City of Pittsburgh - File #: 2009-1500

• File #: 2009-1500
• Version: 1
• Type: Proclamation
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 6/9/2009
• In control: City Council
• Final action: 6/9/2009
• Title: NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize the American Civil Liberties Union Greater Pittsburgh Chapter for the 20 Year Anniversary of its landmark Supreme Court victory and congratulates Roslyn M. Litman for a career dedicated to preserving rights and freedoms for every citizen; and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Thursday, June 11, 2009, to be “ ROSLYN M. LITMAN DAY” in the City of Pittsburgh.
• Sponsors: Douglas Shields, All Members
• Indexes: PROCLAMATION - MR. SHIELDS

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
6/9/2009	1	City Council	Adopted	Pass

Body
WHEREAS, the American Civil Liberties Union is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending and protecting individual rights and personal freedoms through advocacy, education and litigation, making it the nation's foremost guardian of liberty ; and,
WHEREAS, the legal team of the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the City of Pittsburgh's display of a nativity crèche in the Allegheny Courthouse rotunda, arguing that the crèche and other religious displays on government property violated the Establishment Clause; and,
WHEREAS, Roslyn M. Litman was lead counsel in Allegheny County v. ACLU at the trial and appellate levels and argued the case before the United States Supreme Court, where on July 3, 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that the crèche, as displayed, had the unconstitutional “effect” of promoting religion and, in this landmark decision, provided a framework that endures today for resolving when religious displays on governmental property are unconstitutional; and,
WHEREAS, Roslyn Litman founded Litman and Litman with her late husband, David, and has served as President of the Allegheny County Bar Association and a Charter Member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County. She is a permanent delegate to the Third Circuit Judicial Conference and chairs the Civil Justice Advisory Group of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of PA. She became a volunteer lawyer with the Pittsburgh ACLU immediately out of law school and has helped to shape the organization as a Director of the Pittsburgh Chapter and of the Pennsylvania affiliate and most currently as Pennsylvania's representative to the National ACLU Board of Directors, serving on National's Executive Committee and as one of its General Counsel; and,
WHEREAS, The Greater Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union will honor Roslyn M. Litman for her dedication to the ACLU on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of...