Sheriff Gates and the ‘Criminal Lobby’
In the Feb. 27 edition of The Times, Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates is quoted, charging that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a “criminal lobby.”
With respect to ACLU, Sheriff Gates offers mere nonsense, but with respect to the system of justice he serves, Sheriff Gates espouses an exceptionally unsettling idea.
ACLU is not a “criminal lobby” any more than we are a “lobby” for ministers or mothers or the homeless or girls who want to play third base in Little League. We represent all kinds of people, including people accused or convicted of crimes, because all people are entitled to certain basic rights. We can understand that Sheriff Gates is annoyed because a court wants him to stop forcing inmates in his jail to sleep on floors, but our position in that matter doesn’t make us “lobbyists” for criminals, just as Sheriff Gates’ position doesn’t make him a “lobbyist” for crowded, unsanitary jails.
It is the sheriff’s view of our system of justice that we find disturbing. He clearly believes that those who represent criminals in court advocate what the criminals themselves have done. That point of view not only does an enormous disservice to the defense lawyers of California, it also suggests that Sheriff Gates does not understand our system of law. Our system requires that each side be adequately represented in court. Sheriff Gates seems to believe that we should have a one-sided system of justice; ACLU prefers the one we have.
RAMONA RIPSTON
Executive Director,
ACLU of Southern California
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