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The following summaries are from some of our most important cases of 2003. These cases would not have been possible without the dedicated support of attorneys who volunteer to assist CCLU.
JUDGE FINDS NEW LONDON DISCRIMINATED AGAINST PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
First Step Inc. and several of its clients who have psychiatric disabilities have won an important victory in their federal lawsuit brought against the City of New London and its zoning officials. Judge Stefan Underhill of the Federal District Court in Bridgeport ruled that the City of New London intentionally discriminated against persons with psychiatric disabilities in denying First Step a zoning permit to move to a new building. The Court granted First Step the necessary zoning approval.
"This is a crucial decision protecting the rights of persons with psychiatric disabilities to live independently in the community," said Philip Tegeler, legal director of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union. "The Court has sent a clear message to Connecticut towns that they must respect their legal obligation to make reasonable zoning accommodations to people with psychiatric disabilities and the agencies that help them."
Terri Keyes, the executive director of First Step, said, "We are ecstatic with the judge's decision. We have struggled for years to overcome community opposition and move to a facility that will allow us to better serve our clients. We look forward to working with the neighbors and the City as we rehabilitate this building. We believe that everyone will see what good neighbors First Step and our clients really are."
First Step is a nonprofit agency providing vocational/educational training to persons with psychiatric disabilities in the New London area. The agency is currently located on Green Street in downtown New London, and had plans to purchase and rehabilitate a vacant building on Truman Street, which formerly housed a Department of Motor Vehicles branch office. However, the zoning board turned down First Step's request in late July 2002 after four lengthy public hearings.
The lawsuit was brought by the CCLU, representing the nonprofit agency, and the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, a Middletown-based legal advocacy organization for persons with psychiatric disabilities, which is representing First Step clients.
One of the central tenets of the Americans with Disabilities Act, originally sponsored by then U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker, is that persons with disabilities should be given access to services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of the individuals with disabilities. First Step's mission of providing persons with psychiatric disabilities with the support they need to live independently and participate fully in society is part of a larger effort to realize the promise of the ADA .
In his opinion, Judge Underhill wrote that, "[p]laintiffs in the present case have submitted strong evidence, both direct and indirect, of discrimination [on the part of the defendants]." The Court found that the traffic, safety, and parking reasons put forth by the New London Planning and Zoning Commission to justify its rejection of First Step's special permit application were pretexts and that the real reason for the decision was intentional discrimination. Judge Underhill wrote that the Commission's contention that the location was not a proper site for the intended use was "a thinly veiled adoption of the community's prejudice against the mentally ill." In addition he found that since the accommodations needed to allow First Step to move the property were reasonable and did not impose undue financial or administrative burdens on the City, New London failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal laws when it rejected First Step's application.
RECENT FREE SPEECH CASES
Rutchick v. Franklin (U.S. District Court): We have successfully settled this First Amendment challenge to a sign ordinance in Franklin, CT. The case originated on Memorial Day, 2000, when Charles Rutchick raised a painted 4x8 sign to commemorate Paul Henri Bienvenue, a Korean War veteran who was killed in action, but who had not been previously honored by the town. The local zoning commission, however, disapproved of the sign and issued a cease and desist order to Mr. Rutchick and his landlord, Leo Bienvenue, who was the slain veteran's godson. After our requests to the town did not resolve the problem, we filed suit in federal court. The settlement agreement protects Mr. Rutchick's sign from further interference by the town, and pays money damages to plaintiff Rutchick and attorneys fees to the CCLU. Bill Bloss of Jacobs Grudberg Belt and Dow served as cooperating attorney.
Brown v. Damiani (U.S. District Court): Our First Amendment challenge to a juvenile court gag order has been dismissed on standing grounds, without reaching the constitutional issues on public access to juvenile court proceedings. Our client, an Internet human rights journalist, had sought permission to interview a woman about alleged abuses by the Department of Children and Families in her case, and alleged unfair procedures in the Juvenile Court. A Superior Court judge had ruled she could not speak to any reporters or other third parties about what went on in court. We argued that protection of the identities of the individuals involved is a valid government purpose, but that it is not otherwise reasonable to hide the actions of DCF and the Juvenile Court from public view. This case raised important questions about the cloak of secrecy surrounding juvenile proceedings. We are now considering a broader challenge to open up Juvenile Court proceedings to the press and public. Moy Ogilvie of Cummings & Lockwood assisted the CCLU as cooperating attorney.
Hartford Art Censorship: Jill Friedman, a Hartford based photographer, recently submitted a series of 25 documentary photographs of a peace march in Washington, D.C. to the "Director's Gallery," a city-sponsored gallery space inside a city building housing the Office of Cultural Affairs. The photos were accepted and hung as the current exhibition in the gallery. The day after they were hung, and after complaints by some employees about the content of the photos, the city director of human services ordered two of the photos removed, calling them "un-American". One of these photos showed two Muslim women carrying a graphic banner equating Zionism and Nazism; the other showed a painted rendition of the American flag dripping in blood.
We sent a letter to Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez and the two photos were quickly restored to the exhibit.
A picture from Jill Friedman's exhibit
Free Speech on Campus: We have been surprised at recent free speech complaints from students at two Connecticut public colleges. At Housatonic Community College, administration officials threatened to bar a student antiwar rally because it lacked official sponsorship by a registered student organization. At Southern Connecticut State University, a student socialist group was prevented from selling literature on the campus. At Housatonic, the complaint was successfully resolved after the CCLU sent a letter to the college president.
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