Subject: ACLU Online: Patriot Act, Whistleblower Lawsuit and more

From: ACLU Online <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2005 17:48:10 -0500

ACLU Online:  April 25, 2005
The e-newsletter of the American Civil Liberties Union
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In this Issue:
-- Patriot Act Needs "Carefully Calibrated Changes"
-- Government Can't Use "Secrecy" Claim to Avoid Whistleblower's Lawsuit 
-- At Couch Parties, Friends "Sit Down" for the Right to Watch What They Want
-- Army Command Approved and Encouraged Abuse of Detainees 
-- Muslim-Americans Unlawfully Detained at the US-Canada Border
-- In the States:
   * ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project Staff Travels to Arizona to Support Monitoring Efforts
   * ACLU Seeks Health Insurance and Family Leave for Lesbian and Gay Wisconsin State Employees
-- FreedomWire:
  * Rights, Camera, Action
  * Ten High School Seniors Honored for Commitment to Civil Liberties

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Patriot Act Needs "Carefully Calibrated Changes" 
 
In a rare public oversight hearing on the Patriot Act last week, the ACLU renewed its call for changes to the 2001 anti-terrorism measure to bring it back in line with the Constitution. 

"Carefully calibrated changes to the Patriot Act are needed to protect our freedoms," Gregory T. Nojeim, Associate Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Several key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire at the end of the year, and both chambers of Congress are holding hearings to examine the Patriot Act.  The ACLU has led the national call for review and reform of the Patriot Act to ensure that law enforcement tools needed to prevent terrorism do not sweep up personal information about innocent Americans.  

One of the more controversial provisions of the Patriot Act expands the FBI's power to obtain some records in national security investigations without any court review at all. These "national security letters" can be used to obtain financial records, credit reports, and telephone, Internet and other communications, billing or transactional records.  The ACLU is also actively challenging this provision in court.

"Security and liberty are not mutually exclusive," said Nojeim. "We hope that Congress can cut through the secrecy and see that the Patriot Act went too far, too fast, and must be amended to protect freedom." 

Read the complete press release and find out more about the Patriot Act and your rights:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=18059&c=206 

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Government Can't Use "Secrecy" Claim to Avoid Whistleblower's Lawsuit

An FBI language specialist fired after reporting serious security breaches should be able to go ahead with her case against the government, the ACLU argued before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on April 21.  The ACLU challenged the government's "radical theory" that every aspect of Sibel Edmonds' case involved state secrets and therefore could not go forward.  

Edmonds, a former Middle Eastern language specialist hired by the FBI shortly after 9/11, was fired in 2002 after repeatedly reporting serious security breaches and misconduct.  Edmonds challenged her retaliatory dismissal by filing a lawsuit in federal court, but her case was dismissed last July after Attorney General John Ashcroft invoked the so-called "state secrets privilege," and retroactively classified briefings to Congress related to her case. 

A long-awaited summary of the Inspector General's investigation into Edmond's termination concluded that Edmonds' whistleblower allegations were "the most significant factor" in the FBI's decision to terminate her.  

"The Justice Department's own Inspector General has now concluded publicly that the FBI fired Edmonds for reporting agency misconduct," said Ann Beeson, Associate Legal Director of the ACLU.  "Clearly the FBI is using secrecy not to protect national security but to avoid accountability for its own mistakes."

Find out more on the Edmonds' case and other Whistleblower stories:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=17361&c=206
 
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At Couch Parties, Friends "Sit Down" for the Right to Watch What They Want

Concerned viewers got together this month to celebrate two grand American traditions, watching TV and defending free expression.  At "Couch Parties Against Censorship," friends gathered to watch the cable shows they like best and to sign letters urging Congress to oppose new restrictions on cable TV programming.

"I just wanted to get others involved," wrote one Couch Party host. "I don't want Congress intruding in my life telling me what I can and cannot watch."

"We don't get to see each other that often during the academic year, so I was really happy that they were here for the cause, not just to hang out," said a college student who participated.  "I cannot recall having a greater sense of joy and accomplishment than when I dropped those letters in the mailbox!"

It's not too late to host your own Couch Party! 
http://action.aclu.org/site/Ecard?ecard_id=1261

Invite your friends to a Couch Party to celebrate your basic freedoms by watching your favorite cable shows.  Use our online tools to invite friends and download a letter to Congress and other materials.  "If we are going to stop censorship," says ACLU President Nadine Strossen, "We must make our voices heard now, before Congress passes legislation, or the FCC issues regulations, expanding 'indecency' fines and other forms of suppression to cable TV and the Internet."

As another Couch Party host put it: "If you don't like a show, just turn it off. It really is the American way." 

Learn more and invite friends to your own Couch Party:
http://www.aclu.org/FreeSpeech/FreeSpeech.cfm?ID=17927&c=83

Take Action!  Urge your member of Congress to Support Free Expression on Cable Television and the Internet:
http://action.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?id=159&s_src=email&s_subsrc=ACLUOnline

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Latest Government Documents Show Army Command Approved and Encouraged Abuse of Detainees 

New evidence disclosed in documents released by the Department of Defense confirms that soldiers who abused prisoners were acting with the "seeming approval" of senior command.  

"These documents provide further evidence that the chain of command in Iraq approved and even encouraged the abuse of detainees held in U.S. custody," said ACLU attorney Amrit Singh.  "Instead of holding that chain of command accountable for systemic detainee abuse, the U.S. government continues to thwart efforts to bring the full truth about who was ultimately responsible to light." 

It is the ACLU's persistent efforts that have brought to light information about the torture and abuse carried out by our government.  Most recently, a CD-ROM of 2,200 documents was released in response to a federal court order that directed the Defense Department and other government agencies to comply with our year-old request under the Freedom of Information Act.  These latest documents include autopsy reports that provide new, often gruesome details about detainee deaths ruled to be homicides, including death by strangulation and "blunt force injuries."  Significantly, the ACLU said, several documents link the abuses to a "command climate" that encouraged brutality. 

For more details on these latest documents, visit:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=18060&c=206 

To date, more than 30,000 documents have been released in response to the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The latest documents are online at:
http://www.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/041905/ . 

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Muslim American Citizens Unlawfully Detained at the US/Canada Border

The NYCLU, the ACLU and the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced a lawsuit charging that the Department of Homeland Security singled out and violated the rights of American citizens who were returning from a religious conference in Toronto.  The lawsuit was filed on behalf of five people to challenge the DHS's policy of detaining, interrogating, fingerprinting and photographing American citizens who are Muslim, solely because they attended an Islamic conference.

As attendees of the Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) conference in Toronto arrived at the Canada/U.S. border in December 2004, they were singled out as having participated in the conference, and directed to a nearby building for additional questioning.  Several participants wore traditional Muslim dress and were asked about attending the conference before being asked any other questions about their trip to Canada.  As more RIS attendees began to amass in the secondary detention area, it became clear that they were victims of profiling.  Some were held for as long as six-and-a-half hours overnight. 

"The government cannot criminalize American citizens for their religious beliefs," said Catherine Kim, a staff attorney with the ACLU. "Americans need to know that they can practice their religion and attend religious conferences without fear of government reprisals."

Read the complete story online:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=18070&c=206

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In the States:

ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project Staff Travels to Arizona to Support Monitoring Efforts
 
In response to growing reports and allegations of abuse of immigrants as a result of the controversial "Minuteman Project" border watch program, the Immigrants' Rights Project of the ACLU has sent two national staff members to Arizona to support the Legal Observer Project organized by the ACLU of Arizona. 

Since April 1, armed private individuals under the so-called "Minuteman project" have come to Arizona for the purported purpose of spotting and reporting individuals who the Minutemen claim are violating federal immigration law.  Increasingly, it appears that private citizens near the Arizona border are engaging in illegal treatment of immigrants. 

"Under the Constitution, every person regardless of immigration status is entitled to due process, and private vigilantes are not permitted to take the law into their own hands," said Lucas Guttentag, Director of the ACLU Immigrants' Right Project. 

The Legal Observer Project was conceived by Ray Ybarra, Ira Glasser Fellow at the ACLU of Arizona.  More than 80 monitors have observed the Minutemen actions since the beginning of April and more are coming.  "We believe that the monitoring has played a crucial role in preventing abuses and in documenting the activities of the Minutemen," said Ybarra. 

Read more about the ACLU of Arizona's efforts:
http://www.aclu.org/ImmigrantsRights/ImmigrantsRights.cfm?ID=18029&c=22

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ACLU Seeks Health Insurance and Family Leave for Lesbian and Gay Wisconsin State Employees

The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin on behalf of six lesbian employees and their partners seeking domestic partner health insurance and family leave protections. 

The lawsuit filed today charges that Wisconsin's policy violates the state constitution's equal protection guarantees to block lesbian and gay employees, who are barred from marrying in the state, from access to the same coverage for their families.  The lawsuit also seeks equal access to family leave protections provided by the state.
 
"This is a matter of basic fairness -- of whether gay and lesbian employees should receive less compensation than their straight employees for doing the same work," said Larry Dupuis of the ACLU of Wisconsin.

This lawsuit comes as governments, universities, companies and other employers increasingly extend benefits to employees' domestic partners.  The University of Wisconsin is now the only Big Ten university that does not offer domestic partner benefits, the ACLU said.
 
Find more information and personal stories here:
http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=18072&c=104

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FreedomWire:

Rights, Camera, Action

The ACLU's Stand Up for Freedom Contest kicks off this spring!  We're asking young people to get creative about defending freedom by producing a public service announcement or writing an essay on today's pressing civil liberties issues.  It's a great opportunity for students and young adults to win cash prizes, show off video and writing skills and get their voices heard.  Contest rules will be announced soon!  Stay tuned to FreedomWire for more information.

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Ten High School Seniors Honored for Commitment to Civil Liberties 

The ACLU recently announced the winners of its Youth Activist Scholarship for 2005. Ten high school seniors from around the country were selected to receive $4,000 each to honor their outstanding work to protect civil liberties, especially the rights of young people. 

The Scholarship was created in 2000 to recognize the efforts of graduating seniors who have demonstrated a strong commitment to civil liberties and civil rights through some form of student activism.
 
Among this year's winners are Hala Saadeh of Massachusetts, who helped raise awareness of religious and ethnic profiling after she was reported as a "suspicious person" on a train and was singled out for a search; Brandon Roane of Maryland, who has become a leader in the fight for increased funding for Baltimore city schools; and Jarred Gamwell of North Carolina, an ACLU client who made national headlines for speaking out against censorship after his pro-gay student government campaign posters were torn down by school officials.
 
Click here for full profiles and photos of the ten winners:
http://www.aclu.org/About/About.cfm?ID=17981&c=188

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American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, New York 10004-2400
http://www.aclu.org
Gerri Engel and Jed Miller, Editors

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