Duffy’s Go-Ahead on Rose Bird Attack Draws ACLU’s Fire

The policy-making board of the American Civil Liberties Union’s local chapter is considering legal action against county Sheriff John Duffy should he allow on-duty deputies to pass out post cards urging state Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird to resign.

Duffy received 3,000 of the post cards this week as part of a statewide drive urging citizens to ask Bird to resign. The cards are being distributed by “Crime Victims for Court Reform,” a statewide organization that is gearing up to campaign against the chief justice and Associate Justices Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin, all of whom are up for reelection in November, 1986.

Duffy is a charter member of the group, which is based in Los Angeles and directed by Bill Roberts, who managed George Deukmejian’s campaign for governor. Deukmejian has been harshly critical of Bird and the high court’s decisions on the death penalty in the state.

It is the sheriff’s position, a spokesman said Friday, that the distribution of the cards is an “educational” rather than a political act, and hence does not violate a policy forbidding participation in political campaigns by county employees during working hours.

The cards do not call for the recall of Bird or urge opposition should she run for reelection. Personally addressed to the chief justice’s San Francisco office, the cards say Bird has “hurt our entire judicial system . . . crippled law enforcement . . . and decided cases in favor of criminals over victims.”

Lt. John Tenwolde, the spokesman, said the post cards will be distributed to the public beginning next week at Sheriff’s Department substations throughout San Diego County. In addition, Tenwolde said, deputies who are on duty will be allowed to hand out the cards to the public upon request.

“We will make the cards available to the public at all of our substations,” Tenwolde said. “And deputies, if they choose to do so, may carry them on duty, and will give them out when asked to. We will not actively pass them out on county time--they will be made available only on request.”

Tenwolde added, “This clearly is not a political issue. We just want to make available to the public a format whereby those citizens who choose to can register their dissatisfaction with the chief justice and her policies. This is merely our effort to educate the public about the actions of the Supreme Court in the state.”

Jim Gordon, program coordinator for the ACLU here, said the group will meet soon to evaluate whether Duffy and the county should be sued for allowing on-duty deputies to participate in the distribution.

Gordon said ACLU attorney Greg Marshall “believes this is a violation of the law, but we intend to look into it further before deciding whether to take action.”

Chairman Leon Williams of the County Board of Supervisors said late Friday he had not discussed the situation with Duffy. “It would not be legitimate for any county employee to conduct a campaign for or against anything on county time, and I would want to look into the implications of the use of employee time for the distribution of the cards,” Williams said.

Tony Albers, chief deputy in the county counsel’s office, would not

comment on Duffy’s involvement in the drive. “We may have to defend the county or the sheriff in a lawsuit over this, so I can’t comment,” he said. “I’m sure the issue will be raised next week.”

Duffy, whose tenure as the county’s top law enforcement officer dates to 1970, is no stranger to controversy. He has incurred the ire of civil libertarians by steadfastly refusing to allow the Sheriff’s Department to hire homosexuals, saying they “carry the same potential risks” for employment purposes as alcoholics, drug users and people in deep debt.

In 1983, Duffy abruptly resigned from President Reagan’s Commission on Organized Crime, saying he did not want allegations linking him to reputed underworld figures to dilute the panel’s effectiveness.