ACLU-NJ News - Discrimination

Judge Rules in Favor of Same-Sex Couple in Discrimination Case

Eric McKinley — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:59:00 PST

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association broke state’s discrimination law when it denied use of its pavilion for couple’s civil union ceremony

Luisa Paster & Harriet Bernstein

NEWARK – A state administrative law judge has ruled (50k PDF) that the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association violated the state’s Law Against Discrimination when it denied Ocean Grove residents Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster the use of its boardwalk pavilion for their 2007 civil union ceremony. The association had allowed members of the public to rent the pavilion and had never before declined a permit other than for scheduling conflicts until it received Paster and Bernstein’s reservation request. The association rejected the couple’s application to use the space, stating that civil unions violated its Methodist doctrine.

“The Camp Meeting Association could have used the pavilion exclusively for its own purposes,” said Lawrence Lustberg of Gibbons, P.C., who represents the couple as a cooperating attorney for the ACLU-NJ. “The judge found, however, that the association opened the pavilion up to the public and thus was obligated to follow anti-discrimination laws.”

“We are pleased with the judge’s findings,” said Harriet Bernstein. “When we first started planning our civil union, we had no idea that it would come to this. We weren’t asking the association to change their beliefs. We just wanted them to give us the same opportunity to use a beautiful space that we had seen open for public use.”

Paster and Bernstein celebrated their civil union at a fishing pier in Ocean Grove, a quarter mile from the pavilion on June 30, 2007. By then, the community rallied around the couple, showing support by raising flags around town that symbolized LGBT equality.

“Fortunately, out of this painful incident, Ocean Grove residents have a renewed sense of community and have come together to support equality,” said Luisa Paster.

In his written decision, Judge Solomon A. Metzger of the Office of Administrative Law found that in March 2007, when Paster and Bernstein filled out a reservation form, the pavilion was a public accommodation. The judge determined that the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association breached its agreement to make the pavilion available to the public on an equal basis. The association was also required to make the pavilion public in exchange for a state tax exemption it received that requires equal access on a non-discriminatory basis. Metzger also noted that while the association is free to practice its mission without government oversight, it had never attached any religious ministry to the wedding venue until it received Paster and Bernstein’s application.

“(The association) was not, however, free to promise equal access to rent wedding space to heterosexual couples irrespective of their tradition and then except (Bernstein and Paster),” Judge Metzger stated.

The administrative law judge’s decision is sent to the Director of the Division on Civil Rights who has 45 days to adopt, modify or reject it as part of the Director’s final decision; otherwise, it becomes a final decision. Once a final decision is issued, a party may appeal to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.

Bernstein, 70, a grandmother and retired school administrator and Paster, 64, a retired academic librarian, met at a retreat in the Poconos in 2000. The couple decided to celebrate their commitment with a civil union in 2007, shortly after New Jersey passed a law allowing for civil unions. The couple, who live in the Ocean Grove section of Neptune, wanted their ceremony to take place at the Ocean Grove Boardwalk Pavilion, an open-air wood-framed seating area facing the Atlantic Ocean.

The pavilion was used for community and charitable events and the owners of the property, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, received a tax exemption from the state Green Acres program, which provides exemptions to non-profit organizations who use their property for recreational or conservation purposes. An important condition of the exemption is that the property be “open for public use on an equal basis.”

In March 2007, the couple went to the office of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association and filled out an application to reserve the pavilion for their civil union. Days later, association officials denied their application and returned their $250 deposit. When Paster and Bernstein sought an explanation, they were told civil unions violated the group’s Methodist principles.

Paster and Bernstein filed a complaint with the state Division on Civil Rights.

In December 2008, the state Division on Civil Rights found probable cause that the association violated the state’s anti-discrimination law. The case proceeded to the state Administrative Law Judge for disposition.

“This decision affirms New Jersey’s strong protections against discrimination,” said Jeanne LoCicero, ACLU-NJ Deputy Legal Director. “When you open your doors to the public, you can’t treat same-sex couples differently.”

The case is captioned Bernstein et al v. Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, OAL DKT. NO. CRT 6145-09.

ACLU-NJ Probes FBI Mapping Based on Ethnicity

Eric McKinley — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:00:00 PDT

NEWARK - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today filed a Freedom of Information Act request with New Jersey's FBI field offices asking for records regarding the agency's collection of racial and ethnic data in local communities. Joining 31 other ACLU affiliates nationally, the ACLU-NJ seeks more details concerning the FBI's authority as described in the 2008 FBI operations guide to map businesses, behaviors, lifestyles and traditions considered "ethnic-oriented."

"The potential abuse that could stem from the FBI's mapping of America by race demonstrates exactly why transparency is so crucial to a democracy," said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs. "The public has a right to know what kinds of information the government gathers about ordinary Americans, and the public has a right to know how that information will be used."

The FBI's 2008 Domestic Intelligence and Operations Guide (DIOG) refers to agents' power to collect, use, and map racial and ethnic data to assist its "domain awareness" and "intelligence analysis" activities. The DIOG, first released with heavy redaction in September 2009, was released with fewer redactions this January in response to a lawsuit filed by Muslim Advocates. Still, the public has little access to information about the FBI's implementation of this authority.

"The FBI's mapping of local communities based on race and ethnicity, as well the ability to target investigations based on supposed racial and ethnic behaviors, raises serious civil liberties concerns," said Michael German, ACLU policy counsel and former FBI agent. "Creating a profile of a neighborhood based on the ethnic makeup of the people who live there for law enforcement or domestic intelligence is unfair, un-American and unable to stop crime."

In addition to New Jersey, FOIA requests for the same kinds of information were also filed in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia.

ACLU-NJ Celebrates 50 Years on the Front Lines of Freedom

Eric McKinley — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:00:00 PDT

Newark, N.J. - For five decades, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey has been a gale force in the most critical social debates of our time and a vigilant guardian of civil rights for all.

In June, the ACLU-NJ will mark the 50th anniversary of its founding and celebrate its standing as one of the largest and most active affiliates in the nation. Created to counter the growing pressures on civil liberties in the state, the affiliate's first official meeting took place on the night of June 16, 1960. Since its start, the affiliate, which has continued to keep its headquarters in Newark, has seen its membership multiply nearly 10-fold, from 1,600 people to more than 15,000.

"We believe that the liberties in the Bill of Rights belong to every American, to all the people in New Jersey regardless of their political beliefs, race, religion or national origin," ACLU-NJ founder and longtime President Emil Oxfeld said in the original press release announcing the formation of the state's affiliate. "We believe these freedoms must be exercised if democracy in our state is to grow and thrive."

Oxfeld went on to list issues that desperately needed attention at the time - due process, racial discrimination, the separation of church and state, and freedom from censorship - all principles the ACLU still defends daily.

"While some of the issues raised in our cases over the years seem archaic by today's standards, many haven't changed at all," said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs, who has led the affiliate since 1999, including during the biggest membership spike in its history. "The law has advanced remarkably in areas like women's rights, lesbian and gay rights, and safeguarding personal privacy, but with issues like free speech, police practices and religious freedom, no fight ever stays won."

"The ACLU of New Jersey has been a leader in the crucial civil liberties battles of our time," said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the national ACLU. "While each new era brings a wave of assaults on freedom, the ACLU of New Jersey responds swiftly and decisively, protecting the rights of all Garden State residents. It has proven its value on the American political landscape."

Since opening its doors and springing into action - its first official undertaking was commending the Clifton Library's stance against banning books like Lady Chatterley's Lover - the ACLU-NJ has doggedly worked for justice and equality in New Jersey.

In its first decade the ACLU-NJ took strong action following the 1967 Newark Rebellion. Staffers took to the streets in the aftermath, painstakingly cataloguing police abuses to the ACLU-NJ would refer to in its demands for reform. The New Jersey affiliate also emerged even more progressive than the national ACLU, becoming one of the first state affiliates to take a stand against the Vietnam War.

Since those early years, the ACLU-NJ has grown into one of the country's largest and most active state affiliates, with a record of milestones that has earned it a role on the national stage. Among its accomplishments, the ACLU-NJ:

Defended the rights of women in schools, from a tennis star (represented by Ruth Bader Ginsburg) who won the right to play on the high school boys' tennis team, to the Princeton student who turned its Ivy League all-male eating clubs co-ed.
Blocked a bill requiring a "one-minute period of silence" for prayer in public schools in 1983.
Defended 12 motorists who had been racially profiled on the New Jersey Turnpike in the late 1990s.
Propelled New Jersey to become the first state in the nation to grant equal standing to gay and lesbian couples jointly adopting in 1997.
Successfully challenged the state's ban on late-term abortion in 1998 and a law requiring parents to sign off on a minor's abortion in 2000.
Challenged secret detentions and organized locally, fending off attempts to chip away at individual rights following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Defeated local laws written to exclude immigrants from housing, won humane working conditions for immigrants, and helped enforce the rights of young immigrants to attend public school.
Established stronger First Amendment protections in schools and malls, as well as developments run by homeowners associations.

The ACLU-NJ is celebrating the clients, attorneys, leaders and volunteers - many involved in the cases highlighted above - who have built its legacy, from its founders to its future. The stories of these 50 Faces of Liberty can be found at the ACLU-NJ website, http://www.aclu-nj.org

"Society has changed dramatically since our founding, but we've never lost the fire that fuels the ACLU's advocacy," Jacobs added. "We can't always predict what challenges lie ahead for liberty in a changing world, but whatever they are, the ACLU stands ready to defend the fundamental rights of ordinary Americans."

The year-long commemoration will culminate November 4 at the NJ Freedom Fest: A night of laughter and liberties, hosted by comedian Jimmy Tingle and featuring faces from the ACLU past and present, to be held at the Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick.

ACLU-NJ Exploring School's Ban of LGBT Book

Eric McKinley — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:00:00 PDT

Newark - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey sent an Open Public Records Act request Friday to the Rancocas Valley School District for documents that will shed light on the district's decision to remove the book Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology from the Rancocas Valley High School library. The book, which shares gay students' coming-out stories and reflections on identity, won the School Library Journal's Adult Books for High School Students Award in 2001.

"The ultimate decision of whether a book can be removed does not rest simply on whether a few individuals or students may be offended," said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs. "Decisions to censor literature should only be based on a standard set of neutral criteria unrelated to the political or social themes in the book."

The school district made its decision after a political group specifically singled out books with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender themes. The ACLU-NJ filed its request in order to learn whether the school district's policies were applied fairly, without discrimination.

"Educators and school librarians are the best qualified to determine what kinds of books and materials schools should keep in their libraries," said Jacobs. "Neither political groups nor parents have a right to impose their decisions, morals, or values on all students and families."

In 1982, the United States Supreme Court held that school boards have only a limited right to remove books from school libraries. "Local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books," the Court explained. Rather, removals should be based only on "educational suitability," with school boards taking the input of educators into account.

"If we started removing every book that one group or another objects to, our libraries' shelves would practically be bare," Jacobs noted. "The idea is to expose students to a diversity of themes and views, not to tightly restrict the information they receive."

More Information

Rancocas Valley Regional OPRA Request (99k PDF)

ACLU Renews Call for Equality with Marriage Lawsuit

Eric McKinley — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:00:00 PDT

TRENTON - Standing with the state's leading civil rights and minority rights organizations, the ACLU-NJ today called for the end of New Jersey's unequal system of civil unions and demanded the beginning of an era of equality where all people have an equal right to marriage, regardless of their sexual orientation.

"A separate system of rights for a particular minority group has once again failed to fulfill the actual promise of equality, as has been the case throughout history," said Vice Dean of Rutgers-Newark School of Law Ronald Chen, who authored the amicus brief in the case on behalf of the ACLU-NJ and seven other notable minority rights and civil rights organizations.

Although courts have allowed legislatures to enact separate systems of rights for minorities in the past, the ACLU brief explains that judges have always struck down those systems when they are shown to perpetuate disparities. Moreover, the ACLU-NJ argues that a history of excluding a minority group from access to rights is not in itself a public interest that can justify continued exclusionary practices.

The brief cites the evidence that civil unions have not provided the equal protection the court promised in 2006, when it issued a ruling in the first iteration of this case. Since then, couples in civil unions have learned firsthand that an institution so poorly understood cannot actually protect their rights. Couples have found themselves justifying their relationship to those with influence over their lives - from their children's public school teachers to the administrators of county hospitals - who understand marriage, but not the separate new structure created only for them.

"By devaluing certain families and setting them apart from others, it affects how those families are treated in schools, in hospitals, and in almost all daily transactions. And children are most harmed of all," said ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas. "Civil unions institute inequality in ways both mundane and profound. Our state must end the daily struggle it imposes on our fellow citizens by having denied them the right to marry."

The ACLU-NJ joined the first filing of Lewis v. Harris in 2002 on behalf of seven same-sex couples seeking the right to marry. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously in October 2006 that granting lesser rights to same-sex couples violated the Constitution. However, the court entrusted the legislature to enact a solution, which resulted in the civil union folly that continues today. Two years later, in 2008, the state's Civil Union Review Commission found the institution fell far short of the equality the court had intended to provide. In January 2009, after an ardent campaign waged on the ground in New Jersey, the New Jersey Senate failed to pass marriage equality when the bill came up for a vote at the end of the legislative session.

The other signatories to the brief submitted today are the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Garden State Bar Association, the Hispanic Bar Association, Legal Momentum, and the National Organization for Women of New Jersey.

Documents

Lewis - Brief

NJ Overturns Unjust Sentencing Law

Eric McKinley — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:00:00 PST

Judges will now have discretion in sentencing for non-violent offenses

TRENTON — In a landmark victory for civil rights, the New Jersey Senate today passed a bill (S1866) revising a decades-old policy that had punished people more harshly for committing non-violent drug crimes within several hundred feet of schools, unfairly targeting city dwellers. Once signed into law, individual judges will be able to use their discretion to issue fair sentences appropriate to the crimes committed.

"This legislation is smart on crime, not soft on crime. It marks a major step forward toward achieving justice in New Jersey's criminal justice system," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the ACLU-NJ. "New Jersey's judges will now have authority to sentence people based on the severity of the crime, not the location."

This legislation overturns the drug-free school zone law, which mandated lengthy sentences for any drug crime committed near a school. As a result, people in New Jersey's more densely packed areas — for example, cities like Newark, Camden, Jersey City or New Brunswick — have been subject to a stricter standard of justice than those in the suburbs. Over the course of the drug-free school zone policy, 96 percent of those arrested for drug-free school offenses in New Jersey were black or Latino.

The Assembly passed the companion legislation, A2762, last year, and will need to vote on it once again to concur with the Senate version. Gov. Jon Corzine has said he will sign the bill once it reaches his desk.

This legislation promises fairness not only to New Jersey citizens relying on the criminal justice system, but to taxpayers. New Jersey's prisons and jails are dangerously overcrowded and many non-violent offenders are serving sentences much longer than needed. Judges will be able to decide the appropriate punishments, and New Jerseyans will know that everyone, everywhere across the state has a fairer shot at justice.

Changing this law has been a top priority for the ACLU-NJ over the past decade, in a broad coalition with organizations including the Coalition of Community Corrections Providers of New Jersey, Corporation for Supportive Housing, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Hispanic Directors Association, Latino Leadership Alliance, New Jersey Association on Correction, Volunteers of American Delaware Valley and Women Who Never Give Up. In addition, cities like Newark and Camden have passed resolutions supporting S1866.

ACLU-NJ Sues Newark Police For Illegal Stop of Young Football Players

Eric McKinley — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:00:00 PDT

'Pop Warner Three' held at gunpoint and told they had no rights

NEWARK — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey announced that it filed a lawsuit today against the Newark Police Department on behalf of two African American teenagers and their Pop Warner football coach who were held at gunpoint in an illegal police stop.

"Our clients were subjected to atrocious treatment by the police, which no one should have to suffer," said Avidan Cover of Gibbons P.C., who represents the Pop Warner Three. "We filed this lawsuit to ensure that these young men receive justice and that these sorts of abuses never happen again."

Faheem Loyal & Tony Ivey Jr.

On the night of June 14, 2008, then-13-year-old Tony Ivey Jr., then-15-year-old Faheem Loyal and their football coach Kelvin Lamar James were pulled over and abused by several Newark police officers after a day centered around their Pop Warner football team, the North Ward Scorpions. They were pulled out of the car in the rain at gunpoint, held with guns pointed at them while police searched them and their car and, when James commented that the officers' search of his car violated his rights, he was told by an officer in obscene, threatening language that they didn't have any rights and that the police could do what they want and "had no rules." The three had committed no crimes, and a thorough search of the car turned up only football equipment.

Ivey, Loyal and James were left shaken up and frightened by the incident and feel ongoing distrust of police officers. "I used to think I might become a police officer," said Ivey. "But not anymore."

"I count on the police to protect my son, and instead they threatened his life," said Cassandra Jetter-Ivey, Tony's mother. "This isn't just about three boys at a police stop - this is about making sure it doesn't happen again. This is about restoring our trust in the police."

One of the most troubling aspects of this case was the handling of Jetter-Ivey's Internal Affairs complaint about the matter. It was initially lost, then wasn't properly followed-up on, and at one point Jetter-Ivey was told by an officer that the complaint was transferred to the gang unit because the incident involved three black youths. In fact, to this day, the families have never received a response to their Internal Affairs complaints.

The ACLU-NJ brought the incident to the attention of the City of Newark, and later to the public with a march through the city on October 22, 2008. Newark officials expressed concern and made progress with the ACLU-NJ on implementing a number of reforms that will make Internal Affairs more accessible, such as putting information about how to file a complaint on the Newark Police website, and agreeing to develop pamphlets about how to file a complaint. However, many more reforms are needed, particularly the establishment of an independent monitor.

Independent monitoring is the keystone to successful policing at the city and state levels. Independent monitors — effective in cities like Denver, San Jose, Boise and Portland — have turned poor departments around and transformed good departments into great ones. The New Jersey State Police has improved dramatically with the benefit of a monitor. And as the state police can attest to, an independent monitor's influence can bring technologies and resources that police officers need to do their jobs well. Independent monitors also help departments identify and remove the bad apples that spoil the reputation of the majority of officers who perform their difficult jobs with integrity.

"We can't fix the cracks in Internal Affairs if we can't see them, which is why we need an independent monitor to shine a light into the Newark Police Department," said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs. "A flashlight into the police department can prevent a nightstick to the chest. Innocent residents of Newark need a department they can have faith in for the city to be safe."

In addition to advocating for reforms of police practices, the ACLU also represents police officers whose rights have been violated or who have acted as whistleblowers, as documented in a forthcoming report about Internal Affairs units around the state, specifically delving into Newark's operations.

The case is captioned Jetter-Ivey v. Newark Police Department. The complaint alleges that the police officers' action violate the students' and coach's right to be free from unlawful searches and unlawful detention, and to equal treatment; and violates their rights under the New Jersey Civil Rights Act and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The lawsuit demands that Newark takes all steps necessary to establish proper training and supervision with respect to searches and detentions, unlawful discrimination, and the proper handling of complaints. It also seeks damages for the unlawful actions taken by the police against the students and coach.

ACLU-NJ Announces Representation of Newark Police Abuse Victims

Eric McKinley — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:00:00 PDT

NJ calls for reforms at city and state level in major march against police brutality

NEWARK - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey announced its representation of three victims of police misconduct today and will lead a march against police brutality through downtown Newark in commemoration of International Day Against Police Brutality.

"Police abuse doesn't always look like Sean Bell or Rodney King," said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs. "Any degree of police abuse can be devastating and traumatic. Our young clients are incredibly brave, but they shouldn't have to be. The only way to stop abuse is to start taking real steps toward reform."

The newest ACLU-NJ complaint against the Newark Police involves 13-year-old Tony Ivey Jr., 15-year-old Faheem Loyal and their football coach Kelvin Lamar James, who were pulled over on June 14, 2008 and abused by several Newark police officers after a day centered around their Pop Warner football team, the North Ward Scorpions. They were pulled out of the car in the rain, searched, had guns held against their bodies and told they "didn't have any fucking rights," despite committing no crimes and having only football equipment in the car.

Tony, Faheem and Kelvin were left shaken up and frightened by the incident and feel ongoing distrust of police officers.

"I don't want anyone else to have to go through what we did that night," said Ivey. "Kids shouldn't have to be afraid of the police. I used to want to be a police officer, but now I'm not even sure who is there to protect me and who might point a gun at me."

The ACLU-NJ brought the incident to the attention of the City of Newark, which has expressed significant concern and promised to make reforms to its Internal Affairs operations. However, the ACLU-NJ has asked the City to include an independent monitor in Mayor Booker's current restructuring of the police leadership positions and believes that an independent monitor is the only way to ensure accountability and best practices on an ongoing basis. Thus far, the City has not made a commitment to independent monitoring.

This is the third case the ACLU-NJ has been involved in within the past year that seeks remedies for Newark police misconduct.

Independent monitoring is key to successful policing at the city and state levels. In major police departments - like Denver, San Jose, Boise and Portland - independent monitors have turned poor departments around and transformed good departments into great ones. The New Jersey State Police has improved dramatically with the benefit of a monitor. And, as the state police can attest to, an independent monitor's influence can bring technologies and resources that police officers need to do their jobs well. Independent monitors also help departments identify and remove the bad apples that spoil the reputation of the majority of officers who perform their difficult jobs with integrity.

The ACLU-NJ is also calling for reforms at the state level. As the State contemplates the end of the consent decree it entered into with the federal government after a tragic shooting on the Turnpike and the revelation of policies and training that encouraged racial profiling, it must implement reforms that will preserve the gains made under the consent decree and take the state police to the next level. Although the state police has improved markedly under the consent decree, there are ongoing problems, including stops on the southern end of the New Jersey Turnpike that remain disproportionate to the racial makeup of the area. The statistics have consistently shown that more than 30 percent of drivers stopped on the southern end of the Turnpike are people of color compared to fewer than 20 percent on the northern end.

In December 2007, Governor Corzine's Advisory Committee on Police Standards issued a report with recommendations for needed reforms. To date, none of those recommendations has been implemented.

The ACLU-NJ sent a letter to Governor Jon Corzine outlining its recommendations for statewide police reforms, including ongoing independent monitoring, licensing of police officers, keeping accurate statistics on racial profiling, creating diversity among police officers and requiring consistent discipline practices so all officers are treated fairly.

The ACLU-NJ has invited hundreds of advocates, police abuse victims and law enforcement professionals to the March Against Police Brutality, which will pass through "police checkpoints" calling for accountability measures. Marchers will invoke the names of New Jersey victims of police misconduct and brutality, from people who won settlements several years ago to ACLU-NJ clients whose cases are ongoing.

Half a dozen victims of police abuse will share their stories at the march, including Mary Weaver, whose son was killed by the East Orange Police; Herb Morton, a Continental Airlines Captain who was pulled over for speeding on the Turnpike despite the fact that his cruise control was set at 55 mph; and Laila Maher, who endured traumatic mistreatment at the hands of the New Jersey State Police while driving on the Turnpike.

"That night will always stay with me," said Maher. "When we left DC late after my bar exam class to drive up to New York, I never expected that by the end of the night I'd be looking down the barrel of a gun. Police brutality can happen to anyone, so none of us should feel comfortable until it stops."

Each checkpoint touches on a different facet of police brutality, beginning with a reading of the ACLU-NJ demands for reform at the attorney general's office, moving to Newark Penn Station to distribute information about individual rights in the face of police questioning, and ending at the Brazilian Voice newspaper with a vigil for the victims of police abuse. Roberto Lima, the editor of the Brazilian Voice, has a current lawsuit against the Newark Police Department, which violated his free press rights when he was held in custody until he agreed to forfeit all copies of pictures his photographer took of a crime scene (even though he had already given them all of the photos).

Ivey, Loyal and James are being represented by Avi Cover and Lawrence Lustberg of Gibbons, P.C. who are serving as cooperating counsel on behalf of the ACLU-NJ.

In addition to advocating for reforms to police practices, the ACLU also frequently represents police officers whose rights have been violated or who have acted as whistleblowers.

Read the ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs' Star Ledger op-ed about the case of Tony, Faheem and Kelvin.

ACLU-NJ Files Brief Defending Immigrants' Right to Housing

Eric McKinley — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:00:00 PDT

PLAINFIELD, NJ - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice and the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP (Fried Frank) filed a friend of the court brief in the case Del Rio-Mocci v. Connolly Properties, Inc., in order to protect the right to housing for Latinos and other immigrants and to thwart anti-immigrant efforts to compel landlords to enforce federal immigration law.

"It's a huge stretch to claim that RICO, a law aimed at dismantling organized crime, stops landlords from renting to people they are legally allowed to rent to," said ACLU of New Jersey Legal Director Ed Barocas. "The first attempts to run immigrants out of town failed in Hazleton, Pa., and Riverside, N.J., and this new backdoor attempt is no better."

The brief was filed on behalf of leading organizations and institutions that represent the interests of, and provide services to, immigrant communities in New Jersey, including: the New Jersey Institution for Social Justice, the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, CATA: the Farmworkers' Support Committee, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

"Landlords are neither qualified nor authorized to act as de facto immigration agents," said ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project attorney Eunice Lee. "They lack the skills and training to make immigration status determinations, and forcing them to do so will lead to wrongful denials of housing."

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), an organization that has sponsored a series of anti-immigrant municipal housing ordinances throughout the country, alleges that by renting apartments to undocumented immigrants, landlords are in violation of federal statutes which impose criminal penalties for harboring undocumented persons. In effect, plaintiffs are seeking to have federal law interpreted in a manner that will compel landlords to screen and investigate the immigration status of prospective tenants.

"Latinos and others -- regardless of nationality or immigration status -- will face additional scrutiny when attempting to secure or maintain housing because landlords will be hesitant to rent to individuals they perceive to be immigrants based solely on race or language ability," said Cynthia Valenzuela, MALDEF's Director of Litigation. "This is a dangerous and unlawful precedent that would ripple far beyond New Jersey and create a national climate of fear and racial profiling in the provision of housing."

Local anti-immigrant municipal housing ordinances have been consistently struck down by courts that found them to be plainly discriminatory and preempted by federal law. Since efforts to displace immigrants through unconstitutional local ordinances have been unsuccessful, IRLI now brings this suit that threatens to destabilize local communities and vulnerable populations by inducing the wrongful denial of housing to Latinos and other immigrants, creating fear in immigrant communities, and otherwise, sanctioning the wrongful denial of civil rights.

"New Jersey's immigrant service providers are deeply troubled by this effort to deprive immigrant families of a roof over their heads," said Bassina Farbenblum, an attorney at Seton Hall's Center for Social Justice. "This lawsuit is yet another misguided attempt by anti-immigrant groups to end-run state and federal anti-discrimination laws and deny immigrant men, women and children their basic human right to shelter."

The amicus brief, filed by leading organizations on behalf of organizations that represent or provide services to immigrant communities, urges the court to reject the claims presented in this unprecedented case and argues that a determination in plaintiffs favor will impermissibly require landlords to engage in immigration status determinations, and will inevitably result in unlawful discrimination against immigrants (including U.S. citizens and lawful residents) in New Jersey and throughout the country.

Read the ACLU-NJ Amicus Brief

Connolly Amicus Brief (696k PDF)

ACLU-NJ Holds March for Police Accountability

Eric McKinley — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:00:00 PDT

NEWARK - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey is turning the tables by setting up checkpoints of its own -- checkpoints to hold police accountable.

On October 22, in honor of International Day Against Police Brutality, the ACLU-NJ and People's Organization for Progress are holding a march through Downtown Newark with three checkpoints at sites related to police practices.

WHAT: A press conference followed by a march and rally through Newark to recognize International Day Against Police Brutality

DATE: Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 4:30 p.m.

CHECKPOINT 1: Stating of Demands for Reform

4:30 p.m.
The Governor's Offices in Newark
153 Halsey Street, Newark

CHECKPOINT 2: Getting the Word Out

5:30 p.m.
Distributing Know Your Rights cards at Newark Penn Station:

What To Do If You're Stopped By The Police (English) (118k PDF)

What To Do If You're Stopped By The Police (Spanish) (69k PDF)

What To Do If You're Stopped By The Police (Portuguese) (1.3mb PDF)

CHECKPOINT 3: Vigil for Victims of Police Misconduct

6:30 p.m.
To honor the victims of police abuse and the officers committed to accountability Offices of the Brazilian Voice newspaper
412 Chestnut Street, the Ironbound

The march, a part of the ACLU-NJ's statewide police accountability campaign "Law and Disorder: Police Accountability Unit," will honor the victims of police abuse and recognize police officers committed to accountability within their departments. Different colored armbands will identify notable people.

In its police accountability campaign, the ACLU-NJ is working with police departments to create responsible police practices and training community leaders to prevent police abuse in their own neighborhoods.