tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-169753012024-03-19T05:26:10.581-04:00Speaking FreelyOfficial blog of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of PennsylvaniaACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.comBlogger1056125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-55113033942489802422013-12-23T15:00:00.000-05:002013-12-23T15:09:39.486-05:00SLIDESHOW: 17 Reasons To Give To The ACLU 2013 was a busy year for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, check out some of our highlights below:</div><i>(click to the left or right of each picture to view the slideshow)</i><br />
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Defending First Amendment freedoms, equality, privacy rights and fundamental fairness requires constant vigilance and support. Each year, individuals and institutions demonstrate their commitment to those shared constitutional values through steady gifts and grants to the ACLU Foundation. We rely on the support of our members, volunteers and donors to do the work we do. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today!<a href="http://www.aclupa.org/takeaction/makeataxdeductiblegift/" target="_blank"> DONATE</a>ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com71tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-66247072216157248422013-11-01T15:48:00.001-04:002013-11-01T17:05:55.975-04:00Big Blow for Women’s Health in Texas<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Mike Garvey, Clara Bell Duvall Reproductive Freedom
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMUv8QgqpAXuCmv7FwINn50-c4OBR_kfEESqWofs83Kd1lltdeaulJv58V8Hghm9K5C2ovdqt6dtE5mwFt8k5ESjKByuUhlCqlKhsed1oXBZUl4bqd6WEgbmqg1AQbO9t7GES/s1600/PP+Rally+Day+-+DC+-+04-07-11+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMUv8QgqpAXuCmv7FwINn50-c4OBR_kfEESqWofs83Kd1lltdeaulJv58V8Hghm9K5C2ovdqt6dtE5mwFt8k5ESjKByuUhlCqlKhsed1oXBZUl4bqd6WEgbmqg1AQbO9t7GES/s320/PP+Rally+Day+-+DC+-+04-07-11+011.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These days, it seems that victories for abortion access and
rights are rare. The news frequently portrays stories about restriction, not
expansion, of access. So, supporters of access received something of a win
Monday, when a district court judge in Texas issued a permanent injunction on a
particular provision – that doctors performing abortions must have hospital
admitting privileges within 30 miles of the site – of a restrictive new state abortion
law. The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought by, among others, the ACLU,
Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and a number of women’s
health centers in Texas. The judge in this case ruled that the provision had
nothing to do with safety and more to do with placing an undue burden on a
woman seeking an abortion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Thursday, the Fifth Circuit of Appeals – following an
emergency appeal by the state – overturned the ruling, allowing the law to go
into effect while a legal case against it moves forward in court.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This isn't a small decision. It’s a disaster. Because
the law was allowed to go into effect, according to the New York Times,
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/19/us/perry-signs-texas-abortion-restrictions-into-law.html" target="_blank">as many as 13 of Texas’ 36 health centers that currently provide abortion services will be forced to stop providing them</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What the appeals court’s decision won’t decrease, however,
is the number of women who decide that abortion is the right course of action
for them. These are women who might live in areas those 13 clinics would
ordinarily serve. They’re women who, because of this restrictive law, will be
forced to travel long distances and potentially plan multi-day trips to access
abortion services. They’re women who might not be able to afford to travel.
They’re women who, having no feasible option, might decide to undergo an unsafe
abortion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The appeals court itself found that the regulation might
increase the cost of accessing a provider while simultaneously decreasing the
number of providers. But because those are incidental effects of a regulation
that serves a “valid purpose,” the regulation was allowed to stand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The assertion that this provision is about women’s health is
laughable. Texas is a huge state. Did its government not grasp that the
admitting provisions requirement would make it close to impossible for poor and
rural women to access abortion? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We know the answer - the effect of decreased access isn't incidental. This is a law signed by a governor whose stated goal is to wipe out
abortion, period. It’s the intent of a state government that doesn't trust
women to make decisions about their own lives, and values its own misguided
judgment more than the people who actually provide abortion care. No, it’s not
incidental. It’s patently intentional and leading us back to a pre-<i>Roe</i> world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Mike Garvey is </span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">an <span class="apple-style-span">MSW candidate at the
University of Pennsylvania.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></div>
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<br />ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com176tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-80583986320992709592013-10-31T12:02:00.002-04:002013-10-31T12:02:50.080-04:00From the Land of the Liberty Bell: Investigate the NSA<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">by
Andy Hoover, Legislative Director, ACLU of PA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here in Pennsylvania, we have a full-time legislature, so as
the lobbyist for the Pennsylvania affiliate of the ACLU, I have plenty of
opportunities for face time with state legislators and staff. Since June, I’ve
been hearing a similar refrain repeatedly: NSA surveillance is a major problem.
We deal with a lot of state-level surveillance legislation, and I’ve joked with
legislators and staff that Edward Snowden has made my job a lot easier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
formalized that concern by passing a resolution to protest the NSA’s sweeping
surveillance activities and to call on Congress to create a special committee
to investigate and to recommend revisions to the USA PATRIOT Act and for
reforms at the NSA and the FBI. The vote on </span><a href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2013&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=R&billNbr=0456&pn=2350"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">House
Resolution 456</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> wasn’t even close. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The final tally: </span><a href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2013&sess_ind=0&rc_body=H&rc_nbr=825"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">194 to
2</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As an observer of civil liberties trends in the Pennsylvania
General Assembly, I was not surprised by this overwhelming bipartisan vote. Our
state House has made it clear on repeated occasions that it is serious about
privacy. In October of 2012, the House defeated legislation to require DNA
collection from people who have been arrested but not convicted of a crime. Two
weeks ago, the House passed an amendment to require prosecutors to obtain a
search warrant before they can access data from a prescription drug monitoring
program. Both of these victories for civil liberties happened despite the
objections of the Office of the Attorney General and the Pennsylvania District
Attorneys Association.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Pennsylvania House has good reason to worry. Since June,
disclosure after disclosure has revealed that the NSA is vacuuming up the call
records of nearly all Americans and is filtering through the contents of our
international communications. The disclosures haven’t stopped though, and with
each disclosure more and more Americans are saying “</span><a href="https://rally.stopwatching.us/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Stop watching us</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our state House made a strong statement in passing HR 456.
We hope that Sens. Bob Casey, Jr. and
Pat Toomey and the rest of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation get the
message clearly and support </span><a href="https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu-action/issues/alert/?alertid=62981921&type=CO?ms=fb_acluaction_131028_nsasurveillance"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the USA
FREEDOM Act</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> introduced by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.)
and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) this week. </span><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/usa-freedom-act-real-spying-reform"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Among
other things</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/1599/cosponsors?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22USA+FREEDOM+Act%22%5D%7D"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the
bill</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
rightly ends the indiscriminate collection of American call records, as well as
prohibits the bulk collection of any other records, and requires a court order
before the government can search through its databases containing the
international communications of Americans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pennsylvanians won’t stand for an overly-intrusive
government that pokes its nose in our daily lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-84238150546241804942013-09-20T12:21:00.000-04:002013-09-20T12:21:02.878-04:00Breaking down barriers. But not in a good way.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Earlier this week, I had the chance to give a talk at the annual meeting of our south central PA chapter. The chapter always likes to get an update on <i>what up </i>at the General Assembly, so I oblige them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also, they meet at a bar. So there's that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I started by raising three issues and asked our members to note what these bills have in common:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The creation of a <b>prescription drug monitoring program </b>(House Bill 317), run by the state government, in which they would collect personal data about people who receive prescriptions for medications on Schedules II through V of the federal controlled substances act. The existing bills on this topic, including HB 317, are extremely weak on privacy protections. Among other problems, every bill allows law enforcement to snoop in the database without a search warrant and without a finding of probable cause. They never have to tell a court what they're doing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>The collection of DNA samples from people who have not been convicted of a crime </b>(Senate Bill 150). DNA would be collected from people who have been arrested but not convicted of felonies and some misdemeanors and then sent to the DNA databanks of the Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI. The government would not need a court order to collect the sample.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The use of <b>an administrative subpoena to obtain personally identifying information </b>about an individual from an internet service provider in child sex offense investigations (House Bill 90). An administrative subpoena is issued by a prosecutor's office and is not reviewed by a court. Under current law, prosecutors need to obtain a search warrant from a court to get this information.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can detect the pattern here. All three of these issues involve advances in technology and easing the government's ability to obtain personal information about private citizens. Not surprisingly, all three bills are supported by the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and the Office of the Attorney General, as they are currently written.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a disturbing trend. We are heading into territory where government officials will use technology to break down the walls between us and them. The revelations about the NSA's metadata collection have made that obvious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They have to be stopped. Two weeks ago, Rep. Matt Baker of Tioga County announced his intent to introduce a prescription drug monitoring bill, so last week we asked our supporters to <a href="https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu/issues/alert/?alertid=62920046&type=ST&etname=Action+Alert+-++Baker+prescription+drug+database+bill&etjid=1041101">drop a note to their state rep</a> to ask him or her to not co-sponsor the Baker bill.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Their appetite for our personal information is insatiable, and they'll only stop if they hear an outcry from the people. </span><br />
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<br />Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750293109396441767noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-91257023344218075622013-08-30T08:51:00.000-04:002013-08-30T08:52:25.759-04:00Mazel tov: Thoughts on my freedom to marry<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://d320ze5h7gg57a.cloudfront.net/files/images/lgbt/whitewood/profile/Dawn&Diana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://d320ze5h7gg57a.cloudfront.net/files/images/lgbt/whitewood/profile/Dawn&Diana.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dawn Plummer and Diana Polson, two of our clients in <i>Whitewood v. Corbett</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i></i><br /></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">So, I got married last weekend. It was a small wedding, performed
in accordance with my observant Jewish faith and practice as well as in
accordance with the law and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
And everyone had a lovely time, including me and my new husband, whose name is
Sanford, but who is known as Sandy.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">As we ran the errands and got all the required paperwork in order
in the weeks leading up to the wedding, I couldn’t help but think about other
couples who would like to get married, but can’t… like those who are a part of
<a href="http://www.aclupa.org/legal/legaldocket/whitewoodetalvcorbettetal.htm">our ACLU-PA lawsuit</a> to rid the state of its Defense of Marriage Act. Two
weeks ago, as I waited in line to apply for and then a week ago when picking up
our marriage license, I thought about those women whose loves may have the same
name as my love, but who happen to be <i>female </i>Sandy’s. They
can’t sit in a stuffy hallway in the Allegheny County Marriage License Bureau,
smiling because you just can’t help it, and realizing how “official” everything
is about to become. They and my gay men friends- couples who have been together
for 20 and 30 years, and who have warned Sandy that he better treat me right –
cannot know the tingle of saying for the first time, “This is my husband” or
“This is my wife”, without anyone casting a sidelong glance.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Sandy and I are not exactly a young couple and we are combining
two complete households, so we had no desire or need to register for gifts.
Instead we thanked friends and family for the gift of their love and support
and asked that if they wished to do something to honor and celebrate our
marriage, that they make a donation to one of six specified organizations
(including the <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/supportus/neworrenewalmembership.htm">ACLU-PA</a>, of course). We received an acknowledgment from one of
the organizations a few days ago—it was addressed to “Ms. Feige and <i>Ms.</i> R_______”.
Obviously the Western PA Humane Society had no trouble acknowledging the
marriage of what they thought to be two women!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">As Jews, we break a glass at the conclusion of the ceremony as a
reminder that not all is well and peaceful and joyful in the world and that our
job is to make the world better – <i>tikkun olam</i>. I was happy
and joyful on my wedding day but was reminded that not everyone can have
that same joy and I am more committed than ever to doing what I can—as an
individual and as an ACLU-PA staff member – to bring about the freedom to marry
for all Pennsylvanians.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Barb
Feige, Deputy Director, ACLU-PA</span></span></i></div>
Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750293109396441767noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-60915206989384773542013-08-27T10:01:00.001-04:002013-08-27T10:14:15.514-04:00"A grave miscarriage of justice"<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last week, after 21 years on Pennsylvania’s death row, James
Dennis of Philadelphia finally had his moment of justice. Federal district
court Judge Anita Brody ruled that the 1992 conviction of Dennis for the murder
of Chedell Ray Williams was “a grave miscarriage of justice,” citing highly
questionable eyewitness identification, evidence that was withheld from the
defense by the prosecution, and ineffective assistance of defense counsel.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Judge Brody went so far as to say that “in all probability
he did not commit” this crime.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 1991, Ms. Williams was killed when she was robbed for her
earrings by two men. Prosecutors presented no physical evidence and never
recovered the stolen earrings. Dennis was convicted and sentenced to death on
the basis of three eyewitnesses.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But half of the witnesses to the crime described someone who
was taller and heavier than Dennis and didn’t pick Dennis from a photo lineup. Even
those three who did pick him and testified initially identified him with
hesitation. Ms. Williams’ companion that day described the perpetrators as
people she recognized from her high school, which Dennis did not attend. And a
witness who could have confirmed Dennis’s alibi that he was on a bus miles away
from the shooting gave the incorrect time of day that she saw him, an error of
which the prosecution was aware.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office withheld this
critical evidence from Dennis’s defense counsel. Meanwhile, his trial attorney
never interviewed a single witness.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Judge Brody vacated Dennis’s death sentence and conviction
and ordered a new trial within six months. Otherwise, Dennis must go free,
according to the ruling.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams has yet to
announce his next move, but in a statement reminiscent of his predecessor,
Lynne Abraham, he claimed that Dennis’s appeals team is lying. Meet the new
boss, same as the old boss.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This case should shock the senses. The commonwealth of
Pennsylvania sought to execute a man under these highly questionable
circumstances. Governor Corbett even signed a death warrant for Dennis in 2011,
which was vacated by the federal court.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While those of us who work regularly on this issue- I’ve
been doing it for 13 years- don’t really lose the outrage factor when we hear
about a case like this, we are certainly not surprised by the circumstances
that created it. Mistaken eyewitness identification is the number one reason
why innocent people are convicted of crimes. According to <a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/understand/Eyewitness-Misidentification.php">the Innocence Project</a>,
75 percent of people who have been exonerated by DNA testing were convicted by
eyewitness identification.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Regrettably, official misconduct by public officials too
often plays a role in wrongful convictions. While the Innocence Project does
not quantify how often <a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/understand/Government-Misconduct.php">prosecutorial misconduct</a> occurs,
it notes, “DNA exonerations have exposed official misconduct at every level and
stage of a criminal investigation.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finally, the commonwealth’s broken indigent defense system regularly
leads to breakdowns in the criminal justice system. <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/pressroom/patternoferrorpennsylvania.htm">More than 200 death sentences have been vacated</a> in Pennsylvania since capital punishment was
reinstated in 1978,
and a majority of those involved ineffective assistance of defense counsel.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The confluence of these missteps in this case led to the
conviction of and a death sentence for a man that a federal judge now says is
likely innocent.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The death penalty in Pennsylvania is a failed government
program. Jimmy Dennis’s day in the sun has finally come. And the day of
reckoning for capital punishment should not be far behind.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Cross-posted at <a href="http://padp.org/a-grave-miscarriage-of-justice/">Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty</a></i> </span></div>
Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750293109396441767noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-43493680513636024562013-08-01T18:46:00.001-04:002013-08-01T18:46:27.524-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 12: Closing Arguments<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Sara
Mullen, Associate Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today
was the twelfth and final day of the voter ID trial. In front of a full
courtroom, which included Secretary of State Carol Aichele, attorneys for both
sides presented their final arguments to Judge McGinley. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jennifer
Clarke, executive director of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia
(PILCOP), argued for the petitioners. The law, she said, unreasonably burdens the
cherished right to vote. Voting shouldn’t be a test of whether people are
willing to go to PennDOT multiple times or endure immense physical pain to get an
ID. Pennsylvania’s constitution, unlike
the U.S. Constitution, specifically states that “no power… shall at any time interfere
to prevent the free exercise of the right to suffrage.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms.
Clarke walked the court through the various figures for people lacking
PennDOT-issued ID, including testimony from Rebecca Oyler, until recently an
official with the Department of State, who estimated 4-5% of registered voters
(or 320,000-400,00 individuals) lack ID, to Secretary Aichele’s statement at a
recent legislative hearing that 3.5% of Philadelphia voters who voted in
November 2012 lacked ID (if applied statewide, that would be 190,000), to
petitioner’s expert Dr. Bernard Siskin’s estimate of 511,000 registered voters
who lack ID. No matter who you ask, it is clear that at least a hundred
thousand if not hundreds of thousands of registered voters are at risk of disenfranchisement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout
her argument Ms. Clarke wove in stories of the real voters who would be
disenfranchised if the voter ID law is allowed to go into effect. Voters like
Marian Baker, an elderly Berks County woman who wanted to obtain a valid ID after
she learned about the law. The last time she had renewed her ID she had to
stand in line for four hours at PennDOT, but a leg injury prevented her from doing
so again. She called PennDOT to explain her situation and asked for an accommodation,
including obtaining an ID through mail, but was told she would have to wait “just
like everybody else.” Unaware that the injunction blocking enforcement of the
law had been extended to the May 2013 primary, she did not vote in that
election, mistakenly believing she did not have the necessary ID.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The commonwealth
has argued that thanks to the “streamlined” process for obtaining a Department
of State (DOS) ID at one of the 71 PennDOT locations around the state, voters
can easily obtain the necessary ID for voting, said Ms. Clarke. But the
Department of State’s own “exceptions spreadsheet” shows that hundreds of
voters who applied for the DOS ID left PennDOT empty-handed, and even using the
commonwealth’s figures (a major point of dispute during the trial), dozens of
registered voters who applied for the ID before the November 2012 election
either received the ID long after the election or never received it at all. If
the voter ID law had been in effect, these legally registered voters would have
been disenfranchised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
commonwealth also failed to educate the public about the DOS ID. In its $4
million ad campaign, the Department of State chose not to include information
about the existence of this “easily accessible” ID, nor how or where to obtain
it. When asked about this oversight, Deputy Secretary for External Affairs and Elections
Shannon Royer said they did not want to confuse voters by “talking about an ID
most people had never heard of.” Kurt
Myers of PennDOT spoke of a “shared responsibility” that voters had to know
what kind of ID they needed and where to obtain it, but if the information isn’t
provided, “how can people take that responsibility?” Ms. Clarke asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
those unable to obtain an ID, the law provides no safety net, said Ms. Clarke.
Unlike some other states with voter ID laws, the Pennsylvania version does not
allow a voter who shows up at the polls without an ID to sign an affidavit affirming
his or her identity. Pennsylvania also lacks another critical safety net other
states have – no-excuse absentee voting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alicia
Hickok, an attorney with Drinker Biddle Reath, argued for the commonwealth. She
said that state employees worked “tirelessly and diligently” to help voters and
took their responsibilities seriously. The voter ID law was to protect the
public good – not the good of individuals or private interests. The Department
of Aging has been reaching out to seniors, the age group most of the petitioners’
witnesses fall in to, to help them, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms.
Hickok disputed that large numbers of people lack acceptable ID, saying that
petitioners’ expert played “fast and loose” with the data, and pointed to the
fact that college students can use their student IDs if they have expiration
dates and that those in nursing homes and personal care facilities can use an
ID printed by that facility. In her rebuttal, Ms, Clarke noted that many colleges
still do not issue voter ID-compliant IDs, and two Department of State
officials admitted they do not track which nursing homes and personal care
facilities offer their residents IDs and therefore did not know how many of
residents were actually able to obtain an ID.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms.
Hickok’s main argument was that the legislature was allowed to “regulate the
franchise,” and that the voter ID merely regulates the election process – it does
not “deny the franchise.” Requiring voters to show ID promotes integrity of the
election. She cited <i>Crawford v. Marion
County Board of Elections</i>, a 2008 case out of Indiana, in which the U.S.
Supreme Court found that Indiana’s voter ID law was constitutional. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
her rebuttal, Ms. Clarke noted that the challenge to Pennsylvania’s voter ID
law differs in several critical ways, including the fact that petitioners
brought their suit under the Pennsylvania constitution and not the U.S.
Constitution. In the Indiana case, petitioners did not provide testimony from a
single witness who would be disenfranchised – in stark contrast to the
Pennsylvania case, in which numerous witnesses testified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When
the fundamental right to vote is burdened, said Ms. Clarke, we have to weigh
that against the justification. In this case, the commonwealth has not argued
that there is fraud. Instead, they say it is about the “integrity of the
election.” Yet the Department of State’s top career official overseeing
elections, Jonathan Marks, testified that he was confident of the integrity of
Pennsylvania’s elections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
the 16 months since the law was initially passed, despite numerous tweaks and
attempts to improve the system, the state has still not been able to show that
no one will be disenfranchised under the voter ID law. “It is time to put an
end to this and enjoin this law,” Ms. Clarke concluded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During
her closing arguments, Ms. Hickok did agree to extend the preliminary
injunction blocking enforcement of the law through the November 2013 election.
Petitioners are asking that the injunction continue until the case has been
completely resolved. They are also asking that the “soft roll-out” aspect of
the injunction, in which voters are asked for but not required to show ID, be
eliminated going forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following
the two sides’ closing arguments, the judge announced that the court was recessed and left. For several minutes, spectators and attorneys looked
around in confusion, not sure if court would be coming back into session. Several
minutes later, the bailiff stuck his head out of the door to judge’s chamber
and called out, “Adjourned!” With that, the voter ID trial finally came to a
close.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com112tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-17467045060405407412013-07-31T16:58:00.000-04:002013-07-31T16:58:50.398-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 11: Closing Arguments Delayed as Dispute over Data Continued<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Sara Mullen, Associate Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The eleventh day of the voter ID trial proved to be an
interesting mixture of boredom and drama. After a long trial, everyone involved
was looking forward to closing arguments today. Instead, Judge McGinley once
again closed the courtroom to everyone but attorneys in the case, leaving the
dozen or so journalists and other observers to hang out in the lobby for almost
two hours as the two sides continued to tangle over the Department of State
(DOS) ID “exception spreadsheet.” The debate is a critical one to the case, as
it gets to the issue of whether or not these IDs are actually easily accessible
for voters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The DOS exception spreadsheet is a list produced by the
Dept. of State of roughly 600 voters who applied for the DOS ID – the ID the
commonwealth claims is easily available to all – at PennDOT but who left without
the ID in their possession. The debate between the two sides has been whether
those individuals did ultimately receive the ID, how long it took, and why
there was a delay in processing them. Opposing counsel fought over discussing
the issue in open court, claiming that confidential PennDOT information might be
revealed. Petitioners provided abundant assurances that no confidential
information would be made public and believe that the real reason for the
request for a closed courtroom is to keep the problems with the DOS ID system,
which has the potential to disenfranchise voters if the law goes into effect,
from being discussed publicly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The morning began with the cross examination by the
commonwealth of Bryan Niederberger from BLDS.
Mr. Niederberger was a rebuttal witness put on the stand yesterday over
the objections of the commonwealth. He produced <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/modifiedredacted.pdf" target="_blank">a report</a> analyzing multiple
documents produced by opposing counsel during discovery and the trial. He
examined the data multiple ways, including versions that took into account the
commonwealth’s disputed claims (they claim that 144 individuals on the list of
600+ names were erroneously included on the exception spreadsheet because they
have another form of PennDOT ID). <i>Even
assuming the commonwealth’s claims are correct</i>, the bottom line is that out
of 2,530 people who applied for a DOS ID on or after September 25 (the date the
new “streamlined” DOS ID procedure went into effect), <i>at least 56 validly registered voters who went to PennDOT before the
November 2012 election did not receive their DOS ID in time for the election</i>.
Seven of the 56 never received the ID. (See <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/modifiedredacted.pdf" target="_blank">page 2 of the report</a>.) If the voter ID
law had been in effect in November, these voters would have been
disenfranchised. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lawyers for the two sides retreated to their respective
conference rooms to plan next steps. A clerk for the judge attempted to do some
shuttle diplomacy, visiting each side to try to reach an agreement about the
data. For a while it looked like the commonwealth was going to call rebuttal
witnesses to rebut the petitioners’ rebuttal witness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Journalists and other observers were finally able to enter
the courtroom around 11:15 a.m. The commonwealth said it would not call any
more witnesses but did file a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case,
claiming the petitioners did not have standing. (The motion was not unexpected
and is a fairly standard practice.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a surprise move, Judge McGinley announced that closing
arguments would be tomorrow, August 1, at 10 a.m. rather than this afternoon. The trial has already lasted several days longer than expected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later in the afternoon, the judge issued a scheduling order
pushing back the date of his ruling on petitioners’ request that the court
block enforcement of the voter ID law until a final ruling has been made on the
law. Originally due August 9, Judge McGinley will now issue an order on
extending the preliminary injunction by August 19, 2013.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-68769107552433076482013-07-30T18:50:00.002-04:002013-07-31T09:31:03.366-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 10: Controversy Continues as Courtroom Closed to Public<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Sara Mullen, Associate Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tenth day of the voter ID trial kicked off with a frequent
flier on the witness stand, Jonathan Marks, the Department of State’s
Commissioner for the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislations, who has
testified on four of the 10 days of trial so far. Mr. Walczak, legal director for the ACLU of
Pennsylvania and an attorney for the petitioners, picked up the
cross-examination of Mr. Marks that began last Thursday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Marks’s testimony under cross examination summed up many
of the arguments petitioners had made throughout the trial. He testified that
the nine counties that have no PennDOT driver’s license centers have anywhere
from 9 to 32 polling locations each. The point was brought home when Mr. Marks
testified that his current polling place is one city block from his home in
Perry County – which does not have a single PennDOT driver’s license center.
The nearest PennDOT driver’s license center to Mr. Marks is over 34 miles away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Marks also admitted that several larger colleges still
do not student IDs that are valid for voting because they lack an expiration date
and do not provide stickers, including Duquesne in Pittsburgh and Haverford,
Villanova, and Widener in the southeastern part of the state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Marks also testified that many counties struggle to keep
up with the rush of voter registrations at the registration deadline. In fact,
he said, Philadelphia specifically has a backlog and is usually still
processing them literally days before the election. This fact is particularly
important for the DOS ID process, as the Dept. of State holds on to DOS IDs
until a voter shows up on the voter rolls and then sends the ID by two or three
day UPS to the voter. (DOS IDs are only
available to verified registered voters.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second witness of the day was Megan Sweeney, Special
Assistant to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. She spearheaded the Department of
State’s education efforts about the voter ID law. She testified about the
department’s outreach to state agencies, counties, and others organizations
about the law. She worked with Bravo group to produce the state’s educational
materials and attended 40-50 events. She also did outreach to organizations
that worked with nursing homes and similar facilities eligible to print their
own voter IDs on regular printer paper. Under
cross examination, Ms. Sweeney admitted no one at the Dept. of State tracked
how many nursing homes, personal care homes, or assisted living facilities
actually produce IDs that can be used for voting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After Ms. Sweeney’s testimony, the controversy over the DOS
ID exceptions sheet erupted again. The debate stems from a spreadsheet of 615
names on the “exceptions spreadsheet,” which is a document created by the
Department of State from the Sharepoint database to track any voter who
attempted to get a DOS ID and left PennDOT without one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is important to know the DOS ID process in order to understand
this controversy. PennDOT will only issue a DOS ID to registered voters. When a
person applies for a DOS ID, PennDOT calls the Dept. of State to confirm the
voter’s registration. If he or she does not show up on the rolls, PennDOT
creates the photo ID anyway, fills out a paper voter registration form, and
sends the ID and the voter registration form to the Dept. of State for
processing. The voter registration information is sent on to the county, which
is responsible for entering voter registrations into the system. The Dept. of
State then keeps the DOS ID until the voter’s registration appears in the system,
then they send it via regular UPS (not express) to the voter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In December of 2012, Mr. Marks sent an email to PennDOT asking
for information about the names of 194 people whose paper voter registration
forms were sent along by PennDOT to the Dept. of State with no DOS ID attached.
The PennDOT employee replied that 144 of those individuals had some other form
of PennDOT ID. However, due to confidentiality issues, PennDOT would not tell
Mr. Marks which of those 194 names were on the list of 144. These 194 names appear on the DOS exceptions
spreadsheet of 615 names. These numbers may sound small, but given that only
3,830 DOS IDs have been issued in total, the way these DOS applications are
handled is important evidence for understanding how well the DOS ID process –
the card of supposed “liberal access” – is working. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judge McGinley has asked repeatedly during the trial for the
two sides to agree on how to classify what happened with the voters on the
exceptions list, some of whom either did not ever receive PennDOT ID or received
it long after they had applied. The commonwealth says it has confidentiality
concerns about the information on the spreadsheet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This afternoon, petitioners attempted to finally solve the
mysteries around the exceptions spreadsheet by calling Bryan Niederberger from
BLDS, who has access to the confidential data, to testify about the raw numbers
of voters on the spreadsheet and the resolution of their applications for the
DOS ID. However, the commonwealth objected and for the second time this trial,
the judge agreed that the court session would be held “<i>in camera</i>,” which means it was closed to everyone except counsel in
the case, the witness, and the judge and courtroom staff. Petitioners objected
to closing the proceeding to the public but were overruled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Niederberger’s cross will continue tomorrow morning, possibly
still <i>in camera</i>. Closing arguments for both sides are also
expected tomorrow.</span> <o:p></o:p></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-44045973416182973632013-07-25T22:11:00.003-04:002013-07-25T22:13:31.469-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 9: The Commonwealth’s Response to Plaintiffs’ Statistician<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">by Molly Tack-Hooper, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Day 9 of the voter ID trial was occupied mostly with a
heated debate about the efforts of plaintiffs’ statistical expert (Dr. Siskin,
who testified on day 2 of the trial) to quantify the number of Pennsylvania
voters who lack adequate photo ID, and whether a more precise count is possible.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Previously, Dr. Siskin had calculated that 511,415
registered voters listed in the official SURE voter database would lack an ID
valid for voting under the voter ID law from PennDOT or the Department of State
(DOS).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, the commonwealth offered
the testimony of Dr. William Wecker in a weak attempt to demonstrate that Dr.
Siskin’s analysis was so imprecise as to be unreliable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The theme of Wecker’s critique of Dr.
Siskin’s statistical analysis was that Dr. Siskin could and should have
accounted for additional circumstances that might reduce the total number of
disenfranchised voters. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On cross examination, plaintiffs’ counsel (Mike Rubin, of
Arnold & Porter) systematically dismantled each of Wecker’s suggested
methods of generating a more “reliable” count of voters who lack ID.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of Wecker’s more significant criticisms of Dr. Siskin
was that Siskin did not measure and account for voters who lack a state-issued
ID but do have a student ID that meets the voter ID requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wecker argued that such a measurement would
have significantly reduced Siskin’s tally of voters without ID, and he attempted
to demonstrate that such a calculation is possible by using geo-coded data to
determine the number of voters aged 18-28 who lived within a 1-mile radius of each
of Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Using this method, Wecker concluded that there were 48,046 people who
likely had access to a student ID that could be used for voting and should thus
have been excluded from Siskin’s list.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As Rubin walked Wecker through this calculation, nearly every
assumption underlying Wecker’s analysis fell apart, revealing that Wecker’s
calculation dramatically overstated the number of registered voters who could
rely on a student ID to vote.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First, Wecker admitted that he had arrived at the conclusion
that there were 48,000 voters with student ID by counting every Pennsylvania
college or university that was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eligible</i>
to issue student IDs that could be used to vote, including the schools that had
elected <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> to issue such IDs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wecker conceded that he had not attempted to
determine which schools on his list actually issued valid voter IDs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although defendants possessed this
information and produced it in discovery, they did not provide it to Wecker,
and he did not ask them for it.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next, Rubin demonstrated to the Court that Wecker’s method
of determining how many registered PA voters attended each school by drawing 1-mile-radius
circles around the school bordered on the absurd when applied to non-rural
schools. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rubin showed the Court a map
illustrating Wecker’s “catchment areas” for the Philadelphia schools that issue
valid student voting IDs, which covered huge swaths of Philadelphia’s Center
City and several other neighborhoods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
this map was expanded to include the schools that Wecker had counted that were
merely <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eligible</i> to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">start</i> issuing such IDs, the catchment
areas swept in breathtaking expanses of Philadelphia’s densely populated urban
centers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rubin performed the same
exercise with a map of Pittsburgh that showed only the schools there that Wecker
had counted that were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> issuing
valid student IDs, which virtually blanketed all of Pittsburgh and accounted
for thousands of people whom Wecker incorrectly assumed had access to appropriate
student ID.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Despite Wecker’s emphatic refrain that Dr. Siskin’s analysis
was so limited as to be unreliable, Wecker conceded, over and over, that there
were inherent limitations on the data available. Wecker stated at various times that it was a
“fool’s errand” to try to come up with an actual count of voters without ID by
comparing the SURE and PennDOT and DOS databases, and that he didn’t expect it
could be done “perfectly” or that there was a “perfect” method or number
available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s just as hard for me as
it is for [Dr. Siskin],” Wecker conceded, describing his own calculations as a
“rough cut” and “not terribly refined.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Confronted
repeatedly with the astounding shortcomings in his own methodology, Wecker
ultimately suggested that his flawed calculations were nonetheless damning
because they indicated there could be “some” people on Siskin’s list who should
be excluded, and protested that he didn’t have “time, or a chance, or a need”
to figure out whether there was a more reliable statistical method available to
Dr. Siskin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wecker was merely there to
point out that there were possible limitations in Siskin’s process — a fact
Siskin already pointed out himself.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Trial resumes on Tuesday, July 30, at 9:15 a.m. with
testimony from Jonathan Marks, Commissioner of the Bureau of Commissions,
Elections, and Legislation with the Pennsylvania Department of State.</span></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-45731447721314588172013-07-24T23:14:00.000-04:002013-07-24T23:19:37.092-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 8: The Commonwealth’s Case<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By Sara Mullen, Associate Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today the commonwealth called its first two witnesses,
although petitioners declined to rest their case officially until an ongoing
dispute over a piece of evidence is resolved. The dispute escalated this afternoon,
at one point requiring everyone except Judge Bernard McGinley and lawyers for
the two sides to clear the courtroom while they unsuccessfully attempted to
settle the matter. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In what proved to be a somewhat baffling choice, the
commonwealth opened its case with Kelly O’Donnell, Director of Operations and
Management at the Department of Aging. Ms. O’Donnell testified about the
department’s efforts to educate “older Pennsylvanians,” defined as individuals
60 and older, about the voter ID law. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During her cross examination, Marian Schneider, an Advancement
Project attorney representing the petitioners, noted that the primary education
document created by Ms. O’Donnell and distributed to voters states that one can
get an ID at “a PennDOT driver’s license center or photo center.” Despite being
a key figure in the educational efforts of her agency, Ms. O’Donnell was
unaware until she was told on the stand today that one cannot get the PennDOT or
Department of State (DOS) ID for voting at a photo center. (The confusion is
not unusual - earlier in the trial two elderly voters testified about mistakenly
going to a photo center instead of a driver’s license center to obtain an ID.) </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ms. Schneider also produced an email from Ms. O’Donnell to a
manager of a senior center in which Ms. O’Donnell erroneously stated that IDs
can be obtained at a photo ID center and that PennDOT could schedule an
appointment in advance for large groups of people to come in to get ID. PennDOT
does not have such a program.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ms. O’Donnell also admitted that the primary document the
department used to educate older Pennsylvanians about the voter ID law was
never updated to include information about the DOS ID. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The commonwealth’s other witness of the day was Kurt Myers,
Deputy Secretary for Safety Administration, whose duties include overseeing
driver and vehicle services. He testified that PennDOT has issued 12,981 free-for-voting
non-driver’s photo IDs and an additional 3,830 DOS IDs since the law went into
effect (the DOS ID wasn’t available until August 27, 2012). He noted that every
photo of an individual taken for a PennDOT ID stays in their system indefinitely
and that on rare occasions, such as someone being away on military duty, PennDOT
could print a new valid ID using a photo on file.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Throughout his testimony Mr. Myers stressed that obtaining
an ID was a “shared responsibility” between PennDOT and its customers. People
seeking ID should know where to go to get the ID and what specific “PennDOT
product” they need when they arrive. “There’s an effort in life,” he said. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When asked, Mr. Myers said he did not “agree with the
premise that people don’t know the difference between a driver’s license center
and a photo center.” He refused to concede that it was understandable that
voters might be confused about the two kinds of PennDOT centers - despite
having been in the courtroom when Ms. O’Donnell, a high ranking official in
state government, admitted on the stand that she did not know the difference between
the two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mr. Myers stated that under current protocol, PennDOT
employees do not ask customers if they need a free ID for voting but instead
ask them for what purpose they want an ID. If customers do not mention voting,
they are not told of the option to obtain a free ID. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He seemingly did not understand the difference
between a PennDOT employee proactively asking an individual if he or she needs the
ID for voting and the more open-ended question of “what do you need an ID for?”
After prolonged questioning on the issue, Myers said if it would make things
easier, he will “issue an edict tomorrow” requiring PennDOT employees to ask customers
if they need an ID for voting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mr. Meyer’s testimony was briefly interrupted while the two
sides attempted to resolve a long-standing dispute over a spreadsheet produced
by the Department of State that lists roughly 500 individuals who were initially
rejected for the DOS ID. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At issue are
how many of these people were properly registered voters who should not have
been rejected and which ones on the list ultimately received an ID. At one
point, in an attempt to resolve the matter while protecting confidential voter
information, Judge McGinley cleared the courtroom to discuss the matter with
counsel from both sides. The dispute remains unresolved, as petitioners
requested time to review the latest information on these voters provided under
seal by the commonwealth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Court resumes tomorrow at 9 a.m. and is tentatively
scheduled to conclude for the day at 3 p.m. Witnesses include Jonathan Marks and Dr. William Wecker, an expert witness who will be critiquing the report submitted by the petitioners' expert witness, Dr. Bernard Siskin. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-62053962612287471552013-07-23T17:46:00.001-04:002013-07-23T17:46:30.706-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 7: Real Voters, Real Barriers<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Sara Mullen, Associate Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozVp0Xdd3t_Oz68BUzfqL2Qrk2D_OjJGvSh4_T5Vpw_T3J0j7kcx0i6AYgJcsZ6ATp84cPo4tOOU4IQI5ohX3aCstFgs-ZeotnmT7V5y-8r-EZTpsYPjC3NvwY9XbJFAaB2I4/s1600/voterIdGraphic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozVp0Xdd3t_Oz68BUzfqL2Qrk2D_OjJGvSh4_T5Vpw_T3J0j7kcx0i6AYgJcsZ6ATp84cPo4tOOU4IQI5ohX3aCstFgs-ZeotnmT7V5y-8r-EZTpsYPjC3NvwY9XbJFAaB2I4/s1600/voterIdGraphic2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Attorneys for the plaintiffs concluded their case today with
video depositions of three elderly long-time voters, two of whom do not have
valid ID and face significant challenges to getting to PennDOT to obtain one, and
a third who was forced to make three separate trips (each 2 hours round-trip)
before finally securing a Dept. of State (DOS) for-voting-only ID. The videos
paint a clear picture of the hurdles many senior voters face when trying to
obtain an ID.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first video was of Patricia Norton, a great-grandmother
of five who lives in Berks County. Because she has pins and rods in her back,
she uses a wheelchair or a walker to get around and is in pain most of the time.
She spends most of her time lying down on the couch or in bed, as sitting is excruciating
for her. She rarely leaves home except for doctor’s appointments, although she
does vote in person every election at her polling place on the corner near her
house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A regular voter who believes “voting should be important to
everyone” because “we all have a stake in what’s going on,” Ms. Norton
attempted to get a PennDOT ID last fall after learning about the voter ID law. Friends took her to PennDOT driver’s license
center in Shillington – a 45 minute trip by car. After the painful ride, Ms.
Norton was informed by the PennDOT employee on duty (whom Ms. Norton described
as “not a happy helper”) that she would have to pay $13.50, although she correctly
told the clerk that the ID was supposed to be free. Ms. Norton was willing to
pay to get the ID anyway, but to her dismay, PennDOT does not take cash – only checks
or money orders. Discouraged and in
pain, Ms. Norton returned home without the ID. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Norton criticized the voter ID educational ads on TV,
saying they just “tell me that I need to get an ID to vote,” but they don’t “tell
me how to do it or where to go.” (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zbUx8XWaoQ" target="_blank">Ms. Norton’s video testimon</a>y is available online.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second video testimony came from Nadine Marsh, one of
the original plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Ms. Marsh, an elderly resident of
Hanover Township in Beaver County who has never had a driver’s license, described
how her granddaughter repeatedly tried to contact the Dept. of State to make
sure Ms. Marsh had the correct documents for obtaining an ID. After multiple
attempts, the DOS finally responded. Ms.
Marsh and her daughter took the hour-long trip, only to be told that while the PennDOT
driver’s license center was indeed open, it does not produce photo IDs on
Mondays. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pair made a second attempt, but the PennDOT employees on duty had
never heard of the Dept. of State (DOS) ID for voting and said they would have to
contact Harrisburg and would be in touch. After spending an hour and a half at
PennDOT plus two hours in the car, Ms. Marsh once again returned home
empty-handed. On October 2, her third
try, she finally succeeded in obtaining her DOS for-voting-only ID. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMddfNxdiAY" target="_blank">(Ms. Marsh’s video testimony</a> is available online.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The final voter video featured Catherine Howell, a
great-grandmother and resident of Morrisville (Bucks County) who cast her first
vote for Harry Truman. She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years
ago and now mostly gets around using a scooter or a wheelchair. Her driver’s license
expired last January. Ms. Howell’s polling place is only two blocks away at the
local library. Like several other witnesses, Ms. Howell said the poll workers
did not say anything about the voter ID law on Election Day. She had heard
about the law, but didn’t know where to go to obtain an ID. She is unable to
take the public bus to Bensalem and her children, who work full time, are often
unable to drive her places. (<a href="http://youtu.be/7h7IS6hXTBc" target="_blank">Ms. Howell's video testimony</a> is available online.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other witnesses today included Laverne Collins, director of the Bureau of Public Transportation, who testified about the
Share Ride program, and Susan Carty, the president of the state League of Women
Voters, one of the organizational plaintiffs in the case. Ms. Carty testified
about “tremendous amount of confusion” about the voter ID law and the calls the
League received about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The judge announced that there will be no court on Friday,
July 26, or Monday, July 29. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The commonwealth begins putting on its case tomorrow. Their
first witnesses are Kelly O’Donnell of the Department of Aging and Kurt Myers
from PennDOT.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-82628702238407897252013-07-22T23:00:00.000-04:002013-07-26T12:30:09.363-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 6: Governor and Legislature Rejected Dept. of State and Dept. of Aging’s Recommendations to Make Voter ID Law Less Burdensome<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Mary Kate Kalinich, Legal Intern, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first witness at
the voter ID trial today was David Proctor, a 67-year-old registered voter and
Harrisburg resident. Mr. Proctor testified about the difficulty he faces
trying to comply with Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law. His hip, knee and back
problems make it difficult for him to walk the couple miles to the nearest
PennDOT location. In addition, there is no easily accessible public transit,
and his closest family member works six days a week and takes care of her four
children. Although Mr. Proctor does not have a valid ID under the new voter ID
law, he does have a Department of Welfare ID, a merchant marine card, a swim
club ID, and a bus pass with photo identification. Mr. Proctor testified that
he has used these IDs to open a bank account in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">The second witness of
the day was Rebecca Oyler, former policy director for the Department of State</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">.
Ms. Oyler testified that she reviewed aspects of the bill that would become the
new voter ID law and acted as a liaison to the governor’s office. She admitted
that on numerous occasions, the Department of State and the Department of Aging
recommended changes to make the proposed law less burdensome that were rejected,
including loosening the absentee voting restriction to accommodate those who
are able to vote in person but can’t get to a PennDOT driver’s license center. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">The </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">plaintiffs closed the day with a short clip of
Secretary of State Carol Aichele’s testimony in a legislative hearing earlier
this year. Secretary Aichele was asked how many individuals currently do not
have valid ID. Although she could not give a concrete number for the state of
Pennsylvania, she stated that studies show that 96.7% of voters in Philadelphia
have acceptable ID.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-3205531923484548382013-07-22T11:17:00.002-04:002013-07-22T11:17:22.102-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 5: A Harsh Critique of the Commonwealth’s Voter ID Communication Campaign<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">By Amy
Bowles, legal intern, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The
first week of the constitutional challenge to Pennsylvania’s Voter ID law was
rounded out by testimony from Professor Diana Mutz, Ph.D., on the
ineffectiveness of the commonwealth’s efforts to educate the public about the voter
ID law. Professor Mutz is the </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Samuel A.
Stouffer Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of
Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication and an expert in political
communication. Professor Mutz was hired by plaintiffs to review the
commonwealth’s voter ID communication campaign.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Professor
Mutz testified broadly on the campaign’s flawed design. She noted the commonwealth’s
failure to adhere to standard best practices, developed by organizations like
the National Research Council and widely used in communication campaigns. Notably,
the commonwealth failed to pre-test their campaign materials, despite pre-testing
being as inexpensive and easy as polling 15 people in a focus group to determine
whether they understand and retain the desire message. The commonwealth also did
not use formative evaluation, where a campaign is begun in a small area and fine-tuned
based on the initial effectiveness before expanding. Professor Mutz testified
that the extent to which an organization follows best practices, not the
dollars expended on a campaign, is a predictor of success. She recounted
examples of past campaigns, ranging from anti-drug to anti-pollution messages,
where failure to adhere to best practices caused the campaign to be ineffective
or even counter-productive. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Professor
Mutz also testified as to specific media produced by the commonwealth as part
of the campaign both before the injunction and after. Each piece (TV spot, radio
ad, magazine ad, online banner, and direct mail letter, insert, and postcard) raised
its own unique concerns, but two recurring themes about the commonwealth’s
campaign emerged. First, the presentation and language, “show it,” used by the campaign
was vague and misleading. Professor Mutz testified that “show it” was a double
entendre that could mean “show your commitment by voting” or “show ID” at the
polls. Additionally, when “show it” was used in materials, it often accompanied
a photo of a driver’s license, which concerned Professor Mutz because it could
give the impression that a <i>only</i> a drivers
license (not the variety of IDs on the approved list) was acceptable for voting
purposes. In that sense, the campaign could be counterproductive. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because
the commonwealth failed to institute any effectiveness measures (contrary to
best practice), it is unclear whether the population understood “show it” as
the commonwealth intended. In fact, the
commonwealth explicitly told their vendor, Red House, that they did not want to
incorporate a standard effectiveness measure. Rather, the commonwealth used
“impressions,” which are based on information circulation figures (like how
many people receive a magazine). Professor Mutz testified that impressions lead
to high estimates and are widely regarded not to be a legitimate effectiveness
measure. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second,
and perhaps more egregious, was the fact that nearly every piece of information
reviewed by Professor Mutz during testimony failed to include any substantive
information about how to obtain ID if a voter finds herself without one. Professor
Mutz reiterated prior testimony from the state that the commonwealth intentionally
did not include information about how to obtain the for-voting-only Department
of State (DOS) ID out of fear that it might confuse the public. She testified
that follow through is critical when an organization wants a viewer to do
something in response to the message, like go to a website or call a number,
and follow through requires providing a reason to take additional steps. Yet,
the commonwealth’s materials provided little to no indication of why member of
the public would need to visit the website or call to “learn more,” as their
materials suggest. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even if
a voter did follow in an attempt to get more information, Professor Mutz found both
the hotline and website problematic. Fifteen months after the voter ID law went
into effect, the Votes PA (the voter hotline) operator could not answer her
question, and navigating the website VotesPA.com proved to be confusing and
difficult. Of particular importance, Professor Mutz testified that the system
fails to inform voters that DOS ID must be obtained when <i>both</i> the driver’s license center and the photo center are open
(otherwise, voters would have to make an additional trip). <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Though
the commonwealth has committed $2.1 million to a future campaign, Professor Mutz
expressed concern about the commonwealth’s plans to use the same campaign materials.
She testified that materials issued after the injunction were problematic
because the commonwealth largely recycled pre-injunction material with slightly
altered language indicating that ID would be “asked but not required.”
Recycling the same ineffective materials a third time will surely raise the
same problems, said Professor Mutz. The
third time will not be the charm. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms.Alicia Hickok, counsel for the commonwealth, attempted to undermine Professor Mutz’s testimony
through cross-examination. Ms. Hickok pointed to the “soft rollout” (where
voters were asked for ID at the polls and those who didn’t provide it were told
they would need it in the future), the
over one million hits received by the VotesPA website, and the programs
initiated in senior centers and libraries as evidence that the commonwealth
created an effective campaign. However, Professor Mutz reiterated that though those
measures had potential for educating voters in select cases, the commonwealth
has issued no evidence pointing to their implementation or broad effectiveness.
<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
trial will resume at 1:00 on Monday, July 22. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-77601183583582576502013-07-18T22:50:00.002-04:002013-07-19T11:04:49.965-04:00Voter ID, Day 4, July 18, 2013<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">by Paul Anderson, legislative intern, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This morning began where the trial left off yesterday. Jonathan Marks, the Department of State’s Commissioner for the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation, continued his testimony about the Department of State (DOS) ID, the special form of ID designed as an alternative for those registered voters who could not obtain a secure PennDOT ID. Central to Marks’s testimony was the question of whether the issuance and delivery of DOS IDs satisfied the voter ID law’s requirement that IDs be liberally accessible to eligible voters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much of the morning was spent pouring over petitioners’ Exhibit
2071, the DOS ID Exceptions Spreadsheet that cataloged each DOS ID applicant
who was flagged and initially denied a DOS ID from PennDOT. Reasons for denial
included, but were not limited to, the applicant not being registered to vote,
concerns about duplicate registration, and inconsistencies in identifying
information. This information was used to determine how many duly registered
voters were unable to get a valid ID before last year’s November 6 general
election. Through Mr. Marks’s testimony, and a bit of lawyerly math, it was
determined that 2,255 DOS IDs had been issued since September 27, 2012. Of
persons duly registered to vote on or before October 9, 2012 (the deadline to
register for the 2012 general election), 42 did not have IDs delivered by
November 6, and 82 of those individuals have still not been sent an ID as of
early July 2013. This indicates that 5.49% of persons who applied for a DOS ID
were duly registered to vote in the 2012 election but did not received an ID
before Election Day. That's a pretty devastating error rate when it means
disenfranchising voters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Members of that group had some compelling back stories. There was a
lot of focus, from both petitioners and respondent, on a 94-year-old woman,
registered since 1944, who went to PennDOT in October 2012 did not receive a
valid ID until March 2013. The commonwealth focused on a name discrepancy to
explain the delay. The voter in question had registered as Mrs. [husband's
first name] [last name], a practice that seems wholly anachronistic today but
was not uncommon during World War II. The commonwealth seemed unperturbed that
a voter who has cast a ballot since 1944 would have been, absent the temporary
injunction, unable to vote in the 2012 election simply because of the name she
registered with 69 years ago.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The commonwealth did not aggressively dispute the conclusion that 124 voters would have been <span style="line-height: 200%;">disenfranchised by the voter ID law They suggested in cross examination that those people actually got IDs through another process, but they did not specify how or present any specific information. Instead, respondent’s counsel returned Marks to his Wednesday testimony in an attempt to show that the DOS measures, in coordination with the efforts of the county boards of elections, would help ensure that all eligible voters who apply for an ID would have it by Election Day. While Mr. Marks testified that his department would do everything in its power to ensure that it can get IDs to as many eligible voters as possible, he was unwilling to speculate whether or not the Department of State would have had the resources to ensure, absent the injunction, no eligible voters were disenfranchised in 2012.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Marks concluded that he remained confident in the integrity of Pennsylvania’s elections even after the voter ID law’s enactment, despite agreeing with the conclusion that petitioners had evidence of 124 eligible voters who have been disenfranchised if the law had been in effect.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">After lunch, Andrew Rogoff, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a lawyer from Pepper Hamilton LLP, took the stand to testify to the difficulty his late father-in-law, Herbert Ginensky, had in obtaining a valid photo ID in the months before his recent passing. Mr. Ginensky, a life-long New Yorker and WWII veteran, moved with his wife to Pennsylvania because of their failing health. Mr. Ginensky had ceased driving so when his driver’s license was due to expire, he chose to forgo renewal and apply for a DOS ID through PennDOT. What should have been a relatively smooth application process turned into a bureaucratic nightmare. Mr. Rogoff helped his father-in-law fill out the necessary paperwork in November 2012. After failing to get a response for several months, he called PennDOT to find out what the delay was. PennDOT told him that Mr. Ginensky could come in to a PennDOT location to receive his ID, but given Mr. Ginensky’s health, this was not ideal. In late February, a letter from PennDOT finally arrived, but it lacked the DOS ID card, informed Mr. Ginensky his application for driver’s license renewal (which he did not apply for) had been postponed, and most bizarrely, informed him that he had an outstanding balance of $0.00 that he owed PennDOT. After resending a notarized form (at the cost of $5.00) and “paying off” his $0.00 balance, Mr. Ginensky finally received is DOS ID card on May 24—three days after the May 21 election.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">On cross-examination, respondent counsel attempted to raise some doubts about Mr. Rogoff’s factual claims (was he sure the ID wasn’t in the envelope when it left PennDOT? Haven’t you ever been tied up in red tape, Mr. Rogoff?), but he was a sympathetic witness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Shannon Royer, the Department of State’s Deputy Secretary for External Affairs and Elections, was the final witness. He testified out-of-order on behalf of the commonwealth. After relaying the history of electronic voter registration databases in Pennsylvania, Mr. Royer explained how the department orchestrated a statewide education campaign that “touch[ed] all corners of the state.” Targeting minority groups, non-English speakers, seniors, college students and the financially disadvantaged, the education campaign deployed advertisements in a cornucopia of media platforms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>television, newspapers and magazines, radio, buses, mail flyers, billboards, online banner ads, and social media, to name just a few. There were pre- and post-injunction advertisements. The pre-injunction ads used the phrase, “If you want to vote—show it!” while the post-injunction ads altered it to, “If you have it—show it!” In both instances “it,” of course, refers to a valid photo ID.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Mr. Royer was visibly proud of the education campaign, and his testimony revealed he was of the belief that, if anything, the department overestimated the number of people it would need to reach with the idea. He also cited the “soft roll-outs” (the term used for the policy in place at the 2012 general and 2012 and 2013 primary elections where voters were asked, but not required, to produce a valid photo ID). While the evidence indicated that the department did spend a lot of money ($5 million so far, with another $2.65 million pledged) on getting the word out about the requirements of the voter ID law, he was not able to provide evidence of how well the campaign actually worked in getting valid photo IDs into the hands of those who need them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Mr. Royer’s testimony clearly demonstrated that the department, despite spending a fortune on the education campaign, committed absolutely no funds to analyzing the success of the campaign. He could give neither a general statistic regarding how many eligible voters still lack a valid ID nor more specific stats about how effective the campaign was for the targeted demographics. There was also a brief disagreement regarding whom the law actually affects. Mr. Royer contended that the voter ID law’s indigence exception allows anyone to circumvent the law by asserting that he or she is poor and filling out a provisional ballot. (Of course, since IDs are free, no one can legitimately sign an affidavit saying they can't afford to get a free ID, so the exception is useless.) </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">Petitioners’ counsel questioned that interpretation, arguing that the law required both a claim of indigence and an assertion that the person could not afford to get an ID. There were also questions raised about how effectively the education campaign publicized the DOS ID. Indeed, not a single ad even mentioned the DOS ID. In a key admission, Royer stated that they intentionally didn't mention the DOS ID because they didn't want to confuse voters with driver's licenses who might think they needed additional ID to vote. The overriding concern was to ensure that voters with ID bring the ID - no to helping voters without ID get one.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 200%;">Ultimately, the department will likely claim that the education campaign was an operational success, but it lacked the evidence to conclude the campaign did what it was supposed to do—get more eligible voters valid IDs. Without any sort of study into the campaign’s effectiveness, the department (and, by extension, the Commonwealth Court) remains in the dark as to whether the campaign significantly increased the number of people who have valid IDs to vote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">After over three hours on the stand and another late day in court that ended at 5:00 p.m., Mr. Royer was finally permitted to step down, and the court recessed. As Mr. Royer was called out of order, petitioners will resume their case tomorrow. Diana C. Mutz, Ph.D., a professor from the University of Pennsylvania, will critique the Department of State’s education campaign, including its failure to meet the standards of an effective information campaign. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It is also looking likely that the trial will extend to the week of July 29. </span></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-66605838994345810892013-07-17T21:29:00.000-04:002013-07-18T10:47:49.987-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 3, July 17, 2013<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">by Thad Eagles, legal intern, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wednesday
marked the third day of witness testimony in the challenge to the state's voter ID law brought by the </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">ACLU of
Pennsylvania, the </span><a href="http://www.pilcop.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Public
Interest Law Center of Philadelphia</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.advancementproject.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Advancement Project</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">, and
the law firm of </span><a href="http://www.arnoldporter.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Arnold
& Porter</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">. It also
marked a shift from statistical analysis to the beginning of testimony
regarding the accessibility of the identification required for voting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The
first witness was David A. Marker, PhD, an expert in public policy surveys and
statistics who works for </span><a href="http://www.westat.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Westat</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">, a
Maryland business that does large-scale statistical studies. (Dr. Marker's report is available <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/MarkerReport.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.) Dr. Marker reviewed
the methodology of a study conducted last year by a Dr. Barreto to determine
the number of voters in Pennsylvania who do not have identification that would
allow them to vote, and testified that it was conducted in accordance with all
professional standards, and that he had full confidence in the results. Dr.
Barreto concluded that the number of eligible voters in Pennsylvania without
acceptable ID likely numbered over one million, and is definitely in the
hundreds of thousands. (Dr. Barreto's original report is available <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/BarretoReport.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Dr.
Marker testified that the study reliably showed that 1.2-1.5 million eligible
voters were without proper identification and 900,000-1.2 million registered
voters were without proper identification, either because they lacked ID
completely or the name on the ID did not match that of the name they registered
under. He also addressed several issues with the study that Judge Simpson had
identified last year, testifying that even if the alleged flaws in the study
were factored in, there would still be hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanian
voters without the required ID. For example, Judge Simpson criticized the fact
that, because the study was conducted over 12 consecutive days in the summer,
there was the possibility that a disproportionate number of non-responses were
from people on vacation, and those who go on vacation for 12 straight days are likely
to have higher incomes and thus more likely to have identification. Dr. Marker
testified that, even assuming that <i>everyone</i>
who was unreachable was on vacation, and that the rate of those lacking IDs was
half that of the average, the estimate of eligible Pennsylvanians who do not
have proper ID would only be reduced from 12.8% to 7.9%, which still leaves
hundreds of thousands of disenfranchised people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Needless to say, it is absurd
to think that all, or even a substantial percentage, of the people who could
not be reached were unavailable because they were on vacation. Similarly, Dr.
Marker testified that even if we assume that <i>no one</i> whose name on their ID differs from their name in the voter
registration is denied access to the polls for that reason, there would still
be well over 500,000 voters who do not have the required ID. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Attorneys
for the commonwealth identified other areas of concern during their
cross-examination, trying to poke holes in the study’s conclusions. For
example, defendant’s counsel Alicia Hickock brought up the possibility that
asking people if they had “official” PennDOT identification might lead them to
believe that the question referred to something more than their driver’s
license or non-driving identification card, or that those who were on vacation
were more likely to have a passport, which the study did not take into account.
Ms. Hickock also pointed out that the study did not take into consideration the
number of people who did not have identification but permanently used absentee
ballots and would not be disenfranchised. However, on re-direct, Mr. Walczak
demonstrated that only 15-18,000 voters fall into that category, which is
negligible as compared to the hundreds of thousands of registered voters who do
not have ID. Again, even if you assign far more weight than is reasonable to
the factors objected to by the state and by Judge Simpson, the fact remains
that hundreds of thousands of eligible and registered voters in Pennsylvania
are disenfranchised by the voter ID law. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In one
strange line of questioning, Ms. Hickock asked Dr. Marker if, given the fact
that he testified that civically engaged, educated individuals were more likely
to respond to surveys, there was a possibility that those who felt strongly
about the voter ID law might have said they didn’t have ID when they did have
it in order to express their feelings about the law. Dr. Marker responded that if the survey did reach a disproportionately educated, engaged part of the
population, it would instead mean that those without IDs were </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">under-represented</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> in the survey – not over-represented.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The
second witness of the day was Adam Bruckner, the founder of </span><a href="http://phillyrestart.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Philly Restart</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">, the
only nonprofit in Philadelphia dedicated to helping homeless persons pay to get
IDs required for things such as employment and voting. His organization has
unfortunately been forced to require a referral letter before providing
assistance because the demand for their services so far exceeds what they can
provide. Mr. Bruckner testified that he informed everyone who came to his agency
that PennDOT ID was now free for those who needed it to vote. However, after many
of those he sent to PennDOT to get this ID were turned away, he simply stopped
making the announcement. Mr. Bruckner passionately testified about the great
need for IDs in the homeless community, saying that the men and women he serves
“care about voting because they care about life… Voting means a lot to them
because it’s sometimes the only voice they have.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The
third and final witness of the day was Jonathan Marks, Commissioner of the </span><a href="http://www.dos.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/bureau_of_commissions%2C_elections_and_legislation/12363"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Bureau
of Commissions, Elections and Legislation</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> with the Pennsylvania Department of State, who
testified that he had complete confidence in the integrity of the elections
held in Pennsylvania before the passage of the voter ID law, when voters only
had to show identification the first time they voted in a particular precinct
and sign a poll book when they voted, which poll workers then compared to the
signature on file. Mr. Marks then testified about the details of the voter ID
law, which requires that voters present one of a short list of IDs that does
not include many common forms of identification, such as a IDs provided by the
Department of Veteran’s Affairs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The most common and accessible IDs on the list
are from PennDOT, and getting one requires, among other things, going to a PennDOT
office. Nine counties do not have an office and 22 have offices that are only
open one or two days a week. Mr. Marks also testified that there have been fewer than 100 free non-driver’s photo IDs issued per month since November and less
than 50 DOS IDs issued per month in that time, for a total of only 16,811 of
these types of voting IDs issued since March of 2012, helping only a tiny fraction of
the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians without the necessary ID.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Mr.
Marks began to testify about the surprisingly complex requirements of the new
DOS ID, but ran out of time. His testimony will resume tomorrow morning at 9:30
am. Other witnesses set to testify tomorrow include Diana Mutz, a communications expert who will critique the state's education campaign, and <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Shannon Royer, Deputy Secretary for External Affairs and Elections.</span></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-86717868535947310652013-07-16T21:29:00.002-04:002013-07-16T21:30:05.872-04:00Voter ID Trial Day 2: Voter ID By the Numbers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozVp0Xdd3t_Oz68BUzfqL2Qrk2D_OjJGvSh4_T5Vpw_T3J0j7kcx0i6AYgJcsZ6ATp84cPo4tOOU4IQI5ohX3aCstFgs-ZeotnmT7V5y-8r-EZTpsYPjC3NvwY9XbJFAaB2I4/s1600/voterIdGraphic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozVp0Xdd3t_Oz68BUzfqL2Qrk2D_OjJGvSh4_T5Vpw_T3J0j7kcx0i6AYgJcsZ6ATp84cPo4tOOU4IQI5ohX3aCstFgs-ZeotnmT7V5y-8r-EZTpsYPjC3NvwY9XbJFAaB2I4/s1600/voterIdGraphic2.jpg" /></a></div>
Today was a bonanza for data geeks, although not nearly so satisfying for those looking for a precise number of voters without valid ID for voting. By the end of the day it had become clear, however, that hundreds of thousands of registered voters are at risk of losing the ability to vote if the voter ID law goes into effect.<br />
<br />
The bulk of the day involved testimony from Dr. Siskin, Director of BLDS LLC and an expert statistician. Siskin was hired by the plaintiffs to take the SURE database (the state's voter registration database) and compare it to the PennDOT database (containing information about driver's licenses, non-driver's photo IDs, and the DOS ID) to determine how many registered voters do not have valid PennDOT ID. (Although several other forms of ID are acceptable for voting, such as a passport, expert testimony in the previous trial showed that only a small percentage of people without PennDOT ID have one of the other forms.)<br />
<br />
Siskin discussed the findings in his report (available <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/SiskinReport.pdf" target="_blank">here</a> and highly recommended for anyone interested in this issue) and his methodology, which involved a 12-step process using a variety of techniques for getting the broadest possible number of matches, including using an algorithm that accounts for typos and transposed letters and numbers. (The steps are available in <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/SiskinReport.pdf" target="_blank">Siskin's report</a> in Appendix A.)<br />
<br />
Siskin also broke the data down by all registered voters as well, as those who voted in November 2012. Of the roughly 8.2 million registered voters, he found that 251,879 could not be matched to a PennDOT ID. When narrowed down to those who voted in 2012, the number was whittled down to 89,753. Additionally, another 259,536 voters were a positive match for having an ID expired over a year by the November 2013 election and thus invalid for voting purposes. Of November 2012 voters, 53,293 had an expired PennDOT ID.<br />
<br />
Siskin's totals: 511,415 (6.21%) of all registered voters do not have ID. 143,046 (1.74%) of voters who cast a ballot in November 2012 do not have valid ID.<br />
<br />
Of course, Siskin noted, there are many variables at play, including both false positives and false negatives for the "unmatched" list. The exact figure wasn't as important as the fact that even accounting for database errors and other problems, it was clear that hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania voters do not have a valid PennDOT ID.<br />
<br />
The commonwealth hired William Wecker, another statistician and consultant, to review Siskin's report. Mike Rubin, plaintiff's attorney, questioned Siskin about Wecker's criticisms of Siskin's report. One by one, Siskin demolished the majority of Wecker's claims (the bulk of which are on p. 5, paragraph 12, of Wecker's report). Wecker took Siskin to task for not accounting for other non-PennDOT forms of ID an eligible voter could use and claimed to have found tens of thousands of voters of the 511,415 who would have other forms of ID.<br />
Siskin countered that his charge was simply to match the PennDOT and voter databases - not to determine how many voters had some other form of valid ID for voting, which would be a much bigger task. He also eviscerated several of Wecker's claims (not all of which are noted here):<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Wecker claimed that 18,217 voters lived in personal care facilities eligible to print their own voting IDs. However, "eligible" to print does not, of course, mean that the facilities will do so. More glaringly, Wecker estimated that anyone 65 and over living within a tenth of a mile of a care facility was a resident , rather than relying on matching the address of the facility with voter records.</li>
<li>Wecker also claimed that 48,046 voters on Siskin's list were college students and therefore could use their school IDs for voting. Leaving aside the fact that not all colleges are producing IDs with expiration dates (including Bucknell University), Wecker derived this list by assuming that every voter aged 18-28 who lives within a mile of a university is a college student. As Siskin pointed out, schools such as Temple , University of Pittsburgh, and University of Pennsylvania are located in urban areas where a mile radius encompasses many non-students. (When the radius was reduced to a tenth of a mile, that number dropped to roughly 11,000 people.)</li>
<li>Wecker stated that he found 2,547 individuals living on military bases who would therefore possess military IDs, which are eligible for voting (if they include expiration dates). However, Wecker's set takes in everyone on the list who lives within three miles of a military base. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Even if all of Wecker's numbers were accurate (and not accounting for overlap of populations, such as those who vote absentee and those in care facilities), Siskin noted that there would still be well over 300,000 individuals without a valid PennDOT ID.<br />
<br />
Siskin also testified about his analysis of the demographics of those without PennDOT ID. Among his findings:<br />
<br />
<b>Registered Voters Lacking Valld PennDOT ID By Race/Ethnicity</b> (From Table 2 of Siskin's report)<br />
<br />
White (non-Hispanic) 5.49%<br />
African American 10.80%<br />
Hispanic 10.89%<br />
Asian 11.17%<br />
American Indian 8.17%<br />
Multirace 8.53%<br />
<br />
<b>Registered Voters Lacking Valid PennDOT ID By Age</b> (From Table 4 of Siskin's report)<br />
<br />
18-22 11.07%<br />
23-49 6.81%<br />
50-69 3.21%<br />
70-79 4.62%<br />
80-89 11.86%<br />
90+ 40.58%<br />
<br />
Analyses were also done by gender and political party, as well as an analysis of round-trip driving times for voters to get to PennDOT to obtain an ID. (These are all available in the tables in <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/SiskinReport.pdf" target="_blank">Siskin's report</a>.)<br />
<br />
Alicia Hickok, an attorney representing the defendants, attempted to chip away at Siskin's numbers in a prolonged cross examination by asking about registered voters who might now be incarcerated, those with suspended licenses who would show up in the PennDOT database as having expired licenses, and people who had moved out of state. She also took Siskin to task for not using other databases available to figure out which voters might have died, who might have moved away, and who is in prison and therefore ineligible to vote.<br />
<br />
Siskin acknowledged that his numbers might be reduced to some small degree but reiterated his original assessment - that hundreds of thousands of eligible Pennsylvania voters are at risk of being disenfranchised under the voter ID law.<br />
<br />
The court also heard testimony from Margaret Pennington, a 90-year-old voter without voter ID.ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-11708800462105361712013-07-15T23:45:00.004-04:002013-07-16T08:51:40.526-04:00Voter ID Trial Begins<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For the second July in a row, Harrisburg's Judicial Center played host to a voter ID trial. Once again, reporters and interested citizens packed the courtroom to watch lawyers from the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, Advancement Project, and Arnold & Porter go toe-to-toe with lawyers from the commonwealth over the constitutionality of the state's voter ID law.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
A notable difference from the previous two trials was the absence of Judge Robert Simpson. Presiding in his stead was Judge Bernard McGinley, a Pittsburgh resident who was first elected to Commonwealth Court in 1987. <br />
<br />After some technical delays and a brief meeting with counsel in the judge's chambers, the trial began. Michael Rubin of Arnold & Porter delivered the plaintiffs' opening remarks. He laid out in detail what the plaintiffs will prove at trial: that the law would lead to hundreds of thousands of eligible voters losing their right to vote, that the law intentionally restricts the types of IDs that are acceptable for voting, and that obtaining an ID can be difficult for many eligible voters, even with the relaxed guidelines for the Department of State (DOS) ID. The education campaign launched by the state about the voter ID law was confusing and inadequate, and it made no mention of the DOS ID. These problems, Rubin said, are "baked into the law itself and can't be fixed by better implementation."<br />
<br />Most important, said Rubin, the court will hear in-person and video testimony from a number of voters who currently lack ID and face the risk of disenfranchisement if the law is not overturned - people like Nadine Marsh, an elderly woman who made three separate trips, two hours roundtrip, to obtain a voter ID.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />Although the commonwealth and plaintiffs' experts don't agree on the precise number of voters at risk of disenfranchisement, Rubin said, both will testify that the number is in the hundreds of thousands. (Copies of the two expert reports are available <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/legal/legaldocket/applewhiteetalvcommonwealt/index" target="_blank">online.</a>) <br />
<br />
The commonwealth should not be surprised at this number, Rubin added. The General Assembly had multiple opportunities to amend the law before passage to make it easier for voters to comply, including expanding the list of acceptable IDs, accepting expired IDs and IDs without expiration dates, allowing all employer photo IDs, and allowing a wider number of agencies, including municipalities, to print IDs. Instead, despite warnings from the Dept. of State and the Dept. of Aging in a joint memo about the risk of disenfranchising vulnerable Pennsylvanians, the legislature and Gov. Corbett chose to make it harder to vote. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
The commonwealth's solution to the mounting evidence that some voters simply could not obtain a PennDOT ID was to create a new for-voting-only ID last year, known as the DOS ID. However, Rubin said, the evidence will show that the DOS ID implementation was fraught with problems. A number of registered voters were rejected for the DOS ID - the card to which voters were supposed to have "liberal access."</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />The supposed "ease" of getting a DOS ID is also curtailed by the limited number of locations for obtaining the ID. Nine counties in Pennsylvania do not have a single PennDOT Driver's License Center, and an additional 22 counties have centers that are only open one or two days a week. A system for "liberally available IDs should not require [voters] to leave the county," observed Rubin.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
Tim Keating of the Attorney General's Office provided much briefer opening remarks for the commonwealth. He said that it is "not unduly burdensome to have some small segment of people go to PennDOT to have their photos taken." The "option of obtaining an ID is open to anyone who wants to vote." He noted that in the 2008 Crawford case, in which Indiana's voter ID was upheld by the US Supreme Court, the court found that the need for voters to believe in the integrity of the voting process "outweighed the slight burden for some people to go out and get an ID."</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
Plaintiffs also presented two video depositions. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
The first was from Marian Baker, a 71-year-old grandmother from Reading who broke her leg several years ago and suffered a heart attack during surgery to repair it. On doctor's advice, she stopped driving. A Republican committee woman for eight years in the 1980s, Baker voted at her polling location every year except in 2008, when she was hospitalized. That year she cast an absentee ballot for "her man," John McCain. She lives only a few blocks from her polling place. Baker relies solely on her daughter and son-in-law, who have eight children and work long and erratic hours, for transportation. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
A regular voter since 1960, Baker last voted in this past November. On Election Day 2012, she presented her expired drivers' license as requested by the poll worker and was informed that she could not vote in the May election without current ID.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
The last time Baker attempted to get her license renewed, she stood in line for four hours. Due to her injury, she is now physically incapable of standing for extended periods of time. Fearing she would not be able to vote unless she renewed her ID, she called PennDOT to see if they could make any special accommodations for her disability but was told bluntly that she'd have to stand in line "like everybody else." She asked if she could obtain an ID through the mail but was told no. Having been told by a poll worker that she needed ID to vote in 2013 and unaware that the preliminary injunction had been extended to cover the primary, Baker did not vote in the May 2013 election.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
The final video of the day featured Mira Kanter Pripstein, a charming 93-year-old whose wry observances frequently caused laughter among the spectators in the courtroom. A life-long Philadelphian, she broke her leg in a fall five years ago, severely limiting her mobility. In May 2013 she served as a poll worker at the polling place located in her building. Pripstein cast her first vote for FDR and believes that voting "is what this country is based on." Voting is "one of the few things I thought I'd always do," she said. But due to mobility issues and limited options for transportation, Pripstein admitted under questioning that she likely would not go to PennDOT to obtain the necessary ID. When probed about this admission by the commonwealth's attorney, she responded tartly, "I'd like you to come back and ask me that when you're 93." </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
Transcripts of Baker's and Pripstein's testimony are available <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/legal/legaldocket/applewhiteetalvcommonwealt/index" target="_blank">online</a>. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
Court resumes tomorrow, Tuesday, July 16, at 9:30 a.m. Scheduled witnesses include Bernard R. Siskin, plaintiffs' expert on the number of people without PennDOT IDs; Jonathan Marks, Commissioner of the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation, Pennsylvania Department of State; and Margaret G. Pennington, an elderly, long-time voter without ID who will be testifying in person. </span></span></span></span>ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-37441232162388348062013-07-02T12:41:00.000-04:002013-07-02T12:41:13.927-04:00The rocky road of defending civil liberties in Harrisburg<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2461/4071578589_d70211f4ae.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2461/4071578589_d70211f4ae.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Later, y'all! Y'inz! You guys!"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The last trickle of activity in the spring session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly carries on tomorrow, as the state Senate finishes some budget-related matters. The state House has already left town. And there's no truth to the rumor that they were run out of town on a rail. That's not even possible since they didn't invest anything in rail.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the final weeks of June, all was largely quiet on the civil liberties front at the state capitol. That's a good thing. When the legislature starts screwing with civil liberties, it usually ends badly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And it did end badly for women's access to reproductive healthcare. On June 17, Governor Corbett signed House Bill 818. This bill prohibits insurance companies from covering abortion care in policies in the insurance exchange, or marketplace, created by the federal healthcare reform law. Narrow exceptions exist only for rape, incest, and imminent death of the woman.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've been trying to decide which is the most scandalous aspect of this story. Is it the state government meddling in a private transaction between a private company and a private customer, under the flimsy excuse that the exchange is administered by the government? (The federal government, mind you. The Corbett administration opted out of administering the exchange at the state level.) The supporters lamely claim that insurance coverage from Blue Cross is equivalent to Medicaid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Is it the lack of a health exception that the Senate defeated, 24-26? Some women have serious complications in pregnancy that can lead to health problems but not death and that are best avoided via abortion. If a woman faces that crisis and has insurance through the exchange, sorry, she has to pay out of pocket. <a href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2013&sess_ind=0&rc_body=S&rc_nbr=114" target="_blank">Here</a> is how that vote went down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Or is it the inability of the General Assembly to pass an infrastructure investment and repair bill (author's note: not a civil liberties issue) while finding the time to restrict women's access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare? Hey, a bridge might collapse, but at least they found time to restrict abortion!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here at ACLU-PA HQ, Harrisburg, we're gearing up for summer work with legislators and staff on revising the child protective services law and revisions to the Right to Know law.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And here's something to look forward to in the fall: A storm is brewing over privacy and mass data collection, specifically in legislation to <a href="http://blog.pennlive.com/opinion/print.html?entry=/2013/06/government_is_nosey_enough_does_it_really_need_your_dna_too_as_i_see_it.html" target="_blank">collect DNA</a> from people who have not been convicted of a crime and to <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/memoHB317HouseJune13.pdf" target="_blank">create a new database</a> of Pennsylvanians' prescription drug use. These are issues where ACLU-PA gets to flex its nonpartisan cred by working with Republicans and Democrats who recognize that we do not want to go down the road of a Total Information Society.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So our legislators are (almost) out of here for the summer. They can enjoy their recess with the knowledge that their constituents will think of them everytime they bounce off a pothole in the middle of state route (fill in the blank). And we can rest assured that civil liberties are safe for the next two months. See you in September....</span>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750293109396441767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-21262801538114761192013-06-14T11:19:00.005-04:002013-06-14T11:20:25.131-04:00Alton T. Lemon, Philadelphia Plaintiff in Pioneering Church and State Lawsuit, Passes Away<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>By Thad Eagles, Legal Intern</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1971, a group of <st1:place w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:place> taxpayers
who objected to having their taxes used to fund parochial schools took their
fight to preserve the separation of church and state all the way to the Supreme
Court. The <st1:place w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:place> legislature had passed a
statute allowing school districts to reimburse parochial schools, which at the
time were almost all Catholic-affiliated, for the salaries of teachers and
textbooks used in “secular” classes.
With representation from the ACLU of Pennsylvania provided <i>pro bono</i> by the law firm of Drinker
Biddle, the taxpayers won. On June 28,
1971, a unanimous Supreme Court overturned the <st1:place w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:place> statutes. Alton T. Lemon, a civil rights activist and
the lead plaintiff in this case, passed away on May 4<sup>th</sup> in <st1:placename w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Jenkintown</st1:placename>, <st1:placename w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:placename></st1:placename>. He was 84 years old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most immediately, <i>Lemon v. Kurtzman</i> established that it violates
the First Amendment for governments to help fund parochial schools, even for
nominally secular activities. The Court
held that the inevitable court intrusion into the details of school affairs
required to ensure that government funds were used for secular activities and
not for religious ones would create an impermissibly “intimate and continuing
relationship between church and state.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The more lasting effect of the
case, however, was the new test it created to determine whether government activities
or programs violate the First Amendment Establishment Clause principle of the
separation of church and state. To pass
this test, legislation must have a secular legislative purpose, cannot have the
primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion, and cannot result in
“excessive government entanglement” with religion. This test, known in legal circles as the
“Lemon Test,” has made <i>Lemon v. Kurtzman</i>
one of the most cited decisions ever, as it is now the basic framework for
every First Amendment case involving the separation of church and state. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lemon Test has been employed by
the Supreme Court to strike down legislation requiring the placement of the Ten
Commandments in school classrooms, that creationism (including “intelligent
design”) be taught alongside evolution, teacher-led prayer in schools, and a
whole host of other government actions that are unconstitutionally entangled
with religion. In 2010, this test was
employed by the federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in
response to a lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, to strike down a state
statute prohibiting corporate names containing words that “profane the Lord’s
name.” As Chief Justice Burger wrote in
his opinion for the court in 1971, the Lemon Test helps enforce the
constitutional mandate that “government is to be entirely excluded from the
area of religious instruction and churches excluded from the affairs of
government.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For his participation in the case,
Alton T. Lemon won the 2003 First Amendment Hero Award from the Freedom from
Religion Foundation. He settled in <st1:placename w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:placename> after serving in the Army, getting a
master’s degree in social work from the <st1:placename w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">University</st1:placename> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:placename></st1:placename>. He was a lifelong member and supporter of the
ACLU. He was also the first
African-American president of the Ethical Society of Philadelphia and director
of the Police Community Relations Division of the North City Congress. Sadly, we have lost Alton T. Lemon, but
thankfully, his bravery helped solidify important freedoms protected by the
First Amendment, and the legal principle that bears his name remains as vital
and important today as in 1971. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-49397661318036848612013-06-07T12:42:00.000-04:002013-06-07T12:44:56.437-04:00Red Lion School Area District chooses the low road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_X5YxnTa4gwmSeVFXzE7udgYGGVL0VaoZnfIBuc4v6fnaVKNVstbsGihS-9UxFL0w3hwHUG-j-jLXTi7zcU8UmrsHK1KmZvVwNb1QZHU7AL3KL1SfK8zstvkIv-e4WYD2iQ5/s1600/Issak+school+board+mtg+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_X5YxnTa4gwmSeVFXzE7udgYGGVL0VaoZnfIBuc4v6fnaVKNVstbsGihS-9UxFL0w3hwHUG-j-jLXTi7zcU8UmrsHK1KmZvVwNb1QZHU7AL3KL1SfK8zstvkIv-e4WYD2iQ5/s320/Issak+school+board+mtg+cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Issak Wolfe, a transgender student at Red Lion School
District, graduates today. Graduation day is one of life’s big milestones and
cause for celebration. Unfortunately, Issak’s big day will be marred by the
fact that the school district has refused to respect his gender identity and
will read Issak’s female birth name at graduation instead of the male name he
has gone by consistently for two years.<br />
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The school district is not required to read his legal name. It could have chosen to be kind,
understanding, and accommodating to a teenager who has endured much unkindness
already. Instead, they have refused this simple accommodation that would cost
them nothing, but would mean the world to Issak and his family.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In a June 5 letter to the ACLU, the school district stated
that it was in the “best interests” of the school district and the entire
graduating class to announce Issak by his legal, female name. They did not explain exactly how
disrespecting Issak benefits the school or his classmates. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Although not
surprising, the school’s refusal to read his male name was hard for Issak to
take – particularly since the announcement was followed by a graduation
rehearsal at which the administration stressed to the graduating class how
important it was to graduates and their families for the school to read
everyone’s “correct names.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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School officials should be in the business of supporting
students. They should model acceptance and compassion for others. Instead, Red Lion School District has
displayed pettiness and arbitrariness in its treatment of Issak. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Although the mean-spirited acts of school administrators
haven’t always made life easy, Issak has worked tirelessly to make
his school a safer space for his classmates and future students, urging respect
for all students and an end to discrimination on the basis of gender identity
and expression. Although Issak leaves
the Red Lion Area School District today, he leaves behind an important legacy
of tolerance. Hopefully, one day the district
will be ready to embrace Issak’s message. <o:p></o:p></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-76174458312129720112013-06-03T16:08:00.001-04:002013-06-03T16:08:52.761-04:00Top 5 Reasons Pennsylvania May Not be the next DNA collection State<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Today's Supreme Court decision that upheld Maryland's preconviction DNA collection law was pretty much atrocious, as <a href="http://www.aclupa.blogspot.com/2013/06/top-seven-reasons-todays-supreme-court.html" target="_blank">pointed out earlier</a> by my colleague Ngani. But there's no guarantee that Pennsylvania will be next. Here's why, from the home office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>5</b>. <b>Last year the state Senate passed a preconviction DNA bill. It was rejected by the state House.</b> In October, the House passed an amendment by a freshman Democrat, Representative Brandon Neuman of Washington County, that gutted the bill, including the DNA collection provision with 132 votes in favor of the amendment. This bipartisan coalition included the Speaker of the House.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>4</b>. <b>The public safety arguments fall flat. </b>In 2011, Maryland collected 11,000 DNA samples from people charged but not yet convicted of a crime under its law. That led to nine additional convictions for unsolved crimes. Not 90. Not 900. Not 9,999. But nine. Plus, under the commonwealth's <i>current</i>, postconviction DNA law, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) has a backlog of eight months to test DNA samples, a backlog that will only balloon if the legislature passes a preconviction collection bill. No one can argue with a straight face that preconviction DNA collection protects public safety.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>3. It's expensive. </b>PSP has estimated that preconviction DNA collection would cost $13 million.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>2</b>. <b>The right to privacy under the state constitution is robust. </b>Pennsylvania courts have consistently ruled that Article I, Section VIII of the state constitution provides greater privacy protections in search-and-seizures than the Fourth Amendment of the federal constitution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>1</b>. <b>The ACLU of Pennsylvania is on it. </b>And we're awesome.</span>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750293109396441767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-50214549612172170422013-06-03T14:02:00.002-04:002013-06-03T14:02:37.250-04:00Top Seven Reasons Today’s Supreme Court Decision TOTALLY SUCKS<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsz_5Jzr_YXuW5B-jkLLU55l079W2avKIvxil4W-D-Y3x3I9j4YF-fjN-dbOlRdvUV-nwMErFb2ozyiiCN1USuylWeORVzl-dVrB4EyfXAM3IDkJmwrLkq7xOp5MnffLzdwdoD/s1600/DNA+testing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsz_5Jzr_YXuW5B-jkLLU55l079W2avKIvxil4W-D-Y3x3I9j4YF-fjN-dbOlRdvUV-nwMErFb2ozyiiCN1USuylWeORVzl-dVrB4EyfXAM3IDkJmwrLkq7xOp5MnffLzdwdoD/s320/DNA+testing.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">7.
It’s official: The US Supreme Court has ruled that </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/us/supreme-court-says-police-can-take-dna-samples.html?hp&_r=0" target="_blank">DNA collection can come before conviction</a> and without a judge issuing a warrant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">6.
Collection of DNA – our most intimate genetic material - was equated with </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">fingerprinting.</span><u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">5.
It overturns last year’s ruling by Maryland’s highest court which said that
mandatory DNA collection upon arrest is unconstitutional.</span><u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">4.
Maryland now joins 28 other states and DC allowing DNA collection after arrest.</span><u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">3. It
was nice knowin' ya, Fourth Amendment. “The court has cast aside a bedrock rule
of our Fourth Amendment law: that the government may not search its citizens
for evidence of crime unless there is a reasonable cause to believe that such
evidence will be found,”- Justice Antonin Scalia</span><u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">2.
Ughh. “Make no mistake about it: Because of today’s decision, your DNA can
be taken and entered into a national database if you are ever arrested, rightly
or wrongly, and for whatever reason.” – Justice Antonin Scalia</span><u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">1.
PA <a href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2013&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=150" target="_blank">could be next</a>.</span><u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i>--by Ngani Ndimbe, Community Organizer</i></span></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-21835460930999551782013-05-09T15:08:00.000-04:002013-05-09T15:13:52.220-04:00Don’t Bully My Speech<span style="text-align: center;">By Witold Walczak,
Legal Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania</span><br />
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What kind of peace and non-violence rally could provoke
inflammatory rhetoric like, “Yes we should block them from crossing the bridge,
and if we legally can’t then they should force them to walk between us Armed
with rifles while we taunt them.” Or, “I
really think people should bring pitch forks and torches this time.” Another message warned people to “stay off
the bridge if you are carrying!—there is video surveillance and the state
police have jurisdiction on the bridge.”
Yikes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The comments were posted on the Internet by pro-gun-group
members plotting to stop, or at least severely disrupt, a May 11 <i>Rally Against Gun Violence, </i>sponsored by
the Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA). The <span id="goog_370425037"></span><a href="http://www.peacecoalition.org/" target="_blank">Coalition’s websit<span id="goog_370425038"></span>e</a> describes it as a “regional
organization dedicated to abolition of nuclear weapons, a peace economy, and a
halt to weapons trafficking at home and abroad.” Their more recent activism has focused on
stopping gun violence. Their leader, for
more than 30 years, is the Reverend Robert Moore, who has an impressive
pedigree of peace and social justice activism.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The pre-Mother's Day event protesting gun violence, months
in the planning, includes a program at Trenton’s First Baptist Church, a march
across the Delaware River over the “Trenton Makes Bridge,” and concludes with a
rally at Williamson Park in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is a featured speaker. This is an anti-violence event.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The intimidation by pro-gun groups opposed to Rev. Moore and
his folks has, unfortunately, threatened the event. It caused the Delaware River Joint Toll
Bridge Commission (Commission) to delay issuance of a permit for the CFPA
marchers to cross the bridge into Pennsylvania.
On Tuesday, the ACLU of Pennsylvania sent <a href="http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/Restaltr5713.pdf" target="_blank">a letter to the Commission</a>
indicating that a lawsuit would be forthcoming unless the requested permit was
issued by the following day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Ensuing communications made clear that the Commission’s
resistance to issuing the permit had nothing to do with the ACLU’s clients, the
CFPA, but rather by the threats from the counter protesters. In an
email, the Commission’s director wrote that, “to conduct a rally of this type
in the very place that children are expected to play baseball, and to bring
members of your client's organization that are also children (and the elderly);
although it may suit your client's messaging needs, is a mistake. Please consider changing the date, or the
venue, (or minimally do not bring children or the elderly) to decrease the
probability of something going wrong.”
Obviously, the volatility was not introduced into this event by CFPA. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In situations like these, government cannot yield to such
intimidation or threats of violence to deny peaceful, law-abiding folks their
right to free speech. This argument to justify
censorship is known as a “heckler’s veto,” and works like this: even though we
believe you are peaceful and law-abiding, we cannot let you speak, i.e.,
exercise your First Amendment rights, because people who don’t like your
message have threatened public safety if we let you proceed. It’s a form of blackmail; bullies and
lawbreakers can intimidate government into censoring law-abiding, peaceful
activists by threatening civil disorder.
Southern sheriffs and governors often invoked this argument to deny
permits to, or arrest, peaceful civil rights demonstrators. Another bridge, the Edmund Pettis Bridge in
Selma, Alabama, was the scene of a similar confrontation when threatened
violence by local racists prodded the sheriff to blockade the bridge (though
the sheriff there didn't need much prodding).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected the heckler’s
veto justification for censorship, ruling in 1950s and ‘60s civil rights cases
along the lines that, “Participants in an orderly demonstration in a public
place are not chargeable with the danger, unprovoked except by the fact of the
constitutionally protected demonstration itself, that their critics might react
with disorder or violence.” This settled
principle of law remains vital and necessary today, as witnessed by this week’s
events.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fortunately, the Commission acceded to the ACLU’s request on
Tuesday evening and approved CFPA’s permit, thereby allowing the march across
the bridge. Fear that the
counter-protesters will disrupt public safety during the CFPA march was, and
continues to be, an ongoing concern.
Both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Police are on notice and will
be monitoring the scene. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The First Amendment gives everyone in this great land a right
to express their views in public. The
First Amendment doesn't, however, allow anyone to threaten violence or disorder
when they don’t like what others say. The
antidote for speech we don’t like is not censorship or intimidation, but to
respond with a counter argument.<o:p></o:p></div>
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From a civil liberties perspective, the First Amendment doesn't allow government to be bullied into vetoing the speech of law-abiding
folks. Just like the civil rights
marchers wanting to cross the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma in 1965, gun-safety
advocates have the same right to cross the Trenton Makes Bridge unimpeded by
opponents’ intimidation. Freedom of
speech cannot survive if government yields to threats and intimidation by
shutting down peaceful, law-abiding demonstrators. <o:p></o:p></div>
ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16975301.post-36437764409645991062013-04-24T14:20:00.000-04:002013-04-24T15:29:35.052-04:00Shut Up Or Get Out: PA City Punishes Domestic Violence Victims Who Call the Police<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">by Sandra
Park, ACLU Women’s Rights Project</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Last
year in Norristown, Pa., Lakisha Briggs’ boyfriend physically assaulted her,
and the police arrested him. But in a
cruel turn of events, a police officer then told Ms. Briggs, “You are on three
strikes. We’re gonna have your landlord
evict <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=16975301"></a>you</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Yes,
that’s right. The police threatened Ms.
Briggs with eviction because she had received their assistance for domestic
violence. Under Norristown’s “disorderly
behavior ordinance,” the city penalizes landlords and tenants when the police
respond to three instances of “disorderly behavior” within a four-month
period. The ordinance specifically
includes “domestic disturbances” as disorderly behavior that triggers
enforcement of the law. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">After
her first “strike,” Ms. Briggs was terrified of calling the police. She did not want to do anything to risk
losing her home. So even when her now
ex-boyfriend attacked her with a brick, she did not call. And later, when he stabbed her in the neck,
she was still too afraid to reach out.
But both times, someone else did call the police. Based on these “strikes,” the city pressured
her landlord to evict. After a housing
court refused to order an eviction, the city said it planned to condemn the
property and forcibly remove Ms. Briggs from her home. The ACLU intervened, and the city did not
carry out its threats and even agreed to repeal the ordinance. But just two weeks later, Norristown quietly
passed a virtually identical ordinance that imposes fines on landlords unless
they evict tenants who obtain police assistance, including for domestic violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Today,
the ACLU, ACLU of Pennsylvania, and the law firm Pepper Hamilton<a href="http://www.aclupa.org/legal/legaldocket/briggsvboroughofnorristown.htm" target="_blank"> filed a federal lawsuit</a> on
behalf of Ms. Briggs, challenging the ordinance. These laws violate tenants’ <a href="http://www.aclu.org/united-states-bill-rights#1">First Amendment right to
petition their government</a>, which includes the right to contact law
enforcement. They also violate the
federal Violence Against Women Act, which <a href="http://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/new-hud-rules-target-stereotyping-domestic-violence-victims">protects
many domestic violence victims from eviction</a> based on the crimes committed
against them, and the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination based on
sex and was enacted <a href="http://www.aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights-racial-justice-womens-rights/we-have-come-some-way-not-nearly-all-there-much-yet-do">45
years ago this month</a>. The <a href="http://www.aclu.org/fairhousingforwomen">ACLU</a> has long <a href="http://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/ending-double-victimization-domestic-violence-survivors">argued</a>
that evictions based on domestic violence can discriminate against women,
because such evictions are often motivated by gender stereotypes that hold
victims responsible for the abuse they experience and because the vast majority
of victims are women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Norristown
is not alone. Cities and towns across
the United States have similar laws, sometimes referred to as “nuisance
ordinances” or “crime-free ordinances.”
We represented a domestic violence victim in Illinois, who after years
of experiencing abuse, decided to reach out to the police for the first
time. The police charged her husband
with domestic battery and resisting arrest.
Yet only a few days later, the police department sent her landlord a
notice, instructing the landlord to evict the victim under the local ordinance
based on the arrest. The message was
clear: Calling the police leads to homelessness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">A
recent <a href="http://asr.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/12/20/0003122412470829.abstract?rss=1">study</a>
of Milwaukee’s nuisance ordinance showed that domestic violence was the third
most common reason that police issued a nuisance citation, far above drug,
property damage, or trespassing offenses.
The study also established that enforcement of the ordinance disproportionately
targeted African-American neighborhoods.
The result? Women of color, like
Ms. Briggs, were less able to access police protection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Effective
law enforcement depends on strong relationships between police and members of
the community. These ordinances
undermine that trust, by punishing victims who call 911 and coercing them to
endure escalating violence in silence.
Even worse, Norristown reports that domestic violence victims make up 20
percent of its homeless population. In
order to reduce domestic violence and homelessness, Norristown should repeal
the ordinance, and keep it off the books for good. And other towns that are considering enacting
or enforcing these ordinances should learn the same lesson. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><i>Cross-posted on the national ACLU's <a href="http://www.aclu.org/blog" target="_blank">Blog of Rights</a>.</i></span></span></div>
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ACLU of Pennsylvaniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588847469180948463noreply@blogger.com5