Anaheim Repeals Law Barring Former Drug Offenders From
Parks
Jim Rosenfield, July 4, 1995
June 27, Anaheim, CA: In response to a lawsuit brought by
the Southern California ACLU, and NORML, the city of Anaheim has
repealed an ordinance that kept persons convicted of minor drug
charges out of the city's parks.
On May 25, Los Angeles NORML staged a medical marijuana rally in Anaheim's
La Palma Park, as U.S. District Court Judge Gary Taylor issued an
injunction preventing the city from enforcing the ordinance, as a result of
action by the ACLU. The lawsuit asked the court to strike down the law
prohibiting certain drug offenders from entering city parks for three years
after their conviction.
A medical marijuana patient convicted of growing cannabis for his own use,
Mr. Craig McClain, would have been barred from attending a NORML rally in
favor of medical access to cannabis had the ordinance not been enjoined by
the courts prior to its repeal. McClain spoke to the rally about his
ordeals with the law. McClain, who grew up in Anaheim, and had even played
in La Palma Park, was recently convicted of growing five marijuana plants,
which he used to control severe spinal pain from a back injury.
In the lawsuit, NORML complained that the ordinance violated its
right to free speech and public assembly by excluding McClain and
other members with drug convictions. "It's crazy to exclude a
medical marijuana patient like Craig, who should never have been
arrested in the first place, when terrorists, rapists and murderers
are free to roam the park at will," said NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer.
According to Mark Silverstein, ACLU staff attorney,"Our clients want to use
the Anaheim parks to exercise their right of assembly, their right of free
expression, their right of political association, and their right to
petition the goverment for redress of grievances, but (prior to repeal of
the ordinance) they cannot do so. If our client steps within 50 feet of an
Anaheim park, he is subject to a sentence of six months in jail. On the
south side of La Palma Park, there is a bus stop. This ordinance makes it
is a crime for Mr. McClain to wait there for a bus to go to the doctor.
"However well-intentioned, the Anaheim ordinance offer(ed) a
false hope about combatting serious crimes. Measures like this
let politicians off the hook, because it permits them to
substitute phony rhetoric for effective, and constitutional,
measures, that can actually improve the parks".
Other News Coverage
Ban on Drug Offenders' Park Use Challenged
Los Angeles Times, May 23, 1995, by GREG HERNANDEZ
Courts: ACLU argues the Anaheim law violates rights of free assembly.
A city attorney says the ordinance targets crime.
SANTA ANA -- Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union went to
federal court Monday to challenge an Anaheim ordinance that bars convicted
drug offenders from city parks, asking a judge to prohibit the city from
enforcing the nearly 2-year-old law.
ACLU attorneys, who argued that the law is unconstitutional, asked U.S.
District Judge Gary L. Taylor for a preliminary injunction against it. An
attorney for the city of Anaheim countered that the ordinance is aimed at
curbing drug problems, not at violating civil rights.
The legal challenge has "all the earmarks of a good test case" because the
law is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, said Taylor, who
is expected to rule on the injunction request today.
The seldom-used ordinance prohibits convicted drug offenders from entering
any of the city's 40 parks for as long as three years after their convictions or release from custody.
The Anaheim City Council approved the ordinance in September,
1993. It has been used four times since it went into effect, Anaheim Deputy
City Atty. Moses Johnson said.
"We're not trying to violate anyone's First Amendment rights," Johnson
said after a one-hour court hearing Monday. "We are just trying to preserve
our public parks so that law-abiding citizens can use them."
But ACLU attorney Mark Silverstein said the city's law goes too
far, violating individual rights of free assembly, expression and
association.
"The city of Anaheim is the first city in the country to attempt to close
their parks to a class of people," Silverstein said. "This is a well-intentioned ordinance and we understand that Anaheim has a
problem with drugs. But it sweeps too broadly."
The ACLU is seeking the injunction on behalf of three
organizations that
advocate legalizing marijuana in certain medical situations, and
three
individuals with minor felony convictions involving the sale of
marijuana.
The three people want to attend a rally in Anaheim's La Palma
Park on
Thursday. The rally has been called to generate support for the
Compassionate Use Initiative, a proposed state ballot measure
that would
expand physicians' ability to prescribe marijuana for medical
purposes.
The three plaintiffs would not be able to legally enter the park
Thursday
unless an injunction is granted by Taylor. The injunction would
apply to
anyone with a drug conviction.
Taylor complained about the timing of the lawsuit, noting that
the rally is only days away.
"There is little time for the court to rule, or for either side to do much
once the ruling is made," Taylor said. "The timing could have been better."
Johnson said he was also bothered by the timing of the lawsuit,
which was filed April 28.
"The law was passed almost two years ago, and here we are in court three
days before the rally," Johnson said. "I somehow feel that the city has
been set up. This case could have been better briefed and been better
responded to if there had been more time. Because this is a test case, we
want to make sure we do the right thing."
Anaheim's law applies to anyone convicted of selling drugs,
possessing
drugs for sale or, if the offense occurred in a park, possessing
drugs.
Violation of the ordinance is a misdemeanor. Offenders face a
maximum of
six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Signs have been posted at each city park warning drug offenders
they are
prohibited. The ACLU is asking that the law be overturned and the
signs be
removed.
Johnson said the city is not yet able to say whether the
ordinance has
helped curb drug problems in any significant way.
In ruling on the injunction request, Taylor said he would not
offer an
opinion on the law's merits, but would decide if the ordinance
furthers an
important governmental interest.
Copyright 1995/The Times Mirror Company
ACLU Sues Anaheim on Park Use Law
April 29, 1995, Los Angeles Times, by MARTIN MILLER
Courts: The ordinance bars people with certain drug
convictions. The
civil liberties group says the rarely enforced rule 'goes too
far.'
ANAHEIM -- A 2-year-old city ordinance barring people with
certain drug
convictions from using public parks is unconstitutional, the
American Civil
Liberties Union of Southern California contends in a lawsuit
filed in
federal court Friday.
At a news conference across the street from La Palma Park, ACLU
officials
said they are seeking to overturn the rarely enforced ordinance.
The city
law unjustly restricts rights to petition the government for
redress of
grievances, free speech and free assembly, charged ACLU
officials.
"It's a well-intentioned ordinance that simply goes too far,"
said ACLU
attorney Mark Silverstein. "Measures like this let politicians
off the
hook, substituting phony rhetoric for measures that work."
But city officials defended the ordinance enacted in October,
1993, as a
means to help police crack down on rising drug sales in parks.
"We believe it's constitutional," said Eleanor Egan, senior
assistant city
attorney for Anaheim. "It's a legitimate regulation that serves a
legitimate purpose."
Under the ordinance, drug offenders are banned from visiting the
city's 40
parks for up to three years after their convictions or release
from
custody. The Anaheim police have cited only four people for
violating the
ordinance, according to Anaheim officials.
The law applies to anyone convicted of selling drugs, possessing
drugs for
sale or, if the offense occurred in a park, possessing drugs.
Violation of
the ordinance is a misdemeanor, and offenders face a maximum six
months in
jail and a $1,000 fine.
The ACLU is representing three organizations who advocate
legalizing
marijuana in certain medical situations, and three individuals
with minor
convictions involving the sale of marijuana. The three
individuals want to
attend a May 25 rally in La Palma Park organized to garner
signatures for a
proposed state ballot measure, called the Compassion Use
initiative, which
would expand the ability of physicians to prescribe marijuana.
However, under the city's ordinance, the three who want to
attend the
rally cannot,because of their recent drug convictions, say ACLU
officials.
"I feel a deep hurt that I can't go into a park I used as a
child to speak
out in the park," said Craig McClain, 38, who grew up in
Fullerton and was
permanently disabled after a recent construction accident.
McClain pleaded guilty in February to growing five marijuana
plants at his
current home in Modesto. Although he claimed the marijuana was to
relieve
his constant back pain, McClain said his conviction also included
a charge
of selling the drug.
"I feel I'm being made to suffer for some archaic law," said
McClain, who
has undergone six major surgeries for back pain. "I'm not a
criminal or a
threat to anyone. I just want to tell people about the
initiative."
The city ordinance will, in effect, bar speakers from the rally
whose
arguments might be the most persuasive, ACLU attorneys said.
"Every effective drug abuse prevention program has, at its core,
the
testimony of recovered drug abusers who have more credibility
with
potential addicts than anyone," Silverstein said. "Yet, this
ordinance
stifles their message if it is delivered within 50 feet of an
Anaheim city
park."
A hearing on the lawsuit has been tentatively scheduled for May
22,
Silverstein said.
Copyright 1995/The Times Mirror Company
COMMUNITY NEWS FOCUS
ANAHEIM: Marijuana for Use by Patients Supported
ALAN EYERLY, Los Angeles Times, May 26, 1995
A rally supporting medical uses of marijuana drew about 30
people Thursday
to La Palma Park, where they heard accounts of how the drug helps
ease the
suffering of seriously ill patients.
Organizing the event was the California branch of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The group supports
pending
state legislation that would allow physicians to prescribe
marijuana as a
treatment for glaucoma, chronic pain, chemotherapy-related nausea
and other
ailments.
"We know we have the people behind us," NORML coordinator Dale
Gieringer
said. "It's the politicians who are scared." If current
legislative
attempts fail, Gieringer said, his group will launch a ballot
initiative in
August that would let California voters decide the issue.
Among the rally speakers was Modesto resident Craig McClain, who
was
disabled by a construction accident five years ago and was
convicted in
April of growing marijuana. McClain says that smoking the drug
relieves his
severe spinal pain for up to two hours at a time and is a more
effective
treatment than the legal marijuana pills he is now taking.
The pills "take hours to kick in," McClain said. "When you hit
that 10 on
the Richter scale, you need relief now."
McClain was allowed to appear at the rally as a result of a
federal
lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU
attorneys
obtained a preliminary injunction last week that prevents Anaheim
from
enforcing a local ordinance that bans convicted drug offenders
from
entering city parks.
Samuel Mistrano, legislative director for the Southern
California ACLU,
described the seldom-used Anaheim law as a well-intentioned but
misguided
attempt to address drug problems. The ACLU argues that the law
goes too
far, resulting in violations of First Amendment rights.
Copyright 1995/The Times Mirror Company
Law Banning Drug Offenders at Parks Stayed
Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1995, by GREG HERNANDEZ
SANTA ANA -- A federal judge on Tuesday granted a temporary
injunction
against a seldom-used Anaheim ordinance that bars convicted drug
offenders
from city parks.
U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor wrote in a two-page order
that a
lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union "presents
important
constitutional issues" and suspended the ordinance until the full
merits of
the case can be heard.
The law, passed by the Anaheim City Council in 1993 to help
fight drug
problems in city parks, is believed to be the only one of its
kind in the
nation. It prohibits convicted drug offenders from entering any
of the
city's 40 parks for three years after their convictions or
release from
custody.
ACLU officials say the law violates individual rights of free
assembly,
expression and association and want the judge to overturn it.
"This law is clearly discriminatory and ineffective, however
well-intentioned," said Mark Silverstein, an attorney for the
ACLU. It
"penalizes law-abiding people who have paid their debt to society
and pose
no threat to anyone."
Silverstein added that he is "pleased that the judge has
recognized that
we have raised some very serious constitutional issues."
Anaheim officials expressed disappointment in the judge's
ruling.
"We're somewhat hopeful because the court has not held the
ordinance
unconstitutional," said Deputy City Atty. Moses Johnson. "We feel
that
after a full hearing, we will be able to have this turned around
and get
the ordinance upheld."
The ACLU filed its lawsuit last month on behalf of three
organizations
that advocate legalizing marijuana in certain medical situations,
and three
individuals with low-level felony convictions involving the sale
of
marijuana.
The judge's order makes it possible for the three plaintiffs to
legally
attend a rally at La Palma Park in Anaheim on Thursday. The rally
has been
called to generate support for the Compassionate Use Initiative,
a proposed
state ballot measure that would expand physicians' ability to
prescribe
marijuana for medical purposes.
Anaheim's law applies to anyone convicted of selling drugs,
possessing
drugs for sale or, if the offense occurred in a park, possessing
drugs.
Violation of the ordinance is a misdemeanor. Offenders face a
maximum of
six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The ACLU also wants the city to remove signs posted at each park
warning
drug offenders they are prohibited.
Taylor ordered that the signs remain until the issue is finally
decided.
Removal now would be "unduly expensive," since it could be
temporary, he
wrote.
The law has been used only four times, and the city is not yet
able to say
whether it has helped curb drug problems.
"Whether or not the law has been used a lot should not decide
whether it is constitutional or not," Johnson said.
Shortly after Anaheim's law was passed, some legal experts
immediately raised questions about its constitutionality, comparing it to
Westminster's effort to crack down on crime by prohibiting known gang members
from associating with one another and Costa Mesa's attempt to drive
out day laborers by prohibiting them from congregating on certain
streets.
Both cities' ordinances were declared unconstitutional after
court
challenges.
Copyright 1995/The Times Mirror Company
Anaheim Law on Park Use Is Repealed
June 21, 1995, Los Angeles Times, by ALAN EYERLY
ANAHEIM -- A seldom-used law to keep convicted drug offenders
away from local parks was repealed by the City Council on
Tuesday, avoiding a costly civil rights legal battle.
The ordinance, possibly the only one of its kind in the nation,
prohibited people convicted of certain drug-related crimes from
entering any of the city's 40 parks for three years after their
conviction or release from custody.
The law was used four times since the council adopted it in
1993.
The American Civil Liberties Union successfully challenged the
law in federal court last month on behalf of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which had a
pro-marijuana rally May 25 in Anaheim's La Palma Park.
By obtaining a temporary injunction barring enforcement of the
law, the ACLU cleared the way for a Modesto man convicted of
growing marijuana plants to legally enter the park and speak
about the drug's medicinal uses.
U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor ruled that the lawsuit
presented "important constitutional issues."
ACLU attorneys characterized the law as well-intentioned but too
far-reaching, and contended that it violated individual rights of
free assembly, expression and association.
Anaheim City Atty. Jack L. White advised the council to repeal
the ordinance rather than fight the matter in a federal court
trial scheduled to begin Sept. 22.
White said there appeared to be "a substantial risk" that the
city would not prevail in the proceedings.
Repealing the law "will not significantly impede" the city's
efforts to combat drug problems in local parks, White said.
Copyright 1995/The Times Mirror Company
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