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HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK LAUNCHES ROCKEFELLER
DRUG LAWS COUNTER OFFENSIVE
WHO: Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of The Hip-Hop
Summit Action Network, The Black Student Alliance of
Albany State University
WHAT: The launch of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network
counter-offensive lecture series to continue to raise
public awareness about the unfairness of the
Rockefeller Drug Laws in New York. Dr. Benjamin Chavis
will lead off the lecture series at Albany State
University on the topic, “Spitting Truth in the Face
of Injustice: Raising Public Awareness About the
Negative Impact of the Rockefeller Drug Laws on
African Americans and Latino Americans.” The lecture
series will kick off the Hip-Hop Summit Action
Network”s national effort to increase public awareness
about the unfairness of “mandatory minimum sentences”
around the United States, of which the Rockefeller
Drug Laws is the oldest and most repressive. This
lecture is sponsored by The Black Student Alliance of
Albany State University.
WHERE: Albany State University, Campus Center –
Ballroom
WHEN: March 3rd at 10am
On Friday, February 20th, 2004, the Hip-Hop Summit
Action Network filed a legal action against the New
York State Commission on Lobbying on the basis that
the lobbying law statute is unconstitutional because
it fails to provide even rudimentary due process to
those charged with its violation. On Friday, February
20th, State Supreme Court Justice Bernard J. Malone
signed an order enjoining the holding of three civil
penalty hearings which had been scheduled against The
Coalition for Fairness.
On Wednesday, February 25th, 2004, the New York State
Commission on Lobbying voted to suspend the holding of
any civil penalty hearings pending the resolution of
the lawsuit brought by the Hip-Hop Summit Action
Network.
“This would be a fine time to look at this statute,” commented Hip-Hop Summit
Action Network attorney, James Featherstonhaugh. “The fact that they have in
two month, 150 cases, says to me there is a problem in the way the statute is
drafted. We should be trying to encourage compliance, not make it hard and adversarial.
I believe there is no question it is unconstitutional.”
* After the lecture, Dr. Chavis is scheduled to give a
sworn deposition concerning these issues before the
New York State Commission on Lobbying in Albany at
1pm.
For further information on the Hip-Hop Summit Action
Network, go to www.hsan.org.
THE LECTURE SERIES EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
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