ACLU-NJ News

Urban Mayors' Association Weighs in on School Funding Formula

Newark - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the Seton Hall Center for Social Justice today submitted a brief on behalf of the New Jersey Urban Mayors' Association in a long-running school funding lawsuit before the New Jersey Supreme Court. The brief challenges the state's changes to its education funding formula, which now places the burden to fund education back on municipalities that cannot afford to adequately fund education on their own. The changes disproportionately harm minorities and poor families, who suffer most from these changes.

"The state is asking struggling municipalities to choose between the future of their communities and the future of their children," said Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith, President of the Urban Mayors' Association. "That is exactly the untenable choice the court sought to prohibit."

In the 1990 case Abbott v. Burke (Abbott II), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the state had failed to provide all students with a "thorough and efficient" education required by the New Jersey Constitution. Because school funding was linked to property taxes, and because many municipalities suffered from "municipal overburden," requiring them to spend a much larger percentage of their taxes on municipal services than wealthier suburban districts, municipal taxes alone could not adequately fund education in those municipalities. The Court then required the state to supplement funding in the most overburdened districts.

However, the state is now trying to change the basic funding structure that has been in place since the Abbott II decision to make overburdened municipalities pay for more education costs themselves. The brief submitted today on behalf of the Urban Mayors' Association explains that the problem of "municipal overburden" still exists just as it did when Abbott II was decided. In fact, the current high rate of home foreclosures and tax abatements in cities has made the burden worse because these circumstances affect property values and property taxes disproportionately in urban areas.

"The communities that are already the most burdened are the ones who will suffer even more from the state's changes," said Emily Goldberg of the Seton Hall Center for Social Justice. "The Abbott districts must spend significantly more than other districts on municipal services like fire and police, while at the same time their property values are lower. Residents of the Abbott districts therefore already pay higher taxes than most other residents in New Jersey."

The ACLU-NJ and Urban Mayor's brief can be found here.

ACLU-NJ Ensures Bird Store Protest Can Take Flight

Burlington, NJ - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey yesterday beat back a lawsuit from a Burlington bird store that sued three animal rights organizations in an effort to block them from gathering this Saturday, April 12, in front of the store. Bird Paradise also sued the City of Burlington, which had approved the gathering.

"We were surprised at the lengths Bird Paradise went to try to silence us," said Rachel Ogden, the founder of Reach Out for Animal Rights, one of the organizations protesting the store. "Fortunately, it won't be a silent spring, but springtime for the First Amendment."

Yesterday Bird Paradise agreed to have the case withdrawn or dismissed, and today the New Jersey Department of Transportation approved a permit for the demonstration. The gathering, to protest the practice of selling and keeping captive birds as pets, will take place as planned Saturday, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., in front of Bird Paradise on Route 130.

"The City makes the determination of whether to allow a demonstration, consistent with free speech policies," said ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas, who represented Reach Out for Animal Rights, Mobilization for Animals and the New York Bird Club in the suit. "A company can't independently sue to squelch public speech simply because it doesn't like what people are saying."

The case was captioned Animals Etc., Inc. d/b/a Bird Paradise v. New York Bird Club, et al. The organizations will gather Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in front of the Bird Paradise store on 551 Route 130 South.

Development Assistant

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a national public interest organization, is the leading defender of our rights and liberties guaranteed under the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The ACLU of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ), a private, non-profit organization, is the state's guardian of freedom that works to promote and defend civil liberties in New Jersey. To achieve our mission, we manage legal, legislative and public education programs on a broad range of constitutional issues including discrimination, free speech, religious freedom, reproductive rights, GLBT rights, and privacy. Founded in 1960, the ACLU-NJ is headquartered in Newark. It has 14,000 members and an annual budget of $1.5 million. Our staff includes 15 full-time staff plus a number of regular in-office volunteers and interns. To learn more about the work of the ACLU and the civil liberties principles we uphold, please visit www.aclu-nj.org and www.aclu.org

The ACLU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals to apply.

Position Overview

The ACLU-NJ's Development Assistant will assist the Development Director and the Development Department in creating a robust program to fully realize the giving capacity of New Jerseyans and increase the annual financial support for the ACLU-NJ's programs and operations. The successful candidate will enjoy the satisfaction of working with the most influential organization working to preserve our democracy.

Primary Responsibilities

Assist Development Director. Provide general administrative assistance, schedule meetings and assist with travel arrangements for the Development Director. Assist with prospect and other research.
Gift Processing and Data Management. Process all incoming contributions and fundraising correspondence. Enter all gift data into our donor database. Maintain confidential fundraising information in database with accuracy and integrity. Maintain accurate and retrievable files electronically and in hard copy.
Donor Correspondence and Mailings. Prepare acknowledgement letters, pledge reminders, and other development correspondence. Work with appropriate staff to coordinate the production of development mailings. Respond to certain inquiries from ACLU donors. Provide general information about the ACLU and its programs.
Fundraising and Cultivation Events. Work with other office staff to assist with events including planning, mailings, onsite coordination, volunteer management, and donor follow up.
Membership Recruitment. Coordinate mailings to recruit or recapture lapsed members. Produce and update recruitment letters and welcome packets. Manage recruitment records and prepare progress reports. Supervise membership volunteers, serve as liaison to the national office on membership records, and produce membership labels for other ACLU needs, as authorized.
Volunteer and Intern Management. Serve as the department coordinator and point-person for managing development interns and volunteers. Provide oversight and guidance, insure that their time and abilities are put to the best use, and insure that confidentiality and work quality requirements are met. Coordinate
Help with the production and publication of development materials, and other special projects.
Develop an understanding of ACLU's organizational structure and programs.
Help maintain a positive, respectful, welcoming, professional, and smooth-functioning work environment. Develop a solid understanding of office protocols, procedures and machinery.
Serve as a backup for Development Associate in assuring completion of Department activities
Assist the Development Director in other activities as assigned.

Qualifications

Development experience with non-profit, advocacy or other community-based groups is preferred
Ability to manage and follow through on assignments
Superior talent in attention to detail
Advanced organization and time management skills. Successful experience in juggling multiple priorities and many-faceted projects at various stages of completion. Capacity to understand the development role of timing and immediacy and, establish realistic daily and weekly objectives. Good problem solving skills
Ability to communicate effectively and respectfully on the phone and in person with donors, board members, volunteers, staff, and the general public
Demonstrated ability to write clearly and precisely. Strength in proofreading and visual review
Strong skills in use of computers for database management, word processing, spreadsheets as well as familiarity with basic office equipment
Experience making database queries and exporting from a database into a word or excel document (mail merges). Experience with fundraising software a plus
Flexibility and a willingness to take on new tasks as the responsibilities of the position evolve
Ability to work occasional evenings, weekends or irregular hours
Confident, business-like and professional presentation.
Commitment to the confidentiality of donor records and ethical fundraising practices

Compensation and Terms

The ACLU-NJ offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within parameters of the ACLU-NJ compensation scale.

To Apply

Send a letter of interest and resume to:

Human Resources
Job ID 9734
ACLU-NJ
P.O. Box 32159
Newark, NJ 07102

Faxed or e-mailed application materials will not be accepted. Resumes reviewed upon receipt. Position will remain open until the right person is found.

Evidence Shows DOC Engaged in Witness Tampering and Retaliation

TRENTON - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of New Jersey filed court papers today requesting that the New Jersey Superior Court impose sanctions against the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) for witness tampering, official misconduct and violations of court rules. The ACLU's motion for sanctions charges that the DOC obtained false and misleading statements from women prisoners about conditions in the prison in an attempt to defend the prison against claims of inhumane treatment. A female prisoner who exposed the DOC's misconduct reports being beaten as a result.

"Witness tampering is a serious criminal act," said Ed Barocas, ACLU of New Jersey Legal Director. "The Mercer County Prosecutor should immediately investigate the allegations of abuse of power by DOC personnel and attempted fraud on the court."

The ACLU asserts that James Drumm, Assistant Administrator of the New Jersey State Prison, offered female prisoners reductions in their disciplinary sentences in exchange for making false statements describing women's prison conditions in the New Jersey State Prison (NJSP) - a men's supermax prison - as better than they were. The statements were obtained from women prisoners held in NJSP's women's disciplinary segregation unit but described conditions in a different part of the prison where these women did not even reside. DOC officials then introduced the women's statements in court. After one prisoner, Kareema Thomas, disclosed what had occurred to the ACLU, she was beaten by a prison guard, according to the sworn statements of Thomas and three other women prisoners.

This is the latest chapter in Jones v Hayman, an ACLU class action lawsuit against the DOC challenging the improper transfer of a group of women to the men's prison and subjecting them to inhumane and virtual lock-down conditions. On February 8, 2008, the Department of Corrections offered into evidence in that case a letter written by Thomas as proof that conditions for the transferred women prisoners were adequate, even though she had never seen the unit in which the transferred women are held.

Although most women prisoners in New Jersey are confined in the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, women subject to "disciplinary segregation" have for years been held in a section of New Jersey State Prison known as unit "1FF." The ACLU clients who were transferred to the men's prison, however, are being held in a separate unit called "1EE." Furthermore, none of the women in 1EE were transferred for violating prison rules - the usual criteria for disciplinary segregation - but were transferred arbitrarily to the men's prison without justification.

"Mr. Drumm made it sound like if I wrote him a letter saying certain things, my time in segregation would be cut," Thomas said in her sworn statement. Thomas' account was corroborated by another woman prisoner to whom Drumm made the same offer.

Thomas alleges she was brutally beaten by a prison guard the day after she met with ACLU attorneys to tell her story, raising questions about whether the beating was retaliatory. Thomas says that during the beating, the guard said, "You have a big mouth" and called her a "nigger with no home training." Thomas also alleges that, following the beating, Drumm told her, "You're causing problems in my institution," and that she should "stop causing trouble."

In addition to seeking sanctions against the Department of Corrections for witness tampering and retaliation, the ACLU also charges that prison officials violated court rules by conducting psychiatric examinations of the women the ACLU represents without first notifying their attorneys, and under the guise of the examinations, extracted information from the women about the case. The ACLU's request for sanctions also presents evidence of prison officials regularly reading confidential attorney-client correspondence and listening in on prisoners' phone calls to lawyers.

"The Department of Corrections is taking a scorched earth approach to the civil rights lawsuit brought by these women prisoners," said Mie Lewis, the ACLU's lead counsel in the case. "The women deserve a fair hearing of their claims, and that means the Department has to obey the law and court rules."

Sanctions sought by the ACLU include striking from the record all of the unlawfully obtained evidence; reassignment of the guard who allegedly beat Thomas; a ban on further evidence-gathering by James Drumm; and permission for the ACLU to further investigate the Department's misconduct.

A hearing in the New Jersey Superior Court is scheduled for April 11, 2008.

Attorneys on the case are Lewis and Lenora Lapidus from the ACLU Women's Rights Project and Barocas from the ACLU of New Jersey.

The sanctions brief and more information on the case are available online at: http://tinyurl.com/39kkfs

Tell Governor Corzine to Veto Delay of Voting Machine Accountability

Whether every vote counts in November lies in the stroke of the Governor's pen. We are counting on Governor Corzine to veto the Legislature's latest attempt to delay the installation of voter verified paper ballots. We need your help to make sure the Governor gets the message: the people of New Jersey don't want our votes lost in unreliable machines. Contact Governor Corzine now to ask him to veto S1381, the Legislature's latest attempt to delay the use of accountable machines in New Jersey, in the interest of our voting rights. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Right now, Governor Corzine has the power to decide whether to finally demand accountability in our voting machines so that every vote is counted in November. We want him to veto S1381 and thereby require that New Jersey use voting machines that we can rely on. Not having voter verified paper ballots means not having an important system for recount, which would have a devastating effect in a close election.

Instead of using paper ballots with optical scanners -- the cheaper, easier and more accurate option -- the Attorney General and Legislature have chosen more expensive touch-screen machines that have been called the worst in the country. The machines do not automatically produce a voter verified paper ballot, so the machines need to be retrofitted with expensive printers.

That's like buying a car without an engine. We say: Scrap the whole thing, before it's too late. There is a better solution. Replace our machines with paper ballots and optical scanners now, when it matters most, rather than tacking printers onto defective machines later, when the elections are over. Tell the governor not to put the cart before the horse: veto the delays of voter verified paper ballots and push for the use of paper ballots with optical scanners now.

There were serious questions in February about whether votes were lost in the poorly rated Sequoia voting machines. We don't want the same doubts to resurface in November. Call or write Governor Corzine today to make sure the voters in New Jersey can exercise their right to vote this fall. Our rights and our future hang in the balance.

Take Action!

Call Governor Corzine's office today at (609) 292-6000 to tell him to veto the delay of accountable voting machines in New Jersey. You can also e-mail him at http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html. You can use the sample letter below to get you started.

Sample Letter

Dear Governor Corzine:

I am writing to urge you to veto S. 1381, a bill the Legislature passed to extend the deadline for voter verified paper ballots until January 1, 2009. The delay would compromise the integrity of votes cast across the state of New Jersey. I want to vote in November knowing my vote will matter, not wondering whether my voice was heard.

The Sequoia touch screen voting machines currently in place are faulty to begin with. The February primaries were plagued with questions over how many votes were truly counted -- questions that have gone unanswered because Sequoia refused to allow investigations into what happened. The Legislature and Attorney General want to keep the same error-ridden system and tack on printers, saying the printout will be an accurate record. But it's common sense: tax payers should not be paying huge sums of money to stick printers onto broken machines that won't be ready until after the votes have been counted.

As a voter and a tax payer, I demand the sensible and less expensive alternative: paper ballots to be read by optical scan machines. The optical scan machines are less prone to mistakes, and the paper ballots are a ready-made solution if New Jersey participates in a recount. The November election should be a close race, making paper ballots even more crucial. But the closeness of the race should not matter. To protect everyone's right to vote, everyone's vote must be rightfully counted.

You have the power to decide whether our votes should be counted or whether our votes should remain in doubt. I urge you to side with the voters of New Jersey and veto the Legislature's delays that will jeopardize our right to vote. Your veto secures our votes, and our votes secure democracy.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State and ZIP

ACLU-NJ Chides Konica for Stripping Relocated NJ Couple's Benefits

Newark, NJ - Seeking to maintain health insurance for a 9/11 survivor, the American Civil Liberties Union today sent a demand letter to the New Jersey offices of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (KMBS) urging the company to interpret its policy on domestic partner health insurance so that more employees will have access to the insurance. KMBS currently interprets its policy as requiring employees to re-register as domestic partners with the state every time that they move, even though many states have no way for same-sex partners to do so.

"I'm still working at the same company, doing the same job. Why shouldn't I be able to cover my partner in Idaho like I did in New Jersey? This would never happen to a married couple," said Ralph Martinelli. "Konica wants everyone to think they care about their gay employees, but the way Konica is interpreting its policy is so restrictive that many employees are shut out of the coverage."

Martinelli, a district sales manager for KMBS, where he has worked for five years, was told that he would not be able to continue covering his partner when the couple moved from New Jersey to Idaho last year because there is no domestic partner registry in Idaho. Martinelli and his partner, Robert Ryan, have been registered domestic partners in New Jersey since 2005, and KMBS allowed Martinelli to cover Ryan when the couple lived in New Jersey.

The couple has been paying for COBRA coverage for Ryan since his insurance was cut off in October, 2007, but that coverage is very expensive and ends after 18 months -- in March of 2009. Ryan is working as a seasonal tax preparer and is looking for a full-time position. While he has recovered mostly from the trauma of being in the World Trade Center on 9/11, he still has mental and physical health needs that require regular medical care and expensive medications. Due to the cost of medical insurance, he may have to go without the care he requires if Konica Minolta continues to prevent Martinelli from extending benefits to his partner.

Typically, companies that wish to offer domestic partnership benefits to employees living in states that do not recognize same-sex relationships either accept a marriage, civil union or domestic partnership certificate from another state, or have the employee submit an affidavit attesting to the partnership.

"Konica Minolta wants all the good will that comes with providing domestic partner insurance, but they clearly don't want to have to provide the benefits. Otherwise they would never be interpreting its policy in such a restrictive way," said Jack Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of the ACLU of Idaho. "Companies have been providing domestic partner coverage for many years now. The only possible reason for interpreting the policy the way that Konica does is to make it harder for employees to be able to provide coverage for their partners."

Martinelli and Ryan moved to Idaho so that Ryan, who experienced mental health trauma as a survivor of the attacks of September 11th, 2001, could find some relief away from the New York metropolitan area. Before he met Martinelli, Ryan managed the insurance licensing division at Morgan Stanley, and was in his office on the 74th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the first airplane struck the North Tower. While he was evacuating, Ryan became separated from the employees he supervised, and later was trampled by a crowd after the second airplane hit his office building, only four floors above where he was working that morning. After the attack he was unable to work due to the trauma, went on disability for one year, and spent his retirement savings to stay afloat. He met Martinelli in 2004. The two lived in New Jersey and then moved to Idaho, which they enjoy because of its natural beauty and its distance from constant reminders of that traumatic day.

Ed Barocas, Legal Director the ACLU of New Jersey, said, "Underlying all of this is the confusion and mistrust engendered by terms like 'civil union' and 'domestic partnership' as opposed to 'marriage.' Same-sex couples are asked to prove that their relationships aren't imaginary every time they move, and employers take advantage of the lack of uniformity to treat people unfairly."

The couple is represented by Sharon McGowan, Staff Attorney for the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, and Teresa Renaker of the firm Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker, & Jackson of Oakland, California.

Blog: Free Speech & Loathing in New Jersey

When it comes to giving people the third degree over their First Amendment rights, Newark is second to none.

Take our ongoing soap opera over speech permits (cue soundtrack) . . .

The long and winding road

In late 2004, the ACLU-NJ filed a lawsuit against the city for violating the free speech rights of the People's Organization for Progress (POP) and New Jersey Peace Action.

We identified two constitutional problems. First, the City required anyone who wanted to distribute leaflets to get special dispensation from the police chief, who was empowered to determine whether the applicant was "of good moral character." (Ahem.)

Second, the City required anyone who wanted to hold a march to secure a $1 million insurance policy and indemnify the city from harm or damage. (You know how rowdy peace protesters can get.)

Insurance requirements like this, though patently unconstitutional, are a common government tactic for squelching unwelcome speech. How many grassroots groups can obtain $1 million worth of insurance coverage in order to march down Broad Street? Who knows how to get insurance? Who can afford it?

Naturally, we won in court and the city agreed to stop both practices.

But when ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas and I put the agreement to the test - well, don't let me spoil the story.

Still haven't found what we're looking for

In the summer of 2006, Ed and I went to City Hall in search of a permit application. Rumor had it that the insurance requirement was back. After getting bounced from office to office, we were finally given . . .

. . . the old, inaccurate form, with the old, inaccurate instructions inaccurately telling us we needed insurance to express ourselves in the streets.

We figured this would be an easy fix. After all, the Mayor's previous campaign for election endured numerous outrageous free speech violations under the James administration, highlighted in the Academy Award-nominated documentary, Streetfight.

You can't always get what you want

As it turned out, we didn't get the snappy resolution we expected.

Ed spent weeks going back and forth with City of Newark Corporation Counsel Aney Chandy to get the permit forms changed.

To be clear, the language on these forms has real world impact. For example, we were still waiting to hear back from Newark in early September 2006, when we found out that City Hall had refused to process an application to hold a Labor Day event without proof of insurance.

The event sponsors, American Friends Service Committee and the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, had to abandon plans to march down Broad Street. And this is just one example that we happened to hear about - who knows how many other groups changed or canceled plans because they couldn't get the insurance the city unlawfully required.

Just as we prepared to go back to court, Newark changed the form - finally. We breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the forms wouldn't scare off other citizens wanting to hold rallies or marches.

Same as it ever was

For me, one of the most frustrating parts of my ACLU job is dealing with entrenched bureaucracies. But this is far outweighed by the most gratifying part: helping secure people's fundamental democratic rights. If that ever happens in this case, I'm having a party.

Fast forward to last month's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, when POP had planned a march in Newark. Lo and behold, City Hall gives POP a permit application form, which stated...

. . . that they needed to buy $1 million worth of insurance to hold their march.

As ACLU founder Roger Baldwin said, "No fight for liberty ever stays won."

As Ed said, "You have got to be kidding!"

The waiting is the hardest part

We contacted city again and, at their request, provided the exact language needed on the form: "Insurance is not required for free speech activities such as marches, vigils and protests. If you're engaging in free speech activities but do not have insurance, it will not affect your ability to obtain a permit."

We waited, and nudged, and waited and nudged.

Aney Chandy left her job as Corporation Counsel, with the matter unresolved.

Just like starting over

We sent an intern to City Hall to see if perhaps Aney had the form changed on her way out - a little constitutional "parting gift," we hoped.

Nope. Same old form. Same inaccurate information.

We won't get fooled again

We checked one more time late last week and found the form changed: Instead of saying that insurance is required, it says insurance may be required. Only it doesn't say in what circumstances it may be required, or that it is not required for First Amendment activities.

So someone finally changed the form, but it's still wrong and still likely to deter people from holding an event protected by the First Amendment.

After trying for more than three years for Newark to simply change two lines on a permit form, today we're heading back to court.

We don't want to spend the ACLU or Newark's resources on this. Feel my pain, as a Newark homeowner I'm paying on both ends of this needless chase. Clearly, both parties have bigger fish to fry.

But as long as this unconstitutional barrier to free speech exists, it's the ACLU's job to persist. We've exhausted all other channels - and been exhausted by them - so back to court is our last resort.

Ed and I can't fathom why Newark hasn't simply changed the form and brought personnel up to speed to avoid this litigation. It's disheartening to even have to ponder this.

Whatever the case, the whole thing reminds me of another civil liberties saying: "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom."

So be it. We're ever vigilant.

-By Deborah Jacobs, ACLU-NJ Executive Director

Development Associate

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a national public interest organization, is the leading defender of our rights and liberties guaranteed under the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals to apply.

Position Overview

The ACLU-NJ's Development Associate will assist the Development Director in creating a robust development department to fully realize the giving capacity of New Jerseyans and increase the annual financial support for the ACLU-NJ's programs and operations. The successful candidate will find ample opportunity for professional growth within the ACLU-NJ and the larger ACLU family and will enjoy the satisfaction of working with the most influential organization working to preserve our democracy.

The Development Associate's responsibilities will focus on major gifts ($1,000+) annually and the annual fund ($250+ donors) and will include researching prospective major donors; coordinating donor cultivation and special event activities; helping develop and produce cultivation, solicitation and acknowledgment packages; maintaining databases and records; and handling donor inquiries.

In addition to working in a strong and cooperative atmosphere at the ACLU-NJ, the Development Associate will join a network of development professionals that includes the National ACLU's New York headquarters and 53 affiliates nationwide.

Responsibilities

Major Gifts. Support the department's annual Major Gifts Campaign to raise $400,000+ by identifying major gift prospects, preparing training and campaign materials for solicitors and donors, providing superior customer service to potential donors, tracking solicitor and donor progress, and drafting correspondence and reports as requested.

Annual Fund Campaign. Manage the day-to-day operations of the annual fund campaign and efforts to secure renewable gifts of $250+. Coordinate work of campaign volunteers, maintain up-to-date donor records, ensure timely mailings and marketing strategies, manage the production of mailings, and provide reports to the development director.

Donor Cultivation. Work with the Development Director, volunteer leaders, and program staff to develop and implement cultivation strategies for individuals and groups of donors. This includes small events, communications strategies, specialized print materials and more as required.

Reports and record-keeping. Maintain confidential fundraising information on databases and hold primary responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the database information. Assist in the preparation and distribution of reports.

Qualifications

Development experience with non-profit, advocacy or other community-based groups
Interest in and enthusiasm for civil liberties and civil rights
Strong people skills. Effective interpersonal and communication abilities, especially listening skills for and discerning solicitor and donor interests and concerns. The ability to communicate effectively and respectfully on the phone and in person with donors, board members, volunteers, staff, and the general public
Ability to manage and follow through on assignments independently with minimum supervision
Superior talent in attention to detail
Advanced organization and time management skills
A demonstrated ability to write clearly and precisely. Strength in proofreading and visual review. Excellent word processing, vocabulary, letter writing, and other office skills
Strong skills in use of computers for database management and word processing
Experience making database queries and exporting from a database into a word or excel document. Experience with fundraising software a plus
Successful experience in juggling multiple priorities and multi-faceted projects at various stages of completion. Capacity to understand the development role of timing and immediacy and, establish realistic daily and weekly objectives. Good problem solving skills
A confident, business-like and professional presentation
Flexibility and a willingness to take on new tasks as the responsibilities of the position evolve
A commitment to the confidentiality of donor records and ethical fundraising practices
A commitment to diversity; a personal approach that values the individual and respects differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstance
Ability to work occasional evenings, weekends or irregular hours

Compensation and Terms

The ACLU-NJ offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within parameters of the ACLU-NJ compensation scale.

To Apply

Send a letter of interest and resume to:

Human Resources
Job ID 9734
ACLU-NJ
P.O. Box 32159
Newark, NJ 07102

Faxed or e-mailed application materials will not be accepted. Resume reviewed upon receipt. Position will remain open until the right person is found.

POP v. City of Newark

On February 21, 2008, the ACLU-NJ filed to enforce a Consent Order that the City of Newark signed in 2004, but which it has not followed. In 2004, the ACLU-NJ represented the People's Organization for Progress (POP), NJ Peace Action, and itself, challenging Newark's requirement that individuals or organizations seeking to hold free speech marches pay for a $1,000,000 insurance policy. In October 2004, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County, ruled that, since the Newark council never authorized an insurance requirement for permits, Newark officials could not impose one. In December 2004, Newark signed a consent order stating it would not enforce any insurance requirements against plaintiffs.

Since then, Newark has continued to include an insurance requirement on its permit application and has failed to put any statement on the form clarifying that the insurance requirement doesn't apply to free speech matters. After over three years of trying to persuade Newark to change its forms, and after having to intercede on numerous occasions to obtain approval for applicants who did not have insurance (and whose permit applications were delayed or denied because of lack of insurance), the ACLU-NJ, on February 21, 2008, filed to enforce plaintiffs' rights under the Consent Order.

ACLU Sues Newark For Free Speech Violations

Photo by Jon Levine

Newark - Today the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey filed suit against the City of Newark for ongoing free speech violations relating to a requirement that people must buy liability insurance in order to hold free speech protests in Newark.

"We just want people to have the right to protest in Newark without facing unconstitutional barriers," says Bennet Zurofsky of Reitman Parsonnet, serving as cooperating attorney for the ACLU-NJ. "We're tired of going round and round on this; the city needs to take free speech rights seriously, fix their forms and train their staff."

The ACLU-NJ first brought the issue to court in 2004 when the City required the Peoples Organization for Progress (POP) and New Jersey Peace Action to obtain $1,000,000 in liability insurance in order to receive a permit to hold a demonstration. The Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County, ruled in the ACLU-NJ's favor, with Newark signing a December 2004 Consent Order stating it would not enforce any insurance requirements.

Since then, Newark has continued to include an insurance requirement on its permit application form and failed to train personnel that insurance requirements don't apply to permits for free speech activities.

After three years of trying to persuade Newark to change its forms and train its personnel, and after having to intercede on numerous occasions to obtain approval for applicants who did not have insurance (and whose permit applications were delayed or denied because of lack of insurance), the ACLU-NJ has no option but to file in court to enforce the Consent Order.

"It's frustrating to see free speech rights disregarded by the city," says ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas. "Instead of wasting time and money to keep an unconstitutional policy in place Newark should encourage free speech activities in the city."

Insurance requirements are a standard, albeit patently unconstitutional, government tactic for squelching unwelcome speech. Newark is one of many cities forced to abandon the requirement.

The case is captioned POP v. City of Newark.

This is the third First Amendment action the ACLU-NJ has taken against the City in the past month. On January 23, 2008 the ACLU-NJ filed suit against Newark for violating the free speech and press rights of Brazilian Voice editor Roberto Lima (Lima v. Newark Police Department). On January 30, 2008 the ACLU-NJ moved to join a federal lawsuit filed against the City of Newark for disciplining a police officer who anonymously posted a message on a website that was critical of the Newark Police Department (Wohltman v. The City of Newark).

ACLU-NJ News

Urban Mayors' Association Weighs in on School Funding Formula

ACLU-NJ Ensures Bird Store Protest Can Take Flight

Development Assistant

Position Overview

Primary Responsibilities

Qualifications

Compensation and Terms

To Apply

Evidence Shows DOC Engaged in Witness Tampering and Retaliation

Tell Governor Corzine to Veto Delay of Voting Machine Accountability

Take Action!

Sample Letter

ACLU-NJ Chides Konica for Stripping Relocated NJ Couple's Benefits

Blog: Free Speech & Loathing in New Jersey

Related Content

Development Associate

Position Overview

Responsibilities

Qualifications

Compensation and Terms

To Apply

POP v. City of Newark

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ACLU Sues Newark For Free Speech Violations

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