Reports and Issues

The failure of New York State's fractured public defense system	New York State Failing its Constitutional Duty on Public Defense This civil rights lawsuit is brought to remedy the State of New York’s persistent failure to guarantee meaningful and effective legal representation to indigent people accused of crimes, as required by the New York State Constitution and laws and the United States Constitution. New York State was once a leader in guaranteeing the right to counsel to indigent people accused of crimes. In 1881, more than eighty years before the United States Supreme Court established the right to counsel in felony cases under the federal constitution the New York State Legislature adopted section 308 of the Criminal Procedure Law, directing courts to appoint pro bono counsel for unrepresented felony defendants. Sadly today, the leadership and humanity New York State showed in the past have eroded badly. In the last few decades, dozens of reports, commissions, newspaper investigations, and lawsuits documented the degree to which those accused of crimes in New York State are denied basic constitutional protections.
Lobbying Washington	Day of Action in Washington D.C. To Restore the Rule of Law and Habeas Corpus On Tuesday, June 26th, 2007, thousands of ACLU members and activists from around the country traveled to Washington D.C. to demand action from Congress to put an end to the civil liberties violations and lawbreaking done by the Bush administration in its War on Terrorism.
Printable Brochure	Know Your Rights: Demonstrating in Central New York This brochure is intended to inform people in Central NY about the basic rules governing demonstrations and other types of free speech in public spaces. Printable in pdf format.
FAQ No Fly List	Frequently Asked Questions About: "The No Fly List" The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) identifies people who may be a threat to civil aviation or national security. Airlines are required to check whether a passenger is on the TSA's list before printing a boarding pass. If a passenger is on the list, the airline is required to take appropriate action, including keeping the person off the plane and calling the police.
Spring 2006	Report from the Chapter Legal Committee Sam Young, Chairperson The Chapter Legal Committee of 8-10 attorneys meets monthly to review incoming requests for legal advice, assistance, and representation.  Requests are first screened by Barrie, then summarized with the help of her interns and volunteers (this could be you!).  The attorneys in the Legal Committee discuss 6-8 new cases during each monthly meeting after reviewing the status of ongoing or recently resolved cases.   In 2005, almost 200 requests came in by mail, fax, e-mail, or in person. The majority of written requests came from Onondaga, Oneida, and Cayuga County, while a significant number originated from Broome, Jefferson, Oswego, and St. Lawrence Counties.  Barrie gets an additional 500-600 inquiries by phone per year (from 2 to-5 per day), which most often result in referral to other agencies or legal resources.    In 2005, the highest numbers of requests involved free speech (6%), privacy issues (17%), due process in criminal cases (10%), school cases and civil due process (14%), employment –related issues (9%), and selective enforcement or misconduct by police officers (14%).  Many of the phone calls involved employment issues, discrimination, and due process complaints.  We intervene or initiate legal advocacy most often in free speech and school-related cases.  In 2005, members of the Legal Committee have also worked cooperatively as local counsel in cases spearheaded by lawyers from the ACLU or NYCLU.  Here are some of the highlights from the past year:   1st Amendment – Free Speech Cases Utica High School Student Suspended for Sitting During the Pledge of Allegiance  Under the direction of the Legal Committee Chair, Barrie contacted the school district.  They agreed to reinstate the young man, and provided written and verbal clarification of the students right to remain silent during the Pledge to all students and teachers in the high school, and all administrators in the district.  Village of Marcellus Cited Resident Alec Vaughn for Political Sign in his Yard We provided Mr. Vaughn with documents describing a 2005 court win by the NYCLU in which a 30 day limit for political signs in a municipal sign ordinance was rule unconstitutional.  Based on this information, the Village of Marcellus decided that its own time limit was also unconstitutional.  They then agreed to withdraw its citation of Mr. Vaughn and re-write its ordinance.   Due Process Cases Deployment ordered for Army Sergeant Seeking Conscientious Objector (CO) Status Legal Committee Chair Sam Young served as local counsel in an NYCLU lawsuit filed in Utica to block deployment of Sergant Corey Martin until after his CO Petition is considered.   After a federal judge agreed to block his imminent deployment, the Army agreed to officially delay his deployment until the process of considering his CO Status was completed.  Martin was recently granted CO Status as well as an honorable discharge.   Discrimination Cases Ranked Female Wrestler in Southern Tier High School Not Treated as Part of the Team Legal Committee Attorney Faith Seidenberg intervened with the Otego-Unadilla Central School on behalf of a national ranked female wrestler who was not provided with a uniform, denied transportation and lodging during athletic competitions, and excluded from team meetings.  As a result of Seidenberg’s repeated conversations with school district attorneys, the discrimination was ended and the young woman was subsequently treated as an equal member of the high school team Lesbians Denied Access to Wellness Program & Aqua-therapy Pool in Health Center Louise Bizzari and her partner Barbara were expelled from a wellness program at the Sitrin Health Center in New Hartford after a program manager voiced objection to their sexual orientation.  Louise sought use of the therapy pool at the advice of her doctor to help deal with a disabling orthopedic problem with her leg.  The pool and wellness program is supposed to be available to the public for a monthly fee, which the couple had already paid.  Legal Committee Chair Sam Young is acting as the local counsel in a lawsuit filed by the ACLL Lesbian & Gay Rights Project.  Chapter Director Barrie Gewanter has assisted in investigations and publicity related to the case..    Seeking the Truth About Domestic Spying – The ACLU & NYCLU Spy Files Project The Chapter worked with attorneys from the NYCLU to file Freedom of Information Act Requests seeking information about FBI spying on 4 activist groups and a religious organization in Syracuse, as well as the Chapter’s own office!   This effort was part of a statewide and national ACLU effort to reveal domestic spying called the “Spy Files” project.   Police Misconduct The Chapter worked with students and faculty in SUNY Cortland to actively monitor he cases of 4 minority college students charged with misdemeanors after being physically assaulted by local police.  One student, who was shoved head first through a plate glass window, was found not-guilty by a Cortland jury.  His attorney utilized witnesses identified by Barrie Gewanter as a result of interviews she conducted shortly after the incident at an after-hours party hosted by a minority student group.  We may assist this student to initiate a civil lawsuit in the coming months. .
Spring 2006	Report from our Chapter Director, Barrie Gewanter There are few times in our history that the work and vigilance of the Civil Liberties Union has been needed more. In Central NY, we’ve been really active in the past year:   We’ve worked diligently to protect civil liberties and challenge violations of the law: I convinced the administrators of the Syracuse City School District to change a school policy so that high school student could withdraw their name from the list given to military recruiters.  Prior to this change the district only honored an “opt-out” form when it was signed by a parent.  I served on the “Task Force on Student Run TV” at Syracuse University after the suspension of Hill TV for airing shows with racist, sexist, and homophobic content.  I focused my efforts on  recommendations that preserved opportunities for free speech and free press while still acknowledging the importance of accountability to the campus community.  The final report of the Task Force will clearly reflects these efforts I served as an official protest observer for demonstrations by peace organizations and a day of action in support of immigrants by the women leaders of religious orders in NY State. I convinced the Onondaga County Parks Commissioner to provide space for a peace group whose intention to invite the public to fold peace cranes was deemed “too political.” We monitored several polling places in Syracuse where there had been allegations of disparate treatment of African-American and Spanish-speaking voters.   We spoke out about injustice I publicly challenged the Oneida County District Attorney to properly investigate several unanswered questions in the controversial Police shooting death of an African-American.man I participated in a panel discussion at SU about racial profiling and police brutality, and played a key role in getting the Syracuse Common Council to hold a public hearing about a study of racial profiling in discretionary stops by the Syracuse Police Department. Under the careful guidance of the NYCLU Executive Director, I monitored and spoke out about civil liberties concerns related to the high profile federal trial of a prominent member of the Muslim Community.  While we DID NOT take a position about the facts of his case, we were one of the few clear and consistent voices raising concerns about selective enforcement and unusually severe impediments placed on the defense prior to trial.  I was interviewed about the case live by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now and the ACLU has since called  on me to speak with affiliate leaders in other states about our approach to the Dhafir case.   On the legislative front, collaboration has been key: I’ve assisted the Empire State Pride Agenda with local presentations on marriage equality and regional “marriage ambassador” trainings.  I’ve joined other LGBT folks from the CNY community or led lobbying visits in Albany and Syracuse.  (Could you join the effort as an ally?) I’ve led lobbying visits to offices of federal legislators, working with other leaders of the Bill of Rights Defense Campaign to voice our concerns about civil liberties erosions from the Patriot Act, Domestic Spying, NSA wiretaps, & unchecked expansion of executive power. I worked with Phoenix resident Terry Checksfield to document the tragic story of what happened after Barbara Blake, her partner of 28 years, had a stroke that prevented her from communicating her wish to be cared for by Terry.  After Barbara’s relatives objected to Terry’s involvement, the hospital refused to honor the legal document that clearly named Terry as Barb’s health care proxy, even after Barb was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Six months later, when Barb died, her relatives refused to let Terry participate in the funeral or visit her grave.  After I provided the Empire State Pride Agenda with a copy of the narrative I worked with Terry to create, Pride Agenda used Terry’s story to win passage of the Control of Remains Bill in the NYS Legislature.  This law now allows anyone in NY State to designate who should direct their funeral and burial arrangements, with an explicit preference to domestic partners (gay or straight) when no legal document is available.   We’ve continued to educate people in CNY about civil liberties erosions since 9-11: I worked with Chapter member Doris Sage and other leaders of the BORDC to provide 4 fact sheets about the Challenges faced by Muslims in the US to 110 Religious congregations in the CNY area.  This effort was aided & endorsed by the Interreligious Council of CNY.  I’ve made presentations to students at Fayetteville/Manlius & East Syracuse/Minoa High Schools, Activists in Syracuse, Oneonta, & Utica, Members of a Jewish Congregation in Syracuse, a United Methodist Church in Dryden, and an Islamic Society in the Finger Lakes, plus Students and Faculty at Wells College, Ithaca College, SUNY Oswego, Utica College, and Broome Community College   We’ve given presentations and engaged in debates on other civil liberties issues as well: What health care providers need to know about Teenagers Right to Confidential Care The right to protest and distribute Leaflets in public places The history of struggles for Lesbian & Gay Rights in NY State The current assault on dissent  & The legal transformation of “seditious libel” to protected speech The intersection of HIPAA and the Patriot Act How and why are books challenged and banned in the United States Mission & methods of the ACLU (to college students and visitors from Mexico and Pakistan)   We’ve been in the news.  I’ve been interviewed for print, radio, & TV news dealing with: Religious Displays in Public Spaces Demands for Google’s Search Records The federal trial of Dr. Rafil Dhafir Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders and other Issues Related to Megan’s Law Drug Testing of High School Students TSA Screening & Scanning Procedures at Airports & Border Checkpoints along I-81 Use of Tazers by local Police Departments   The Illegal NSA Wiretapping Program & Other Examples of Domestic Spying Expansion of DNA Databanks The Passage of the Control of Remains Bill in the NYS Legislature Sunset Provisions in the Patriot Act RFID Chips in Immigration Documents The trial of the St. Patrick’s 4 in Binghamton The torture of detainees in U.S. custody   And many of our Board and Chapter members have been out there working with me, speaking out, reaching out, organizing, publicizing…Kathleen Rumpf, Sam Young, Kim Landon, Joanne Piersma, Joyce Hackett Smith, Tanweer Haq, Gene Turner, Diane Chapell Daly, Sunithi  Bajekal, John Brule, Annette Guisbond, Carol Baum, Susan Griffith, Magda Bayoumi & Mohamed Khater, Joe Leonard, Agnes Weis, Sara Wall Bollinger, Ed Klein, Dan & Doris Sage…just to name a few….   I’m passionate about the work we are doing.  Sometimes I really feel that democracy is at stake - every presentation is part of a battle back to awareness of the risks.  And so many people call the office seeking advice, assistance, direction -  they don’t know where else to turn.  Everyone gets treated with dignity and goes away with one piece of information they didn’t have before.  But it can be a challenge - constantly juggling tasks & projects, endless e-mail, rotating interns, media interviews coming out of the blue, phone calls demanding my attention, getting up to speed on complex legal issues, and driving to reach more people with our mission, our message.  But it is all of you who make it possible to keep going forward - our board and committee members, our volunteers, our interns, AND OUR DONORS.  Working together, with your crucial support and assistance, we will Keep Freedom Rolling On !
3/14/06	Central NY Chapter of NYCLU Seeks FBI & Police Files on Local Political Groups and Activists In light of recent revelations that the FBI and local law enforcement are spying on people engaged in peaceful political and religious activity, the New York Civil Liberties Union filed Freedom of Information requests today on behalf of itself and three Syracuse-area political and religious groups to determine whether the FBI is spying on them as well. “Syracuse is a historic center of grassroots activism and advocacy,” said Barrie H. Gewanter, Director of the NYCLU’s Central New York Chapter. “Given what we now know about the government spying on peace groups, political groups, and religious groups around the country, we have every reason to believe that such abuses of power are being committed in Syracuse.” The NYCLU is filing requests on behalf of the Syracuse groups Peace Action of Central NY, People for Animal Rights, the Upstate Area Office of the American Friends Service Committee, and the CNY Chapter of the NYCLU. Other groups listed on the FOIA request include 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Brooklyn Parents for Peace, the Buffalo War Resisters League; the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Council of Peoples Organization, Metro Justice (Rochester), the New York Immigration Coalition, People for the American Way of New York, Veterans for Peace Chapter 128, and the Western New York Peace Center (Buffalo), as well as the NYCLU itself. “Freedom of Information laws provide powerful tools to force the government to disclose information it doesn’t want to disclose,” said Corey Stoughton, NYCLU staff attorney. “Today’s FOIA requests will prevent the FBI from hiding behind the veil of secrecy that the NSA, the Department of Defense, and the FBI have used to keep unlawful surveillance secret.” The NYCLU files its requests on the same day that the ACLU of Pennsylvania releases a series of spy files that that affiliate received in response to its own similar FOIA requests. These documents show that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is spying on the pacifist Thomas Merton Center in Pittsburgh. The NYCLU is also requesting documents from local Police authorities in Syracuse under the New York State Freedom of Information Law in order to find out if similar interagency surveillance programs are operating here. “It scares us to know that our government spies on peaceful, law-abiding activists” said Cecilia Resti, Co-Chair of Peace Action of Central NY. “We shouldn’t be under surveillance because we engage in lawful demonstrations or criticize public policies,” said Linda DeStefano of People for Animal Rights. “We want to know whether our government is spying on us just because we work for peace,” said Chrissie Rizzo of the American Friends Service Committtee. For a copies of the FOIA and FOIL requests filed by the NYCLU today and information about the groups included in those requests, go to www.nyclu.org. For details and legal papers regarding the FOIA requests filed by ACLU affiliates around the country, including a list of clients, go to www.aclu.org/spyfiles.
12/19/05	NYCLU to Bush Administration: Stop Spying on New Yorkers The NYCLU decried two programs by which the federal government is spying on American citizens and residents, including New Yorkers, without warrant or suspicion that they have done anything wrong. The programs include a Department of Defense database of information about people participating in anti-war activity and a National Security Agency of bypassing the court procedure necessary to spy on people living in the United States. "Since September 11th our government has totally disregarded the checks designed to protect us from government intrusion into our lives," said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU Executive Director. "Now the Bush Administration is using national security as an excuse for cavalier attempts to spy on Americans. In New York, where anti-war activism and other kinds of political dissent have thrived, this kind of spying on political activity will have a devastating effect on free speech. We need to hold our government accountable." The DoD database, which news media obtained last week, showed that the Department of Defense is recording data about American citizens and residents who are engaging in peaceful anti-war or counter-military-recruitment activity. The database contains information about dozens of anti-war meetings or protests in the United States -- apparently defying DoD regulations limiting the extent to which the department may collect and retain information on U.S. citizens. News of the Pentagon database comes as the Bush administration defends its authorization of the National Security Agency to spy without warrants on the telephone calls and emails of people living inside the United States. News reports last week revealed that the NSA has been engaging in this domestic spying without obtaining warrants through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Courts, which have been a required prerequisite for domestic spying since the Act became law in 1978. The FISA courts were set up to moderate the government's alleged need to engage in electronic surveillance of people suspected to be terrorists or spies. The courts been notorious for giving the government huge latitude, rarely -- if ever -- denying the government's request for a warrant. The program's disclosure last week has prompted bipartisan criticism from Congress and defensiveness from the Bush administration. It breaks even those limits set down by the USA PATRIOT Act, which -- even as it made it easier for the government to obtain warrants for wiretaps and searches -- specifically banned the government from warrantless searches or wiretaps of Americans except in extraordinary circumstances, as within 15 days of a formal declaration of war. The NYCLU believes that the administration may be seeking to avoid the FISA courts because the intended subjects of its spying do not actually have ties to terrorism but are simply political groups, including peace groups and other groups critical of the government. The NYCLU continues to work in the courts to limit the government's ability to engage in surveillance of lawful protest activity. In November the NYCLU and a group of civil rights lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight to enjoin the NYPD's policy of taking, and indefinitely retaining, photographs and videotapes of lawful political protest activity in New York City. The motion marks the latest round in the decades-old federal case Handschu v. Special Services Division, which has led to a series of court orders regulating police surveillance of political protest.
10/28/05	CNY Chapter Statement on Dhafir Case On October 27th, Dr. Rafil Dhafir was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. In February 2005, a jury drawn from the Central NY Region found him guilty on 59 of 60 federal charges. These charges included violating federal regulations related to economic sanctions imposed against Iraq, as well as money laundering, mail and wire fraud, tax evasion, visa fraud, and Medicare fraud. All but the last category of charges were related to his operation of a charity called Help the Needy. The NYCLU has already expressed deep concern about what appeared to be a selective prosecution of Dr. Dhafir. The pursuit of criminal charges related to violations of sanctions against Iraq raise serious questions about religious and ethnic discrimination against a Muslim of Arab descent. For instance, it is our understanding that the Justice Department has addressed comparable violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) mainly through civil fines instead of launching a criminal prosecution as in this case. The NYCLU also has serious concerns about impediments placed on his legal defense by his incarceration from the time of his arrest through the end of the trial. Dr. Dhafir was totally denied bail and remained incarcerated for 2 years awaiting trial. Reasonable bail with detailed monitoring arrangements should have been made available, especially for someone charged with a first time non-violent white collar crime. Stringent rules for jail visitation also prevented him from meeting directly with his attorneys privately or through contact visits. Such severe impediments would have affected Dhafir’s ability to assist his attorneys and effectively participate in the preparation of his defense. The federal government has repeatedly tried to pitch this as a case with national security implications. Both the US Attorney General and the NY State Governor referred publicly to this case in the context of a terrorism prosecution. However federal prosecutors never filed any charges related to terrorism nor did they prove any link to terrorists. Instead, this turned out to be a case of white collar crime; the trial process was filled with descriptions of financial statements and details of financial transactions. The government should not have engaged in inflammatory publicity before the trial, nor introduced highly prejudicial allegations of terrorist links through the back door of sentencing. Every person charged with a crime in the US deserves and is entitled to fair and equal treatment under the law. In many ways, Dr. Dhafir was presumed guilty long before the trial began, and of much more than indicated by the charges filed against him. For the NYCLU, this case raises serious questions as to whether Muslims accused or charged with crimes in the US can truly receive a fair trial. Our government should not tout the conviction of Dr. Dhafir or the harsh sentence imposed by the court as a “win,” or as any kind of advancement in national security. When ‘justice” is pursued with religious and ethnic prejudice, and through actions that intimidate and isolate an entire community, there is no victory - there can be no advancement in national security, or faith in the promise of equal treatment under law.
9/20/05	CNY Chapter NYCLU Statement on Dhafir Case On October 19th, Dr. Rafil Dhafir is scheduled to be sentenced for his conviction in February 2005 on 59 of 60 federal charges. These charges included violating federal regulations related to economic sanctions imposed against Iraq, as well as money laundering, mail and wire fraud, tax evasion, visa fraud, and Medicare fraud. All but the last category of charges were related to his operation of a charity called Help the Needy. The NYCLU has already expressed concerns about what appeared to be a selective prosecution of Dr. Dhafir because he is a Muslim of Arab descent. The pursuit of criminal charges related to violations of sanctions against Iraq raise serious questions about religious and ethnic discrimination. For instance, it is our understanding that the Justice Department has addressed comparable violations of this law mainly through civil fines and without criminal prosecutions. The NYCLU was also concerned about impediments imposed on his legal defense by his incarceration from the time of his arrest through the end of the trial. Reasonable bail with detailed monitoring arrangements should have been made available, especially for someone charged with a first time and non-violent white collar crime. In many ways, Dr. Dhafir was presumed guilty long before the trial began, and of more than indicated by the charges filed against him. The federal government has repeatedly tried to pitch this as a case with national security implications, but they never actually proved a link to terrorism. Instead, this turned out to be a fairly run of the mill case of white collar crime. The government should not have engaged in inflammatory publicity before the trial, nor introduced highly prejudicial evidence of terrorist links through the back door of sentencing. Every person charged with a crime in the US deserves and is entitled to fair and equal treatment under the law. For the NYCLU, this case raises serious questions as to whether Muslims accused or charged with crimes in the US can truly receive a fair trial.
9/16/05	NYCLU Statement About the Federal Prosecution of the "St. Patricks 4" In this case there was a state prosecution that ended in a mistrial. Although the federal government may be unhappy with this result, the fact that they then initiated a separate federal prosecution for a clearly non-violent protest activity suggests that the government may be more motivated by the message than by the conduct of the defendants, and that the federal government may be trying to retailiate against these individuals for their message and more specifically for their opposition to government policy.

For more information:
Office: (415) 471-2821
Email: director@cnyclu.org