The ACLU of Southern California today announced its intention to file an amended complaint in its federal class action lawsuit [Kaitlyn Baca vs City of Los Angeles 98-2865 R(RCx)] against the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Recreation and Parks to include all girls who wish to participate in City-sponsored softball and other athletic programs run by the City. The ACLU claims that the overwhelming majority of girls in Los Angeles do not have equal access to either City-sponsored softball leagues or to the many athletic programs paid for and run by the City currently available to boys.

The California Women's Law Center, dedicated to ensuring equality for women and girls, and the law firm of Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler now also represent plaintiffs along with the ACLU.

In a letter sent to the City Attorney's Office the ACLU contends that the City has never adequately addressed the unequal and discriminatory treatment of the original plaintiffs, the West Valley Girls' Softball, a 400-member privately-run, non-profit organizational sponsor of girls' softball begun in 1969. The ACLU says that as a result of investigation undertaken as part of the lawsuit, it is abundantly clear that girls city-wide are denied access to the City's recreational programs, services and facilities that are freely and abundantly available to young men.

"There can be no justification for the City of Los Angeles to deny any child the opportunity to play an athletic team sport because she is a girl," said ACLU attorney Rocio Cordoba. "Such treatment of our City's female youth is not only illegal, it is debasing and brands girls as inferior, second class citizens. Denying girls access to public playing fields, and relegating them to temporary, inferior facilities, only serves to perpetuate gender-based stereotypes that girls' athletics somehow are less deserving or inferior to boys' athletics. These over-broad generalizations about different talents, capacities and preferences of males and females historically have served to deny women equal protection of the laws and thus cannot be tolerated."

The April lawsuit was the first brought against a city or county park department for discriminatory treatment of girls in the use of public recreational facilities. The suit was filed after repeated attempts by the WVGS to get a permit for permanent facilities at City-run parks. WVGS members were forced to spend significant time and resources to secure piecemeal temporary permits to play in sub-standard school fields, even to the point of carrying in dirt to improve the only fields made available to them. Plaintiffs claim that not only does Recreation and Parks give the boys' leagues permanent access to smooth, safe and well-maintained park fields with bleachers, dug-outs and concession stands, it also sponsors three West Valley boys' leagues.

The ACLU of Southern California today won a significant victory in its federal lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) on behalf of disabled bus riders in Los Angeles County. Judge Consuelo Marshall granted plaintiffs' motion to certify the lawsuit as a class action, thus the litigation will now represent disabled riders throughout Los Angeles County.

Speaking following the ruling, ACLU attorney Dan Tokaji said, "People who use wheelchairs have the same right as anyone else to use MTA buses. But throughout the Los Angeles area, mobility-impaired riders have repeatedly had the doors to MTA buses slammed in their faces. The court's ruling today is an important first step toward bringing the MTA into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. By certifying this case as a class action, the court's ruling will ensure that any orders issued in this case will protect the rights of all mobility-impaired riders in the MTA system."

The lawsuit Beauchamp et al. v. Los Angeles County MTA 98-0402-CBM (BQRx), was filed in January to force the MTA to meet the basic transportation needs of mobility-impaired bus riders. The suit charges that the MTA is failing miserably in its obligation to provide "full and equal access" to disabled bus riders. Last June, the ACLU sought a preliminary injunction to force defendants to move on their promises to correct the problems before a trial. That motion is still pending. If granted, the MTA and its subcontractors would be required to keep its wheelchair lifts and safety equipment safe and operable, to promptly repair any broken equipment, and provide alternative transportation for mobility-impaired passengers who are not able to board.

Plaintiffs charge that the MTA is breaking the law, by failing to keep its wheelchair lifts in proper working order and that, on some lines, the lifts are broken more than 60% of the time. Repeatedly, mobility-impaired riders have been passed by completely, often without any explanation at all. The MTA has also endangered riders in wheelchairs, by failing to keep its safety equipment in working order or to use this equipment properly. The deplorable conditions on MTA buses have resulted in physical injuries, humiliation, emotional distress, and loss of wages to plaintiffs. Mobility- impaired riders have repeatedly complained about the failure to accommodate their disabilities, to no avail.

The ACLU of Southern California today filed a federal lawsuit [Valley Vote vs City of Los Angeles] against the City of Los Angeles and the manager of the city-owned Van Nuys airport for discrimination against a San Fernando Valley group seeking signatures for a petition to initiate a study on the creation of an independent city in the San Fernando Valley. Plaintiffs, Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment (VOTE) charge that city employees impeded group efforts to collect signatures at several locations including a well-attended air show.

The ACLU says that these actions violate both United States and California constitutional guarantees of free political speech in public places and also show a pattern of discrimination against Valley VOTE and are not just isolated actions taken by errant city employees.

Attorney Peter Eliasberg said, "The ACLU is committed to the promise of free speech and freedom to petition. And freedom of petition means most of all, freedom from government interference. In this case the issues are clear, in fact the Los Angeles City Council already admitted that the city was wrong when it barred Valley VOTE from the air show. This suit seeks to protect Valley VOTE's right to free expression and to ensure that it is compensated for the efforts and monies it must expend to try to recover from the damage caused by the city's denying it the ideal opportunity to exercise its First Amendment rights."

Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief to prevent the city from taking further actions to impede signature gathering and damages as determined by the court to allow Valley VOTE to hire signature gatherers to collect the number of signatures it estimates it would have obtained at the annual air show, which, the complaint notes, is the largest annual event held in the San Fernando Valley.

The California Government code requires Valley VOTE to Valley VOTE to gather the needed 25 percent of the registered Valley voters, approximately 135,000 valid signatures, by August 27 to initiate a feasibility study on city-hood which is the first step towards putting the issue before the voters. Plaintiffs charge that city interference impeded their efforts in this regard, forcing them to take legal action. At a number of events held in city-owned facilities, city employees tried to interfere with Valley VOTE efforts to gather signatures and engage in other speech activities, which plaintiffs charge is a direct violation of constitutional rights. The most blatant incidents occurred the weekend of July 18 and 19 at the Van Nuys airport.

Over the July 18-19 weekend, numerous Valley VOTE volunteers tried to enter the air show, but were denied entry by city employees. One volunteer was ejected after entering the event and getting more than 80 signatures in about one hour. Valley VOTE estimates that it would have been able to collect at least between 15,000 and 25,000 signatures at the air show based on the number of petition gatherers available and the 250,000-person-strong audience.

The ACLU emphasizes it takes no position on the issue of San Fernando Valley city-hood. Representation of Valley VOTE is based solely on the ACLU's continuing commitment to defend the free speech provisions of both United States and California constitutions, which ensure the right of individuals to engage in all speech, including political speech, in a public area.