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Okanogan County recently paid $35,000 to a young woman for subjectingher to an illegal strip search at the county's juvenile detentionfacility in 1999. The victim was represented by the American CivilLiberties Union. The County changed its strip search policy forjuveniles shortly after the ACLU initially contacted officials aboutthe matter.
"The strip search was degrading and absolutely unnecessary, and thepolicy allowing it was unconstitutional," said one defense attorney.The courts consistently have held for the last 20 years that when anindividual is charged with a minor offense, he or she may be strip-searched only if there is a reason to suspect that the person isconcealing a weapon or other contraband. Restrictions on stripsearches in jails and juvenile facilities were adopted by theWashington Legislature in 1983 at the urging of the ACLU.For more information contact Doug Honig at Washington ACLU (206)624-2184.
In early September, Local 587 of the Amalgamated Transit Union (AMU),filed a class-action lawsuit against Metro for unpaid travel time. The lawsuit was filed regarding unpaid overtime and wage damages fortravel time reaching as far back as June 1998. Unpaid travel timerefers to travel between two places of work. The lawsuit will benefitall Transit Operators with unpaid travel time. (587 News Review,September 2002)The unpaid travel time can be claimed under both the WashingtonMinimum Wage Act and the federal Fair Standards Act. For moreinformation visit www.atu587.com.
A ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals has set an exciting precedentfor the ability of minor political parties to run candidates underminor party's names. In June a judge "declared unconstitutional along standing state law whose effect was to keep many minor partiesoff the ballot." (Freedom Socialist, Oct.-Dec. 2002) The overturnedlaw claimed that "a party could not be certified to run candidates inOregon if its name shared even one word in common with an alreadyestablished party." In 1998 a candidate running under the FreedomSocialist Party was forced to run as an independent even though theparty had ballot status. Jordana Sardo filed a lawsuit in 2000 whenthe Secretary of State denied Sardo ballot status.
The appellate court set excellent precedent for future cases bystating that "[S]tate law that prevents a political party from runningcandidates under the name by which it is generally recognized places asevere burden on the associational and voting rights of members of theparty."
According to the article in the Freedom Socialist, this sort of lawexists in about half of the states.
Tully's, a Seattle-based coffee retailers, has decided to ban localcommunity publications from its Portland stores. The PortlandAlliance reports that "the move came from corporate headquarters andwas not prompted by customer complaints." The move seems ironic inlight of Tully's mission statement: "Every Tully's retail store is anoasis--an inviting, comfortable atmosphere of warm colors...everyonecanfind a place to sit and sip, get wrapped up in a good book...sketch,people watch...read the newspaper, or just relax." (from Tully'swebsiteas reported in The Portland Alliance) For more information regardingTully's policies visit their website at www.tullys.com.
After education cuts of $5 million, a Montana group is not happy withthe way the state legislature has slashed spending. The MontanaQuality Education Coalition (MQEC) announced its intent to file alawsuit on September 3. MQEC claims that "the government has failedto maintain the level of education guaranteed to state citizens by theMontana Constitution." The legal council for MQEC cites a failure ofthe state government to uphold Article X of the Montana Constitution. Article X ensures a system of education that will "develop the full educational potential of each person.Ó According to the MQEC,157 school districts do not meet state accreditation standards,schools are shutting down and there is a significant teacher shortage. MQEC members apparently say they do not want to see this matter go tocourt but arenÕt keeping their hopes up. Jim Molloy, legal councilfor MQEC, said, ÒPeople need to understand that the people who aredoing this are doing it because of a firm and deeply felt belief thatthe state needs to invest in growth. And education is the primaryinvestment a government can make.Ó (Missoula Independent, August 29,2002)
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