rcurl
|
|
ACLU Online
| 
Jan 24 06:57 UTC 2006 |
ACLU Online: January 23, 2006
The e-newsletter of the American Civil Liberties Union
*********************************
In this Issue:
-- ACLU v. NSA Lawsuit Seeks End to Bush's Illegal Spying
-- ACLU Legislative Director Testifies at House Briefing on Spying
-- Decision in ACLU's Ayotte Case, Court Recognizes Health Protections
-- Critical Times: Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade
-- Voting Rights Act in Jeopardy
-- FreedomWire: Stand Up for Freedom Contest
-- In the States:
* Meddling in End-of-Life Decisions Rejected by Supreme Court
* ACLU of Rhode Island Defends Prisoner Barred from Preaching
*********************************
ACLU v. NSA LAWSUIT SEEKS END TO BUSH'S ILLEGAL SPYING
For over eighty-five years the ACLU and its members have been there to
stand up for freedom when our leaders disregard and defy the Constitution.
The ACLU followed in that tradition last week with the filing of ACLU v.
NSA, a lawsuit seeking an end to the secret program of illegal electronic
surveillance, authorized by President Bush and implemented shortly after
September 11, 2001.
"President Bush may believe he can authorize spying on Americans without
judicial or Congressional approval, but this program is illegal and we
intend to put a stop to it," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D.
Romero. "The current surveillance of Americans is a chilling assertion of
presidential power that has not been seen since the days of Richard
Nixon."
The lawsuit claims that this spying program violates Americans' rights to
free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments of the
Constitution and that the president has exceeded the limits of executive
authority under separation of powers principles.
The suit was filed in federal district court in Michigan, on behalf of
several prominent journalists, scholars, attorneys and national nonprofit
organizations (including the ACLU) who frequently communicate by phone and
email with people in the Middle East.
Though our president claims he can authorize warrantless spying on
Americans, this surveillance program is illegal. The ACLU has launched an
intensive effort to put an end to the program and restore lawfulness to
government and law enforcement activities.
Partisans in Washington have already been scrambling to undermine
inquiries into the NSA scandal, but this lawsuit is grounded in our most
basic American principles, and not driven by the tides of politics or
spin.
In addition to the ACLU v. NSA lawsuit, the ACLU launched a multi-channel
ad campaign, a widespread call for congressional hearings, and is urging
the appointment of a special counsel who can independently investigate the
actions of this administration and prosecute any and all crimes committed.
Read more: http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=5cwbObu7UCTikK-m0O6Akg..
Read more about ACLU v. NSA here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=jAGqj7DkDjIy1TGLWw-jaQ..
DEMAND ACTION: Our system of checks and balances must be maintained if
American democracy is to be preserved. Contact Congress today and call for
the appointment of a special counsel. Take action here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=-qilfj2sQjkSxw3yPNopow..
*********************************
"Some significant number of the people who are aided by the United States
today in their fight for freedom fear they could be betrayed tomorrow."
--Larry Diamond, Stanford University
Read statements from the people and organizations involved in this
lawsuit:
* James Bamford, journalist:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=fe4ghk_poH30grJISn
S_sQ..
* Larry Diamond, professor:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=jg5VOOEahBK44A1Tvcg
5Ng..
* Joshua Dratel, lawyer:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=CQPeCBB6F-t6Tt97uTy3lg
..
* Greenpeace: http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=ZvOZ8dOCAsfwmRvsW1ApMg..
* Christopher Hitchens, author:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=ClWV0RwJzZ_nW_Y
i0yvvNA..
* Nancy Hollander, lawyer:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=ZA0nFJmKx2Gl0fmcGPg7
yg..
*********************************
ACLU Legislative Director Testifies at House Briefing on Spying
Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union
Washington Legislative Office, testified before a briefing of House
Democrats on the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretap program
last Friday.
For her written testimony, go to:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=QZ3orYmcj_p2b327EJyu5g..
*********************************
DECISION IN ACLU'S AYOTTE CASE, COURT RECOGNIZES HEALTH PROTECTIONS
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously recognized its precedent that abortion
laws must protect women's health and safety in Ayotte v. Planned
Parenthood of Northern New England, et al, last week.
"This decision tells politicians that they cannot jeopardize women's
health when they pass abortion laws," said Jennifer Dalven, Deputy
Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, and the attorney who
argued Ayotte before the Court.
The case began as a challenge to a New Hampshire law that prevents doctors
from performing an abortion for a teenager under the age of 18 until 48
hours after a parent has been notified. Contrary to 30 years of Supreme
Court precedent, the law contained no medical emergency exception to
protect a pregnant teenager's health.
The Court asked the lower court to consider whether the New Hampshire
legislature would have wanted this law with a medical emergency exception.
If not, the Court said the law should be struck down in its entirety.
Read more about the case here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=is4bbcPOY5NF_PfwICzsCw..
*********************************
CRITICAL TIMES: SUPREME COURT AND ROE v. WADE
By Louise Melling,
Director, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project
These are critical times for reproductive freedom. In the weeks leading up
to this year's 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court
decision legalizing abortion, the nation witnessed Supreme Court nominee
Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. sidestepping many important questions about his
view of the Constitution and reproductive rights. In three days of
questioning on these and other civil liberties issues during his
confirmation hearings, Alito left us unsettled as to the fate of settled
law.
Should he be confirmed, Judge Alito will replace retiring Justice Sandra
Day O'Connor, a moderate voice and a critical swing vote on many civil
liberties issues - including a woman's right to a safe and legal abortion.
In several important cases, O'Connor has provided the crucial fifth vote
upholding the right to abortion and recognizing the importance of
protecting women's health. In 1992, at a moment when Roe itself was in
jeopardy, she broke with then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist and other
abortion opponents in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, affirming a woman's
right to abortion. Notably, the majority opinion in Casey, which O'Connor
helped craft, strikes down a requirement that married women notify their
husbands before obtaining an abortion - the very same requirement that
Judge Alito had voted to uphold as a member of the lower court reviewing
the law.
Fast forward to 2006. As we await a decision on Alito's nomination, we
know that the next abortion case the Supreme Court may consider will
concern the constitutionality of the Federal Abortion Ban, a law that bans
abortions as early as 13 weeks in pregnancy, abortions that doctors say
are safe and among the best to protect women's health. In 2000, when the
Court last considered a similar state ban in Stenberg v. Carhart, it
struck down the law with a narrow 5-4 ruling; Justice O'Connor voted with
the majority. If Alito replaces O'Connor, he could very well provide the
swing vote that undoes three decades of legal precedent protecting women's
health. In this and other cases, Alito could cast votes that would
accomplish the aim he so clearly states in his now-famous 1985 memo: "What
can be made of this opportunity to advance the goals of bringing about the
eventual overruling of Roe v. Wade and, in the meantime, of mitigating its
effects?" Read more about the Federal Abortion!
Ban:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=jvXTADLnYSeVHH3FbmLixg..
On this 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we ask you to join us in
protecting reproductive freedom and other important civil liberties and
urge your senators to oppose the Alito nomination. Click here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=ErWPlIY8wUQuvdX6m8UcNA..
Read the ACLU's analysis of Judge Alito's civil liberties record:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=c7U5T_SSlzUYgRxcbbYpXg..
*********************************
VOTING RIGHTS ACT IN JEOPARDY
Last Monday we celebrated the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., whose actions and words galvanized a nation and brought
from out of the shadows the blight of bigotry, oppression, and injustice
that plagued our country.
Many people may not be aware that one of Dr. King's greatest legacies --
the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) -- is in jeopardy.
The VRA is one of the most effective civil rights laws ever enacted. It is
responsible for breaking down centuries of discriminatory barriers that
prevented minorities from voting and for stopping state and local
governments from enacting new forms of voting discrimination. Key sections
of this critical legislation will expire in 2007, unless Congress renews
them.
Dr. King led efforts to establish the VRA. He spoke often with President
Johnson about the disenfranchisement of minority voters and convinced him
of the need for legislation to protect the voting rights of all Americans.
After Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference joined a
campaign for voting rights in Selma, Alabama, the brutal response by local
and state authorities turned public opinion and paved the way for passage
of the VRA.
This MLK Day the ACLU launched a campaign calling on Congress to honor Dr.
King's legacy and renew the VRA. We participated in or organized MLK Day
events across the country to bring attention to the need to reauthorize
the expiring sections.
While we have come a long way since Selma, discrimination in voting
persists in many parts of the country. State and local governments in
places like Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Dakota continue to
adopt voting laws, practices and procedures that deny minorities equal
access to voting. No region of the country is untouched.
By renewing and strengthening the expiring provisions of the VRA, we can
ensure that the critically important law remains current and effective in
protecting the right to vote for all Americans.
Please join us in urging Congress to honor the legacy of Dr. King by
reauthorizing the expiring sections of the Voting Rights Act. Visit
www.votingrights.org for more information about the VRA, the ACLU's
campaign to guarantee the voting rights of future generations, and what
you can do to help. Click here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=jk5rkSjGqswtytTWJk4j0g..
*********************************
FreedomWire: STAND UP FOR FREEDOM CONTEST
With more than 200 PSAs and 3000 essays submitted for this year's contest,
our judges have quite a feat on their hands! Contest finalists will be
announced soon, so stay tuned. To learn more about the contest, visit:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=iqIR1-TQuvQ3HcOrB2Qd7Q..
*********************************
IN THE STATES
MEDDLING IN END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS REJECTED BY SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 respecting the right of mentally competent,
terminally ill persons to make end-of-life decisions in consultation with
their doctors, and rejecting the federal government's misguided effort to
interfere with those decisions.
"The Court has accurately determined that intensely personal end-of-life
decisions should be made by patients and families in consultation with
their doctors, rather than by the government," said David Fidanque,
Executive Director of the ACLU of Oregon.
In Gonzales v. Oregon, the Supreme Court ruled against the U.S.
government's use of the Controlled Substance Act to thwart
physician-assisted suicide. The question before the Supreme Court was
whether former Attorney General John Ashcroft exceeded his authority when
he issued a directive that Oregon doctors who provide care to their
patients under the Death With Dignity Act violate the federal Controlled
Substances Act.
The clear intent of the directive was to nullify the Death With Dignity
Act that Oregon voters have twice approved, and to deprive qualified
patients of access to the medication that doctors consider to be the
safest and most effective means of ending one's life. The Controlled
Substances Act was clearly not enacted for these purposes, said the ACLU.
*********************************
ACLU of Rhode Island Defends Prisoner Barred from Preaching
Wesley Spratt had been preaching during Christian services for seven years
at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) until 2003, when a new warden
unilaterally stopped him from doing so based on vague and generalized
"security" concerns.
Spratt is being represented by the ACLU of Rhode Island who filed an
appeal last week in federal court on his behalf. The ACLU argued that the
preaching ban violates a federal law known as RLUIPA, which was designed
to protect the religious freedom of institutionalized persons.
Spratt had been preaching at religious services on a weekly basis under
the supervision of clergy at the ACI. In November, a U.S. Magistrate Judge
Jacob Hagopian upheld the ban ruling that he would "defer" to the warden's
judgment that there was no means to accommodate Spratt's preaching while
maintaining institutional security.
The prison officials failed to meet the standards of the federal religious
freedom law by not protecting the exercise of religious beliefs by
prisoners. The law bars states from imposing any substantial burden on an
inmate's exercise of religion unless it furthers a compelling interest and
is the least restrictive means available.
The ACLU is seeking a court order to allow Spratt to resume preaching at
religious services.
For more information, go to:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=SJa-zTQ2mh6le0fMRoRgKg..
*********************************
YOU CAN HELP PROTECT OUR BASIC FREEDOMS
...by joining with nearly 400,000 card-carrying members of the ACLU. Our
rights as individuals -- the very foundation of our great democracy --
depend on our willingness to defend them, and as an ACLU member, you'll be
doing your part. Click below to safeguard our Bill of Rights by becoming
an ACLU member: http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=Yz-NukViFNZnB4zs1X6lAQ..
*********************************
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, New York 10004-2400
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=wMhhtB4xiG4AUKeGnv7rlg..
|