Litigation
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 >
SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY AND TRAVEL RESTRICTION CASE DISMISSED
6.26.08
The case of Doe v. Parish was dismissed under a mutual agreement by both plaintiffs and defendants during February of 2008. The lawsuit had been handled by the ACLU of Oklahoma in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma since September of 2006.
The ACLU challenged the enforcement and constitutionality of sex offender residential restrictions in Tulsa on behalf of four unidentified men and one unidentified woman. As registered sex offenders, they challenged revised state statutes that would have rendered almost all of Tulsa off-limits for them to live, work, attend church or travel. Defendants in the case included officials with the Department of Corrections, Governor Brad Henry, Attorney General Drew Edmondson, the Tulsa County District Attorney, the Tulsa County Sheriff and the Tulsa Police Chief.
Legislation enacted during the 2006 session of the Oklahoma Legislature mandated a “zone of safety” around elementary, junior high and high schools; licensed child care facilities; playgrounds; and parks. The revision in state law prohibited any person subject to the sex offender registry from being within 300 feet of a “zone of safety,” severely limited where sex offenders could live and established punishments. Although several of the plaintiffs had resided in their homes More >
ACLU SETTLES SEX OFFENDER LAWSUIT
6.26.08
The ACLU of Oklahoma has successfully concluded its representation of an unidentified plaintiff in an action filed against defendants within Oklahoma County. The case of Doe v. Lane was filed during January in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
John Doe, the ACLU’s anonymous client in the lawsuit, challenged the enforcement of residential restrictions for sex offenders. His identity was protected by an order of the Court issued on January 27, 2006.
The Oklahoma City Police Department was attempting to unfairly enforce a state law that prohibited registered sex offenders from residing within a 2,000 feet radius of a school or educational institution. Doe had tried to comply with the regulation and had even sold a house he had purchased after being informed by the Oklahoma City Police Department Registry Division that it was too close to a school and that he would be arrested if he did not move within 60 days.
Doe subsequently bought another house after consulting with the Registry Division, which assured him that could legally reside in that location. Several months later, he was contacted by the Oklahoma City Police Department and told that “new and improved” measuring techniques and “new” legal interpretations indicated that More >
BAPTIST MINISTER ACQUITTED OF LEWDNESS CHARGE
6.26.08
Lonnie Latham
A Baptist minister arrested in January of 2006 for inviting an undercover male police officer to a hotel room for sexual activity was acquitted on March 7, 2007. The Rev. Lonnie Latham, a former board member of the Oklahoma Baptist Convention, had been charged with offering to engage in an act of lewdness. Oklahoma County District Judge Roma McElwee issued the acquittal following a brief trial.
Latham was represented in the criminal misdemeanor case by Mack Martin, an attorney in private practice. However, the ACLU National Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, with assistance from the ACLU of Oklahoma, became involved in the case last year by filing a friend-of-the-court brief. The ACLU’s brief argued that speaking with another adult of the same gender about non-commercial, consensual sex should not be a crime, since the sexual activity itself is constitutionally protected by the Lawrence v. Texas precedent.
“We applaud the court for acquitting Rev. Latham. As we have said since he was arrested, it is not a crime to have a conversation with someone about consensual sex,” said ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director Joann Bell about Judge McElwee’s verdict. “The Supreme Court has made it crystal clear that consenting adults are free More >
