Laura W. Murphy: the ACLU's 'Washington watchdog' - American Civil Liberties Union - Biography

SHE has received death threats and is sure that government eavesdroppers routinely tap her telephone. But to Laura W. Murphy--the first woman and the first Black to lead the Legislative Office of the American Civil Liberties Union--such drama is all in a day's work.

Murphy, who operates from an office blocks from Capitol Hill, has been in her position long enough to know that to be effective she has to make waves. For the past decade, she has served as one of the most public of public watchdogs, gaining a reputation as a hard-nosed lobbyist, steadfast in her belief in the Bill of Rights and the duty of protecting those rights from overzealous lawmakers looking to whittle away freedoms and liberties.

"Rights are only as good as their reach to those in the minority," she says. "People in the majority don't need much protection ... It's those dissenting voices, those going against popular opinion, who need the protection of the Bill of Rights."

Washington insiders increasingly look to Murphy to gauge public opinion on the issues of the day. In fact, her support is so valuable to the smooth passage of laws that she has been named one of the 50 most influential people in congressional politics by Roll Call, the newspaper of record on Capitol Hill. "We read the bills. We analyze the bills. We call members of Congress," Murphy says. "They know us. They know that we are around. Sometimes calls aren't enough. Some issues require obtaining grass-roots support from constituents of elected officials who may be straddling the fence."

Murphy doesn't hesitate to mobilize field officers across the country to organize rallies, town hall meetings or telephone campaigns aimed at flooding the phone lines of elected officials. "People will respond if they know what's going on," she says. "Public education is the key. That's basically the gist of my job. I'm educating members of Congress about issues of concern to the American people."

While she often testifies before Congress and speaks on constitutional issues to various groups across the country, Murphy keeps her mission simple. She is a firm believer that in order to do her job effectively, "you have to be able to count," she says. "You have to know how many you have on your side. We have a leave-no-stone-unturned policy. We don't go to the same old friends. We don't forget about our friends, but we know that we need the help of others to be successful. You have to be shrewd, but people have to be able to trust you. They can trust the ACLU to be consistent. We are not beyond criticizing Democrats who we think are selling us out. And we are not beyond criticizing the president or the attorney general."

One of the key ingredients in her success may be her ability to effectively communicate those dissenting voices to both Republicans and Democrats. Her 35-person staff is made up of people on all sides of the political spectrum, a diversity that has become increasingly helpful as the ACLU moves beyond traditional free-speech issues to tackle more wide-ranging topics. Under Murphy's leadership, the union is now weighing-in on topics from ranging church/state concerns and immigrant rights to the death penalty and racial profiling. The ACLU, she says, has initiated more racial profiling lawsuits than all other civil rights organizations combined.

Washington insiders say Murphy has successfully married civil rights and civil liberties in a way that has engaged more people of different backgrounds and experiences, creating a firestorm that has swelled the ACLU's rolls to a record 400,000 members, with 90,000 people added just last year alone. For the first time in its 83-year history, the ACLU is running print and television ads in an effort to attract new members to its cause. "We have more African-Americans, more Hispanics, more women, more Republicans as members," she says. "They see the ACLU in a different light. I think that more and more people are seeing us as a group that defends everybody's civil liberties. It's not your mother's ACLU anymore."

Today, heavy hitters like presidential candidates the Rev. Al Sharpton and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun seek Murphy's counsel and insight. It's her ability to handle her high-pressure job with effectiveness, style and grace that has impressed even legendary figures like Dorothy Height, who calls Murphy "one of the ablest persons I know, male or female. I'm so proud that she has entered a field that is very important," says Height, chair and president emeritus of the National Council of Negro Women.

"Civil liberties are very important. Many people are concerned about civil rights, but it is important that there is someone like [Murphy] to help us understand the relationship between civil rights and civil liberties," she says. "To see the leadership role that she has taken is not only heartwarming, but it's one that lets us know how great our women can be. She has made her mark."

While Murphy has spoken out in recent years on such topics as minority voting rights, the controversial 2000 presidential elections and free speech on the Internet, a majority of her time nowadays is spent on terrorism. At issue: In the government's zest to capture radicals, is it trampling on the rights of law-abiding citizens? "The government has used fighting terrorism as an excuse for taking away our civil liberties," says the divorced mother of one son. "More Americans are coming under the watchful eye of the government. Not only is our privacy being invaded, but this increased government surveillance also has a chilling effect on people's willingness to criticize the government."