Harkins is no stranger to the ACLU. She has served on the board of directors twice and also served as the board president. While serving as board of directors in 1987, she received the distinct honor of becoming the first African-American president of any ACLU affiliate in the country.

“Harkins has dedicated a lifetime to fight for equality, and her passion has inspired many,” said Ryan Kiesel executive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. “We are excited to honor such a trail-blazer.”

In addition to Harkins’ commitment to the ACLU, she has dedicated her life to civil rights. Witnessing the unfair treatment of women within the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, she began her fight for the fair treatment of women and workers. She became heavily involved with the Communications Workers of America Union, and she would ultimately become the first African American and first female elected as the Executive Vice President for the CWA Local 6016.

She has worked tirelessly to increase voter participation and to educate the masses about women’s rights, racial justice, and human rights.

In 2005, she co-hosted an hour-long weekend talk radio program covering a wide variety of topics but primarily focusing on political and social issues. She gave a voice to those who are typically underrepresented.

Currently, Harkins is tirelessly working to defeat SQ 759- a state question that will end equal opportunity programs in public employment, public education, and public contracting.

Harkins will be presented this distinguished honor at the ACLU’s Bill of Rights Celebration on Nov. 12^th at the Science Museum Oklahoma. To purchase tickets, please contact  Allie Shinn, Outreach Director or to purchase tickets online, please click here.

Execution in Face of Serious Doubts Unconscionable and Unconstitutional

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666;media@aclu.org

ATLANTA – The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles today denied clemency to Troy Davis, despite serious concerns that he was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989.

“The refusal today by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant Troy Davis clemency underscores the vast systemic injustices that plague our death penalty system,” said Denny LeBoeuf, director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. “No innocent person should ever be put to death, and it is unconscionable and unconstitutional to carry out an execution where, as in Troy’s case, significant doubts exist. The death penalty system in the United States is arbitrary, discriminatory and comes at an enormous cost to taxpayers, and it must be ended.”

Visit www.aclu.org for more information.

ACLU of Oklahoma and CAIR to Ask Appeals Court Monday to Uphold Ruling Blocking Implementation of Oklahoma Ban on Sharia and International Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 8, 2011
CONTACT:
Robyn Shepherd, ACLU national, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
DENVER – Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will present arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Monday, September 12 at 1:00 p.m. MDT to ask that the court uphold a ruling blocking implementation of a discriminatory and unnecessary Oklahoma state constitutional amendment that prohibits courts from applying – or even considering – what is broadly described as Islamic “Sharia law” and “international law.”

The measure, officially titled the “Save Our State Amendment,” was temporarily enjoined last year by a lower court for blatantly disfavoring an entire faith and denyingOklahoma’s Muslims access to the judicial system on the same terms as every other citizen. The ACLU and CAIR are seeking to have the amendment permanently struck down.

More information on the case is available at: www.aclu.org/religion-belief/muneer-awad-v-paul-ziriax-oklahoma-state-board-elections-et-al

WHAT:
Arguments in appeal of lower court ruling blocking implementation of anOklahoma state constitutional amendment prohibiting courts from applying or considering Sharia law and international law.

WHO:
Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief; Micheal Salem, cooperating counsel from Salem Law Offices, who will be presenting arguments; and Muneer Awad, Executive Director of CAIR’s Oklahoma chapter and plaintiff in the case will be in attendance and available to speak to reporters.

WHEN:
Monday, September 12, 2011
1:00 p.m. MDT

WHERE:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Byron White U.S. Courthouse
1823 Stout Street
Denver,Colo.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 7, 2011

CONTACT: Josh Bell, (212) 549-2508 or 2666; media@aclu.org

NEW YORK– A decade after the September 11th attacks, theUnited Statesis at risk of enshrining a permanent state of emergency in which the nation’s core values are subordinated to ever-expanding claims of national security, the American Civil Liberties Union warns in a new report released today.

“A Call to Courage: Reclaiming Our Liberties Ten Years After 9/11,” shows how sacrificing America’s values – including justice, individual liberty and the rule of law – ultimately undermines the country’s safety. “It is our fundamental values that are the very foundation of our strength and security,” the report says.

“We have titled it ‘A Call to Courage,’ because we believe that a defining element of our national identity – embodied in our national anthem’s pairing of ‘the land of the free’ with ‘the home of the brave’ – has been imperiled by our leaders’ promotion of (or capitulation to) a politics of fear,” the report explains.

It challenges the contention that theU.S.is engaged in a “war on terror” that takes place everywhere and will last forever, and that therefore counterterrorism measures cannot be balanced against any other considerations such as maintaining civil liberties.Americahas become an international legal outlier in invoking the right to use lethal force and indefinite military detention outside battle zones, the report says, and these policies have hampered the international fight against terrorism by straining relations with allies and handing a propaganda tool to enemies.

Taking on the legacy of the Bush administration’s torture policy, the report warns that the lack of accountability leaves the door open to future abuses. “Our nation’s official record of this era will show numerous honors to those who authorized torture – including a Presidential Medal of Freedom – and no recognition for those, like the Abu Ghraib whistleblower, who rejected and exposed it,” it notes.

The report details how profiling based on race and religion has become commonplace nationwide, with the results of such approaches showing just how wrong and ineffective those practices are. “Targeting the American Muslim community for counterterrorism investigation is counterproductive because it diverts attention and resources that ought to be spent on individuals and violent groups that actually pose a threat,” the report says. “By allowing – and in some cases actively encouraging – the fear of terrorism to divide Americans by religion, race, and belief, our political leaders are fracturing this nation’s greatest strength: its ability to integrate diverse strands into a unified whole on the basis of shared, pluralistic, democratic values.”

Concluding with the massive expansion of surveillance since 9/11, the report delves into the many ways the government now spies on Americans without any suspicion of wrongdoing, from warrantless wiretapping to cell phone location tracking – but with little to show for it. “The reality is that as governmental surveillance has become easier and less constrained, security agencies are flooded with junk data, generating thousands of false leads that distract from real threats,” the report says.

The report points out that many controversial policies have been shrouded in secrecy under the rubric of national security, preventing oversight and examination by the public. “We look to our leaders and our institutions, our courts and our Congress, to guide us towards a better way, and it is now up to the American people to demand that our leaders respond to national security challenges with our values, our unity – and yes, our courage – intact.”

“A Call to Courage” is available online at:

www.aclu.org/calltocourage

More information on the 9/11 anniversary is available at:

www.aclu.org/9-11-anniversary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director

Phone:  405.524.8511

Email:  acluok@acluok.org

OKLAHOMA CITY— Following a nationwide search, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma announced today that Ryan Kiesel will serve as the organization’s next Executive Director.

As Executive Director, Kiesel will serve as the chief executive officer of the ACLU of Oklahoma, with primary responsibility for managing the day-to-day activities and operations of the organization, leading the fundraising, directing and coordinating the work of a professional staff, and serving as the primary spokesperson.

“It is an honor to be a part of an organization that relentlessly defends the rights of Oklahomans at the legislature, in communities large and small, and when necessary at the courthouse,” said Kiesel.

Prior to coming to the ACLU of Oklahoma, Kiesel, an attorney, served three terms in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2004-10 where he was a strong voice in the defense of civil liberties and regularly debated against measures that limited reproductive rights, free speech, religious freedom, and the rights of the accused.

Kiesel said he applied for the position because the mission of the ACLU of Oklahoma reflects his attitude towards public service.

“You don’t have to look hard to find those who disagreed with many of the positions I took in the legislature, but I took those positions, however unpopular they may have been, because it was the right thing to do. The same can be said of the ACLU of Oklahoma; its course is not set by the prevailing political winds of the day, rather it is guided by a steadfast commitment to defending the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” said Kiesel.

Juanita Vasquez, ACLU of Oklahoma Board Member and Chair of the Search Committee, was pleased with the number and quality of applicants for the positions, “Many well qualified candidates were reviewed and interviewed. The Search Committee and voting board membership selected Mr. Kiesel as the best qualified for Executive Director and under his leadership we will continue to defend and protect the civil liberties of all Oklahomans.”

ACLU of Oklahoma Board President Randy Coyne said,”We are delighted that Mr. Kiesel has agreed to lead the preeminent civil liberties organization in the state. Although we received many outstanding applications for this position, I am convinced that Ryan’s professional experience, keen intellect, and commitment to justice for all make him uniquely qualified to spearhead the effort to insure that civil liberties in Oklahoma are not sacrificed on the altar of political expediency or diluted by misguided, fear-mongering government officials.”

The ACLU of Oklahoma is one of 53 affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union, a national not-for-profit, non-partisan, voluntary organization founded in 1920. Its purpose is to protect those rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances, freedom of association, the right to privacy, the right to due process of law and the right to equal protection under the law.

The Oklahoma affiliate was established in 1964 and opened its first headquarters in 1973.

For more information about the ACLU of Oklahoma, please visit www.acluok.org.

-30-

Campaign is One of the Largest Coordinated Information Act Requests in American History

In a massive coordinated information-seeking campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, along with 33 other affiliates across the nation today are sending over 379 requests to local law enforcement agencies large and small demanding to know when, why and how they are using cell phone location data to track Americans. The campaign is one of the largest coordinated information act requests in American history. The requests, being filed under Oklahoma’s freedom of information laws, are an effort to strip away the secrecy that has surrounded law enforcement use of cell phone tracking capabilities.

“The ability to access cell phone location data is an incredibly powerful tool and its use is shrouded in secrecy. The public has a right to know how and under what circumstances their location information is being accessed by the government,” said Catherine Crump, staff attorney for the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. “A detailed history of someone’s movements is extremely personal and is the kind of information the Constitution protects.”

Law enforcement agencies are being asked for information including:

• whether law enforcement agents demonstrate probable cause and obtain a warrant to access cell phone location data;
• statistics on how frequently law enforcement agencies obtain cell phone location data;
• how much money law enforcement agencies spend tracking cell phones and
• other policies and procedures used for acquiring location data.

Law enforcement’s use of cell phone location data has been widespread for years, although it has become increasingly controversial recently. Just last week, the general counsel of the National Security Agency suggested to members of Congress that the NSA might have the authority to collect the location information of American citizens inside theU.S.Also, this spring, researchers revealed that iPhones were collecting and storing location information in unknown files on the phone. Police inMichigansought information about every cell phone near the site of a planned labor protest.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether police need a warrant to place a GPS tracking device on a person’s vehicle. While that case does not involve cell phones, it could influence the rules police have to follow for cell phone tracking.

Congress is considering the Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act, a bill supported by the ACLU that would require police to get a warrant to obtain personal location information. The bill would protect both historical and real-time location data, and would also require customers’ consent for telecommunications companies to collect location data.

Today’s requests are part of the ACLU’s Demand Your dotRights Campaign, the organization’s campaign to make sure that as technology advances, privacy rights are not left behind.

More information about the requests is available www.aclu.org/locationtracking

Religious Monument At Oklahoma Courthouse Is Unconstitutional

March 1, 2010

Court Declines Review Of Appellate Decision That Government-Sponsored Ten Commandments Monument Improperly Endorses Religion

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court today let stand a federal appellate ruling that a government-sponsored Ten Commandments monument placed on a county courthouse lawn is unconstitutional and must be removed. By rejecting an appeal by the commissioners of Haskell County, Oklahoma, and declining to review the case, the Supreme Court left undisturbed a unanimous June 2009 decision by the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that the county commissioners advanced their personal religious beliefs by erecting the monument. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Oklahoma on behalf of a local resident.

“The Tenth Circuit’s decision was an important victory for religious freedom and we are pleased that the Supreme Court left that ruling undisturbed,” said Daniel Mach, Director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “The Ten Commandments undoubtedly have religious significance for many, and we would vigorously defend the right of individuals, churches, or businesses to display this monument publicly on their own property. But the government should not be in the business of promoting religious viewpoints.”

In its June 2009 decision, the federal court of appeals ruled that the monument violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because a “reasonable observer would view the monument as having the impermissible principal or primary effect of endorsing religion.” The monument is unconstitutional, the court held, because the proposal to erect the monument, its approval by the Haskell County Board of Commissioners and the commissioners’ expressly religious defense of the monument “strongly reflect a government endorsement of religion.”

“All Oklahomans, of all creeds – and not just those who share the beliefs of those in power – should feel welcome at the county courthouse,” said Joann Bell, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma.

The ACLU and the ACLU of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit challenging the display of the monument in October 2005, a little over a year after the Haskell County Board of Commissioners approved its placement on the county courthouse lawn. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma ruled against the plaintiffs in August 2006, prompting an appeal to the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Tenth Circuit reversed the decision, unanimously ruling in favor of plaintiffs, and later rejected defendants’ petition for a rehearing en banc, i.e., in front of all of the court’s judges.

Plaintiffs in the Green v. Haskell County (10 Commandments) case.

Lawyers on the case, Haskell County Board of Commissioners v. James W. Green, include Mach, Heather L. Weaver of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief; Lane Dilg, formerly of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief; Charles S. Thornton of the ACLU of Oklahoma; Tina Izadi, formerly of the ACLU of Oklahoma; and cooperating counsel Micheal Salem of Salem Law Offices.

Additional information about the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief is available online at: www.aclu.org/religion

Additional information about the ACLU of Oklahoma is available online at:
www.acluok.org

Read the opinion.

July 21, 2009

A musician was arrested at the Cherokee Casino in Catoosa, Okla., last week for allegedly trampling an American flag as part of his act. According to The Tulsa World, the musician was originally charged with treating the U.S. flag with indignity, and the complaint was later amended to outraging public decency.

The arrest of this musician is an unconstitutional violation of his First Amendment rights, backed by settled U.S. Supreme Court precedents.

“I find it surprising that law enforcement would make such a glaring mistake in light of such a well-established line of case law,” said C.S. Thornton, Deputy Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. “We are appalled at the actions taken by law enforcement and are calling for the immediate dismissal of any pending charges against Marion Gooding.

“This is a clear violation of Gooding’s First Amendment rights.”

June 9, 2009

DENVER – A unanimous federal appeals court today ruled that county commissioners in Haskell County, Okla. unconstitutionally sought to promote their personal religious beliefs by erecting a Ten Commandments monument on the front lawn of the county’s courthouse. The decision by the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals comes in challenge filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Oklahoma on behalf of a local resident.

“This is a significant ruling for the citizens of Oklahoma,” said Joann Bell, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. “Religion should not be something that should be allowed to divide the citizens of this state, which is what happens when the government endorses one particular set of religious beliefs. All Oklahomans, of all creeds – and not just the beliefs of those in power – should feel welcome at county courthouse.”

In today’s decision, the court ruled that the erection of the monument violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution because a “reasonable observer would view the monument as having the impermissible principal or primary effect of endorsing religion.” The erection of the monument was unconstitutional, the court ruled, because the proposal to erect the monument, its approval by the Haskell County Board of Commissioners, and the commissioners’ expressly religious defense of the monument ”strongly reflect a government endorsement of religion.”

The ACLU and the ACLU of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit challenging the display of the monument in October 2005, a little over a year after a Haskell County lay minister, who said “the Lord had burdened his heart” about having a Ten Commandments monument placed on the courthouse lawn, received permission from the Haskell County Board of Commissioners to build and erect it.

“Today’s decision is a victory for the cherished American value of religious freedom,” said Daniel Mach, Director of Litigation for the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “The government should not be in the business of promoting religious viewpoints. In our country, people should be free to express their faith – or to exercise their right to hold no belief at all – without government interference or favoritism.”

Several days after the erection of the monument, a dedication ceremony was held that included opening and closing prayers, and remarks from several local pastors who talked about the religious significance of the monument. And in the months following the dedication ceremony, members of the Haskell County Board of Commissioners spoke frequently, publicly and often in expressly religious terms in defense of the monument, including statements like “That’s what we’re going to live by, that right there…The good Lord died for me. I can stand for him, and I’m going to.”

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma ruled against the plaintiffs in August 2006, prompting an appeal to the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

A copy of today’s ruling is available online at: www.aclu.org/religion/public/39784lgl20090608.html

April 8, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY – The ACLU of Oklahoma applauds Governor Brad Henry for striking down a Voter ID bill that could have cost many eligible Oklahomans the right to vote. Senate Bill 4 would have required Oklahoma voters to provide proof of identity in order to vote. If voters did not show proof of identity, they would be required to vote by provisional ballot. Over 80 percent of provisional ballots were rejected in the last general election. Minutes after Henry vetoed SB 4, the Republican-controlled House passed SB 692 – a similar bill that would bypass the governor and go to a vote of the people in 2010.

“We are dealing with major budget shortfalls, high unemployment, and unaffordable health care, yet the legislature wants to waste time to debate an issue that is not a problem. There is not evidence of in-person voter fraud in Oklahoma,” said Tamya Cox, ACLU of Oklahoma Legislative Counsel. “We expect the legislature to deal with real, tangible problems such as inadequate space in our jails, and our teachers being underpaid – not fantasy issues.”

The League of Women Voters, AARP, NAACP, and other civic organizations oppose all Voter ID measures.

“The right to vote is one of our most precious freedoms, guaranteed to all eligible U.S. citizens regardless of their race, gender, religion, income level or social status,” said Gov. Henry in his veto message. “And policymakers must be especially careful when tinkering with this fundamental right.”

For more information, please go to www.voterok.com.