FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 23, 2007
CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003, Cell (505) 507 9898
ALBUQUERQUE, NM—The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico sued NM Senator Rod Adair today for denying Roswell resident Virgil Beagles his lawful right to attend legislative hearings during New Mexico’s recent legislative session.  The suit was filed in federal court.
On February 16, 2007, Adair verbally accosted Beagles as he sat in a hallway of the Capitol building, yelling and pointing his finger at Beagles and demanding that Beagles exit the building.  At Adair’s insistence, Senate security prohibited Beagles from entering the Senate side of the Roundhouse and from attending committee hearings on bills that were of special interest to him.
“Senator Adair clearly misunderstands his power as a legislator if he thinks he can boot whomever he wants out of the Roundhouse,” said ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson.  “No one--not a legislator, not the Governor, not even the President--has the authority to interfere with a citizen’s right to legally participate in the political process.  This case should remind Senator Adair, and any other legislator who would behave similarly, that the Constitution trumps their ability to pick and choose who lobbies and who doesn’t during the legislative session.”
Beagles makes little secret of his antipathy towards Republican politicians in the Roswell area.  He regularly authors letters to the editor in the Albuquerque Journal and the Roswell Daily Record criticizing Adair for his political positions.  At a June 6, 2006 Democratic Party function, Beagles told Chavez County Commissioner Alice Eppers that she was not welcome at the table where he was sitting, prompting Eppers to file a report with Roswell police falsely alleging that Beagles threatened her.
In his tirade against Beagles, Adair called Beagles an “evil person” who had “threatened a County Commissioner.”
To Beagles’ knowledge, the Roswell police never pursued the complaint.
Simonson said, “Party politics may provide the backdrop to this case, but a bigger principle lies at its heart: the right of every citizen to express themselves without fear of retaliation.  Senator Adair interfered with that guarantee and we’re going to see that Mr. Beagle’s rights are restored.”
Cooperating attorney for the ACLU of New Mexico F. Michael Hart and ACLU of New Mexico Staff Attorney George Bach are litigating the case.

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Related Documents:

Adair Complaint

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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Related Documents:

Stipulated TRO
Segway Complaint
Segway Motion for TRO and Preliminary Injunction

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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Related Documents:

Stipulated TRO
Segway Complaint
Segway Motion for TRO and Preliminary Injunction