9th Circuit overturns decision about religious banners in Johnson v. Poway Unified School District

I don't understand why the ACLU would be trying to take down the Soledad cross and at the same time trying to preserve religious banners in a public classroom. The only thing that I can take away from this is that the San Diego ACLU has a very piecemeal, unprincipled approach to legal issues.

I can't say I'm shocked, though, that the San Diego ACLU would be on the wrong side in a First Amendment case. I have come to understand that the San Diego ACLU is different from the typical ACLU organization. The San Diego ACLU board and its head counsel, David Blair-Loy, seem to pander to political interests rather than adhering to principles of justice.

I would never expect to be allowed to present one-sided religious points of view to my students. The California curriculum framework tells teachers that we should present a minimum of three different religions anytime we teach about religion.

Click HERE for opinion.


Johnson v. Poway Unified School Dist. (9th Cir. - Sept. 13, 2011)
by Shaun Martin
California Appellate Report
September 13, 2011

This may well be the best opinion I've ever read from Judge Tallman.

It's really, really good. Regardless of whether you agree with it -- and it involves a controversial issue -- it's incredibly coherent, comprehensive and tight. It's written extremely, extremely well. It's an extremely good primer on the issue. Well done. Very.

I'll not tell you how the case comes out. You should read the opinion for yourself. But here's the issue:

A public school teacher down here in Poway (a suburb of San Diego), Bradley Johnson, teaches mathematics (at Westview High School). He hangs two large banners -- each about seven feet wide and two feet tall -- on the wall of his classroom. One has red, white, and blue stripes and states in large block type: “IN GOD WE TRUST”; “ONE NATION UNDER GOD”; “GOD BLESS AMERICA”; and, “GOD SHED HIS GRACE ON THEE.” The other states: “All men are created equal, they are endowed by their CREATOR.” You can look at pictures of the banners in the appendix to the opinion if you'd like. He's the faculty sponsor of the Christian Club, but says that his banners are purely patriotic, with no religious purpose.

The school district tells him to take down the banners but is free to put up these things in context if he'd like (e.g., to put the entire Declaration of Independence on his wall). Johnson refuses, saying that he has a protected First Amendment right to say what he wants on these issues, whereas the school district contends that he's a government employee so his speech rights are limited. Johnson ultimately complies with the order and takes down the banners, but promptly sues. He also visits other classrooms shortly after filing suit and photographs other teachers' walls that he believes display sectarian viewpoints, including Tibetan prayer flags; a John Lennon poster with “Imagine” lyrics; a Mahatma Gandhi poster; a poster of Gandhi’s “7 Social Sins”; a Dalai Lama poster; a poster that says, “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality”; and a poster of Malcolm X.

Who should win?

It's far from a no-brainer. The district judge, Judge Benitez, granted summary judgment to one side. The Ninth Circuit reverses -- unanimously -- and orders the granting of summary judgment to the other side. So clearly reasonable minds both can and do differ.

Plus, check out the lineup of the amici. You can easily (and accurately) guess which side the Thomas More Law Center is going to be on, which side the National School Boards Association supports, and where Americans United for Separation of Church and state stands. But what about the ACLU? Which side do you think they're going to come down on?

All good questions. Which make the opinion only even more worth reading.

The ACLU of Virginia protects art teacher; San Diego is far behind in protecting teachers' free speech rights

Obviously, the ACLU in Virginia is far more interested in protecting free speech rights than the ACLU in San Diego. David Blair-Loy is the head counsel for the ACLU in San Diego.

Fired Art Teacher Wins $65,000 Settlement from Chesterfield County School Board
March 7, 2008
ACLU says First Amendment Rights Vindicated

Chesterfield County, VA — The ACLU of Virginia today announced that it has reached an agreement with the Chesterfield County School Board in the case of former Monacan High School art teacher Stephen Murmer. Murmer was fired in January 2007 for creating paintings rendered by transferring paint from his body onto canvasses. The paintings were produced at Murmer’s own expense and during his private time away from work.

"I am glad the School Board saw fit to pay Mr. Murmer about two years’ salary to compensate him for the harm he suffered,” said ACLU of Virginia cooperating attorney Tim Schulte. “I only wish that the students at Monacan High would also be compensated for the loss of an exemplary teacher who was brave enough to stand on principle."

“Our founders recognized that even controversial speech should be protected in a democracy,” said ACLU of Virginia Legal Director Rebecca K. Glenberg. “The fact that some administrators were offended by Stephen Murmer’s speech did not give them the right to fire him.”

“The government has limited power to interfere with our private affairs, especially when those affairs are perfectly legal and protected by the Constitution,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis. “Chesterfield made a mistake when it fired Mr. Murmer for conduct completely unrelated to his ability to be an effective teacher.”

“I am pleased with this settlement,” said Stephen Murmer. “I hope my case will cause schools to think twice before they fire a teacher for expressing himself outside the classroom. This settlement represents a vindication of me and the First Amendment.”
Murmer is represented by ACLU cooperating attorneys Tim Schulte and Blackwell Shelley of Shelley and Schulte, P.C. in Richmond, and ACLU of Virginia Legal Director Rebecca K. Glenberg.

A copy of the original complaint filed in U.S District Court in Richmond in October 2007 is available online at
http://www.acluva.org/docket/pleadings/murmer_complaint.pdf

It turns out that our local ACLU lead attorney David Blair-Loy does have a little bit of spine after all

At the last ACLU general meeting in San Diego, David Blair-Loy said litigation is the "worst alternative." His preferred alternative is negotiation in a highly civil manner with school attorneys behind closed doors. He's been negotiating with Southwestern College for over a year regarding free speech for employees. He's apparently not into free speech for adults in schools: he even sent me an email telling me I'd better stop talking about school attorneys. He didn't tell me to stop making a specific objecthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifionable statement--he told me to stop talking about them altogether!!!

But it looks like he does support free speech for students (at least as long as no attorneys are being criticized).


La Jolla High's Bench Ban Draws ACLU Ire
May 17, 2011
by Randy Dotinga
Voice of San Diego

The ACLU is suing the school district over La Jolla High's refusal to allow political messages to be painted on "senior benches," the U-T reports. The paper says the principal ordered that messages regarding Iran be covered up, "saying the benches were reserved for positive messages of school spirit."

An authority-challenging student followed up with messages saying "Freedom for LJHS & Iran" and "Ed. Code 48907," a reference to a section of the state Education Code that supports free speech for students. You can guess what happened to those messages: they got covered up too.

At least students got a nice lesson in irony.




ACLU sues school district over bench dispute
La Jolla High principal ordered student messages covered up
By Maureen Magee
SDUT
May 16, 2011

The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the San Diego school district Monday, claiming that La Jolla High School illegally blotted out political messages painted by Iranian-American students on “senior benches” that have long served as an open forum on campus.

Students supportive of the Middle Eastern anti-government movement painted “Freedom For Iran,” and “Down with Dictator,” on three concrete benches in February following a massive protest in Iran. But hours later, the principal had the messages covered up, saying the benches were reserved for positive messages of school spirit.

The American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial counties argues that La Jolla High’s benches have been painted and repainted for years — with no established standard for monitoring the benches, and that “positive messages” is a “vague and unconstitutional standard for curtailing student speech.”

The ACLU is seeking unspecified damages and it hopes to force the school to open up the benches to all students who want to express their freedom of speech.

“Our hope is that La Jolla High School will recognize that the benches are within the free speech protection of the California law,” said Kevin Keenan, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial counties. “These benches have been a glorious forum for free speech at La Jolla High for years. And unless the messages are obscene, libelous or slanderous, they should be allowed under the law.”

The San Diego Unified School District would not comment on the lawsuit that was filed in San Diego Superior Court. A spokesman said the district has not been served legal papers and would not respond until it can formally review such documents.

La Jolla High senior Yasamin Elahi, who painted the original messages that launched the free speech debate, chose not to get involved in the lawsuit. But she said she supports the effort to promote civil rights on her campus.

“I never did any of this to get attention or hurt my school,” said Yasamin, president of the campus Persian Club. “I wrote the messages so kids would realize that there is a lot going on outside the world in La Jolla that they live in. I also want them to fight for free speech.”

Upset that Elahi’s messages were blotted out, La Jolla High senior Yumehiko Hoshijima painted “Freedom for LJHS & Iran” along with “Ed. Code 48907,” on the benches — messages that were also whitewashed by the administration. Yumehiko is working with the ACLU on the lawsuit.

The ACLU said it tried unsuccessfully to work to resolve the matter without litigation but that the district responded negatively.

Question for San Diego ACLU: 'Why Isn't That Happening Here?'

One possible explanation for ACLU's inaction in San Diego schools is ACLU attorney David Blair-Loy's fawning obsequiousness toward school attorneys. He seems to want to please them more than he wants to protect the rights of students and employees. At Fay Elementary School, 25 out of 27 teachers will get pink slips.

'Why Isn't That Happening Here?'
March 20, 2011
by Emily Alpert
Voice of San Diego

Class sizes will balloon all over the city if San Diego Unified goes ahead with plans to slash one out of every six teachers. But the blizzard of pink slips is hitting some of its poorest schools the hardest because the newest teachers are the first to lose their jobs — a phenomenon dubbed "last-in-first-out."

That has happened over and over in San Diego. Yet just two hours to the north in Los Angeles, the practice is being curbed.

Civil rights groups sued Los Angeles Unified and came to an unusual settlement: Schools with high turnover and low but growing scores will be spared when it hands out pink slips. That means that more senior teachers at less troubled schools will go onto the chopping block instead, upsetting the seniority-based system that drives layoffs at most public schools.

San Diego Unified hasn't followed the lead from Los Angeles, at least not yet. It hasn't taken any steps to dampen the impact of pink slips on poorer schools. And it hasn't had to grapple with a lawsuit pushing them to do so.

"Why isn't that happening here?" asked Fernando Hernandez, principal of Perkins, a K-8 school in Barrio Logan that could replace nearly a third of its teachers if layoffs go through. "I don't think it's fair."

The Los Angeles case has been greeted as a gamechanger, but school districts across the state fear it could be a legal minefield. Few are reluctant to pick new fights with their unions. School board President Richard Barrera said the solution is just to stop the layoffs entirely.

"Any solution other than that is going to put the district in court one way or another," Barrera said.

[Note to Barrera: Why not evaluate teachers effectively and fire the worst-performing teachers?]

The Los Angeles deal depends on wiggle room in California law: While schools are supposed to let go of their newest teachers first, they can skip over teachers who are highly needed or hold rare credentials. San Diego Unified is already doing that for a select group of science and special education teachers.

Districts can also deviate from last-in-first-out layoffs to ensure kids have equal rights under the state constitution. Civil rights groups argued in Los Angeles that students in schools that were battered by layoffs and already wracked by teacher turnover were unfairly deprived of their right to an education. They say the law already allows districts to skip over selected schools to protect them from layoffs.

"They shouldn't wait to be sued," said Catherine Lhamon, director of impact litigation for Public Counsel, one of the groups that sued Los Angeles Unified. "They can take that action today."

The case is still being appealed by the teachers union in Los Angeles, which argued it didn't address the root causes of turnover and called it irresponsible to send veteran teachers at other schools packing. But courts have agreed to let the school district go ahead and avoid layoffs at some of its neediest schools.

[Note to teachers union: wouldn't this be a perfect time to fire incompetent teachers? It's not fair to get rid of excellent new teachers while protecting floundering veteran teachers.]

In Los Angeles, attorneys pointed to the devastating effects on a select group of schools — something that San Diego Unified argues it would need to analyze before it could try to skip over specific schools or teachers for equity...



Layoff Déjà Vu for This Hard-Hit School
March 16, 2011
by Emily Alpert
Voice of San Diego

The same City Heights school that thought it could lose nearly all of its teachers three years ago is now threatened with losing nearly all of them again.

Fay Elementary, which used to be known as Jackson Elementary at another site, stood to lose 24 out of its 26 teachers when layoffs were threatened three years ago. The Union-Tribune wrote about its plight. It looked like it was going to be hit harder than many other schools because like many disadvantaged schools, it had a newer, younger staff — and the newest teachers are cut first.

Most of the teacher layoffs ended up being canceled. None of the Jackson teachers lost their jobs. But now Fay has an uncomfortable case of déjà vu.

Out of the 27 regular teachers at the school, 25 will get pink slips and another is a temporary teacher who had no guarantee of keeping his job anyway. That means only one teacher is slated to stay at the site. Most of them are the exact same teachers who were faced with losing their jobs last time.

The big numbers were a big surprise. As of Friday, Principal Eileen Moreno had handed out eight pink slips to warn teachers that they could be laid off. But after San Diego Unified ramped up the number of layoff warnings from just shy of 1,100 to more than 1,300, their numbers grew. The cuts are part of a plan to close an estimated $120 million deficit...

ACLU sues to keep Alpine schools trustee in race

Here is a story from 2010.

ACLU sues to keep Alpine schools trustee in race
By Nathan Max
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
September 17, 2010

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a local school-board member to help him continue his campaign in this fall’s election.

Alpine Union School District Trustee Christopher Newcomb could be forced out of the race if the government determines his candidacy is in violation of the Hatch Act, which stipulates that federal employees cannot run in partisan elections. Newcomb is a federal employee who works for the military.

School-board elections in California, by law, are supposed to be nonpartisan. But the U.S. Office of Special Counsel informed Newcomb in an April letter that if other candidates pick up partisan endorsements, he could be deemed ineligible even though he is running as an independent.

Laughlin McDonald, the director of the ACLU voting rights project, said cases of this nature are extremely rare. McDonald said he can recall the ACLU taking on just one other case involving the Hatch Act since 1972.

Newcomb was out of the country Friday and could not be reached for comment. Phone messages left for the Office of Special Counsel were not returned.

“What’s wrong here is the federal government is saying, ‘It’s not what you do. It’s what your opponent does,’” said David Blair-Loy, legal director of the ACLU’s San Diego and Imperial Counties office. “I don’t think that’s right or fair.”

Newcomb was appointed to the Alpine Union school board on July 8, 2009 after former Trustee Scott Barr moved out of the district. There are eight candidates running for three seats, including Newcomb’s, in the upcoming November election. At least two other candidates have picked up party endorsements, leaving Newcomb’s candidacy vulnerable, Blair-Loy said.

The Office of Special Counsel wrote Newcomb that there is no clear-cut basis for determining when a nonpartisan race turns into a partisan one, and that it would have to make such a determination on a case-by-case basis. However, the letter said if other candidates pick up the support of a political party, then the race becomes partisan.

Blair-Loy argued in his motion that a candidate could simply force a federal employee out of a nonpartisan race by claiming party affiliation.

“We understand the federal government has a legitimate interest in retaining the integrity of the civil service, but this is not about that at all,” Blair-Loy said.

“We don’t think there’s anything about Christopher Newcomb running for Alpine school board that threatens that. He’s not seeking a party endorsement, and he wouldn’t take it if it was given to him. He’s an independent, and it’s a completely nonpartisan election.”

If the Office of Special Counsel finds Newcomb’s candidacy in violation of the Hatch Act, he would be forced to chose between his job and his campaign. A hearing has not yet been scheduled, Blair-Loy said.


It's Hatch Act Season
By Allan Holmes
Nextgov
09/17/10

It's election time, so that means it has to be Hatch Act time, too.

At least two federal employees are entangled in the nuances of the law, which prohibits federal employees from running in partisan elections. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Friday that Christopher Newcomb, identified only as a military employee, is running for the Alpine Union school board. From the Tribune:

School-board elections in California, by law, are supposed to be nonpartisan. But the U.S. Office of Special Counsel informed Newcomb in an April letter that if other candidates pick up partisan endorsements, he could be deemed ineligible even though he is running as an independent.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Newcomb, challenging the special counsel's investigation.

In Virginia, the Alexandria Times reported this week town council member Alicia Hughes may be the subject of an inquiry by the special counsel. Hughes works for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Like Newcomb, Hughes is an independent with no partisan endorsements. But as the Times reported:

Hughes ran for City Council as an Independent last year but was backed by factions like the Alexandria Republican City Committee. Her photograph and name appear on the ARCC website under the heading "On Council," below Republican Councilman Frank Fannon and above a photo President Ronald Regan.

Link: November 2010 election results.

Schools, Union Not Getting Anywhere

I recommend clicking on the link to the original article in order to see all the links in the text!

Schools, Union Not Getting Anywhere
Voice of San Diego
Scott Lewis
March 7, 2011

San Diego Unified School District is facing three scenarios that may lead to the layoff of 1,300 school employees including 500 teachers -- or worse. The first is what the school board hopes for: The governor is able to get state tax extensions on the ballot, and voters approve them, and the deficit they face won't be as breathtaking.

The second is what they seem to be preparing for: Those tax extensions don't pass. They aren't even guaranteed to get on the ballot. This would lead to 500 teacher cuts.

The third scenario is a nightmare: Those tax extensions fail and the state makes even further cuts to education.

The Union Tribune today touches on one potential program on the brink: music.

Newly elected school board member Scott Barnett persuaded his colleagues to open up talks with the teachers union. They've been working under a closed three-year contract. But it doesn't seem to be going well, Barnett reported on his Facebook page. He acknowledged that the school police have been willing to talk. But other employee groups?

"So far we have not had any real movement on any discussion with all the rest. This is ...so far a failure of both school board and union leadership which we are all responsible for. It takes both sides to lead," he wrote, in a discussion that opened up on his page.

Last week, education writer Emily Alpert and NBC San Diego took on the teacher layoffs for San Diego Explained. The so-called "last hired, first fired" rules mean that if the layoffs do come, they'll affect the least senior teachers and therefore usually lower income-area schools. Alpert touched on how a civil rights lawsuit in Los Angeles, which was supported by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, has challenged the teachers union and the seniority rules.

[Maura Larkins comment: The San Diego ACLU has steered clear of any lawsuit against wholesale layoffs of teachers in low income schools. The Los Angeles ACLU is taking up the slack. San Diego ACLU attorney David Blair-Loy believes in being extremely polite to school attorneys. He says litigation is the "worst" option. For his excessive politeness, he was awarded a "civility" award by the San Diego Bar Association. See all Blair-Loy posts.]

The New York Times explained that issue Friday.

ACLU asks DA to drop charges against homeless man

ACLU asks DA to drop charges against homeless man
By Nathan Scharn
San Diego Union-Tribune
March 2, 2011

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked the District Attorney’s Office to drop charges against a homeless man who was dragged out of a Carlsbad City Council meeting for using words considered by some to be profane.

However, the office might not handle the case.

Police officers took Richard Shapiro from the speaker’s lectern after he used a word often used as a substitute for “wussies” during the public comment period at a council meeting Aug. 24.

He was charged with violating the Carlsbad Municipal Code’s section on council decorum, which is listed in the municipal code as a misdemeanor offense that would be prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Office.

“The removal of Mr. Shapiro from this public forum was a clear violation of First Amendment law,” said Sarah Abshear, staff attorney for the San Diego ACLU, in a news release. “His speech did not interrupt the council, and he cannot be censored simply because the council found the speech offensive.”

The ACLU says the wording of the city’s code is unclear, and does not explain what language is considered “vulgar, profane, loud or boisterous.”

“This content-based restriction of political speech is unconstitutional, period, end of sentence,” David Blair-Loy, legal director for the San Diego ACLU, said in the news release.

[Maura Larkins' comment: That's not what Blair-Loy said when this blogger criticized school attorneys. He said I had to obey a brazenly unconstitutional order to erase all mention of the attorneys in question from my website. Blair-Loy loves to talk about the settlements he has reached with these school attorneys. And apparently he loves the "civility" award he got for being so nice to these attorneys. It seems that he supports the constitution in some cases, and vigorously opposes it in others.]

The charges were actually infractions — comparable to traffic tickets — the district attorney determined. The office typically does not prosecute infractions, and has recommended the Carlsbad City Attorney handle the case, said Summer Stephan, chief of the office’s North County branch. Infractions are less severe than misdemeanors.

Because it is unclear which agency will prosecute, the District Attorney’s Office did not yet have a response to the ACLU letter.

Shapiro pleaded not guilty Oct. 6. A trial date has been set for April 26.

The interesting relationship between the ACLU and San Diego Unified School District

It's strange that the ACLU left SDUSD out of its lawsuit regarding school fees. I have often wondered if ACLU attorney David Blair-Loy has compromised the ACLU's basic principles in his eagerness to get along with school attorneys. I think Blair-Loy has worked harder to get his "civility" award from the San Diego Bar Association than to defend the Constitution of the United States.


See all posts re David Blair-Loy.

San Diego Unified Not a Defendant in School Fee Suit
September 10, 2010
by Emily Alpert
Voice of San Diego

While schools in San Diego Unified School District have repeatedly gotten in trouble for charging fees for school activities and supplies, the American Civil Liberties Union ultimately decided not to name the district in its lawsuit against the state of California.

The suit, which accuses the state of failing to protect the right to a free public education, mentions school districts across the state that charge for classes. David Blair-Loy, legal director for the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said unlike others, San Diego Unified has taken significant steps to solve the problem, such as posting information about the law on the school district website.

None of the districts cited in the lawsuit are actually defendants; the ACLU is suing California itself. Blair-Loy said that while schools should not charge illegal fees, the bigger problem is that California has failed to adequately fund schools.

"We know they're getting starved by the state. We sympathize with their dilemma," Blair-Loy said. "The problem would be unlikely to arise if districts were adequately funded to begin with."

Sally Smith, a mother who repeatedly raised the issue of school fees, charging that the practice was illegal, says despite its efforts, San Diego Unified has still failed to explain the law to all parents. Many families lack computer access and need explanations in languages other than English.

School district attorney Mark Bresee said while San Diego Unified is not planning to mail out information about school fees and the law to all parents, the district has provided sample language for schools to use in their own parent newsletters and other communications with families.

"We don't view not being named in the (ACLU) complaint as some sort of vindication," Bresee said. "We had issues in San Diego. We still have issues in San Diego. And we've been working harder than any school district I know of to remedy them."

Here's the letter the ACLU wrote to Bresee explaining why the school district was not named in the lawsuit.

Sweetwater moves toward stricter grad requirements

Plenty of the teachers didn't meet these requirements when they were in high school. If the teachers were capable of bringing the kids up to this level, it would be a different matter, but instituting these requirements in the present situation just means more kids are going to fail. Why is the ACLU getting involved in this? I ask this as a card-carrying liberal. Sadly, I believe the answer is that the ACLU is trying to get publicity and drum up support. I am familiar with several of the leaders of the San Diego ACLU (including Kevin Keenan and David Blair-Loy), and my experience is that these individuals are not so much interested in the success of students or in holding schools accountable for following the law, but rather in advancing their own careers.

Sweetwater moves toward stricter grad requirements
San Diego Union-Tribune
By Ashly McGlone
December 17, 2010

It may get harder to graduate from the Sweetwater Union High School District.

The Board of Education this week voted to require that students meet University of California and California State University admission requirements before they can earn their high school diploma.

No timeline has been set. The requirements include 15 college-prepatory classes in seven academic areas.

Waivers will be available for special needs students and those not fluent in English who enter high school during their junior and senior year.

Trustees opted against a timeline that would have required the courses beginning with the freshman class of 2012.

The resolution passed in a 4-1 vote. Trustee Pearl Quinones, citing her 20 years as a dropout prevention counselor, voted against it.

“Not one size fits all ... What about the ones that don’t want to go to college? All they want to do is graduate.”

According to a presentation by Maria Castilleja, executive director of curriculum and instruction, one-third of last year’s graduates completed the so-called A-G courses.

Nearly 22 percent of seniors currently taking A-G courses are passing with the B average or better, the standard required for university admission.

Students must achieve a C or better in an A-G course in order to receive credit for graduation.

Unknown is how much the transition will cost the district in new textbooks, teacher reassignments and training. The district is looking to cut $23 million from next year’s $320 million budget.

Castilleja said that the board’s move underscores the district’s commitment to college readiness.

In June 2009, San Diego Unified School District became the first district in the county to require A-G standards for graduation, beginning with the 2010 freshman class, but an external audit in September revealed that some 34 percent of students still don’t have access to the courses they need to meet those requirements. Grossmont Union High School District offers A-G courses but does not require them to graduate. Some 37 percent of Grossmont’s 2010 graduates completed the A-G course sequence.

The ACLU has been pushing for districts in California to adopt UC standards. Districts in Los Angeles and San Jose, among others, have made the switch.

Teacher’s union president Alex Anguiano spoke in favor of a gradual transition, suggesting the district begin by ensuring foreign language and art classes are offered at the middle schools.

Residents Karen Janney and Stewart Payne urged caution, saying the district needed to look at data and seek input...

Bonny Garcia, notorious school attorney, shares Daily Transcript Top Attorney honors with ACLU's David Blair-Loy

See all posts about David Blair-Loy.

David Blair-Loy of the ACLU shares Daily Transcript honors with Bonny Garcia, the lawyer whom the San Diego Union Tribune criticized for his shocking actions in regard to Otay Water District. The SDUT particularly criticized the indemnification agreement Garcia had with Otay.

Top Attorneys 2010

The Daily Transcript does
not evaluate the lawyers it
chooses as "Top Lawyers" of
the year; there is no panel of
experts making the choice.
Nor do all the lawyers in town
participate in the vote.
Instead, the voters select
themselves. To win, a lawyer
has to get his pals to send in
ballots. (There is even a
section for insurance
lawyers.) The Daily
Transcript seems to be
promoting itself by exploiting
lawyers who feel the need to
promote themselves. The
most highly regarded lawyers
do not seem to participate in
this contest. David Blair-Loy
has exerted himself mightily
for two years in a row to
become one of the many
"winners" of this contest.

David Blair-Loy article from the DT's online newspaper, San Diego Source

Who shares the Daily
Transcript's Top Attorney
"honor" with Blair-Loy?

See Daily Transcript story on Bonny Garcia

1. Bonny (Bonifacio) Garcia,
(2010) has become notorious
for charging outrageous fees to
school districts such as
Sweetwater Union High School
District. He also assisted in the
collapse of ethics at Otay Water
District. The district, shockingly,
indemnified him for his work,
and when the district was sued,
ratepayers (including the author
of this website) were forced to
pay Daniel Shinoff and Jeffery
Morris of Stutz Artiano Shinoff &
Holtz to defend him.

2. Another attorney from Bonny
Garcia's firm, Marie C. Mendoza,
also won. It's obvious, when
looking at the long list of winners,
that certain law firms got busy and
nominated several of their
lawyers, and everyone in the firm
voted for their fellow employees,
making sure that the few firms that
invested energy in this project had
many winners. Both of the lawyers
from Garcia's firm are in the same
category as Blair-Loy,
"Government Municipal," which
has a total of seven winners. I've
never heard of the other four.

3. Blair-Loy's school attorney pal
Dan Shinoff (yes, the one who
defended Bonny Garcia), also
won the Daily Transcript award
(in 2005). Most lawyers don't vie
for it. School districts have paid
to defend Daniel Shinoff.

A (legal) immigrant dies in Brian Bilbray's district

Reza Lavasani Dana, an Iranian tourist from Sweden who went jogging near Escondido last weekend, has been found dead.

What did Resa Lavasani Dana die from?
It appears he died from the heat (and the fact that no one stopped to help him as he was crawling along the roadside).
He seems to have crawled into the ravine looking for relief from the heat.

It's odd that he was found at the bottom of a ravine; he had been seen hobbling along the road. How and why did he (or his body) leave the road? Why didn't anyone stop to help? Were they afraid he was illegal, and therefore they didn't want to get involved?

Jogger's body believed to have been found
By J. Harry Jones
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 19, 2010 at 10:33 a.m.

The body of a man believed to be that of a Swedish tourist who went jogging Thursday in a rural area north of Escondido was found by Sheriff’s Department detectives Monday morning.

The body was located at 8:30 a.m. in a ravine off a driveway on Mountain Meadow Road. Two sheriff’s officials said there is no reason to suspect foul play at this time, but until the body can be examined the cause of death can’t be known for sure.

The general description and clothing of the man who was found match that of Reza Lavasani Dana, 33, who was last seen Thursday afternoon in the area. High temperatures that day reached the mid-90s in the area.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said witnesses came forward over the weekend saying they had seen a jogger hobbling along the road, as if his leg or ankle had been injured, but thought no more about it until seeing news reports over the weekend about the search for Lavasani Dana.

Detectives Monday morning went to the area and found the body in heavy brush at the bottom of the ravine...

Deputies Search For Vacationer Who Never Returned From Run
Channel 10 News San Diego




WHERE'S YOUR SUGGESTION FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM, MR. BILBRAY?

I'm afraid you're encouragement of anger at immigrants may send the wrong message to those who feel the urge to commit hate crimes. Police need to investigate events like this one, not immigrants just looking for work.


Lawmaker plans to file brief criticizing Obama lawsuit against state
North County Times
By EDWARD SIFUENTES
July 16, 2010

Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, said Friday that he and a group of lawmakers plan to file a court brief in opposition to the Obama administration's legal challenge of Arizona's controversial new immigration law...

"It comes as no surprise," said Pedro Rios, San Diego director of the human rights group American Friends Service Committee. "Brian Bilbray has always pushed for anti-immigrant legislation at the local, state and federal level."

...Arizona overstepped its authority by passing the immigration law, said David Blair-Loy, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties.

"Whether you think the federal government is doing its job or not is beside the point," Blair-Loy said. "The state of Arizona trespassed into the legal prerogative of the federal government. ... Arizona doesn't get to play in the immigration sandbox."


[Maura Larkins note: An acquaintance of mine remembers Brian Bilbray visiting city hall in Imperial Beach in the seventies wearing a motorcycle jacket with a swastika on the back.]


Open Congress.com:

Bilbray was born in Coronado, California, growing up in Imperial Beach, California. He worked as a tax consultant before entering politics. He and his wife, the former Karen Walker, have five children. He is a cousin of former Nevada Democratic Representative James Bilbray.

Bilbray became interested in politics during an attempt by Mayor Bert Stites to carry out an extensive program of eminent domain. He ran successfully for the Imperial Beach city council as a populist, serving during 1976–1987, and was mayor during 1978–1985. Bilbray's tenure as Mayor was marked by his attempt to build a yacht marina in the Tijuana Estuary and build a 1.5 mile breakwater off of the beach of Imperial Beach. [1] Both projects were stopped by the opposition of local environmentalists and surfers. The Tijuana River Estuary is now a National Estuarine Research Reserve and California State Park. The breakwater project was halted with the help of the then fledgling Surfrider Foundation...



Neighbor: Bilbray being investigated by grand jury
North County Times
By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT
October 27, 2006

NORTH COUNTY --- A neighbor of Republican 50th District Rep. Brian Bilbray said Thursday that he was subpoenaed to testify before a San Diego County grand jury in August and spent about an hour and a half answering questions about whether Bilbray lived in his Carlsbad neighborhood...



SAN DIEGANS GOING TO ARIZONA TO PROTEST ANTI-IMMIGRANT LAW

San Diegans, led by Mar Cardenas, are asking everyone who opposes SB1070 to come to Arizona on July 28-30th for Days of Non-compliance. They will be meeting at the Unitarian Church in Hillcrest.


From the website:

We are all Arizona! Don't let this happen here or anywhere else! We must do this as a community and as a nation.

The passage of SB 1070 by Governor Brewer sparked national outrage catalyzing a movement for immigrant rights and lending a sense of urgency to stop the hate and terrorizing of immigrants and people of color in Arizona and across the nation.

Reza Lavasani Dana found dead/Brian Bilbray supports Arizona anti-immigration law

What did Resa Lavasani Dana die from?
It appears he died from the heat (and the fact that no one stopped to help him as he was crawling along the roadside).
He seems to have crawled into the ravine looking for relief from the heat.


This post has been moved to HERE.

It's time for David Blair-Loy to stop mincing around and sue Southwestern College, already

Who's side is he really on? David Loy discusses lawsuits spearheaded by other chapters of the ACLU at Thomas Jefferson School of Law on Aug. 24, 2011.

UPDATE FEB. 2012: It's beginning to be clear that San Diego ACLU's David Loy is not a big fan of free speech about what's really going on in public schools.

See other new posts re David Loy and earlier posts under his former name of David Blair-Loy.

UPDATE: July 22, 2010

I am more concerned than ever about the motivations of local ACLU head counsel David Blair-Loy. He seems deeply concerned with his own career, as evidenced by the effort he must have put in to get busy lawyers to participate in the Daily Transcript's yearly opportunity for lawyers to promote themselves.

The Daily Transcript does not evaluate the lawyers it chooses as "Top Lawyers" of the year; there is no panel of experts making the choice. Nor do all the lawyers in town participate in the vote.

Instead, the voters select themselves. To win, a lawyer has to get his pals to send in ballots. (There is even a section for insurance lawyers.) The Daily Transcript seems to be promoting itself by exploiting lawyers who feel the need to promote themselves. The most highly regarded lawyers do not seem to participate in this contest.

David Blair-Loy has exerted himself mightily for two years in a row to become one of the many "winners" of this contest.

See all ACLU posts.
See all Southwestern College posts.

David Blair-Loy, legal counsel for the San Diego ACLU, gets along too well with school attorneys. He even got an award from the bar association for "high civility" in dealing with them, and with other attorneys.

But the situation at Southwestern has gone on long enough. It's time to stop writing letters to Jonathan Pearl and Raj Chopra, and to take some action.

Witness to Police Misconduct Speaks to ACLU

Witness to Police Misconduct Speaks to ACLU
by Mark Gabrish Conlan/Zenger's Newsmagazine Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010 at 8:51 PM
mgconlan@earthlink.net (619) 688-1886 P.O. Box 50134, San Diego, CA 92165

Chris Carlino spoke at the annual meeting of the San Diego chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) February 18 and relived her experience being pepper-sprayed by an abusive sheriff's deputy at a fundraiser for Congressional candidate Francine Busby eight months earlier. Her attorney, Mike Marrinan, and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse director Beth Givens also spoke at the meeting, and San Diego ACLU staff attorney David Blair-Loy laid out the group's local legal agenda...

ACLU defends rights of those in uniform to criticize government in public

Pendleton Marine back on Facebook
ACLU defends rights of those in uniform to criticize government in public

By Jeanette Steele,
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 14, 2010

CAMP PENDLETON — Marine Sgt. Gary Stein is back on Facebook with an Armed Forces Tea Party page Wednesday.

A day earlier, his story had sparked widespread debate over the rights of uniform wearers to criticize the government in public forums such as social media sites.

The San Diego office of the American Civil Liberties Union fired off a letter Wednesday afternoon to Camp Pendleton, where Stein is stationed, advising commanders that the sergeant’s speech had been “chilled” Tuesday when he was recalled to base just before he was scheduled to conduct a television interview about his three-week-old Tea Party site...

Marine spokeswoman Maj. Gabrielle Chapin said Wednesday that Stein can administer the Facebook site as a private individual, as long as he follows the Pentagon directives, which include a provision that blogs must be written on one’s own time and computer.

But the ACLU has concerns about the legality of the Pentagon’s entire list of rules, which say that military personnel can’t speak before political groups or advocate a political cause to the media or other group discussions.

“We have serious First Amendment problems with that,” said David Blair-Loy, legal director of the ACLU’s San Diego office.

“We think service members ought to be entitled to virtually the same free speech rights as civilians with very limited exceptions for the necessity of combat,” Blair-Loy said in an interview Wednesday.

“Is the average civilian going to assume that the Marine Corps endorses what (Stein) says, just because he says he’s a Marine? I don’t think anybody would believe that.”

Southwestern College Free Speech Zone is somewhat larger than a postage stamp

The ACLU's Best and Worst in San Diego, 2009
Voice of San Diego
January 7, 2010
Kevin Keenan

Southwestern College Free Speech Zone: ...Mario Savio... is no doubt rolling in his grave over the state of free speech on many college campuses -- including post-stamp-sized "free speech zones," like the one at Southwestern College in Chula Vista. Southwestern College's president, Dr. Raj Chopra, has designated a tiny patio area as "Free Speech Plaza," while declaring the rest of the 156-acre campus out of free speech bounds. The ACLU sent a demand letter, calling on the college to revise its policies to allow free speech and assembly throughout the campus. In 2010, we resolve to resolve this matter through negotiation or litigation.

Kevin Keenan is the executive director of the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties.




Here is a link to David Blair-Loy's letter to Raj Chopra.

Fallbrook Union High School free speech case settled

“There is no better place to begin standing up for and teaching basic principles of freedom of speech and freedom of the press than in our schools."


Fallbrook School Leader Ready To Move Past Censorship Case
By Ana Tintocalis
January 4, 2010

...Superintendent Dale Mitchell confirms his district struck a deal with the ACLU to settle a school newspaper censorship case dating back to 2008.

The district will now pay Fallbrook High School's newspaper advisor $7,500 in the settlement. The ACLU gets $20,000.

At the time, Fallbrook High School's principal attempted to block the publication of a student-written article about the resignation of the district's former superintendent. The principal also tried to block a student editorial critical of the district's abstinence-only sex education program.

Mitchell says the campus has adopted new guidelines and procedures so this doesn’t happen again...

The district will also send letters to the students involved, exonerating them from any wrong doing.

The ACLU's David Blair-Loy says the settlement is a victory for student press rights.

“There is no better place to begin standing up for and teaching basic principles of freedom of speech and freedom of the press than in our schools,” Blair-Loy said. “It does take enormous courage for students to stand up to school authorities when (officials) are violating freedom of speech.”

The campus newspaper advisor was removed from his position for insisting to run the information. Five of his journalism students alerted the Student Press Law Center in Virginia. That's when the ACLU got involved.



See also North County Times.

Ramona schools stopped 12-year-old Natalie's presentation about gay SF councilman Harvey Milk

Is it possible that Ramona School District doesn't know that kids talk to each other all the time about sexual issues? Officials seem to have gone too far in their efforts to help some parents keep their children ignorant about sex.

Certainly the school district is responsible for the presentations that teachers give to students, but a presentation by a student is another matter. The district has singled out a student and forbidden her to present to her class a well-written presentation simply because the subject is Harvey Milk, an advocate of gay rights.

See all ACLU posts.
See all David Blair-Loy posts.

School curbs girl's report on gay rights activist Milk
By Greg Moran
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
May 21, 2009

...Natalie, 12, is a student at Mount Woodson Elementary School and did the report last month as part of an independent research project class at the school. Students in the class are required to do PowerPoint projects on a subject of their choosing.

Natalie picked Milk, who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States when he was elected in 1977 to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. After serving 11 months, Milk was assassinated in a City Hall shooting in November 1978 by Dan White, who had resigned as a supervisor but wanted his job back. White also killed San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in the rampage.

The slain supervisor's life was the subject last year of the Academy Award-winning film “Milk,” starring Sean Penn.

[Maura Larkins: It's pretty hard to keep kids in the dark about an Academy Award-winning subject. I would urge parents to discuss the issue with their children rather than trying to hide it.]

The day before Natalie was to present the report in April, she was told by Principal Theresa Grace that she would not be allowed to show her project in class the way other students had done...

Superintendent Robert Graeff and Grace cited the board policy dealing with sex-education matters. The policy states that parents will be notified in writing about any teaching on the subjects of sex or “family life, human sexuality, AIDS or sexually transmitted diseases.”

[Maura Larkins' note: This wasn't "teaching." This was a student presentation.]

...The school rescheduled Natalie's presentation for May 8, at a lunch recess, Blair-Loy wrote. In the meantime, school officials sent home a letter to all parents in the class that included the permission slip...

Natalie gave the presentation to about half the class, Blair-Loy said. The ACLU wants the district to apologize to Natalie, send letters “reflecting such apology” to parents who received the school district permission request, let Natalie give the presentation to the whole class and clarify that the board policy applies only to course content for sex-education instruction. The group also wants the district to say situations like this won't happen again...







RAMONA: ACLU claims school violated student's free speech
By GARY WARTH
North County Times
May 20, 2009

RAMONA ---- The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening a lawsuit against the Ramona Unified School District after an elementary school student was told she could not give a class presentation about Harvey Milk, an openly gay San Francisco supervisor assassinated in 1978.

The ACLU on Wednesday sent a letter to the school district asking for an apology to the student, Natalie Jones, a sixth-grader at Mt. Woodson Elementary School.

David Blair-Loy, legal director of the ACLU for San Diego and Imperial counties, said Jones received 49 out of 50 points for her written presentation, which she prepared for an assignment in her Independent Research Project Class. On April 22, the day before she was scheduled to give her presentation to the class, Blair-Loy said Jones was called to the principal's office and told her subject was too sensitive to give to her class.

The district did offer Jones an opportunity to give her presentation to students whose parents signed permission slips, Blair-Loy said.

School district officials cited a board policy requiring written parental notification before students can hear presentations about sex education, Blair-Loy said.

The ACLU provided an April 28 letter, signed by Mt. Woodson Principal Theresa Grace, notifying parents of students in Jones' class that their children could see the presentation during the lunch recess May 8 if they signed permission slips. Blair-Loy said the district based its decision on a policy requiring signed permission slips for students to see presentations regarding sex-education.

"That's discrimination against protected speech," Blair-Loy said about the request for permission slips. "You cannot single out a specific speech and treat it differently just because you think it's a sensitive subject."

Besides an apology to Jones, the ACLU also is asking the school district to allow her to give the presentation to all members of her class and to clarify in writing the parental notification and permission portion of its "Family Life/Sex Education" policy.

The ACLU has posted Jones' Power Point presentation online.
It can be viewed...[HERE].





Harvey Milk’s legacy honored at local event
Young activist wins essay contest award
By Joseph Peña, SDNN
May 22, 2009

Megan Hogan – like the late, gay activist Harvey Milk, who was honored in San Diego at a diversity breakfast Friday – knows the value of building strong coalitions and inspiring others.

Despite taunts from classmates and objections from parents, the 18-year-old high school senior started the Diversity Club and Gay-Straight Alliance in January at Del Mar’s Winston School, a college-prep school for students with learning disabilities. The goal: to unite students from different backgrounds to underscore the importance of embracing one another’s differences.

“We can learn from each other and understand more about different cultures when we come together,” Hogan said. “We need our allies. We can make each other stronger and get more accomplished.”

Hogan said she relied on allies – her friends and family – to embrace her own differences: she is deaf and gay. Hogan first identified herself as a lesbian in seventh grade. She slowly confided in others, despite facing rejection from some. She’s opened up more, though, she said, and has made good friends who respect her for who she is...

SDUSD consultants help design rule to silence dissenting board members

How do the people running schools stay in power year after year, while continuing to fail our students? Here's how:

New School Board Policy Forbids Criticism
By EMILY ALPERT
Sept. 25, 2008

A new San Diego Unified rule bans school board members from publicly criticizing the superintendent or his staff.

The controversial restriction is part of a new set of governance policies passed earlier this month by the San Diego Unified school board to define its powers and responsibilities. Board members hammered out the policies this summer with the help of paid consultants, hoping to stop their squabbling and the criticized practice of meddling in everyday school decisions...

[Blogger's note: I have come to believe that lawyers and the consultants they approve, not elected officials, are the puppeteers that control virtually all school board members. Even the best board members seem to bow to lawyers' wishes when the issue is money and power.]

School board members "will not publicly express individual negative judgments about superintendent and staff performance," the rule reads. "Any such judgments of superintendent or staff performance will be expressed in executive session." They must also "respect decisions of the board and ... not undermine those decisions" when speaking publicly.

Willfully violating that or any other rule can lead to penalties from a private scolding to public censure and removal from leadership positions or committees, the policies state.

[Blogger's note: Why should the opposition be silenced? School boards make lots of bad decisions, and they SHOULD be discussed publicly. Wrongdoing by schools should not be kept secret. When a board member knows of wrongdoing, he or she should speak out. Sadly, board members are threatened into silence. The same thing happens in the teachers union, where board members who are aware of wrongdoing are threatened into silence by California Teachers Association lawyers.]

...For example, Gompers Middle School Principal Vince Riveroll faced public criticism and was abruptly pulled from his position in 2005 when the school was seeking to become a charter school operated independently from the school district; Riveroll was later reinstated without explanation...

Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and the California First Amendment Coalition derided the rule, saying it flouts the First Amendment and cannot be enforced.

"I'm flabbergasted," said David Blair-Loy, legal director of the regional ACLU chapter. "This is so outrageous. ... It's a complete violation of speech. It undermines democracy."

Consultant Randy Quinn said similar rules limiting public criticism "are generally in place in almost all the districts we've worked with." San Diego Unified signed a $69,000 contract in April with Quinn's company, Aspen Group International, LLC, to train the board on its role and operations. Aspen lists dozens of school boards on its website as clients, including the Guilford County school district where San Diego Unified Superintendent Terry Grier last worked.

[Blogger's note: Just because schools have these rules does not mean the rules are legal. They are merely a tool for hiding dissent, and keeping voters ignorant of problems, including violations of the law.]

Legal experts from the American Civil Liberties Union and the California First Amendment Coalition disagreed. Blair-Loy of the ACLU said the rules are "clear violations of the First Amendment" that undercut citizens' ability to hear the views of their elected officials. His views were echoed by California First Amendment Coalition attorney Terry Francke.

Is the Constitution unpatriotic?

San Francisco Chronicle
Brad K. Brown
June 29, 1998

...On [April 1, 1998] at Fallbrook Union High School, [MaryKait] Durkee took a stand -- or, more accurately, refused to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance...It was a rejection of a society, she said, that has become too violent and a government that has become too corrupt.

Durkee's teacher didn't see it that way; neither did her fellow students, and they erupted.

Her classmates urged world history instructor Lutz Zastrow not to let Durkee ``get away with'' the boycott.

``Give her detention,'' they urged.

When the class had finished its recitation, Zastrow insisted that Durkee stand up alone and say the pledge. Three times he made the demand. Durkee loudly refused...

The country is periodically seized by these displays of patriotic fervor and reactionary measures, said constitutional law expert Robert Cole.

Far from symbolizing true unity and strength, however, they reflect ``a kind of lack of confidence or loss of identity that Americans have in what they really stand for,'' said Cole, professor emeritus and associate dean at the University of California's Boalt Hall School of Law in Berkeley.

...[School officials] say Durkee was disrespectful to her teacher when she raised her voice and have ordered her to serve four hours in Saturday detention.

Immediately after the incident, school officials also told Durkee she must stand during the pledge -- silently, if she wishes -- or leave the room until it's over...
The controversy could have been avoided, Durkee stated in a letter to school officials last month, if her teacher had respected her right to sit quietly...

The school district doesn't have a constitutional leg to stand on, said Jordan Budd, Durkee's ACLU attorney. The Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of thought and speech, he noted. ``You cannot be punished for exercising your constitutional rights,'' he said.

Law expert Cole agrees. So does the Supreme Court...

Fallbrook Union High sits near the Camp Pendleton Marine base in a staunchly Republican enclave of 30,000 people. After the incident, 400 out of 3,000 students signed a petition urging Durkee to stand for the pledge...

Durkee's mother, Ann, says the imbroglio has had a profound effect on her daughter.

...``But my daughter doesn't see the flag or the Pledge of Allegiance in itself as the ideals that these people went to war and fought for and died for. What they fought for, Ann Durkee says, ``is the freedom to live in this country. And the freedom that goes along with that is to think and to act freely.''

...Superintendent Anthony, for his part, says that until he receives an opinion from the school district's lawyers, the disciplinary action stands...