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ACLU Salutes Civil Liberties Heroes at Bill of Rights Dinner

Monday, January 4, 1999

The ACLU of Southern California celebrates it's annual Bill of Rights Dinner on Friday, January 15, at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in an event to recognize the commitment of those who champion the ideals embodied in our nation's Bill of Rights.

Writer/director Steven Zaillian and civil rights attorney Constance Rice will be presented with Bill of Rights Awards and Professor Erwin Chemerinsky with the Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award:

Director Steven Zaillian's latest film "A Civil Action" is only the most recent example of his dedication to civil rights and civil liberties.  Zaillian, a  longtime member of the ACLU, continues to highlight important issues of fairness and justice.  Among Zaillian's long list of screen accomplishments: the Academy Award winning screenplay for "Schindler's List,"  "Amistad,"  "Awakenings," "The Falcon and the Snowman," and his directorial debut, "searching for Bobby Fischer."

Contstance Rice will be honored for her extraordinary efforts to fulfill the promise of the constitution for those left out of the American dream. Rice is consistently called on by journalists from "60 Minutes" to The New York Times to put the struggles and successes of economic and racial justice into a context the world can understand. A longtime friend of the ACLU, Rice was formerly the co-director of  the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund's Los Angeles office and she recently co-founded The Advancement Project, an organization which continues her dedication to promoting social justice and equality.

Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award recipient, Erwin Chemerinsky, is a professor of Law and Political Science at the University of Southern California and a consummate advocate for social justice. He is one of the foremost constitutional and legal ethics scholars in the country.  The author of numerous books and articles on legal issues, he frequently testifies before Congress, the state legislature and the Supreme Court on bills that affect civil liberties and civil rights.  His long list of achievements includes chairing the Los Angeles Elected Charter Reform Commission. The dinner will be held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.  A reception is set for 6:00 p.m. with the dinner and program beginning at 7:00 p.m.

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