Justices Reject Local Law on Sex Offenders

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court says a 2007 Allegheny County ordinance that bars sex offenders from living in certain areas is invalid. The ordinance banned registered sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of schools, child-care facilities, community centers and public parks.
Chief Justice Ronald Castille wrote a strongly-worded opinion on behalf of a unanimous high court and said this law would force many to live in isolated areas that in effect become "localized penal colonies."
Witold "Vic" Walczak, legal director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, says "while places that have passed these ordinances may effectively exclude sexual offenders, the end result is that it's going to funnel these folks into certain other communities and people in those communities aren't going to be too happy."

The high court said the county ordinance is preempted by the state's Megan's Law registration and state policies that promote rehabilitation.

Walczak says he has no doubt that Allegheny County Council members who passed the ordinance were well-intentioned but you have to "look at the big picture" because ultimately these laws are not in the best interest of the community. "In fact they undermine public safety by making it more difficult for sex offenders to re-integrate into the community and be rehabilitated."

The State Supreme Court's opinion stems from a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of several sex offenders. The county appealed federal judge's 2009 ruling striking down the ordinance. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals then sought the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's input.

Gay Marriage Proponent to Speak at ACLU Event

Pittsburgh native Evan Wolfson will return to the city this Sunday for a discussion on gay marriage legislation. Wolfson earned his JD at Harvard Law School and went on to work for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund before founding Freedom to Marry. The lecture is sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union and takes place Sunday evening at the University of Pittsburgh. Wolfson says that being "for" gay marriage is not enough to help people that are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. He says it's important that supporters speak out about the issue and not sit quietly on the sidelines. For those opposed to gay marriage, Wolfson says it's still possible to find common ground because everyone understands the desire for love, family and commitment - "people of every party affiliation and every outlook should be able to agree that we don't want the law discriminating in a free country. And we want to do what's right for other people and their families - even if we don't agree with them them. People don't have to dance at my wedding, but they shouldn't be using the government as a weapon to keep me from getting married." He says Pennsylvania excludes gay people from marriage and doesn't provide protection for gay couples or their children. The talk takes place at 7 p.m. at the Teplitz Moot Courtroom at Pitt on March 27.

Speakers Testify on City Police Reform Legislation

Experts from law enforcement, academia and the legal arena spoke out in support of proposed police reform legislation at Pittsburgh Council Thursday. The post-agenda meeting centered on an ordinance drafted by Councilman Ricky Burgess that would require routine data collection by officers and law enforcement administrators. That data would include everything from routine traffic stops to incidents involving the use of force. The information would be published in an annual public report that would specify the make-up of the police force; any legal action against police officers; average response times; arrests by charge, race and gender by zone and specialized units; conviction rates and traffic stops as well as recruitment and retention. Vic Walczak, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania says in the 1990's Pittsburgh police were forced to abide by a consent decree that help bring the department in line. But he says he's sure the police union will come out against the legislation as hamstringing their operations, "that is demonstrably false because other police departments around the country do it, and the city of Pittsburgh police department has done it--they were forced to do it under the consent decree--and crime went down." Walczak says there's a perception in the black community that it is under siege, "and until and unless the city measures what their officers are doing and publicizes it, they can't credibly come out and say there's no problem." Wayne Babish, a former police officer and adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh supports the legislation and says over time, police officers will recognize its benefits, "a police chief would welcome and view this proposed legislation as an opportunity to communicate and collaborate with elected officials." Burgess' legislation was sparked by the alleged beating of Jordan Miles, a black high-school student, by white, plain-clothed police officers in Homewood in January 2010. An investigation into that incident is still pending.

Mediation Tried in G20 Lawsuits

Lawyers have agreed to try mediating a lawsuit in which 25 plaintiffs are seeking damages from the City of Pittsburgh for alleged rights violations during the G20 economic summit of September 2009.

Attorney Sara Rose of the American Civil Liberties Union says both her clients and the city want a settlement to resolve the case. She says a jury could only award monetary settlements, rather than change the City Code, because many law enforcement regulations during the summit were temporary.

Rose says state law requires both sides to choose between arbitration, mediation, or early neutral evaluation before the court case can begin. The ACLU lawyer says the mediation is tentatively scheduled for May.

False Positive From Poppy Seed Bagel Leads to Suit

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in Pittsburgh federal court today on behalf of a New Castle couple whose newborn daughter was seized and held for five days by Lawrence County Children and Youth Services (LCCYS) after the mother failed a drug test because she had eaten a poppy seed bagel before she was admitted.
According to the lawsuit, Jameson Hospital, where Elizabeth Mort gave birth to Isabella, uses a much lower threshold for a positive drug screening than federal guidelines, leading to a higher rate of false positives.
ACLU attorney Sara Rose says the day that Mort and her fiance Alex Rodriguez brought the baby home, 2 caseworkers and 2 police officers showed up with a court order to take the infant. Rose says CYS later admitted it was a false positive but still did not return the child for 5 days even though Mort denied ever using illegal drugs......

“No parent should have to go through what this couple did. This case is a tragic illustration of the harm that can result when the government removes a child based only on the accusation of a third party and without any independent investigation.”

The baby's mother said that when Isabella was gone the family was at a loss of words.....“I couldn't stop crying. Alex just didn't even know how to be himself. It felt like our heart was ripped in pieces. The most important person was missing, and we didn't know when we would see her again.”

Rose says it's a civil liberties matter because it's a county policy and not an isolated issue. She said the ACLU had a previous client who lost her child for 2 months and other lawyers have told them that this happens about a dozen times a year in Lawrence County.

Rose says the suit asks the court to declare Lawrence County's policy of automatically removing newborns from parents based solely on a prenatal drug test without any investigation violates parents' rights and they are asking for damages "whatever a jury thinks is appropriate."

ACLU Sues Pittsburgh for G20 Arrests

The city of Pittsburgh, Police Chief Nate Harper and a number of police officers are being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for arrests that took place September 25, 2009, on the last day of the G20 Summit. ACLU Pennsylvania Legal Director Vic Walczak announced the federal suit at Schenely Plaza in Oakland, the site of the protest and subsequent arrests. According to the brief, police declared the peaceful demonstration unlawful and issued an order to disperse. But Walczak says police then prevented protesters from leaving the area, "when they tried to leave there was nowhere to go...one term used by someone that we thought was descriptive is they were 'ping pongs,'" bouncing from one side of the plaza to another trying to get out but prevented from doing so by lines of officers in riot gear. The lawsuit lists 25 plaintiffs, including Carnegie Mellon University student Casey Brander, who says she was arrested on the lawn near the Cathedral of Learning after attempting to leave the area. She says she was detained for 19 hours and says many people were physically abused. But even without physical abuse, she says it was mentally exhausting, "especially when you're constantly being taunted. Right from my arrest when I was getting frisked on the lawn, an officer told me I was going to be his girlfriend, officers were calling us hot and calling us derogatory names...I was pretty traumatized by it." Other plaintiffs who attended today's announcement talked about being denied medication, being pepper sprayed without provocation and being pelted with pepper balls. All of the criminal charges against the plaintiffs were withdrawn or dismissed. The ACLU alleges violation of the First Amendment right to assembly, retaliatory arrests and a violation of the Fourth Amendment protections against false arrest as well as the use of excessive force.

Fallout from "Threat" Reports

Legislators on both sides of the aisle are demanding hearings into why the Rendell Administration paid for intelligence reports about peaceful protests.
Governor Ed Rendell says his chief of staff and the head of the state police are looking into how Pennsylvania can improve its homeland security intelligence gathering, but Republicans and Democrats want the General Assembly to investigate the issue, too.
Both Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, and the head of the House Governmental Affairs Committee have requested copies of every intelligence report the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response provided to the state Office of Homeland Security. The Institute listed as potential threats gay rights groups, drilling opponents and G20 protesters.

Vic Walczak, the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, says by targeting political groups as potential threats, the state hurt their credibility, in addition to infringing on their rights.

"Damage done. Are you going to continue your contributions and your support, or are you immediately going to be suspicious. And if you do that with funders, if you do that with allies, if you do that with adversaries, you are doing incalculable harm."

A Senate committee has scheduled the first hearing into the reports for later this month.

Teacher and ACLU reach Agreement

The American Civil Liberties Union has reached an agreement with the Brownsville Area school district who suspended a teacher because photographs of her with a stripper appeared online.

Ginger D’Amico, a high school Spanish teacher in Fayette County was penalized after images of her with a stripper at a bachelorette party she hosted for a fellow teacher were posted on Facebook. The photos were posted by another school district employee and were online for less than a day. She was suspended for 30 school days without pay because hers was the only identifiable face in the photos.
"That’s the first time I’ve ever been in any kind of trouble in 14 years of teaching. I really was devastated because I really take pride in being a good teacher and a mentor and it kind of ripped my heart out," she said.

D’Amico’s record was cleared and she will be paid back wages for the time she was suspended. She will also get a $10,000 dollar settlement that will be split with the ACLU, who provided her legal representation.

Vic Walczak, legal director for Pennsylvania’s ACLU says the question raised is to what extent public employers discipline employees for off-duty conduct. Legally, he says this is a gray area.

"There needs to be a line that restricts public employers from being allowed to punish employees only if they do something that substantially harms the employer and emloyee’s ability to do their job," he said.

Butch Santicola, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association says this is a recurring problem with teachers.

"The technology that’s out there with the cell phones and cameras and pictures are being taken, facebook, twitter all of them, we’re very cautious of that and we need to be very very cautious of that," he said.
Other school district employees received disciplinary letters. Their arbitration is scheduled for September.

ACLU Requests FBI Racial and Ethnic Data

ACLU affiliate offices in 30 states, including Pennsylvania, have filed coordinated Freedom of Information Act requests seeking information from the FBI about its mapping of ethnic and racial communities.
The Domestic Intelligence and Operations Guide (DIOG) is a policy from 2008 which indicates that the FBI intends to map racial and ethnic demographics, behaviors, lifestyle characteristics and other community characteristics in order to use it in intelligence analysis activity.
Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania Valerie Durch says the ACLU has asked to review the information gathered by the FBI, along with an explanation of how it is being used....
"Someone should be watching the FBI and we want to make sure they are valuing people's civil liberties, and not creating databases that suggest people of different racial and ethnic groups should be watched closer than others. If that's taking place, we're concerned."

Burch says that if the information is handed over, the ACLU will analyze it and release it to the public.

Permits No Longer Required for Expression in Parks

Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has suspended a rule requiring individuals to have permits before the “expression of views” or distribution of literature in state parks.

The suspension was in response to a request from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU), which recently received several complaints on the subject.

ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak says over the past two weeks, DCNR rangers stopped two Green Party candidates for U.S. Congress from getting petition signatures in Point State Park. He says rangers prevented another man from making balloon art.

Point State Park is the only park in which this is an issue; Walczak says that’s because almost nobody passes out literature in rural parks.

Walczak says the ACLU had been dealing with the Pittsburgh Police on this issue, but when DCNR informed them of the regulation they asked them to stop requiring permits.

“It makes sense to do for a large demonstration that may result in blocking traffic. Then, yes, you can have a permit system, but you can’t have it for what the courts often call ‘the lone pamphleteer.’”

Although the law hasn’t been formally repealed yet, DCNR has stopped enforcing it.

Groups Don't Want Arizona Immigration Law in Pennsylvania

Arizona's new immigration law and the introduction of a similar measure in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is spurring action in Pittsburgh's legal and immigration community. David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh says the glaring problem with the legislation is that it is counter productive to fighting crime. Harris says not only are illegal immigrants five times less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans, but the law drives a wedge between law enforcement and the immigrant community. That divide will keep victims and witnesses from coming forward to report criminal activity.

Arizona Senate bill 1070 requires law enforcement to question individuals they deem reasonably suspicious about their immigration status during police encounters. Harris says a number of law enforcement organizations are coming out against Arizona's law--including the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Major City Chiefs Association--because it stymies their mission of fighting crime. Harris says the law is also on shaky legal ground because immigration enforcement is usually the realm of the federal government, not the state. He doesn't dispute citizen's desire to have stronger border enforcement, but says this type of legislation does more harm that good.

A forum taking place Monday evening will feature a panel of speakers--including Harris, Vic Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Christina Powers of the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center, among others. They will discuss what the actual Arizona law says and why they think it doesn't make sense for public policy or public safety. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Friends Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Avenue in Pittsburgh.

ACLU, B-PEP to Hold Civil Rights Forum

The January arrest of CAPA student Jordan Miles by Pittsburgh police has prompted local organizations to hold a community forum tonight on racial profiling and constitutional rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Black Political Empowerment Project say they’ve assembled presenters from Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh to discuss civil rights during encounters with police.

The meeting, geared toward young people, will also give individuals a chance to question legal experts about their concerns.

B-PEP Chairman Tim Stevens says while tragic, the Miles incident has presented an opportunity for police policy reforms in Pittsburgh.

“This is a moment in time where some of these changes that we have wanted for years to come about will be coming about, including installation of video cameras in police [cars] which I personally have been fighting for for probably at least ten years,” says Stevens. “So sometimes, these incidents provoke negativity, but also they inspire creativity.”

Stevens says representatives of the Hispanic and Muslim communities, as well as the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, will meet at the Union Project March 29 to continue the conversation about racial profiling.

Tonight’s open forum will be held at 6:30 in St. James AME Church of Pittsburgh.

Disorder in the Court

Yesterday, two different federal appellate court panels issued conflicting rulings on school officials' right to discipline students for Internet postings made from home.

The cases are very similar, but the rulings are just the opposite, according to ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak, who represents both students. Each student put mocking and sexually explicit material on the Internet with reference to a principal.

In the case from Mercer County, the appellate court upheld a lower court ruling that the school cannot limit a student's speech outside school. A different 3-judge panel upheld a student's suspension in Schuykill County.

Walczak says it's reasonable to restrict speech at school but not to limit a student's right to free speech outside school, where it's the parents' right to decide whether a child's behavior is appropriate or not.

Either side may seek further legal review.

Merton Center Billed for Police During G20

The Thomas Merton Center of Pittsburgh says it will not pay a $6,346.44 bill from the city for police services during a protest march September 25 during the G20 Summit. Several thousand demonstrators took part in the march from Oakland to the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh and then on to the North Side.
Merton Center spokeswoman Melissa Minnich told DUQ that they received the bill from the city Friday itemizing the cost of the work done by police during the march which was organized by the center.
"This was unexpected, we had filled out the forms and were told that (paying for police during) the march and rally should not happen. We've been speaking to the ACLU because back in 2003, the ACLU represented groups that sued the city to overturn a parade ordinance that compelled payment for the same sort of thing....police services."

That suit led to new rules that exempt First Amendment Parades and rallies from charges for police services if the organizer cannot afford to pay. An ACLU spokesman says the march was a free speech action and the Merton Center can't afford to pay the invoice.

A spokesman for the city of Pittsburgh says they've received a notice from the ACLU that they are representing the Merton Center and the city is "reviewing the matter."

ACLU Expands Suit Over G20

The American Civil Liberties Union has expanded its civil rights lawsuit against the city of Pittsburgh, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Public Safety Director Michael Huss, Police Chief Nate Harper, Assistant Chief William Bochter and City Parks Assistant Director Michael Radley in connection with the G20 Summit.
ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak says the suit alleges that city officials adopted a strategy to "harass, intimidate, discourage and ultimately prevent Three Rivers Climate Convergence and the Seeds of Peace Collective from exercising their constitutionally protected rights of free speech."
However, the environmental group was permitted to set up a camp in Schenley Park for the 3 days leading up to the G20 Summit. They were not allowed to be in the park on the first day of the summit because of its proximity to the site of the working dinner of the G20 leaders.
Walczak says since that the decision from the judge to allow the Schenley Park demonstration came just 5 days in advance, their efforts to organize and recruit people was severely limited.
Walczak says Seeds of Peace, a group that travels the country feeding demonstrators, were monitored and harassed from the day they arrived in Pittsburgh including having their bus impounded and 3 members detained briefly.
No federal officials have been named in the suit but according to Walczak "that's the $64,000 question, whether the 'feds' were lurking in the background." He says the lawsuit can always be amended in the future if they find evidence of wrongdoing by federal officials.
The suit seeks unspecified damages. There's no comment at this time from city of Pittsburgh officials.

CCAC Changes Rules on Flyer Distribution

The Community College of Allegheny County has changed a policy that was used to prevent a student from handing out flyers looking for students interested in forming an organization. The flyers were distributed by Christine Brashier who wanted to form a local chapter of the national organization “Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.” The school said it was in violation of its solicitation rules and later said it was a violation of the rules because it appeared to link the college with the organization in a way that made it appear the school was endorsing the group. Brashier claimed it was a violation of her first amendment rights and was quickly backed by The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the American Civil Liberties Union. CCAC struck the following language from its rules; "Solicitation: The distribution or display of, and the personal contact with individuals or groups related to non-sponsored college material or events, without prior written approval of the college are prohibited. These actions are limited to public property; however, public property in this context does not include college property." CCAC Spokesperson Ryan Alexander says the goal was to eliminate the ambiguity in the rules. He says, "The original procedure was developed to protect students from solicitation. In light of recent developments, the procedure was somewhat ambiguous and it was removed." The school’s policy on distributing materials on campus is still being reviewed.

Judge: City Not Harassing Seeds of Peace

Federal Judge Gary Lancaster ruled against a protest support group that claimed it was being harassed by Pittsburgh police. Seeds of Peace provides food to protesters who are “exercising their right to free speech.” The Nebraska based organization drives a reconfigured school bus into an area where protesters are gathering and then sets up a mobile kitchen to distribute free meals. For a time after it arrived in Pittsburgh last week the bus was parked on a residential street in Polish Hill but Pittsburgh police sighted it for blocking traffic and had it towed. Testimony from the officer involved claims none of the Seeds of Peace members near the bus at the time were able to find keys or move the bus. One member testified that they were not given the chance and the keys were inside the bus. Instead they had to wait for the person whose name was on the registration. The bus was eventually towed and the group paid more than $200 to get it out of the pound.

The group then parked on private land in Lawrenceville. They had permission from the lessee and a man who was subletting the property but not from the owner. That sub lessee testified that police came to the property a day later and asked to search for weapons. An officer involved says they thought people might be illegally living on the property that among other thing is used to store old bricks and used steel. He says police have a heightened awareness to that type of activity and material in the lead up to the G20 Pittsburgh Summit. The following day the landowner met with police, a building inspector and the leaseholder and decided the bus had to leave. The lawyers for the plaintiffs hinted that the city intimidated the landowner with the threat of inspections and fines.

Seeds of change once again packed up their belongings and took the bus to a third location but were stopped by police as they were just yards away from pulling into the parking lot that they thought they had permission to use. An ACLU legal observer testified that several squad cars and officers quickly arrived and went over nearly every imaginable state and city law that could govern vehicle operations, and interstate commerce including the need for a special license to operate a bus. Eventually the landowner called and asked Seeds of Change to leave by noon Tuesday. He reportedly told them neighbors had asked him to evict the group because the number of police in their neighborhood concerned them.

The judge found that the plaintiff’s constitutional rights were not violated and that even though they intend to help others express their rights of free speech it does not mean that they can ignore local zoning and traffic laws. The denial of injunctive relief does not prohibit the plaintiffs from seeking monetary damages at a later date. The Group moved the bus to Trinity Lutheran Church on the north side. An ACLU of Pennsylvania web site reports, "A few hours after parking the buses at the Northside location, approximately 25 police officers surrounded the parking lot where the buses were parked but left after about half an hour."

Judge Splits Ruling

Federal Judge Gary Lancaster split his ruling into three parts this morning taking the three complaints individually. The judge ruled that the city did not infringe on the Thomas Merton Center’s right to free speech by denying its request to march to the 7th street Bridge and rally on the span. The city did approve a permit to rally in Oakland Friday Sept. 25th, march to the City County Building on Grant Street, and then hold another rally there. He says the city did offer the group two alternative locations for their final rally including one “in the shadow of the convention center.” One option offered was for the marchers to cross the 7th Street Bridge and rally on the North Shore and the other was to take a convoluted route to the edge of the strip district next to the center. The judge ruled that the city had a responsibility to protect the marchers, protesters and G20 participants and a rally on the bridge would stretch public safety assets too thin.
Jonah McAllister-Erickson of the Thomas Merton center says the location on the North Shore makes the march too long and it is too hard to get to the location in the strip due to the security perimeter. The group says it will take up the city’s offer to meet again in an effort to find another location “in the golden triangle” to serve as the end of the march.
Judge Lancaster then ruled that Code Pink should be allowed to set up tents and displays in Point State Park starting at 7pm Sunday. The group will be able to keep the displays in the park until 7pm Tuesday. Code Pink diced to not stay overnight in the park as it had originally requested. The judge says the city’s denial of the request was an infringement on the group’s right to free speech. The hours of the permit are limited by set up and tear down of the Junior Great Race Sunday the 20th, The Great Race Sunday the 27th and a Wednesday night rally and concert sponsored by PA State Senator Jim Ferlo, the United Steel Workers Union and a group lead by former Vice President Al Gore. He says the city’s refusal to allow Code Pink access to the park was not narrowly tailored to the city’s interests.
Code Pink member Eileen Olmstead says she is pleased with decision. She says it has been a long hard fight for their first amendment rights and this will allow her group to get its message to the public. She says the message is that, “we hope the financial policies of the G20 nations will result in greater prosperity for less affluent nations and lead to a cessation of destructive conflict.”
Finally judge Lancaster ruled against Three Rivers Climate Convergence’s (3RCC) assertion that the city was infringing on its rights of expression and travel by disallowing the group to set up an overnight camp in Schenely Park. The judge entered into the record that he has, “serious doubts that sleeping overnight is expressive conduct.” He also says the camp is an apparent attempt to “accommodate protesters from out-of-town.” He noted that the city has a policy against sleeping overnight in its parks and such an activity would harm the park, add cleanup costs to the city budget and force public safety to stretch its resources thin as it tries to secure the location 24-hours a day. He says there are ample opportunities for protesters to find lodging in the city or camp in nearby state parks. At the same time Lancaster ruled that 3RCC could use Schenley Park during the day and it could use Point State Park during the day starting Sunday at 7pm through Tuesday at 7pm.
3RCC organizer Lisa Fithian says she is “saddened and disappointed” by the ruling. She says the judge does not understand that the over night camp is an important part of getting out their message. She says a camp is the best way to show there is another way to live that is less impactful to the environment. Fithian says she will confer with her members and decided were they will hold the event.

Hearing on G20 Permits Continues

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights called a long list of witnesses into federal court Wednesday in an effort to show a bias against their clients when it comes to issuing permits for G20 protests. The suit was filed on behalf of 6 organizations including the Thomas Merton Center and Code Pink claiming that the city and secrete service were too slow to respond to their applications and were playing favorites with other organizations. Months ago an application to use point state park for the Great Race was approved that basically monopolized the park for the week of the G20 summit. That prompted the city to reject permits to other organizations. However, the City Parks Department was approached by city police and was asked for a special agreement to use the park as a staging area. An agreement was reached. A similar agreement is being finalized for a rally sponsored by the Steel Workers Union, PA State Senator Jim Ferlo and a climate change group headed by former Vice President Al Gore for a one-day event the Wednesday before the summit. Code Pink had asked to hold a 5-day event in the park but later trimmed that down to a two-day event. The city has offered the group a one-day option or space in a parking lot on the edge of the Strip District. In court, the local head of Code Pink told the judge those were not acceptable options. The plaintiffs are trying to show that the city is working with big name groups and the police but will not work with the smaller groups. It was implied that there also might be some preference being given based on what message is being presented.

Three Rivers Climate Convergence (3rcc) is also listed as a plaintiff. 3rcc was denied a permit to use Point State Park and then shifted its focus to Schenely Park. 3rcc organizers say they want to hold sustainability related rallies and workshops in the park and then have 300-500 people spend the night in the park to demonstrate sustainable practices. The city has said that the parks close at 11:00 so no camping is allowed. 3rcc says it needs the camp to get out it message. A lawyer for the city asked the witness, “Who can see the practices in the dark?” and “How is the camp sustainable if it does not include any on-site food preparation?” Some believe the camp is little more than an excuse for out-of-town protesters to have a free place to spend the night.

The hearing continues this afternoon.

ACLU To Hold Discussion On Protesters Rights

The ACLU of Pennsylvania Greater Pittsburgh Chapter is holding a series of informal discussions on civil liberties issues. One part of the series will focus on the G20 with a program called "The G20 and Protesters Rights." At the meeting ACLU staff attorney Sara Rose will discuss ways that protesters can avoid coming into conflict with police and what to do if they are arrested. Rose said the most common reason people are arrested at protests is a result of a failure to disperse. Rose said that many times when police issue an order to disperse it can be unclear in which direction the police want to the protesters to go and some may not even hear the order. The discussion will be held on Thursday, September 17Th and Coffee Tree Roasters in the South Hills.