ACLU SUES TREASURER OVER NEW REGULATIONS

PROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil
Liberties Union sued General Treasurer Paul J. Tavares yesterday,
challenging new regulations that allow his office to deny or reduce
compensation to crime victims who have been convicted of unrelated
drunken-driving or drug-dealing offenses.

The treasurer administers the state's Crime Victim Compensation
Program, which pays claims to crime victims, under certain conditions.

Over the past two years, Tavares has adopted regulations that
authorize him to deny or reduce compensation if, in the preceding
five years, crime victims have been convicted on charges of driving
while intoxicated, selling or delivering drugs, or possessing drugs
with the intent to sell or deliver them.

Steven Brown, executive director of the local ACLU affiliate, said
it is "unfortunate that the general treasurer has turned a program
that is supposed to aid crime victims into one that punishes them
for their past misdeeds. A former drug addict who is
sexually assaulted should not have to fear reduced
compensation because she once sold drugs to feed her habit."

The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring the new regulations "null,
void and unenforceable." ACLU volunteer lawyer Frederic A. Marzilli
filed the suit in state Superior Court on behalf of the Drug and
Alcohol Treatment Association of Rhode Island.

"The regulations discriminate and marginalize persons, many of whom
have addiction disorders," said Neil A. Corkery, the association's
executive director.

Corkery, a former state legislator, said, "If we really believe in
the restorative potential of persons who receive treatment for
addiction disorders, we need to abandon such negative stereotypes
and regressive measures. The measure appears punitive in nature and
lacking in logic in excluding individuals who, other than a prior
indiscretion, appear to be assigned a double penalty."

A spokeswoman for the treasurer's office, Stephanie DeSilva, said
Tavares adopted the drug-dealing regulation in July after a
convicted drug dealer successfully appealed a denial of crime victim
compensation. The drug dealer won his case in Superior Court because
there was no specific provision allowing the treasurer's office to
issue a denial based on the man's conviction, she said.

DeSilva noted the drug-dealing regulation applies to those who plead
no contest or are convicted of "the illegal manufacture, sale or
delivery of a controlled substance, or possession with intent to
manufacture, sell or distribute a controlled substance." She said,
"We are looking at the hard-core drug dealer here -- not a simple
possession case."

As for the regulation regarding driving while intoxicated, DeSilva
said, "Drunken driving results in many injuries and is a crime."
Also, she noted drunken-driving victims are eligible for the Crime
Victim Compensation Program.

While those are the rationales behind the new rules, DeSilva said,
"We recognize that alcoholism and drug dependency are serious
addiction problems." And she noted the regulations allow the
administrator of the Crime Victim Compensation Program to decide
whether to deny or reduce an award.

"So it's not an automatic denial," DeSilva said. "It's not a
black-and-white decision. The administrator looks at the whole
picture." That means taking into account the time frame of the
conviction, whether restitution has been made, and whether "an
effort is being made to turn the person's life around -- and that
includes rehabilitation and treatment," she said.

In 2005, the Crime Victim Compensation Program awarded money to 263
crime victims and issued 74 denials, DeSilva said. In all, the
awards totaled $4.39 million, using federal money and court-assessed fines.

Corkery said the lawsuit was filed only after groups tried, without
success, to convince Tavares to rescind the new regulations. In
July, the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Association, the ACLU and other
groups held a news conference, calling the rules "discriminatory and
mean-spirited."

Corkery said he was concerned about "singling out DUI and drug
offenses, both of which are often committed by people who are
suffering from diseases -- alcoholism and drug addiction."

Brown said the lawsuit is not challenging the regulation that allows
the treasurer to deny claims to people convicted of violent
felonies. Rather, the suit targets only the new rules regarding drug
and drunken-driving convictions, which are the only nonviolent
offenses that warrant denial of victim compensation, he said.

The lawsuit claims the new regulations violate the Criminal Injuries
Compensation Act because they authorize the treasurer to consider a
crime victim's nonviolent criminal background in deciding whether to
award compensation.

According to the suit, "Substance abuse victims may be hesitant and
deterred from making otherwise valid applications for criminal
victim compensation, counter to the clear intent of the Criminal
Injuries Compensation Act." And, the suit says, the new rules will
"chill participation" in the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Association,
curtailing "their opportunity to aid the recovery of substance abusers."

Also, the suit claims the new regulations are "arbitrary and
capricious," in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Marzilli said, "The general treasurer's amended regulations are
counterproductive and an affront to anyone who has been a victim of
violent crime."

Facing term limits, Tavares is about to leave the treasurer's
office, making way for state Sen. Frank T. Caprio, who won the Nov.
7 election. "We are hopeful he will give it a fresh look," Brown
said of Caprio.

Yesterday, Caprio said, "After I have an opportunity to review the
complaint and get a history of what has transpired, I'd be in a
position to make a more educated comment on the issue. I would want
to review any federal law and federal case law, since federal
funding is a component of the compensation program."

Caprio, who will be sworn in Tuesday, said, "If the complaint was
just filed, I would think it won't have to be answered until my
tenure." He said, "I'm going to request the relevant documents and
cases that have caused it to become an issue."