Articles Tagged ‘Las Cruces’
Migrant Rights Advocate to Head New ACLU Border Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2007
CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003, Cell (505) 507 9898
LAS CRUCES, NM—The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico has named Maria Nape as the Director of a new ACLU office, located in the border town of Las Cruces, New Mexico, which will defend civil rights, especially of immigrants, in the border region. Nape has a law degree and years of experience advocating for the rights of migrant farmworkers.
“I am thrilled to head up such an exciting and timely initiative for the ACLU,” Nape said. “The intensification of law enforcement on the border and growing reactionary attitudes towards immigrants around the country make the ACLU’s new border rights office a vital effort. I look forward to learning from other border groups how we can complement their work and help create an effective civil rights presence throughout the border corridor.”
Prior to joining the ACLU, Nape spent five years advocating for the rights of migrant farmworkers as Director of the Migrant Farmworker Project at Legal Services Organization of Indiana and as Executive Director of the Farmworker Coordinating Council of Palm Beach County, Florida. She received her law degree from Indiana University and most recently served on the faculty of Florida Atlantic University’s School of Public Administration.
“Maria is a tremendous addition to our organization,” said ACLU of New Mexico Executive Director Peter Simonson. “Her combination of legal experience and familiarity with the plight of immigrants will enable her to effectively lead the ACLU’s efforts in this new endeavor. We look forward to bolstering the presence of the ACLU in communities all along the border.”
When fully outfitted, the new ACLU office will house a staff of three who, in tandem with the National ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, support the border rights work of ACLU affiliates in Texas, Arizona, and San Diego. The office is part of a state-wide expansion of the ACLU of New Mexico’s facilities and a National ACLU plan to raise the capacity of ACLU affiliates in the middle part of the country to equal that of affiliates on the wealthier and more populous coasts.
Nape said, “Current reactionary laws against immigrants are not working. Nowhere is this more true than on the border. People are searched, deported, and sometimes even assaulted on the presumption that they are immigrants and in this country illegally. The goal of our border office is to combat these un-American practices and ensure that fairness and the promise of the Bill of Rights extends to everyone in the border region, regardless of their nation of origin.”
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ACLU’s Case Against NMSU Football Coach Will Go to Trial
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2007
CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003, Cell (505) 507 9898 or Joleen Youngers (505) 541-8000, Cell (505) 496-7422
LAS CRUCES, NM–Yesterday a federal court judge rejected legal motions by attorneys for New Mexico State University (NMSU) head football coach Hal Mumme asking the judge to throw out a case filed by attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico claiming that Mumme discriminated against four Muslim players on the basis of their religion. The ruling means that the case will go to trial on June 25th, 2007.
“We are anxious for a jury to hear the facts behind this case,” said ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson. “There are a number of compelling examples of how the coaching staff interfered with our plaintiffs’ abilities to observe their religion and caused them to feel like their belief in Islam made them outcasts.”
The ACLU contends that:
- The NMSU coaching staff created an environment hostile to Islam by making ongoing comments disparaging the players’ religion and requiring that players show their support for the war in Iraq. The comments included Mumme’s questioning of player Mu’Ammar Ali about his religious beliefs and whether or not they connected him to al-Qaeda;
- Mumme’s promotion of Christian prayer prior to practices and meals and his refusal to allow the plaintiffs to lead the team in Muslim prayers had coercive effects on the player’s exercise of their Islamic faith;
- The coaching staff’s practiced indifference to the players’ faith-based dietary restrictions—even going so far as to taunt one of the players with foods he could not eat because of his faith—interfered with the players’ freedom to exercise their religion;
- Players Ali and Anthony and Vincent Thompson were dismissed from the team because of their religion and not due to violations of team policy, as evidenced by Mumme’s more lenient punishment of non-Muslim players who arguably committed more serious infractions.
All of the plaintiff’s claims regarding civil rights violations survived the defendants’ motions for summary judgment and will be addressed during the jury trial.
Attorneys for the ACLU are Joleen Youngers (Las Cruces) and ACLU staff attorney George Bach.
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Posted in News, Uncategorized | 
Tags: 1st Amendment, Las Cruces, Legal Advocacy and Litigation, Religious Freedom | 
No Comments »Las Cruces Mall Agrees to Injunction Allowing Man to Use Segway
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2007
CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003, Cell (505) 507 9898 or Joleen Youngers (505) 541-8000, Cell (505) 496-7422
ALBUQUERQUE – The Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces agreed to a preliminary injunction that will allow John R. Funk to operate his Segway in the mall. Funk, who suffers from severe scoliosis and spinal stenosis, uses the Segway as an alternative to a wheelchair.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico claims that Jones Lang Lasalle, Inc., the corporation that manages Mesilla Valley Mall, was violating Funk’s rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The preliminary injunction will remain in effect until a full trial on the merits of the ACLU suit. A settlement conference before U.S. Magistrate Judge William P. Lynch is set for Tuesday, May 29th, 2007.
Joleen K. Youngers of Almanzar & Youngers, P.A. and George Bach, ACLU of New Mexico Staff Attorney are litigating the case.
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Las Cruces Mall Agrees to Stipulated Temporary Restraining Order in Segway Case; Hearing Moves to Federal Court
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2007
CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003, Cell (505) 507 9898 or Joleen Youngers (505) 541-8000, Cell (505) 496-7422
ALBUQUERQUE – The corporation that manages Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces, Jones Lang Lasalle Inc., and its local manager, agreed to allow a man with a disability to operate his Segway, a motorized transportation device, in the mall until a hearing on the requested injunction is held in the lawsuit filed against them on March 29th, 2007. The defendants removed the case from state to federal court. The motion on a preliminary injunction will be heard on May 1st, 2007 at 1:30 PM before federal judge Judith Herrera in Albuquerque.
“Allowing Segways is an easy way the mall can accommodate people with disabilities, and in the process remove a barrier, enabling people with disabilities to more fully participate in society,” said Whitney Potter, Communications Manager of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico.
John R. Funk, who suffers from severe scoliosis and spinal stenosis, uses the Segway as an alternative to a wheelchair. The Segway allows him to remain vertical, rather than sitting, which has multiple benefits for his health and well-being. The ACLU of New Mexico claims Jones Lang Lasalle Inc. and the mall’s local manager have violated John R. Funk’s rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by prohibiting him from entering the mall on his Segway.
Funk seeks an order compelling the mall to modify its policy to allow Funk and other people with disabilities to use assistive mobility devices such as the Segway, and not only traditional, and less agile, devices such as wheelchairs.
Joleen K. Youngers of Almanzar & Youngers, P.A. and George Bach, ACLU of New Mexico Staff Attorney are litigating the case.
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Las Cruces Resident with Disability Sues Mall for Banning Segways
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2007
CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003 Cell (505) 507 9898 or Joleen Youngers (505) 541-8000
Las Cruces, NM—A man with a disability is suing the corporation that manages Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces and its local manager for prohibiting him from entering the mall on his Segway, a self-balancing, two-wheeled transportation machine. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico claims that Jones Lang Lasalle, Inc. is violating John R. Funk’s rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Funk, who suffers from severe scoliosis and spinal stenosis, uses the Segway as an alternative to a wheelchair as his principal assistive transportation device.
“Mr. Funk prefers to use a Segway over a wheelchair because it allows him to stay at eye level with other people,” said ACLU executive director Peter Simonson. “The mall is penalizing him for trying to overcome the effects of his disability in this way. Too often, people with disabilities are treated as second class citizens, shunned and segregated by physical barriers and social stereotypes.”
The local mall’s manager has refused to reasonably accommodate Mr. Funk’s disability and allow him access to the mall. Funk has enlisted Las Cruces attorney Joleen K. Youngers and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico to sue the mall’s management. Ms. Youngers and the ACLU have requested a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction so that Funk may be allowed back into the mall while the case is pending.
Segways have become popular among come veteran groups because of the advantages that they present over wheelchairs for severely injured servicemen and women. In September 2005, a group called Disability Rights Advocates for Technology (DRAFT) launched a nation-wide campaign (Segs4Vets) to provide Segways to every U.S. soldier who has been disabled by an injury while serving our country.
As part of the lawsuit, Funk seeks an order compelling the mall to modify its policy to allow Funk and other people with disabilities to use assistive mobility devices such as the Segway, and not only traditional, and less agile, devices such as wheelchairs.
ACLU of New Mexico cooperating attorney Joleen K. Youngers of Almanzar & Youngers, P.A. and ACLU of New Mexico staff attorney George Bach filed the lawsuit yesterday in the Third District Court in Las Cruces. The case has been assigned to the Honorable Robert E. Robles.
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