History
of
the ACLU Santa Clara Valley Chapter
According to our
Chapter Archives, the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union was formed in the year 1962 with approximately 140
charter members. Our original Chapter Chairperson was an enthusiastic
young attorney named Edwin Laing who led a Board of Directors
consisting of fifteen members, nine of whom constituted a quorum.
During the first dozen
years of our Chapter's existence, our Chapter was presided over by the
following Chairpersons in the following order: Walter Howes, Frederic
Weed, Wellington Smith, Phil Hammer, Peter Szego, David Stuart, Justin
Vanderlaan, Dr. Eldred Rutherford, and Michael Chatzky.
In February, 1969, our
Board was enlarged to twenty-four members, reflecting the increased
interest in
civil liberties that was present during that activistic era and to
enable a larger segment of our community to serve on the Board.
The mission of the
American Civil Liberties Union is to defend the civil liberties and
civil rights of all individuals, notwithstanding their political,
social, religious, or philosophical beliefs. We defend these principles
through our defense of the Bill of Rights and other constitutional
principles for the benefit of society as a whole.
Our Chapter is
primarily concerned with civil libertarian issues and activities that
occur within our geographical jurisdiction, the Santa Clara Valley.
We accomplish our
goals through the use of four primary methods:
- We handle specific disputes by representing aggrieved
parties in court, before administrative bodies, and through informal
conferences.
- We seek legislative redress through lobbying to either
enact laws to maintain or extend civil liberties protections or repeal
or modify laws that annul or inhibit such protections.
- We educate and inform people about their civil liberties by
writing articles, appearing on radio and television programs, and by
participating in panel discussions and giving speeches before the
public.
- We staff a number of committees that examine issues in
certain key civil liberties areas that tend to produce significant
problems in our community. For example, in February, 1974, our Chapter
maintained the following committees that reflected the issues of the
times:
* Legal Screening
Committee (which reviewed and analyzed proposed cases that were brought
to our Chapter to determine whether the case should be referred to our
Board for possible handling).
* Membership Committee
(which served to develop our Chapter membership).
* Police Complaints
Committee (which, among its other responsibilities represented
aggrieved parties who were the subject of police misconduct).
* Women's Rights
Committee (which was a relative pioneer in generating equality of
treatment for women).
* Students' Rights
Committee (which represented and advised students in their disputes
with schools over diverse issues such as the right to publish a
newspaper that was critical of the school administration).
* Dissent Committee
(which was concerned about the right to freely express one's opinions
and views).
* Racial Relations
Committee (which strived to attain harmonious and just relations among
all races through educational and representational means).
* Committee for Open
Media (which institutionalized the concept of the Free Speech Message
on radio and television, a concept which spread beyond the territory of
our Chapter throughout the United States).
As times and
circumstances changed so did our Chapter's committees. Certain
committees would be terminated and new committees would be formed. For
instance, our Chapter established an Immigration Committee, a
Reproductive Freedom Committee, and a Church-State Committee to respond
to issues in those areas that confronted our community.
We have been actively
involved in a wide array of civil liberties issues. For example, during
the 1st dozen years of our existence we were involved in issues in the
following areas, among others: discrimination, search and seizure,
loyalty oaths, due process, police brutality, equal protection,
students' rights, invasion of privacy, mandatory grooming standards for
both adults and students, separation of Church and State, freedom of
the press, freedom of speech, women's rights, the right to distribute
leaflets, the right to counsel, the censorship of inmates' mail, the
right of an ex-felon to vote, and the right of access in abortion
procedures.
Many of these cases
were very dramatic and colorful and led to monumental decisions that
had a major impact on not only our community but on the nation as a
whole. A history aficionado would likely be quite fascinated in
reviewing many of the cases that were handled by our Chapter. These
cases reflected the social milieu of the moment combined with the often
unique personalities and strong civil libertarian beliefs of our
volunteer Chapter members who handled the cases.
Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the ACLU of Northern California, Inc.
www.acluscv.org ? acluscv@hotmail.com ? 408-327-9357 (voicemail only) ? P.O. Box 5303, San Jose CA 95150
