ACLU'S Attempt To Freeze Official English Law Denied By Court

Tonight, Judge Ronald Nehring of Utah's Third District Court denied an ACLU motion to temporarily freeze his March 5 decision, which upheld the constitutionality of Initiative "A," the Utah Official English law. U.S.ENGLISH and Utahns for Official English filed a formal opposition April 12, to the ACLU's motion.

"This is a victory for official English, and a victory for the Utahns who overwhelmingly voted 'Initiative A' into law" said U.S.ENGLISH CEO/Chairman Mauro E. Mujica. "We will continue to support 'Initiative A' during this appeal and we are confident that Utah's official English law will be upheld in future decisions."

Initiative "A," which made English the official language of Utah, was passed with 67 percent of Utahns voting in favor last November. However, the ACLU challenged the new law, but lost in a March 5, 2001 ruling. Utah's Third Judicial District Court affirmed the constitutionality of Initiative "A," recognizing that it respects the fundamental rights of all Utahns.

"Once again, the common sense has prevailed," said U.S.ENGLISH Counsel Lisa Watts Baskin. "The court has exercised good judgment in denying the motion to reinstate the injunction. This is a statute that the court has already declared to be constitutional."

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.