The Illinois State Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity is presenting its 2013 Community Leadership Award to the Chicago law firm Jenner & Block, recognizing the firm’s work in the ACLU and Lambda Legal case, Fields v. Smith.  The case challenged a Wisconsin law prohibiting prison doctors from deciding the best course of treatment for transgender people by denying them access to either hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery while in state custody.  The ACLU and Lambda Legal sued on behalf of inmates incarcerated for nonviolent offenses.  Our clients had been on hormone therapy for years.

Medical experts agree that blocking access to hormone treatment after someone has been on the treatment is especially dangerous and could cause life-threatening damage. The ACLU and Lambda Legal prevailed in the Seventh Circuit where the Wisconsin law was declared unconstitutional.

In the Seventh Circuit, Jenner & Block authored a critical amicus brief, filed on behalf of several medical groups, including the American Medical Association.  The amicus brief made a clear and persuasive argument that the Wisconsin law was out of step with the prevailing medical and mental health research standards of care in the field.  This medical and mental health care research even was mentioned by the appellate panel at oral argument.

The ISBA Award specifically recognizes Jenner & Block partners David M. Kroeger and Barry Levenstam, along with associates D. Matthew Feldhaus and Kyle A. Palazzolo, a one-time ACLU of Illinois intern.

We congratulate Jenner & Block on this important award.

An article on DNAInfo illustrates Chicago's efforts to expand its surveillance camera program in light of the Boston bombings. Citing a recent ACLU of Illinois report on the city's video surveillance cameras, there are approximately 22,000 surveillance cameras accessed by city officials. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has endorsed the use of surveillance cameras to reduce crime. The ACLU of Illinois has called for increased transparency around how they are used. DNAInfo talked to ACLU of Illinois senior staff counsel and author of the camera report, Adam Schwartz:

"We believe there ought to be written, binding rules that limit the use of these cameras," Schwartz said.

The ACLU seeks to impose legal demands for probable cause and reasonable suspicion in their use, as well as limits on how long footage can be retained and how it can be distributed to other government agencies for investigations. It would also like to see the number and location of cameras officially published, along with an annual report on their use.

The City Council, however, has thus far been unresponsive to ACLU calls for more oversight.

Read the entire article.