Subject: Breaking NSA News, High Court and Guantánamo and More

From: ACLU Online <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:41:30 -0500 (CDT)

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ACLU Online
The e-newsletter of the American Civil Liberties Union
July 6, 2007
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BREAKING NEWS:
ACLU SLAMS COURT DECISION IN CHALLENGE TO ILLEGAL NSA SPY
PROGRAM 

Read more here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=B4m55DhN2onW8ZEbU0Innw..

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In This Issue

-- High Court Will Review Guantánamo Appeal

-- Morse v. Frederick Decision a Blow to Students' Rights

-- Legal Director Steven R. Shapiro on the Roberts Court's Sharp
Right Turn

-- Subpoena Watch: Senate Sets Deadline for White House Answers

-- Thousands Rally for Justice on June 26th

-- Former Bush Staffer Faces Lawsuit for Silencing Critics at Public
Events

In the States:
	-- Teachers Union and ACLU Settle Free Speech Lawsuit Against City of
	Boston

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HIGH COURT WILL REVIEW GUANTANAMO APPEAL 

The ACLU welcomed last week's Supreme Court decision to review
an appeal by Guantánamo detainees seeking the right to challenge their
detention in federal court. The Court had previously declined to hear
the appeal in April, but reversed course in an order issued on the
final day of the Term.

"This action by the Supreme Court is yet another sign of growing
concern with the Bush administration's failed Guantánamo
policy," Steven R. Shapiro, the ACLU's national Legal Director
said. "Even those who participated in that policy are now openly
criticizing it. Having already lost three times in the Supreme Court,
the administration continues to argue that it has the right to detain
hundreds of people at Guantánamo indefinitely without any meaningful
judicial review."

>> Learn more: Five Years at Guantánamo, a podcast from Steve Shapiro:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=GuWiA4EHJ0KXfLagpXHUwA..

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MORSE v. FREDERICK DECISION A BLOW TO STUDENTS' RIGHTS

The ACLU slammed last week's 5-4 ruling in Morse v. Frederick,
holding that Alaska public school officials did not violate a
student's free speech rights by punishing him for displaying a banner
during a public event.

"We are disappointed by the Supreme Court's ruling, which allows the
censorship of student speech without any evidence that school
activities were disrupted," said Douglas K. Mertz, an ACLU cooperating
attorney who argued the case before the Supreme Court.

High School senior Joseph Frederick was suspended in 2002 after
holding up a humorous sign that the school principal interpreted as a
pro-drug message. As the ACLU and Mertz noted, the sign caused no
disruption and was displayed at a public event on public streets
before Frederick had arrived at school for the day.

"The Court's ruling imposes new restrictions on student speech rights
and creates a drug exception to the First Amendment," said Steven R.
Shapiro, ACLU National Legal Director. "The decision purports to be
narrow, and the Court rejected the most sweeping arguments for school
censorship. But because the decision is based on the Court's view
about the value of speech concerning drugs, it is difficult to know
what its impact will be in other cases involving unpopular speech.

Frederick said that the phrase on the banner, "Bong Hits 4
Jesus" was "never meant to have any substantive meaning.
It was certainly not intended as a drug or religious message. I
conveyed this to the principal by explaining it was intended to be
funny, subjectively interpreted by the reader and most importantly an
exercise of my inalienable right to free speech."

The ACLU noted that the ruling is limited to rights under federal law
rather than Alaska state law, which is more protective of personal
liberties.

>> Learn more about the case at: www.aclu.org/frederick
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=0uXd44vJP_OwSi0NfQ8LWQ..

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LEGAL DIRECTOR STEVEN R. SHAPIRO ON THE ROBERTS COURT'S SHARP 
RIGHT TURN 

Civil liberties took a beating as the Supreme Court ended its 2006
Term by limiting the ability of local officials to address the problem
of segregated schools, making it more difficult to challenge the use
of taxpayer funds to promote religion, and restricting student free
speech.

"The pendulum has swung fast and far," said Steven R. Shapiro, the
ACLU's national Legal Director. "This has been a Term in which the new
conservative majority has flexed its muscle. It did not overrule any
major constitutional decisions but it left many in shambles. The
settled rules on race, religion, speech, abortion, and the right to
sue have all been unsettled."

Learn more about all of the Court's civil liberties-related cases from
this Term and download the ACLU's official wrap up at:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=6jNEMJDG0VIKI3W_YTF3Dw..

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SUBPOENA WATCH: SENATE SETS DEADLINE FOR WHITE HOUSE ANSWERS

Things are starting to change in Washington, D.C. Last week, Senate
Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) issued the first round of
subpoenas regarding the committee's investigation into the
administration's domestic spying program. The subpoenas were
issued to the White House and the office of Vice President Dick
Cheney.

"With the issuance of these subpoenas, the Senate Judiciary Committee
has proven that working within the law is not only the constitutional
option, it is the only option," Caroline Fredrickson, Director
of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office said. "Hopefully, now,
we will begin to get concrete answers as to how and why
Americans' rights and privacy were violated."

>>Follow the progress of this push for answers on the
ACLU's new web page, Subpoena Watch: 
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=rdFWqWvc2CNCxoRAZ7iRlw..

>>Read more about the challenge to illegal NSA spying.
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=_nyrj1n8Y0gbMuT0AvRt4g..
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THOUSANDS RALLY FOR JUSTICE ON JUNE 26TH

On Tuesday, June 26, 2007, the ACLU, along with 85 partners -
representing millions of constituents, organized in our nation's
capitol for the first ever Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice.
Armed with a petition containing more than 250,000 signatures, more
than 4,000 people from across the nation stormed Capitol Hill,
demanding that Congress restore habeas corpus and due process, end
torture, close Guantanamo and restore the Constitution.

The Day of Action is already paying off in real results, with key
victories on the Hill and more in the works.

*  Since June 26, 11 lawmakers signed on as co-sponsors of
critical habeas restoration bills. The list of co-sponsors
continues to grow. We expect more activity and co-sponsors in
the coming weeks as a result of action in D.C. and across the
country.

*  Just three days after the rally - more than 140 representatives
signed an open letter to President Bush urging him to close the
prison at Guantanamo Bay.

*  Senator Leahy, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who
spoke at the rally, promised to do everything he can to get a
floor vote on restoring habeas corpus in the Senate in the
coming weeks. You'll be hearing from us with more details
and a call to action soon.

Congress is beginning to hear our message, but the fight is not over
yet. You can make sure that our voice continues to resonate in our
Capitol. Help keep the momentum going by contacting your Members of
Congress and letting them know that we will not rest until the
Constitution is restored here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=PsyfLKEtA8Kow1pkE2hXhQ..

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FORMER BUSH STAFFER FACES LAWSUIT FOR SILENCING CRITICS AT PUBLIC 
EVENTS

The ACLU filed a lawsuit against a former high-level White House
staffer last week, over unlawful policies that excluded individuals
perceived to be critical of the administration from public events
where President Bush was present. The policy is laid out in an October
2002 "Presidential Advance Manual," obtained by the ACLU.

This Justice Department manual is the Bush administration's guide for
planning presidential events around the country, and the
heavily-redacted copy reveals repeated instructions to organizers
about "the best method for preventing demonstrators," "deterring
potential protestors from attending events," "designat[ing] a protest
area ... preferably not in view of the event site or motorcade
route," and the like.

The ACLU is suing Gregory Jenkins, former Director of the White House
Office of Presidential Advance and a Deputy Assistant to President
Bush, for setting the policy in the manual. Jenkins' policies have led
to the removal and, in some cases, arrest of innocent people from
taxpayer-funded events.

"The White House has gone too far in its attempt to make dissent
invisible," said Chris Hansen, a senior ACLU attorney who is lead
counsel in this case. "When taxpayers foot the bill for a public
event, the president does not have the right to use a partisan litmus
test to stack the audience with his political supporters."

It is clear from the manual that the aim of the White House policy is
to keep people who are critical of the president away from him and
from the news media. According to the manual, "if it is determined
that the media will not see or hear" demonstrators, then event staff
can ignore them.

ACLU clients Jeff and Nicole Rank were arrested at a Fourth of July
presidential appearance at the West Virginia State Capitol because
they were wearing t-shirts critical of the president, and Alex Young
and Leslie Weise of Denver were thrown out of a town hall meeting with
President Bush because they had an anti-war bumper sticker on their
car.

The ACLU lawsuit also cites other occasions throughout the country in
which individuals were excluded from presidential events because of
their political views, including cases in LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Fargo,
North Dakota; and Tucson, Arizona.

More information, including a copy of the complaint and the redacted
Presidential Advance Manual, is online at: 
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=1EEfvBc5B7otAhDLCl3vlw..

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IN THE STATES:

TEACHERS UNION AND ACLU SETTLE FREE SPEECH LAWSUIT AGAINST CITY OF
BOSTON

The ACLU of Massachusetts and the Boston Teachers Union announced this
week that they have settled a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of
long-time substitute teacher Jeffrey Herman against Jose Duarte, the
headmaster of Boston's English High School.

Duarte put Herman on a "Do Not Call" substitute teacher list for
English High School after Herman testified at a Boston City Council
hearing against the city spending over one million dollars for Junior
Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) programs in Boston public
schools.

"I testified at City Hall that taxpayer dollars would be better spent
on teaching kids how to stop the violence that is plaguing our city,"
said Herman. "After that, Mr. Duarte screamed at me to get out of his
school. Since schools are supposed to teach respect for the
Constitution, I believed Mr. Duarte needed a lesson himself."

In settling the lawsuit, the city did not admit to any wrongdoing by
the headmaster, but agreed to a monetary payment to Herman and his
attorneys in exchange for dismissing the lawsuit. Herman, who has been
outspoken about his criticisms of Duarte's leadership of the school in
general, also agreed he would not return to substituting at English
High School as long as Duarte is still headmaster there. The school
department agreed that when Duarte is no longer the headmaster,
Herman's name will be removed from the "Do Not Call" list for that
high school.

"Teachers are entitled to political opinions just like everyone
else," Sarah Wunsch, an ACLU of Massachusetts staff attorney
said. "We need them to feel free to share those opinions with
public and elected officials, outside the school, without fear of
losing their jobs for doing so. Jeff Herman had a right to speak out
at City Hall about Boston spending over a million dollars on JROTC,
especially with great public debate going on right now about the war
in Iraq and the lack of alternatives for poor kids to pay for
college."

>>Read more here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=P3WuRAkRejp3zNOpfKJPDg..

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Order Your Copy of In Defense of Our America

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Special offer to ACLU members: Get the book for $16.95 -- a more than
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http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=n01Zon48NGtRA4vd9ePxgw..

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