Summer 2005 ACLU News

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CAL I FORNIA 2 0 0 5 BECAUSE FREEDOM CAN’T PROTECT ITSELF SUMMER VOLUME LXIX ISSUE 3 WHAT’SAC INSIDE LUnews PAGE 3 PAGE 4 PAGE 5 PAGE 6-7 PAGE 9 ACLU Wins in Union City: Powerful Youth: Compassionate Choices: KEEPING AMERICA Victory in Deer Valley: No More Student Round-Ups Th e Summit Th at Inspired Dying On One’s Own Terms SAFE & FREE Students Win Right to Rally ACLU PRESSES FOR PATRIOT ACT REFORM: CONCERN GROWS AS HOUSE RENEWS ANTITERRORISM LAW By Kristen Jones and Julia Daniels he ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) campaigned hard this summer to keep Congress from making permanent the most Tintrusive provisions of the USA PATRIOT antiterrorism law. At press time, the PATRIOT Act appeared headed for re- Francisco and San Jose, attended by hundreds of activists. authorization, with the House voting to extend indefi nitely all Just days later, ACLU National Executive Director Anthony but two of the act’s 16 sunset provisions, proposing 10-year D. Romero spoke at a San Francisco press conference. He extensions on roving wiretaps and searches of library, medical, listed the sinister consequences of the government’s expanded and other personal records. counterterrorism powers, from the FBI’s ability to snoop into Meanwhile, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 GIGI PANDIAN would extend to four years, instead of 10 years, the provisions for roving wiretap and records searches. Although the bill falls far short of the key reforms needed to protect civil liberties, the ACLU commends the Senate for taking a bipartisan approach to moderating some of the PATRIOT NOVEMBER BALLOT INITIATIVE Act’s most intrusive stipulations. To kick off the reform eff ort in early June, ACLU Na- tional Legislative Communications Director, Phil Gutis, THREATENS TEEN SAFETY: conducted legislative briefi ngs and speaker trainings in San ABORTION FOES ATTEMPT TO CIRCUMVENT COURTS By Yasmin Anwar ight years after the California Supreme Court struck down For the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC), which the state’s parental consent law on grounds that it violates successfully represented leading health care organizations in Ea teenager’s privacy, an initiative to amend the state Con- the decade-long battle to keep parental consent laws off the CA stitution to require doctors to notify parents of pregnant minors books, passage of the measure would be a double whammy, before they perform an abortion is on the November ballot. jeopardizing teen safety and reproductive rights. PAID on-Profi t on-Profi N U.S. Postage Organization Permit No. 4424 CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 San Francisco, BOARD ELECTIONS NOTICE Th e ACLU-NC Board of Directors, in accordance with chang- es adopted in 1996, have an election schedule as follows: SAVE THE DATE! Nominations for the Board of Directors will now be submitted by the September Board meeting; candidates and ballots will appear in the Fall issue of the ACLU News; elected board members will begin their three-year term in January. As provided by the revised ACLU-NC by-laws, the ACLU- BILL OF RIGHTS DAY NC membership is entitled to elect its 2005-2006 Board of Directors directly. Th e nominating committee is now seeking suggestions from the membership to fi ll at-large positions on SUNDAY, the Board. ACLU members may participate in the nominating process DECEMBER 11, 2005 in two ways: 1. Th ey may send suggestions for the nominating commit- at the tee’s consideration prior to the September Board meeting (September 8, 2005). Address suggestions to: Nominating San Francisco Marriott Committee, ACLU-NC, 1663 Mission Street, #460, San (4th & Mission) Francisco, CA 94103. Include your nominee’s qualifi cations and how the nominee may be reached. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WWW.ACLUNC.ORGWELCOME TO THE ACLU NEWS. READ MORE AT WWW.ACLUNC.ORG THE ACLU FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES THE FAREWELL MILA DEGUZMAN: TWO DECADES OF SERVICE By Sharada Balachandran-Orihuela fter two decades community, and she was LEGACY with the ACLU of determined to ensure that ANorthern Califor- our work for equality and nia (ACLU-NC), Mila for justice not only re- CHALLENGE DeGuzman has stepped mained central to our mis- YOUR GIFT FOR THE FUTURE down as administrative sion, but was carried out WILL DEFEND FREEDOM TODAY director and assistant to in a way that was sensitive Executive Director Doro- to the needs of those com- thy Ehrlich to write a book munities,” Ehrlich said at a about Filipina activists. farewell gathering for De- “It was a most diffi cult Guzman. Th roughout the ACLU’s history, thousands of decision, as the ACLU- Th e ACLU-NC admin- Americans have chosen to act as stewards of our NC has been my com- istrative staff grew under constitutional heritage by including the ACLU munity and my family in DeGuzman’s watch, and she Foundation as a benefi ciary of their estate. the last two decades, but GIGI PANDIANwas recognized for bringing I’m very excited to fi nally Dorothy Ehrlich presents Mila DeGuzman with a scrapbook a more holistic approach to Now, through a generous commitment by ACLU have the opportunity to of images from DeGuzman’s 20 years at the ACLU-NC. managing the offi ce. Foundation supporter Robert W. Wilson, a bequest devote more hours to After working full time provision in your will or trust will be matched with pursuing my longtime dream,” DeGuzman said. and attending graduate school at night, DeGuzman up to $10,000 in immediate cash support to ACLU DeGuzman joined the ACLU in 1985 as a politi- earned a master of fi ne arts degree in writing from the programs. Never before has your commitment to cal activist whose work focused on gay, immigrant, and University of San Francisco. She is looking forward to us- the ACLU been able to accomplish so much. women’s rights, and continued in that vein throughout ing her storytelling skills to showcase exceptional Filipina her tenure at the organization. women activists. To request information about how your legacy “She elevated our political consciousness about wom- “One of these women is Mila DeGuzman, so let us gift can benefit the ACLU Foundation today, en, about women of color, about immigrants, youth, and hope that one of those stories will be autobiographical,” please complete the following: about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Ehrlich said. n r Yes, I’d like to fi nd out how to participate in the FRONTLINE ATTORNEY RECEPTION BENEFACTORS DINNER Legacy Challenge. Name: Address: Phone: E-Mail: RETURN TO: Stan Yogi, Director of Planned Giving MICHAEL WOOLSEY SUSANA MILLMAN ACLU Foundation of Northern California Joining Dorothy Ehrlich at the podium, Stephen V. Bomse, From left to right: Carina Ryan, Steve Silberstein, and 1663 Mission Street, Suite 460 ACLU-NC general counsel and senior partner with Heller Wayne Jordan celebrate the ACLU-NC’s 70th anniversary San Francisco, CA 94103 Ehrman LLP (center) encourages summer legal associates at the Benefactors Dinner held March 22. The annual Or call (415) 621-2493 x330 to support the ACLU’s LGBT rights advocacy at the Sec- event thanks ACLU-NC’s major supporters for their part- ond Annual FrontLine Summer Attorney Reception. Matt nership in our work. Guests viewed a documentary chron- Coles, Director of the Lesbian Gay Rights/HIV Aids Proj- icling the affiliate’s history and heard from Legal Director, ects, is pictured at far right. The reception was generously Alan Schlosser, about future directions. underwritten by Heller Ehrman. BOARD ELECTIONS NOTICE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 2. Th ey may submit a petition of nomination with the sig- Board shall, by written ballot, elect a slate of nominees with *Th e Board of Directors of the ACLU of Northern California natures of 15 current ACLU-NC members. Petitions of each member being entitled to cast a number of votes equal to revised the By-Laws of the organization in February 1995, to nomination, which should also include the nominee’s the vacancies to be fi lled; the persons nominated by the Board change the timeline for Board election procedures. qualifi cations, must be submitted to the Board of Directors shall be those persons, equal in number to the vacancies to be by September 28, 2005 (20 days after the September board fi lled, who have received the greatest number of votes. Th e list meeting). Current ACLU members are those who have re- of nominees to be placed before the membership of the Union newed their membership during the last 12 months. Only for election shall be those persons nominated by the Board as ACLUnews current members are eligible to submit nominations, sign herein provided, together with those persons nominated by THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE petitions of nomination, and vote. petition as hereinafter provided in Section 4. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. ACLU members will select Board members from the slate of candidates nominated by petition and by the nominating Article VII, Section 4: Recommendations and Nominations committee. Th e ballot will appear in the fall issue of the by Members of the Union. Any fi fteen or more members of Membership ($20 and up) includes a subscription to the ACLU News. the Union in good standing may themselves submit a nomina- ACLU News. For membership information call (415) 621-2493 or visit www.aclunc.org/join.html. tion to be included among those voted upon by the general REVISED ACLU-NC BY-LAWS membership by submitting a written petition to the Board not Quinn Delaney, CHAIR Article VII, Section 3: Presentation of Nominations and Ad- later than 20 days after the adoption by the Board of the slate Dorothy Ehrlich, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ditional Nominations.

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