LOS ANGELES ? Gary Williams, ACLU of Southern California board member and professor at Loyola Law School was elected president of the ACLU of Southern California's Board of Directors on January 22, 2002. A civil rights and civil liberties litigation professor, Williams began his involvement with the ACLU/SC in 1979 as a Staff Attorney. Williams has served as vice president of the ACLU/SC since 1997 and is also a sitting member of the ACLU's national board of directors.

"Gary has been with us since 1979," said Ramona Ripston, Executive Director of the ACLU/SC, "first as a Staff Attorney, then as Assistant Legal Director, he has been a lifelong advocate for civil rights and equal justice under law and we are proud to have him as our president."

Williams lent his expertise to the ACLU's "Driving While Black" (DWB) litigation that focused on racial profiling and was appointed to the state's bipartisan panel on federal judicial appointments by Senator Barbara Boxer. Williams also contributes to ongoing ACLU/SC lawsuits against the state such as the historic class-action suit Williams v. State of California (no relation) case which seeks to improve public education for students throughout California.

"It is an honor to serve as president of the ACLU/SC board of directors," said Williams. "From our involvement in improving public school conditions throughout the state to protecting the right to free speech, the ACLU can be counted on to defend the Constitution for every new generation."

Williams, received his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and his J.D. from Stanford University. He was Staff Counsel for the Agricultural Labor Relations Board from 1976-79. He joined the ACLU/SC as a Staff Attorney in 1979 and was appointed Assistant Legal Director in 1985, a position he maintained until joining the Loyola Law School faculty in 1987. Williams is also a member of the Board of Directors, and Finance and Personal Committee of the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic.

The American Civil Liberties Union is the nation's foremost advocate of individual rights and equal justice, and the leading guardian against government interference and abuse. Since 1920, the mission of the ACLU has been to preserve the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Located in downtown Los Angeles, Loyola Law School is California's largest law school. World-renowned architect Frank Gehry designed its campus, one of the most distinctive in the country. Its program and facilities are ranked among the top 25% of American law schools in the latest Princeton Review Gourman Report. Loyola's faculty is nationally known for teaching and scholarship, its graduates for their effective practical training.

LOS ANGELES ? United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson has granted plaintiffs' request for judgment in the Common Cause v. Jones suit, a ruling that will require California to get rid of its "hanging chad" voting machines by 2004. This is the first post-Bush v. Gore ruling to require that obsolete voting systems be retired in time for the 2004 election.

The ruling is a complete victory for the position taken by the ACLU, on behalf of the AFL-CIO, Common Cause, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, and Chicano Federation of San Diego County. Those groups are represented by the law firms Munger, Tolles & Olson and Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demain, along with the ACLU Foundations of Southern California, Northern California, and San Diego.

quot;This landmark decision means that by 2004, 'hanging chad' machines will go the way of black-and-white TV's, 8-track tapes, and the Edsel," said ACLU staff attorney Dan Tokaji. "It does what the Secretary of State should have done years ago: Upgrade the infrastructure of our democracy, by providing a voting system fit for use in the 21st Century. Over 8.4 million California voters can go to the polls in 2004 with confidence that their votes will actually be counted."

"Tens of thousands of voters were disenfranchised in the November 2000 elections, including many people of color, casting a pall over the progress we have made in more than three decades of fighting for voting rights. This California judge's decision is an important first step to making sure that American citizens can have faith in our voting system again," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

In April 2001, the ACLU brought suit to make Secretary of State Bill Jones decertify Votomatic-style punch card machines -- the same kind used in Florida's disastrous 2000 election. These outmoded machines have an error rate more than twice as high as any other system used in California, resulting in the disenfranchisement of thousands of California citizens. For example, Los Angeles County (which still uses a Votomatic punch-card system) had an error rate over four and one-half times that of neighboring Riverside County (which uses modern touch screen machines), in the November 2000 election. People of color are particularly hard hit by the technology gap in voting equipment.

The citizen groups in Common Cause v. Jones argued that it was necessary to retire outdated punch-card machines by 2004, in order to prevent a Florida-style election fiasco from happening here. Secretary of State Jones initially attempted to deny responsibility for fixing California's voting system but, on August 24, 2001, the federal court rejected Jones' attempt to wash his hands of responsibility.

On September 18, 2001, Jones finally conceded that Votomatic-style punch card machines are "obsolete." Nevertheless, Secretary Jones refused to require their replacement in time for the 2004 elections, despite the requests of the ACLU, Common Cause, and other citizen groups. On December 17, 2001, Jones set a replacement date of July 2005 ? over three and one-half years away.

The evidence developed in Common Cause v. Jones shows that the nine affected California counties can easily upgrade their systems in time for the 2004 presidential election. The case was set for trial to begin on February 19, 2002. Judge Wilson's most recent decision, however, means that no trial will be necessary because of the clear evidence that California can replace its "hanging chad" machines by 2004.

"Judge Wilson's decision fulfills the fundamental principle in our constitution that every citizen has the right not just to go the polls on election day, but to have his or her vote actually counted," said Brad Phillips of Munger, Tolles & Olson, one of plaintiffs' attorneys and California Common Cause Board Member. "Because of this decision, voting in California will move out of the dark ages before the 2004 Presidential election, and we will not have to fear the chaos and uncertainty that 'hanging' and 'dimpled' chads caused in Florida in 2000."

"Common Cause is very pleased by this ruling, which will put an end to gross disparities in California's voting system," said Jim Knox, Executive Director of California Common Cause. "In 2004, 'one-person, one-vote' will be more than just a slogan. It will be a reality."

LOS ANGELES ? The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU/SC), representing employees of a Los Angeles child placement agency, Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (GLASS), today filed a lawsuit against the Southern Counties Placement Committee and several county officials and agencies, for violating the GLASS employees' First Amendment right to express disagreement with the counties' choice of "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger as the keynote speaker at a county-sponsored conference in Palm Springs.

"The case we filed in federal court today is about a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech," said Martha Matthews, David Bohnett Attorney with the ACLU/SC. "When government agencies hold a conference, invite members of the public to attend, and choose a keynote speaker, the government cannot suppress a peaceful, nondisruptive expression of disagreement with the government's choice of speaker."

GLASS, like many other child placement agencies, has participated in the annual Southern Counties Placement Conference for many years. The conference allows county agencies that care for children who cannot live safety at home to learn about providers of placements and services in their area, and for providers to market their services to the county agencies.

GLASS employees were shocked when they learned that the 2001 conference committee, which included Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange County mental health, youth probation, and child welfare agency representatives, chose "Dr. Laura" as the keynote speaker for the September 2001 conference. As has been widely reported, Dr. Laura has publicly referred to gay and lesbian people as "biological errors" and single mothers as "child abusers."

"Someone who the New York Times has called 'The Queen of Hate Radio' should not be presented as a keynote speaker to children's services workers and mental health practitioners," said Teresa DeCrescenzo, Executive Director of GLASS.

Seven GLASS employees decided to attend the 2001 conference, wearing T-shirts with the logo of a website, "StopDrLaura.com," and the question "Are you a biological error?" They also brought copies of an excerpt from a book, "Hate Hurts," about how bigotry harms children.

The GLASS employees registered and paid to attend the conference. Their plan was simply to sit and listen to Dr. Laura's speech, wearing the T-shirts as a silent protest, and use the "Hate Hurts" materials to explain their concerns to other conference attendees. But some of the GLASS employees were never even allowed inside the hotel ballroom. Others, as they waited for "Dr. Laura's" speech to start, were told they'd been "disinvited" from the conference and would have to leave, and were escorted out by police at the conference organizers' request.

"I wanted to educate people about the pain that is caused when youth who are just trying to be accepted for who they are, are told that they are 'biological errors,' and this message is endorsed by county agencies that are supposed to be caring for them," said Michael Ferrera, Director of Public Policy for GLASS.

The lawsuit calls for a permanent injunction requiring defendants and future conference committee members to refrain from suppressing any future non-disruptive protest against the counties' choice of speakers. In addition, the suit also seeks damages for the plaintiffs for the violation of their First Amendment rights.