of Directors

The annual meeting of the members of the New York Civil Liberties Union will be held on Wednesday, June 12 at 6 p.m. at the NYCLU offices: 125 Broad St., 19th Fl., New York, New York, for the purposes of electing directors and receiving the annual report.

This is an uncontested election. There are 14 candidates and 15 vacancies. so that your vote can be counted. (Note: To ensure a secret ballot, do not sign the ballot or put your mailing label inside the envelope.) WHO MAY VOTE All members whose names appear on the NYCLU membership rolls as of May CANDIDATES 29, 2013 may vote. If you have a question about your voting status, please call There are fourteen (14) candidates for fifteen (15) vacancies. Thirteen vacancies are for 212.607.3364. three-year terms; one vacancy is for a two-year term; and one vacancy is for a one-year term. In accordance with the NYCLU by-laws, exactly as many candidates as there HOW TO VOTE are vacancies were nominated by the NYCLU Nominating Committee. However, one NYCLU members may vote either: nominee withdrew subsequent to the deadline and the vacancy for a one-year term will 1) in person, at the annual meeting. be addressed by the Board pursuant to the by-laws. The person elected with the lowest 2) by proxy, using any one of the ballots that appear in the following places: number of votes will receive a two-year term.. • printed on page 5 of this newsletter. • by downloading a ballot at www.nyclu.org/boardelections. (All votes not cast Each candidate was asked to supply biographical data and a brief statement of views on in person must be cast on paper ballots; one CANNOT vote electronically). NYCLU policies and issues. These are set forth below in alphabetical order. To view lengthier candidate statements, to obtain contact information for individual candidates, IN ORDER TO VOTE BY PROXY or to print out a proxy ballot (one CANNOT vote electronically), please visit www. Complete the proxy ballot. Mail the ballot you have filled out to Douglas Cuthbertson, nyclu.org/boardelections. Election Supervisor, New York Civil Liberties Union, 125 Broad Street, 19th floor, New York, NY 10004. AM I A MEMBER? The NYCLU has nearly 50,000 members statewide, plus many thousands of supporters. So that we may verify your membership, cut out the address label (listing your name To be a current member, you must have made a non-tax-deductible contribution to the and address) on page 1 of this newsletter and affix it to the outside of the envelope; NYCLU or ACLU— notwithstanding any tax-deductible donations to the NYCLU or, write your name (or both names, if you have a joint membership) and your address Foundation or to the ACLU Foundation — since February 1, 2012, or you must be a legibly on the back of the envelope. You must affix this label, or write your name(s) and lifetime member. If you have any questions about your membership status, please call address on the back of the envelope in order to provide verification of your membership the NYCLU at 212.607.3364 or email [email protected].

Claudia Angelos the NYCLU does and the selfless attitudes of the indi- Lawyers Alliance for New York. NYU Law Professor, teaching civil rights clinics in part- vidual members. This experience has been valuable to When I get married in September, it won’t be what nership with the NYCLU. NYCLU board member since me; both in helping formulate how I can best contribute Justice Ginsburg recently called a “skim milk” marriage. 1993; board president 2002-08; current NYCLU Gener- as a member of this Board in the future, and in mak- If the pundits are right and my prayers are answered, the al Counsel, representative to the ACLU National Board, ing my contributions to the NYCLU in Capital Region federal government will, for the first time in our nation’s and National ACLU Executive Committee member. more effective. My opportunities to assist the organiza- 237-year history, treat gay unions in the same way that it I remain committed to devoting whatever useful ex- tion will be increased, now that we have an increased has always treated marriages between men and women. perience and skill I have to the NYCLU. Its exceptional NYCLU presence in Albany, including new office space Long overdue, to be sure. But outstanding all the same. vigilance in protecting and advancing civil rights and and an expanded lobbying presence. And due in large part to the efforts of the NYCLU and liberties is needed now as much as ever; its statewide As a member of the Capital Region Chapter’s its allies. I am a child of immigrants. I grew up in a program is thriving; and its staff is brilliant, dedicated Statewide Advocacy Task Force, I was active in the neighborhood in the Bronx that received the kinds of and effective. I take pride in our passionate and hard- NYCLU’s efforts to repeal the Rockefeller drug laws, government services that communities want, but was working board, which works in common cause with our and advocating for comprehensive immigration reform. surrounded by neighborhoods that did not. People dear gifted staff and enjoys the occasional lively disagree- I was also active in the drive to implement Marriage to me have suffered from woeful conditions in deten- ment. The Union and its board and staff are thankfully Equality in New York State. I am an active member of tion facilities. I believe that society should compensate becoming younger and more diverse, yet we adhere to the Board Chapter Committee, and have now been ap- women appreciably more than it does men, but am our core values and honor those who have lived our pointed to the Committee on Immigrant Issues. willing to settle for equality. The work of the NYCLU is history. If re-elected to this Board, I would like to contribute critical to helping create the kind of world I want to live I support the NYCLU’s program by bringing 24 tal- to any Public Relations initiatives that the Board, and in. I am eager to stand for re-election to its board, and ented law students every year from NYU Law to litigate the NYCLU staff, wish to embrace. I would also work to I am hopeful that (if I am elected) my passion, contacts, cases for the NYCLU through NYU’s clinical program. increase our general membership. and familiarity with nonprofit issues will allow me to As our representative to the ACLU National Board and I will look forward to helping the NYCLU imple- make a meaningful contribution to the organization and a member of its executive committee I support the na- ment its initiatives statewide during the upcoming period its efforts. tional organization and promote the values and interests of substantial political change, and I hope I can have of the New York affiliate. And I continue to advise our positive impact on the injustices that can be observed Jonathan Horn board and staff as NYCLU’s general counsel. around us. Attorney. Currently NYCLU President. Vice President I believe in openness, community, and the value and 2009 –2010. Secretary 2003-2005. Member of Execu- pleasure of engaged debate. I am confident in the future Thomas R. Frey tive Committee 2003-to date. Service on Numerous of the NYCLU, which will both change and endure. I Attorney (retired) Harris Beach, Rochester. Member of Board Committees. Delegate to ACLU Biennial Confer- promise to stand with the membership, board and staff the NYCLU Board since 1999 (President from 2008 to ences, ACLU Leadership Conference and ACLU Affiliate of the NYCLU in the cause of our most fundamental 2011.) Multi-years member of the Nominating Com- President’s Conference. Board Member since 2001. freedoms. mittee (chaired five years.) Member of the Statewide I’m passionate about the NYCLU and its work Presence Committee. Present Chair of the Campaign to defend the fundamental principles embodied in the Barbara Bernstein Finance Committee. Member of the Genesee Valley Constitution. From fighting for marriage equality, to I started working for the NYCLU in 1974, a month Chapter Board. Non-NYCLU, served on the Board of opposing the NYPD’s discriminatory “stop and frisk” after Richard Nixon resigned to the fate he so richly the Campaign for Fiscal Equity which fought for fair practices, to protecting the right to protest, to advocat- deserved, and I stayed as director of the Nassau Chapter education funding for schools in New York, served on ing for the Women’s Equality Agenda, I have never been till 2006 when we moved into NY City and I joined the the Rochester School Board, the NYS Assembly and was prouder to be a card-carrying member of the NYCLU. state board. Since my civil liberties brain was still firing, the Director of State Operations under Governor Hugh The board acts as the final arbiter of NYCLU policy I started to volunteer in the Legal Intake Committee Carey. Also served on the NYS Board of Regents and and priorities. It exercises oversight to ensure that the and I’ve been doing that once a week ever since, even was County Executive of Monroe County. NYCLU remains strong organizationally and financially. through Hurricane Sandy. At almost 81, I’ve forgotten It is my pleasure and honor to be involved with the It responds to issues that inevitably crop up over the everything else but volunteering at Legal Intake is what NYCLU for these many years and have watched it grow course of the year. A key part of my job as NYCLU keeps me going. Mostly I respond to letters and phone from an “extraordinary law firm” for civil liberties to a President has been to set the board’s agenda and frame calls from people who want us to represent them and well-rounded organization that supports civil liberties our conversations to ensure that we fulfill these crucial mostly we can’t but we can at least refer them to legal in diverse ways while remaining that extraordinary law obligations. and government agencies that can. Also I wrote a tribute firm. I have had the opportunity to see up close the work As President, I have also worked to facilitate com- to Don Shaffer, our fiercely dedicated activist board of the staff in support of the goals and policies we all munication among board members and between board member, that I read at the last board meeting. And I’m support. Their work is important to all New Yorkers. We and staff – all to make sure that we are working “in still baking chocolate chip cookies - next board meeting. remain in a period where the civil liberties of the people sync”. In addition, I have helped identify the next gen- of the United States remain threatened. It is more impor- eration of NYCLU lay leaders and have provided them John Cirrin tant than ever that we support the efforts of the NYCLU with opportunities to grow and gain experience. Nominated by the Nominating Committee to support the Bill of Rights for all Americans, now and Our board has never functioned better in all of Retired Public Relations Director for the Albany Public in the future. these vital areas and I am proud that I have played a role Library. Long-time member of the NYCLU Capital in that. I hope to continue that work during the years Region Chapter. Salvatore Gogliormella ahead. My discussions with other members of this Board Partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison have given me a great deal of respect for the work that LLP. Former public interest fellow and staff attorney at 5 Samantha Howell, Esq. Donna Schaper Pro Bono Coordinator, Prisoners’ Legal Services of New I want to further the many NYCLU priorities with York. Former member of Kentucky Civil Liberties Union which I have been associated in my work in New York State Board. Former officer in Albany Law School and City. The reproductive rights act, the protection of im- PROXY VOTING Whitman College chapters of the NYCLU and WACLU, migrants, Stop and Frisk, censorship and police monitor- respectively. ing – each have taken portion of my congregation’s time INSTRUCTIONS I am excited and honored to be on the slate for elec- over these years. In the NYCLU I see a major partner tion to the NYCLU State Board. I have been involved and ally to the work I do with multifaith, progressive with CLU activities since 2001, having joined a couple faith coalitions in New York City. COMPLETE THE PROXY days after September 11th. Upon relocating to New York I have been ordained in the United Church of Christ BALLOT in 2007 for law school, I began volunteering with the for nearly forty years and senior minister at Judson Capital Region Chapter of the NYCLU and participat- Memorial Church for eight. Previously in congregations Mail the ballot you have filled out to Douglas ing in the various activities/committees of the chapter. in Miami, New Haven, Chicago and Philadelphia, I have Cuthbertson, Election Supervisor, New York During law school, I was an officer in our school chapter specialized in public ministry from a parish base. I was Civil Liberties Union, 125 Broad Street, 19th and, in 2010, elected to the Capital Region Chapter also one of the first women trained by Saul Alinsky in Floor, New York, NY 10004. So that we may board. I also serve on the NYCLU statewide campaign the art of community organizing. verify your membership, cut out the address finance committee. In New York I am founder and first president of label (listing your name and address) on page Having worked in the public interest/pro bono arena the New York City New Sanctuary Movement. I am 1 of this newsletter and affix it to the outside for several years, I have had the opportunity to engage also a founder of Occupy and Occupy Faith. Occupy of the envelope; or, write your name (or both in issues concerning a wide range of vulnerable popula- Faith created the golden calf in the shape of the Wall names, if you have a joint membership) and tions, including prisoners, immigrants, domestic vio- Street bull and kept it alive during the height of that your address legibly on the back of the enve- lence victims and the impoverished. As a young lawyer, movement. More recently, I have been active in Oc- lope. You must affix this label, or write your I recognize the importance of the law – as well as social cupy Sandy, which advocates mutual help in the face of name(s) and address on the back of the en- activism – in ensuring that people and their rights are natural disasters. velope in order to provide verification of your protected. In New Sanctuary, our work has focused on people membership so that your vote can be counted. My involvement with the NYCLU has been both on the verge of detention and deportation, through an (Note: To ensure a secret ballot, do not sign valuable and enlightening. If elected, I look forward accompaniment program and advocacy to get ICE out the ballot or put your mailing label inside the to sharing my experiences with – and learning from – of Rikers, while accompanying dozens of people to their envelope.) others, as well as working to increase membership and check-ins. Through Occupy Faith we have focused most awareness of NYCLU’s legal efforts and its positions on recently on unfair debt and banks. ABOUT THE BALLOT civil liberty issues. Thank you for your consideration. Wendy Stryker There are fourteen (14) candidates for fifteen Counsel – Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, P.C. (15) positions. Amanda Oren It has been my great honor and pleasure to have I welcome the opportunity to serve a third term on joined the NYCLU Board in December in an interim NOTE: There are two columns of boxes. If you the NYCLU Board. position. It is truly an exciting time for NYCLU. The have a single membership, mark only boxes I served as chair of the education committee. This current political climate provides great opportunity for in the first column. If you have a joint mem- active committee researched and extensively discussed progress in so many core areas including women’s is- bership (indicated by a mailing label on this several issues that eventually resulted in the Board’s sues, voting rights and democracy, immigration, racial newsletter with both names on it), you are adoption of the “high-stakes” testing policy. justice and LGBT rights. entitled to two votes and can vote by mark- I was a member of the chapter committee and In my professional life I am an employment lawyer ing boxes in both columns. To view lengthier worked as a liaison between the state board and the with a long history of work in the areas of civil rights candidate statements and to obtain contact local chapter in Rochester/Genesee Valley to continue and defamation defense, including significant litigation information for individual candidates, please this organization’s efforts to be an effective state-wide bringing anti-SLAPP counterclaims against landlord visit www.nyclu.org/boardelections. presence. groups attempting to stifle the First Amendment rights Twice, I served as chairman of the Liberty Confer- of community organizers. I am also a member of my ence organized by the Genesee Valley Chapter. This firm’s pro bono and diversity committees and have a PROXY BALLOT event brought together 400 high school students to deep interest and commitment to workplace fairness and discuss, debate, and think about the implications of civil gender equity issues. TO: Douglas Cuthbertson, Election Supervi- liberties. I have continued my involvement with this In my interim term, I have already been active in sor, NYCLU - 125 Broad Street, 19th Floor, event as a volunteer facilitator in a teaching role. raising funds and public awareness for the Women’s New York, NY 10004 I served as an ambassador for the development de- Equality Agenda and in serving on other subcommittees. partment, meeting with donors as well as helping engage I look forward to the opportunity to use my interests, You are hereby authorized as my proxy to cast the local Genesee Valley board as ambassadors. experience and relationships to further the work and my votes as indicated at the annual meeting Currently, I am a member of the governance com- agenda of the NYCLU and expand upon the work I have of the New York Civil Liberties Union to be mittee. As a member of an adhoc committee on the begun to do. held on June 12, 2013 at 6 p.m. at the NYCLU restructuring of the ACLU national board, I worked to offices, 125 Broad Street, 19th floor, New York review and revise amendments we believe are critical to Ría Tabacco Mar City for the election of directors, with the the future of the ACLU and the NYCLU. Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educa- same power I would possess if I were person- I am serving my second year on the executive com- tional Fund (LDF) ally present. mittee and have actively participated in the work of that As a native New Yorker, I have long admired and committee. respected the work of the NYCLU. As a lawyer dedi- Lara Rios As a public defender, I work to protect my clients’ cated to racial justice work, I have gained the opportu- constitutional rights daily. If reelected, I will continue to nity to work on civil rights issues that complement, and Barbara Bernstein work on behalf of this organization to protect all of our at times parallel, the work of the NYCLU. If elected to civil liberties and offer representation from across New the Board, I would bring to the role my perspective as a Maria I. Valentin York State. civil rights lawyer coupled with a deep commitment to civil liberties. Lara Rios Most recently, I assisted in drafting a friend-of- Ria Tabacco Mar Attorney Latham & Watkins LLP; current Board member the-court brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in and Treasurer of the NYCLU; Member of the LatinoJus- Windsor v. United States, in which LDF urged the Court Salvatore Gogliormella ticePRLDEF Lideres Board; NYCLU member to apply heightened scrutiny to laws, like Section 3 of As a native New Yorker I’ve always believed the Defense of Marriage Act, that disadvantage gays and Wendy Stryker that what happens in New York sets the tone for the lesbians as a class. As I wrote for Ebony.com, “legal rest of the nation. That is why the work of NYCLU is distinctions based on sexual orientation—like those Jonathan Horn invaluable. As our nation discusses the issues of equal based on race and national origin—are intended to mark marriage, immigration reform, prisoners’ rights and the minority group as inferior.” Windsor illustrates the racial profiling, the NYCLU is front and center not only benefits of applying a racial justice lens to other contem- Amanda Oren advocating for the rights of minorities and focusing our porary civil rights problems. community leaders’ attention on injustice but framing My work at LDF builds on a history of advocating Claudia Angelos the debate and shaping solutions to each of these issues. on behalf of black and brown New Yorkers. Each of my Over the past few years I’ve had the privilege of serving professional experiences, as well as my own life experi- John Cirrin on the Board of Directors and, most recently, I’ve had ence as a woman of color, has strengthened my commit- the opportunity to serve as Treasurer of the NYCLU. ment to civil rights and civil liberties. I would welcome Ronald Tabak During this time, we have accomplished much. I have the opportunity to serve the NYCLU as a member of the been most proud of our organization’s work to secure Board of Directors. Thank you for your consideration. equal marriage rights for all New Yorkers and our pas- Thomas R. Frey sioned advocacy to stop the NYPD’s abusive stop & Ronald Tabak frisk and “clean halls” policies. I’ve also been incred- It is my privilege to seek re-election to the NYCLU Samantha Howell, Esq. ibly proud of the work that we have done as an organiza- Board. tion to engage young persons – both young professionals I have devoted most of my career to pro bono activ- Donna Schaper who serve as ambassadors for our organization as well ities, including representing death row inmates, fighting as students and teens who are our future members and capital punishment, chairing the City Bar’s civil rights voices. I welcome the chance to remain on the Board committee, and co-chairing a special state bar committee and continue to help the members of our organization achieve the vision of equal justice for all. Thank you. continued on page 6 6

Board Bios Continued from page 5

on re-entry from prisons and jails. Underlying all this NYCLU has been my support of civil liberties – without which, I am a zealous supporter of civil rights, particularly everything else is in danger. for women’s equality, immigrant rights, prison reform, My NYCLU service has included chairing the equal education and many of the other issues that the Governance Committee – which has achieved com- NYCLU supports. Presently, our civil rights are under pliance with numerous best practices, serving on the attack, and we need warriors in the fight to protect these Statewide Presence and Chapter Committees – whose rights. I would be honored to serve as a warrior in this combined work has made the organization’s statewide struggle. activities far more coherent, membership on the Execu- As a Latina Teacher of History and an Attorney, I tive Committee – including suggesting a policy that have served as an advocate for social justice throughout enables the Board to have a real sense of what will be most of my life. As a native of Newark, NJ, I was wit- in the proposed budget long before the Board votes on ness to the discriminatory and disparate treatment that the budget, and being the Secretary – in which role I Latinos, African Americans and others faced in urban promptly prepare draft minutes that are circulated well areas, particularly when it came to housing, education before Board meetings and rarely evoke disagreement. and the legal system. I participate actively in Board and Executive Com- As a public school teacher in NYC and Westchester mittee discussions with the aim of achieving consensus County, and a former School Board member, I have after there is clear understanding of the subjects at hand. worked zealously to ensure equal opportunities for many I am delighted that the NYCLU has focused on such students of color and /or of immigrant background. In important subjects as ill-considered police interactions my various “hats,” I speak to numerous groups through- with people of color, the horrendous quality of much in- out the region on voting rights, gender rights and re- digent criminal defense, discrimination against people of productive freedom, immigrant rights. I have organized the same gender who are in committed relationships, and various programs to raise awareness of these issues to threats to women’s right to choose. I hope to stay on the those most affected by them and to the community at NYCLU’s front lines in such crucial areas. large. For a list of performers and to I want to bring my energy to promote the causes for purchase tickets, please visit: Maria I. Valentin which the NYCLU fights. At its essence, it is the fight HS Teacher / Adjunct Professor Westchester County for human dignity. I welcome your support. www.nyclu.org/bway and Immigration Attorney; Chair, LHV Chapter of the

New York City NYCLU Challenges Discrimination at Council Set to Albany-Area Wedding Venue

Melisa Erwin, left, and Establish Inspector Jennie McCarthy were turned away from the Liberty Ridge Farm wedding venue because General to Oversee the owners will not allow same-sex couples to get married there. NYPD The NYCLU is helping the couple to challenge hanks to the advocacy of the NYCLU and its this discrimination, which is explicitly partners in Communities United for Police barred under New TReform, a super-majority in the New York City York’s Human Rights Council has agreed to pass legislation to establish an Law. inspector general to provide independent oversight of the NYPD. Photo by Kelly Pfeister On March 19, Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced that the City Council had reached agreement on key provisions of legislation establishing an Office of the Inspector General. The proposal is part of the Com- munity Safety Act – a landmark police reform package designed to end discriminatory policing and bring real ike myriad couples before them, fiancées Melisa is discrimination and it is illegal. If we allow one group accountability to the NYPD. Erwin and Jennie McCarthy wanted to find a of people to be singled out and denied basic rights and “We’re gratified that the council has agreed to pass Lserene and rustic setting for their wedding. services because of their sexual orientation, we are vio- an inspector general bill that will create meaningful Liberty Ridge Farm, about 25 miles north of Alba- lating basic values of justice and fairness.” oversight and mechanisms to investigate police prac- ny, advertised “indoor and outdoor wedding venues with The Giffords argue that they will not allow same- tices,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman breathtaking views that dazzle and delight.” The website sex couples to get married on the farm because they op- said. “We look forward to prompt action to pass key offered “the ultimate in country elegance – a picturesque pose same-sex marriage. They claim that their objection provisions of the Community Safety Act that are es- setting for weddings all year round!” is based on their religious beliefs. sential to meaningful reform, including the ban on racial But the farm’s promised charms turned sour when “The farm cannot use religion as an excuse to profiling.” owners Cynthia and Robert Gifford rejected the couple’s discriminate,” said Melanie Trimble, director of the The Office of the Inspector General would examine request to wed this summer in the vaulted, Dutch-style NYCLU’s Capital Region Chapter. “The farm is a busi- systemic issues within the NYPD and provide effective timbered barn. Same-sex couples were not welcome to ness that rents its facilities to the general public. Owners oversight, with subpoena power, to protect New Yorkers marry there, Cynthia Gifford said. of a public establishment cannot deny service to people from abuses and misconduct. Inspectors general monitor “Having your relationship judged as somehow because of their sexual orientation. They have a right to the FBI, CIA, LAPD and every major New York City unworthy is incredibly hurtful and disheartening and we their religious beliefs, but this does not give them the agency except for the NYPD. want to ensure that other couples do not have to undergo right to disobey our anti-discrimination laws.” “An inspector general will provide much-needed the same treatment,” Erwin said. Under the Marriage Equality Act – the 2011 state independent oversight of NYPD practices like stop-and- “We believe no one should ever have one of the law that gave same-sex couples the freedom to marry frisk that affect the civil rights of millions of New York- happiest times of his or her life clouded by discrimina- – churches and ministers are not required to perform ers,” NYCLU Senior Organizer Candis Tolliver said. “It tion and bigotry,” McCarthy added. religious marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples. will provide an important check on the NYPD that will Discrimination based on sexual orientation is Nothing in the marriage law or existing anti-discrimi- ultimately lead to a safer streets and stronger police- explicitly barred under New York’s Human Rights Law, nation laws allows non-religious businesses open to the community relationships.” which prohibits public accommodations – establish- public to discriminate against same-sex couples. The remaining legislation composing the Commu- ments providing conveniences and services to the public The New York State Division of Human Rights, nity Safety Act would create a strong ban on profiling – from denying services to groups that are protected which investigated the complaint, determined in January by the NYPD and expand protections against profiling under the law. 2013 that Liberty Ridge Farm is a public accommoda- based on age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual The NYCLU is representing Erwin and McCarthy tion because it advertises in public media for its wedding orientation, immigration status, housing status, language in a complaint that they filed with the New York Divi- and catering services, and because it offers other public and disability, in addition to race, religion or ethnicity. sion of Human Rights maintaining that Liberty Ridge entertainments, including Easter egg hunts, pumpkin Council members Jumaane Williams and Brad Farm is a public accommodation that cannot discrimi- patches and other seasonal celebrations. Additionally, Landers, who are prime sponsors of the inspector gen- nate against people based on their sexual orientation. the Division of Human Rights determined that probable eral bill, agree with the NYCLU and CPR that to have a “A business that is open to the public cannot refuse cause exists to believe that the farm engaged in discrimi- meaningful impact on reigning in out of control NYPD to serve two people and their guests solely because the nation, violating New York State Human Rights Law. practices, the Council must pass this critical legislation. two people are a same-sex couple,” said NYCLU Staff A date for a public hearing by the Human Rights Attorney Mariko Hirose, lead counsel on the case. “It commission is expected soon. 7 NYCLU Scores Court Victory Against NYPD Stop-and-Frisk Abuse Stop-and-Frisk n a landmark court ruling issued Jan. 8, a federal Dunn. “Operation Clean Halls has placed New Yorkers, Watch: Now judge has found that the NYPD’s pattern and prac- mostly black and Latino, under siege in their own homes tice of stopping and interrogating innocent people in thousands of apartment buildings.” inI public areas outside thousands of private apartment Judge Scheindlin ordered an immediate halt to tres- Available for iPhone buildings in the Bronx is unconstitutional. The ruling is pass stops outside Bronx “Clean Halls” buildings unless a major victory in the movement to end stop-and-frisk the officer has a “reasonable suspicion” that a violation abuse and comes in the NYCLU’s federal class-action has occurred. While the judge originally ordered the lawsuit challenging the enforcement of Operation Clean NYPD to cease all stop-and-frisk practices in association Halls – a citywide program within the NYPD’s stop-and- with the Clean Halls program, she later agreed to allow frisk regime that allows police officers to patrol in and the program to continue until a remedy can be decided in around certain private apartment buildings. conjunction with the ongoing Floyd v. City of New York U.S District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin also federal class-action lawsuit challenging the entirety of found that for years the NYPD has known or should the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk regime. That lawsuit, which have known that its officers routinely violate consti- went to trial on March 18, was filed by the Center for tutional rights through the Clean Halls program by Constitutional Rights. stopping people without suspicion outside Clean Halls “What comes from the Operation Clean Halls case buildings in the Bronx. Nonetheless, the Police Depart- is going to result in a major step toward dismantling the ment has failed to adequately train officers about when NYPD’s out of control abuse of street interrogations,” they may legally make outdoor trespass stops, and that said NYCLU Senior Staff Attorney Alexis Karteron. this practice “has risen to the level of deliberate indiffer- “This stop-and-frisk program has placed too many New ence.” Yorkers, overwhelmingly black and Latino, under siege “Judge Scheindlin’s decision is a major step toward in their own homes. This aggressive assault on people’s ending the NYPD’s unlawful stop-and-frisk practices,” fundamental rights must be stopped.” said NYCLU Associate Legal Director Christopher Ms. Windsor Goes to the Supreme Court From page 1 The iPhone version of the Stop-and-Frisk Watch app was released earlier this year. Hirose and addressed the press afterward alongside dom to marry. The back-to-back arguments on marriage Windsor. occurred amid a frenzied atmosphere outside the court “New York law says marriage is open to all couples, where supporters and opponents of fair marriage laws straight or gay, and New York’s thousands of newly demonstrated. he NYCLU in February unveiled an iPhone ver- married same-sex couples are respected and treated as The first hour of the oral argument in Windsor’s sion of Stop-and-Frisk Watch – our free smart married in all ways by the state,” Lieberman said. “But case involved technical issues over whether the court Tphone application that empowers New Yorkers so long as DOMA is on the books, these marriages are had jurisdiction to hear the case, though it seems unlike- to hold the police accountable for abusive stop-and- not truly equal. The federal government should never ly that those issues will prevent the court from ruling on frisk encounters. Stop and Frisk Watch, which has been again be allowed to treat a married couple with the love DOMA’s constitutionality. The second hour of argument available on Android phones since June and has been that Edie and Thea had as total strangers.” dealt with the merits. downloaded by more than 20,000 New Yorkers, allows DOMA deprives legally married gay and lesbian At least five of the justices appeared to seriously bystanders to fully document stop-and-frisk encounters couples access to more than 1,100 benefits and protec- question DOMA’s constitutionality. and alert community members when a street stop is in tions associated with marriage, including family medical Justice Anthony Kennedy, the crucial swing vote, progress. leave, filing joint tax returns, sponsoring a spouse for seemed to suggest that the law is a federal intrusion on This innovative technology has three primary func- immigration purposes or the ability to inherit property the states’ power to regulate marriage. tions: from a deceased spouse without paying hefty estate “You think Congress can use its powers to su- • Record: This allows the user to film an incident taxes. persede the traditional authority and prerogative of with audio. Shaking the phone stops the filming. Because of DOMA, Windsor was saddled with the states to regulate marriage in all respects?” Ken- When filming stops, the user immediately receives $363,000 in federal estate taxes after her beloved nedy asked of Paul Clement, the attorney arguing for a brief survey allowing them to provide additional spouse, Thea, died in 2009. The federal government DOMA’s constitutionality. details about the incident. The video and survey go would not have imposed those taxes on a married The court’s four liberal justices appeared to ques- to the NYCLU, which uses the information to shed straight couple. Rather than accept this discrimination, tion DOMA’s constitutionality on the basis that the law light on the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices and Windsor filed a lawsuit challenging DOMA. violates equal-protection principles. hold the Department accountable for its actions. Windsor, who achieved the highest technical rank Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg drew laughs when she as a software programmer at IBM, and Spyer, a clinical remarked that DOMA effectively created “two kinds of • Listen: This function alerts the user in real time psychologist, met in Greenwich Village the 1960s and marriage: the full marriage, and then this sort of skim when people in their vicinity are being stopped by lived together for more than four decades in New York milk marriage.” the police. When other app users in the area trigger City. The Supreme Court is expected to issue decisions in Stop and Frisk Watch, the user receives a message One day in 1965, Speyer got on bended knee and both marriage cases in June. reporting where the police stop is happening. This asked Windsor to spend the rest of her life with her. In feature is especially useful for community groups place of a traditional engagement ring, Spyer presented who monitor police activity. her love a circular diamond broach so that Windsor wouldn’t face questions at the office. At the time, not • Report: This prompts the survey, allowing users to only did the prospect of their being able to marry seem report a police interaction they saw or experienced, impossibly remote, but Windsor feared that her career at even if they didn’t film it. IBM would suffer if she were “outed.” In 1977, Spyer was diagnosed with progressive Stop-and-Frisk Watch was selected as an honoree in multiple sclerosis. Windsor cared for her through a long the 17th Annual Webby Awards – the leading interna- battle with that disease, which eventually resulted in tional award recognizing excellence on the Internet – in Spyer’s paralysis. the category of “Best Use of Device Camera.” More The couple got married in Canada in 2007, follow- 10,000 entries vie for Webby awards each year. ing a 42-year engagement. “We’re extremely proud and excited to see our “Many people asked me ‘why get married?’ I was work recognized on such a prominent, international 77 and Thea was 75. The answer is that marriage is platform,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieber- different,” Windsor said standing outside the Supreme man said. “ Kudos to app developer Jason Van Anden Court. “When our marriage appeared in The New York and Communications Director Jennifer Carnig who Times, we heard from literally hundreds of people … all have shown that we can use technology to strengthen congratulating us and sending us love because we were and expand civil liberties.” married. So it’s a magic word. For anyone who wants To download the app, visit nyclu.org/app. to understand why we want it and why we need it: It is magic.” In upholding a district court decision in Windsor’s Edie and Thea were together for 44 years. Edie helped care for Thea during a long battle with multiple sclerosis. But when favor, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Thea died, the federal government treated them like strang- ruled that “Section 3 of DOMA violates equal protection ers. And that’s just wrong. Clockwise from top left: Thea Spyer, and is therefore unconstitutional.” left and Edie Windsor, right. Windsor walks in the 2012 NYC The Supreme Court argument occurred the day after Pride Festival. Spyer, left, and Windsor. Photos courtesy of A Very Long Engagement and John Crittenden. the justices heard argument in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which concerns whether the U.S. Constitution requires California to allow gay and lesbian couples the free- To read more about the case, visit: www.nyclu.org/windsor 8 Courts Side with NYCLU in Lawsuits to Improve Conditions at Long Island Jails

he NYCLU notched a pair of important legal vic- ing their day in court,” said Amol Sinha, director of said Jason E. Starr, director of the NYCLU’s Nassau tories in lawsuits seeking to improve conditions the NYCLU’s Suffolk County Chapter. “For too long, County Chapter. “Now it is up to the county executive Tat Long Island county jails. county officials have been content to force people to to follow the letter and the spirit of the charter mandate On March 19, a federal judges granted class-action live in degrading conditions that are unfit for a civi- by appointing seven people to the Board of Visitors status to a lawsuit filed by the NYCLU and the law lized society. It’s time for them to meet their moral and who possess the independence and expertise to effec- firm of Shearman & Sterling challenging deplorable constitutional obligations to provide humane conditions tively oversee the jail and who reflect our community’s and inhumane conditions in Suffolk County jails. The at the jails.” diversity.” following week, the NYCLU won a separate lawsuit The lawsuit, filed in April 2012, alleges that people Seven people have died while in custody at the challenging Nassau County’s failure to comply with a housed in county jails in Riverhead and Yaphank are jail since January 2010, including five suicides. State 23-year-old unfulfilled charter mandate to establish an subjected to a disturbing range of unsanitary and authorities have indicated that several of those deaths independent board charged with overseeing and improv- inhumane conditions, such as overflowing sewage, were clearly preventable. In recent years, the NYCLU ing conditions at the Nassau County Correctional Center chronic overcrowding, rodent and insect infestations, has received hundreds of complaints from people incar- – where for years county officials have failed to meet and pervasive mold and rust. With the granting of class cerated at the jail about the failure to provide necessary their obligation to provide prisoners adequate medical certification, any order to remedy the conditions at the medication, the mistreatment of persons with disabilities and mental health care. county jails will cover any individual who has been, or and the utter lack of mental health services at the jail. In the Suffolk County case, U.S. District Judge is currently, incarcerated in either jail. According to the County Charter, the Board of Visi- Joanna Seybert granted class certification and denied a In the Nassau County case, State Supreme Court tors is to be composed of seven county residents who motion to dismiss the case with respect to the county. Justice James P. McCormack ordered the county execu- will serve three-year terms and have some “working “This decision recognizes our allegations that the tive to appoint seven members to the Board of Visitors – knowledge of the correctional system.” The committee inhumane conditions at the jails are the uniform product an independent oversight committee that has never fully is required to have an office at the jail and access to jail of decades of neglect and indifference by county of- operated since being established in 1990. records, books and data. Committee members would be ficial that have harmed and continue to harm thousands “More than 20 years after Nassau County voters appointed by the county executive and serve without of people in Suffolk County, many of whom have not overwhelmingly approved this charter amendment, compensation. yet been convicted of any crime and are simply await- there will finally be much-needed oversight at the jail,” Momentum Building to Reform Solitary Confinement

onja Fenton was sentenced to a year in solitary The NYCLU has also taken the case to international youthful and elderly prisoners and those with mental confinement because she allegedly helped an- human rights bodies. In February, the NYCLU and illness. In response, Mendez has asked the federal other prisoner purchase a hair dryer, curling iron CAIC petitioned United Nations Special Rapporteur on government to provide information about New York’s T Torture Juan Mendez, citing the grave physical and men- and a pair of sneakers. solitary confinement practices and specific individuals Tonja, the mother of two teenage sons, spent 23 tal harm linked with isolation and requesting an inves- held in isolation; a statement by the Special Rapporteur hours a day locked down in a tiny, barren cell. The tigation of New York’s arbitrary and capricious practice is anticipated in early summer 2013. prolonged isolation damaged her physical and mental of wholesale solitary confinement. In an August 2011 In March, the NYCLU submitted testimony to the health. After months of forced idleness, she was some- report, the Special Rapporteur on Torture concluded that Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, drafted times overcome by sudden impulses to scream. She the use of solitary confinement can amount to torture or by NYCLU Legal Fellow Elena Landriscina, in support talked to herself just to hear a voice. Her family recog- cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of a request made by numerous organizations that the nized dramatic changes that Tonja fears may be perma- that is proscribed by the International Covenant on Civil Commission investigate the use of solitary confinement nent: She speaks differently, is less focused when she and Political Rights and under the U.N. Convention in the United States and issue guidance to ensure that speaks, does not complete one thought before jumping Against Torture. the United States complies with international law and to the next, and snaps impatiently. human rights standards, protecting the basic health, Tonja is a new plaintiff in Peoples v. Fischer, a safety, and dignity of all individuals, including the incar- federal lawsuit challenging New York prison officials’ cerated. policies and practices that result in the arbitrary, inhu- The petition quoted a November 2012 letter from mane and unconstitutional use of solitary confinement an individual held in isolation at the Special Housing in state prisons. In March the NYCLU and the law firm Unit (SHU) at Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone, of Morrison & Foerster filed an amended class-action New York: complaint in the lawsuit seeking to extend its scope to “I am writing your office concerning the death of a include all individuals incarcerated in state prisons simi- mental ill prisoner. The prisoner recently hung himself larly affected by the state’s use of solitary confinement. here in Upstate SHU. … They kept writing this prisoner “Tonja’s case typifies the state’s all-too-common up with misbehavior reports while he came to SHU on arbitrary and unjustified use of solitary confinement as Tonja Fenton, second from left, with her family. a minor incident years ago. Instead of giving him treat- punishment,” said NYCLU Senior Staff Attorney Taylor ment, they chose to keep him suffering alone in a cell. Pendergrass, lead counsel on the case. “In the case of The NYCLU’s petition charges that essential hu- This is definitely a case of abuse of human life.” someone like Ms. Fenton – who will soon be released man rights protections are implicated by New York’s Looking forward, legislation to permanently reform from prison and who had been working hard to prepare solitary-confinement practices, which lack safeguards, solitary confinement in New York, drafted by NYCLU for a successful return to her family and her community undermine the rehabilitative goals of incarceration, and and the CAIC, will be introduced in the current legisla- – her sentence to solitary reveals not only the inhuman- particularly affect vulnerable populations, including tive session. ity and unconstitutionality of the practice in New York’s prisons, but also just how costly and counterproductive these policies are for everyone.” Each day, nearly 4,500 prisoners in New York are held in extreme isolation. About half are held in solitary YES, I will be there for the confinement, in cells about the size of an office eleva- tor. The other half are held with another prisoner in a New York Civil Liberties Union! “double-cell,” which is about the size of an average parking spot. Prisoners are locked in 22 to 24 hours a day, and are deprived of all meaningful human interac- In the coming year we will: Enclosed is my check payable to the NYCLU Foundation in the tion and mental stimulation. Food is delivered through amount of: a slot in the cell door. No phone calls are allowed. No • Secure equity and $500 $250 $100 $50 Other meaningful education, substance abuse, re-entry or other reproductive freedom programs are offered to them, and few personal posses- for women NAME sions are permitted. ADDRESS Prison officials routinely impose isolation sen- tences for non-violent, even petty, misbehavior, such as • Establish fair and just CITY STATE ZIP refusing to return a food tray, cutting class, or smoking policing practices Please charge $ to my AmEx Visa MasterCard cigarettes in undesignated areas. CARDHOLDER NAME Aside from our efforts in court, the NYCLU was • Achieve full recognition instrumental in helping to form the Campaign for Alter- of same-sex marriages ACCOUNT # EXP DATE natives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC) – a partnership SIGNATURE of more than 30 human rights, civil rights, mental health • Reduce school and faith-based organizations – to advocate for reform of suspensions and bullying Support NYCLU online at www.nyclu.org the use of solitary confinement in state and local prisons. Thanks in large part to the NYCLU’s and CAIC’s New York Civil Liberties Union, 125 Broad St., 19th Floor • Protect immigrants from advocacy, New York Bar Association release a statement New York, NY 10004 discrimination and in January denounced the state’s over-reliance on soli- Tel: 212.607.3300 Fax:212.607.3329 tary confinement. The statement cited the NYCLU’s Oc- unlawful detention tober 2012 report, Boxed In: The True Cost of Extreme SNY250N1304 Isolation in New York’s Prisons (www.boxedinny.org).