|
|
|
Chapter Officers Other ACLU Chapters:
|
Archives2007Forum: Wakarusa '07 -- Privacy Rights in Public PlacesAbout 90 people attended the recent forum and listened to the panel respond to questions from Moderator Rees Graves, News Director of KLWN/KLZR about search and seizure, the expectation of privacy and what constitutes probable cause. When the floor was opened to questions from the public there were many issues raised about civil liberties violations last year. Emotions ran high, but there seemed to be reassurances that law enforcement at this year's festival will do a better job of dealing with the safety and law violations while not infringing on festival go-ers rights. The Douglas County ACLU distributed its What to do if you're stopped by the police card. Panel members were: Charles Branson, Douglas County District Attorney; Lt. Kari Wempe, Policy/Public Information Officer, Douglas County Sheriff Department; Laura Green, Director, Drug Policy Forum of Kansas and Coordinator of the Help Desk for the Wakarusa Music Festival; and Skip Griffy, Attorney. 2006Chapter Receives Tom and Anne Moore Peace and Justice AwardDouglas County ACLU has been selected to receive the Tom and Anne Moore Peace and Justice Award. This award has been given annually for the last fourteen years to a Douglas County individual and/or a group who has made an outstanding contribution in promoting issues of peace and justice locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally. Previous awardees have included individuals such as Howard Baumgartel, Hilda Enoch, Mary Michener, Misty Gerner, and Loring Henderson, and grouips such as the Simply Equal Coalition, Women's Transitional Care, Ecumenical Christian Ministries, and Living Wage. The award will presented at the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice annual Evening of the Arts, to be held this year at 7:00 pm Thursday, April 19, in Unity Church, 900 Madeline Lane. ACLU forum attracts full house at libraryRepresentatives from the Douglas County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union led a panel discussion Monday October 30 at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont. The discussion touched on the importance of the Internet in democratizing information, the status of the now-dropped ACLU lawsuit against the federal government over some aspects of the Patriot Act, the erosion of separation of powers and other topics. The forum, called Sacrificing Civil Liberties For Security: Do We Risk Both? attracted a packed house at the library. National ACLU board member David Burress, attorney Bob Eye, Kansas University law professor Michael Hoeflich, KU political science professor Burdett Loomis and state Board of Education member Bill Wagnon sat on the panel. Journal-World city editor Mike Shields served as moderator. Questionable Search ComplaintsAfter numerous complaints that we received after the questionable searches at the Wakarusa Music Festival, the Douglas County ACLU now has available a card What to do if you are stopped by the police with common sense and legal rules to follow. They will be available at our upcoming forums. The information is also available on the National ACLU website. 2005Sex, Religion, and Politics in KansasNearly 80 people filled the auditorium of the Lawrence Public Library for the Douglas County ACLU’s latest informational forum held November 29th. Board member Robin Devine moderated a panel consisting of Julie Burkhart, Executive Director of ProKanDo; Peter Brownlie, President of Planned Parenthood of KS and Mid-Missouri; Jana Mackey, Director of KS NOW and Forrest Swall, KU Professor in Social Welfare and former KS legislator who filled in for a snowbound Bill Wagnon of the KS School Board. Abortion and privacy rights, sex education, gay rights and access to birth control were among the topics discussed. A Q and A followed the panel’s discussion. Comments afterward were quite favorable and there was front page coverage in the Lawrence Journal World. We were pleased to have Brett Shirk, new Executive Director of KsWMo ACLU, attend. Freedom Fair Commemeration of 9/11On September 11, 2005 our chapter held the 2nd annual Freedom Fair. 14 organizations including the League of Women Voters, NAACP, NOW, SOLIDARITY and Kansas HealthCare participated. All the groups shared information with the public and networked with each other. All agreed it was worthwhile. We hope next year will be even bigger. 2004Who Will Be Next? A discussion of the erosion of our civil rights.On April 22nd, 2004, at Plymouth Congregational Church, we sponsored a discussion of recent limitations on equal protection under the law. Attorney Kevin Kelly, a member of the Douglas County ACLU board, gave an overview of equal protection claims and limitations since the Constitution was adopted. Speaking on gay marriage, Kathy Greenlee defined marriage as an emotional bond, independent of procreation. Marriage can be divided into holy union, presided over by an appropriate cleric, and legal union, based on a license from the state. The economic benefits of legal union enable partners to care for each other through life. Louise Hanson spoke about dissent, civil disobedience, and her own experience of being arrested at a missile site. Dave Strano discussed police brutality directed toward dissenters at a Miami conference on globalization. Civil rights are diminished when dissenters are abused or segregated into "free speech zones." On recent travel restrictions, Bob Augelli said the right to travel has been limited by government sanctions against Cuba. He faced a large fine for a recent trip until Senator Pat Roberts and the Lawrence Journal World spoke on his behalf. Audience members asked lively questions. What you don't know (and can't find out) May Hurt You On January 29th, at the Lawrence Arts Center, a crowd of about 100 came to our forum on the people's right to know. Steve Lopes, Douglas County ACLU, said that while Americans watched "Saddam Hussein being checked for head lice, President Bush signed a new law that gives the FBI greater power to secretly investigate records of casinos, jewelers, credit card institutions and other businesses" (see more of the LJ World story). And banks, for example, are not permitted to tell patrons about the investigation. Bill Tuttle, professor of American Studies, said that, just before President Reagan's papers were to be made public, President Bush limited their release, thus inhibiting research.Discussing local issues, Ann Gardner, editorial page editor for the Lawrence Journal World, said that Kansas University has refused information about compensation packages. The paper has a lawsuit against the Lawrence police department over its refusal to release dispatch tapes in a fatal car chase. The most serious instance of government secrecy is the detention at Guantanomo Bay, of approximately 2000 people who have not been charged, who have had no access to lawyers, and whose names are not available to ACLU lawyers. Heterosexual and Non-heterosexual EqualityAfter having consensual oral sex with another male teenager, the State of Kansas sentenced Matthew Limon to a 17-year prison sentence. Had Matthew had relations with a female teenager, the sentence would have been 15 months. The ACLU disputes Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline's assertions that the state should be able to sentence gay and straight teen offenders differently. In January 2004, the Kansas Court of Appeals upheld the lower court decision. The national ACLU site has details on the story.
2003Building a Just Community After our September 2002 meeting where local attorney John Frydman discussed search and seizure procedure, we created a committee on law-enforcement issues. In July 2003 we examined community/police relations.
Local Implications of the USA Patriot Act On February 13, 2003, we sponsored, with the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice, and the League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County, a formal debate between Alleen VanBebber, Attorney, formerly with the Department of Justice, and David Burress, KU research economist, and National ACLU board member on the question, "Resolved, the limitations on civil liberties in the USAPATRIOT Act and Homeland Security Act are justified as government policies because of terrorist threats." Every chair in the 90-capacity library auditorium was filled and other people stood in the hall or sat on the floor. VanBebber defended the acts, saying that some controversial provisions merely extended to new technology, policies already in place. Taking the negative, Burress said that the failure of intelligence before September 11 was based on faulty analysis, not insufficient information. Some parts of the new acts allow people to be "disappeared," without recourse to legal defense. Robert Rowland, KU Professor and Chair of Communication Studies moderated. Many in the audience signed a petition asking the Lawrence City Commission to ignore USAPATRIOT Act provisions.
Ban on Partial-Birth Abortion With the Senate's passing of the partial-birth abortion ban, the ACLU continues its campaign and suit to protect women's reproductive rights.
Baldwin School Santa Talks about Jesus Because some parents complained about a 2002 visit from Santa original LJWorld story, the Douglas County ACLU sent a letter asking Baldwin schools to investigate. Santa is secular, but Christian clergy may not proselytize wearing Santa suits. See the story in the LJ World and secretary Steve Lopes statement about the ACLU mission regarding separation of church and state. Also see the December 15, 2003 transcript of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight (look towards the end). The issue was resolved at a school board meeting (Baldwin City Signal story). Local Civil Libertarian of the Year Honored Lacey Hanson, a freshman at the University of Missouri in Columbia studying broadcast journalism, was honored September 30, 2003 for her professionalism as an Oskaloosa High School newspaper reporter. Hanson successfully fought for the right to publish an article about staff realignment after the principal forbade her to publish it as written. Read more about Hanson in the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper story about the awards. Academic Freedom When State Senator Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, proposed to cut funding for the KU School of Social Welfare because she claimed that Professor Dennis Dailey's class on Human Sexuality used obscene materials, the Douglas County ACLU joined protests. David Burress and Robin Devine spoke at a rally on May 2 and Burress also spoke at a teach-in on May 14, 2003. They urged students to join a KU ACLU to be ready for such attacks in the future. Governor Sebelius vetoed the first version of Senator Wagle's attack on academic freedom but a milder version remains in the final budget. See a student discussion group or the university news site for details.
2002Jury nullification Legally, juries are allowed to find a defendent not guilty because the law is unjust, but judges prohibit defense attorneys from informing the jury of this fact. See Fully Informed Jury Association.
|
