Archive for June, 2008
TEN COMMANDMENTS APPEAL ARGUED BEFORE TENTH CIRCUIT
6.26.08
Haskell County Ten Commandments Monument
The appeal of a 2006 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma to retain a Ten Commandments monument on the Haskell County Courthouse lawn was argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver Colorado on October 4, 2007. Daniel Mach, Director of Litigation for the National ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, presented the oral argument to the Tenth Circuit. He was advised by Micheal Salem, an ACLU of Oklahoma cooperating attorney who handled the case at the District Court trial with former ACLU of Oklahoma Staff Attorney Tina Izadi.
The ACLU of Oklahoma originally filed the case on behalf of plaintiff James W. Green, who objected to the placement of the Ten Commandments monument on the lawn of the Haskell County Courthouse in Stigler, Oklahoma. Stigler resident Sharon Nichols acted as the representative on behalf of the ACLU of Oklahoma membership. The judge at the District Court dismissed the controversy as a “kerfuffle” and ruled that the monument was not erected by the County with a religious purpose. The case is Green v. Board of Commissioners of the County of Haskell.
More >ACLU DEFENDS STUDENT REFUSING TO SAY PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
6.26.08
Travis Busby, a seventh-grader at Nimitz Middle School in Tulsa, refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance on June 8, 2005. He also opted not to participate in reciting the Pledge. As a result, the school’s assistant principal imposed a two-day suspension as punishment.
Busby’s mother contacted the ACLU of Oklahoma and reported the incident to Staff Attorney Tina Izadi. After reviewing the mother’s report, Izadi initiated dialogue with Tulsa Union Public Schools, and was referred to the district’s attorney. During negotiations with the school’s lawyer, she explained the ACLU’s position that Busby’s punishment was a violation of his First Amendment rights. The district agreed not to penalize Busby for the work he had missed while out of school.
MUSTANG STUDENT OVERCOMES ZERO-TOLERANCE PENALTIES
6.26.08
Chloe Smith
Last fall, eighth grade Mustang student Chloe Smith accidentally left prescription medication in her purse without checking it into the school office. Smith was taking the non-addictive medicine under the direction and supervision of a physician.During a classroom sweep, drug dogs allegedly alerted school officials that Smith’s coat contained contraband. A search ensued, and the prescription medication was discovered in her purse.
As a result of her mistake, Smith and her parents were informed that two disciplinary options were available. She could choose to be suspended for the remainder of the school year, or she could opt to receive a ten-day suspension accompanied by 8 hours of drug counseling and monthly, random urinalysis. The family would be required to shoulder the expense of the counseling and drug testing.
This draconian discipline for a relatively minor infraction concerning prescription drugs was justified by Mustang school administrators as being mandated by a district-wide zero-tolerance policy. Smith’s mother believed that the punishment was excessive, and she contacted the ACLU of Oklahoma.
Staff Attorney Tina Izadi represented Smith in negotiations with the Mustang School District and at an administrative appeal hearing. Smith was returned to the classroom after five days of suspension pending the hearing.
At the More >
BALLOT PETITION HITS FIREWALL IN OKLAHOMA
6.26.08
In a significant blow to a national effort to curtail equal opportunity in America, backers of a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution that would end equal access and opportunity programs in the state asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court on April 4, 2008 to withdraw the measure from consideration. The move comes after supporters of the so-called Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative -spearheaded by wealthy California businessman Ward Connerly’s American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) as part of a national crusade against affirmative action – failed to collect a sufficient number of valid signatures needed to get the proposal on this November’s ballot. In conceding defeat, Connerly characterized the ACRI’s efforts in Oklahoma as a “miscalculation” and “a roll of the dice.”
“When Ward Connerly rolled the dice by filing his ill-conceived petition, he gambled with not only his funds but also Oklahoma taxpayer dollars,” said Chuck Thornton, ACLU of Oklahoma Legal Director.
Oklahoma is one of five states, along with Arizona, Colorado, Missouri and Nebraska, currently targeted by Connerly and his ACRI. The deceptively worded initiatives claim to end “discrimination” and “preferences,” but have been cited as the basis for rolling back a wide range of affirmative action programs in each state where More >
