SANTA ANA, Calif. – The ACLU of Southern California today sued the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and officials of Corona del Mar High School for permitting and sanctioning an atmosphere that is hostile to female, lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender students in general, and has led to despicable threats of violence against one student in particular.

Corona del Mar High School is the Orange County school where a production of the musical “Rent” was canceled in February before widespread, negative media coverage led school administrators to reverse themselves and allow the production to go forward.

The homophobic harassment and bullying at the school unfortunately typify a rise in hostility toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students throughout California in the wake of the divisive campaign over Proposition 8, which eliminated the right of lesbians and gay men to marry.

“The threats, intimidation and slurs directed toward students on the basis of gender and sexual orientation at Corona del Mar High School are part of a growing sexist and homophobic environment there that school administrators could have – and should have – stopped,” said Hector Villagra, director of the Orange County office of the ACLU/SC. “Instead, these school officials amplified the hostile atmosphere by sending the message that the harassers can act with impunity, and by telling students who were the targets of threats and bullying that they would have to find ways to avoid it.”

Among the charges in the lawsuit is that school officials and the school district have discriminated against students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender, violating the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Title IX and California safe schools laws.

One female student was targeted in a Facebook video in which three male students made sexually explicit comments about her and threatened her with violence. A fourth male student later threatened the female student on campus. The school’s inadequate and inappropriate response included assigning an assistant football coach at the school to investigate the harassment, an obvious conflict of interest because three of the four accused students are members of the football team. The female student has been forced to change her schedule, classes and routines in order to avoid the harassing students.

In another example of the hostile atmosphere at Corona del Mar High School, after officials at the school canceled the production of “Rent,” they later confiscated rainbow buttons that were worn by some students to show support for the musical.

Katherine Darmer, a Chapman University law professor who is on the board of the Orange County Equality Coalition – which focuses on LGBT issues and is a plaintiff in the ACLU/SC’s lawsuit – said members of the coalition have learned about disturbing incidents of homophobia that appear to have been tolerated at Corona del Mar High School. “Some of our members have been directly affected by this inappropriate conduct, which is particularly harmful in a high-school educational setting. We have several members who are parents in the school district, with a direct stake in the way CDM handles these matters,” Darmer noted. “School officials just don’t seem adequately focused on rooting out these inappropriate displays.”

“The campaign for and passage of Proposition 8 seems to have revived the notion that homophobic behavior is acceptable,” added Lori Rifkin, staff attorney for the ACLU. “The truth is that officials at Corona del Mar High School have an obligation to provide a safe and secure educational environment for all students, and that includes a duty to prevent and respond appropriately to bullying, hostility and threats based on sex or sexual orientation. Sadly, these officials haven’t met their responsibility under the law.”

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The ACLU of Southern California is troubled by the Orange County District Attorney’s recent determination not to criminally charge an Anaheim police officer who tragically shot and killed Julian Alexander, an innocent 20-year-old resident, during a pursuit.

“We are very concerned that this questionable officer shooting has not gotten the full and transparent scrutiny that the Alexander family and the public deserve,” said Hector Villagra, director of the ACLU/SC’s Orange County office. “There has been no explanation as to why the fatal shooting of a man in front of his own home warrants not a single criminal charge.”

“We will closely monitor the continuing law-enforcement investigation into this disturbing and tragic shooting,” said Belinda Escobosa Helzer, staff attorney with the ACLU/SC. “We want to make sure the details of the shooting and investigation are exposed to the light of day, so the public can judge for itself.”

On Oct. 28, an unnamed Anaheim officer shot Julian Alexander shortly after the newlywed had come outside his home to investigate a nighttime commotion in his yard. Alexander was carrying a broomstick to protect himself and defend his 19-year-old pregnant wife and in-laws who were in the home. Alexander was shot twice in the chest and then handcuffed. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Alexander’s widow has filed suit for wrongful death and his parents have filed a civil rights action against the city of Anaheim for negligent hiring, training and operations which resulted in the shooting death of their son.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The ACLU of Southern California commends the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for approving a study by the Vera Institute of Justice on how to effectively reduce the county's overcrowded and inefficient jail system while saving taxpayers millions of dollars. Preliminary work on the new study will get under way this week.

The ACLU/SC has long supported efforts to reduce the county's dangerously overcrowded jail system, which is the largest and most congested jail system in the nation, and has an average length of stay that is two to three times greater than other, comparable jails. Longer length of stay means greater overcrowding, intolerable living conditions for inmates and increased security risks for both deputies and inmates.

'Los Angeles County's criminal justice system is so backed up that many people are stuck for months in the jail, although they pose no risk to public safety, simply because they are too poor to make bail. Although these pretrial detainees are presumed innocent, the overcrowded conditions in which they are housed expose them to extreme violence and harsh and degrading conditions that violate all constitutional minimums,' said Melinda Bird, ACLU/SC senior counsel.

'We hope that with the help of consultants from Vera, the county will implement much-needed systematic changes, including the creation of comprehensive, pretrial alternatives for inmates with mental and physical disabilities. These are needed to halt the revolving door between incarceration and the street, save taxpayers money and create a humane and safer way to treat those awaiting trial,' Bird added.

The ACLU/SC is the court-ordered monitor of conditions and medical care within all Los Angeles County jail facilities.

Vera Institute is a nationally renowned non-profit organization that has worked with New York City to develop strategies for managing jail populations. After New York implemented many of Vera's recommendations, its jail population fell --without any increase in crime -- from 21,000 inmates in 1991 to 14,000 inmates in 2003.

The first step in the study will begin at noon on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 when representatives of the Vera Institute will lay out plans for the study to the county's top law-enforcement officials at a public meeting of the Chief Executive Office/Countywide Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee. The meeting is at the Los Angeles County Hall of Administration, 500 West Temple Street, Room 739.