Chris Christie's record on civil liberties blasted in ACLU report card

Chris Christie's record on civil liberties blasted in ACLU report card
By Brent Johnson/The Star-Ledger
on June 09, 2014

Gov. Chris Christie deserves only a D+ grade for the way his administration has handled citizens’ rights during his first term, according to a report card released today by the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The report, which grades Christie in 12 categories, slams the Republican governor for his record on same-sex marriage, government transparency, the war on drugs and judicial independence.

It also accuses Christie — a potential 2016 presidential candidate — of frequently making sweeping statements in support of civil liberties but rarely following through.

"His overall record on civil rights have been a poor one, ranging from mediocre to failing," said Udi Ofer, the ACLU’s executive director in New Jersey. "No question, some of his most frustrating moments are the times he fails to back up bold words with substantive actions."

Christie’s office dismissed the report, calling the ACLU — a non-profit organization that vows to protect the rights of U.S. citizens — biased.

"I don’t know, call me crazy, but does anyone think the ACLU could fairly assess anything we do that doesn’t fit squarely into its agenda?" said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor.

Julian Zelizer, a political science professor at Princeton University, said the group’s criticisms reflect the "very tough task" Christie faces: being a Republican governor in a heavily Democratic state while trying to garner enough support from GOP voters to run for president.

"He can’t align too much with the national Republican Party because he would lose the one asset he has," Zelizer said. "He is a more moderate Republican on paper, and he does not look like a Southern Republican. But at the same time, he does want to remind the Republican Party nationally that he isn’t a liberal."

Thus, Zelizer said, Christie finds "ways to send that signal" — like opposing same-sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana.

The report gives Christie a D grade on gay and transgendered rights. The ACLU commended him for signing the country’s toughest anti-bullying law in 2012 and for speaking out against homophobic slurs used by former Rutgers University men’s basketball coach Mike Rice in practice.

But the group slammed Christie for vowing to fight a judge’s ruling last year that New Jersey must begin allowing gay weddings. Ofer noted that the governor stopped "only when it was clear he would lose."

The report gave Christie an "F" in four categories: separation of church and state, transparency, separation of powers, and economic justice.

Ofer singled out the governor’s stance on judicial independence as being "consistently bad." Christie and Democrats in the state Legislature have fought over judicial nominees. In 2010, Christie declined to nominate Justice John Wallace Jr. to lifetime tenure on the state Supreme Court. He did the same with Justice Helen Hoens last year, saying he feared Democrats would not have confirmed her.

Last month, Christie cut a deal with state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) to nominate Chief Justice Stuart Rabner for lifetime tenure, but Ofer said even that process took too long.

"Historically, New Jersey has been perceived as being a strong example of judicial independence," Ofer said. "Governor Christie has tried to do everything in his power to ruin that."

Christie received high marks in two categories: a B for freedom of religion and a B- for voting rights.

The group praised him for nominating Sohail Mohammed, a Muslim, to the state Superior Court in 2011, speaking out against critics of building a mosque at Ground Zero, and signing legislation in response to the New York Police Department’s secret surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey.

The report also notes that Christie’s administration "worked hard" to make sure people could vote in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The governor received average grades in five categories: a C+ for immigrants’ rights; a C for women’s rights and criminal justice/drug policy; and a C- for both freedom of expression and privacy.

Ofer said Christie’s record on immigrant rights would have been higher if not for the Dream Act. The governor signed the bill last year, giving in-state tuition to the children of immigrants who came to this U.S. illegally, but he did so only after a provision allowing them to apply for financial aid was taken out.

As for drug policy, the report notes that Christie has stated in speeches that the nation's war on drugs has been a failed effort, and that he signed a bill in 2012 that allowed low-level drug offenders to complete a rehab program instead of receiving jail times.

But the group says Christie loses marks because he has "yet to implement a reliable medical marijuana program that serves the needs of most patients" and has stressed that marijuana would never be legalized while he is governor.