Ithaca, NY Resolution

11.4 Common Council - Approval to Defend the Civil Rights and Liberties of the People of Ithaca

By Alderperson Cogan: Seconded by Alderperson Blumenthal

WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca is home to a diverse population, including citizens of other nations, whose contributions to the community are vital to its character and function, and

WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca has a long and distinguished history of protecting and expanding civil rights and civil liberties, and has often been a haven for citizens of the United States and other nations when rights and liberties are threatened, and

WHEREAS, the Common Council of the City of Ithaca is opposed to terrorism, but also believes that efforts to end terrorism should not disproportionately infringe on the essential civil rights and liberties of the people of Ithaca, and

WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca and its citizens are governed by the United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, and the New York State Constitution, and

WHEREAS, the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution guarantees those living in the United States the following rights:

· freedom of speech, assembly and privacy;

· protection from unreasonable searches and seizures;

· due process in judicial proceedings and access to counsel;

· protection from cruel and unusual punishment; and

· equality before the law and the presumption of innocence; and

WHEREAS, in response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the United States Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001, and

WHEREAS, many residents of Ithaca, surrounding communities, and other communities across the nation are concerned that the USA PATRIOT Act threatens the civil rights and liberties of citizens of the United States and other nations by:

· greatly expanding the government's ability to secretly enter homes and offices to conduct searches without warrants;

· significantly reducing judicial supervision of telephone, e-mail and Internet surveillance;

· granting law enforcement officials broad access to sensitive medical, mental health, business, financial, educational, and other records about individuals without first showing probable cause or evidence of a crime;

· expanding the authority of law enforcement officials to obtain from libraries and bookstores any records of books that a person has borrowed or purchased, and prohibiting librarians and employees from disclosing that they have been ordered to produce such records;

· granting unchecked power to the U.S. Secretary of State to designate domestic groups, including religious and political organizations, as "terrorist organizations";

· creating a crime of ""domestic terrorism"" that is so vaguely defined it could be applied to political activism and lead to the criminalization of legitimate political dissent;

· granting power to the U.S. Attorney General to subject immigrants to indefinite detention or deportation, even if they have not committed a crime; and

· allowing the CIA to have access to sensitive information gathered during criminal investigations; and

WHEREAS, the civil rights and liberties of all Americans are further threatened by orders and rules of the executive branch that:

· establish secret military tribunals for terrorism suspects;

· authorize eavesdropping on confidential communications between lawyers and their clients in federal custody;

· allow the government to designate citizens as ""enemy combatants"" and place them in military custody indefinitely without access to counsel or judicial review;

· remove Justice Department regulations against covert, illegal counter-intelligence operations by the FBI that in the past targeted domestic groups and individuals;

· limit the disclosure of public documents and records under the Freedom of Information Act; and

WHEREAS, the Common Council of the City of Ithaca recognizes that excessive infringement on the constitutionally guaranteed rights of any person is an abuse of power, a breach of the public trust, and beyond the scope of governmental authority, and

WHEREAS, a growing number of communities around the country have resolved to support and defend the civil rights of their residents, now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Common Council of the City of Ithaca affirms its strong opposition to terrorism, and also affirms its strong support for fundamental constitutional rights and its opposition to federal measures that infringe on civil liberties, and be it further

RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca calls upon the employees of all City departments and agencies to continue to actively uphold and defend citizens' civil rights and civil liberties as specified in the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and be it further

RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca requests that the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, and any other Federal, State and local law enforcement officers with any such information report publicly each month to the City of Ithaca Common Council and the Tompkins County Human Rights Commission the extent and manner in which they have acted under the USA PATRIOT Act and new Executive Orders, including but not limited to disclosing:

· the names of any detainees held in the area, or any City of Ithaca residents detained here or elsewhere, and the circumstances that led to the detention;

· the charges, if any, lodged against each detainee;

· the name of Counsel, if any, representing each detainee;

· the number of search warrants that have been executed in the City of Ithaca without notice to the subject of the warrant pursuant to §213 of the USA PATRIOT act;

· the extent of electronic surveillance carried out in the City of Ithaca under powers granted in the USA PATRIOT Act;

· the extent to which federal authorities are monitoring political meetings, religious gatherings, or other such activities within the City of Ithaca;

· the number of times education records have been obtained from public schools and institutions of higher learning in the City of Ithaca under §507 of the USA PATRIOT Act;

· the number of times library records have been obtained from libraries in the City of Ithaca under §215 of the USA PATRIOT Act;

· the number of times that records of the books purchased by store patrons have been obtained from bookstores in the City of Ithaca under §215 of the USA PATRIOT Act; and

· subpoenas issued to Ithaca citizens through the United States Attorney's Office without a court's approval or knowledge; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca requests that United States Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton and United States Representative Maurice Hinchey monitor the implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act and the associated orders and rules of the executive branch and actively work for the repeal of those portions of the Act and those orders and rules that violate the rights and liberties guaranteed by the United States Constitution, and be it further

RESOLVED, That the City Clerk communicate this resolution to all City departments and employees, New York State's Congressional Delegation, the Governor and Attorney General of the State of New York, the local U.S. Attorney's office, the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, the United States Attorney General, and the President of the United States.

Carried Unanimously