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Friday, March 18, 2005

Ind. Decisions - Federal Judge McKinney rules for environmental activist

"Blair wins suit over his rights at Cheney rally" is the headline to a story by Maureen Hayden in today's Evansville Courier& Press. Some quotes:

A federal judge says the arrest of environmental activist John Blair at a 2002 appearance by Vice President Dick Cheney violated Blair's constitutional rights and entitles the activist to monetary damages.

According to the ruling, issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney, Evansville police officers violated Blair's First Amendment rights by ordering him out of a large "no-protest" zone, and arresting him when he questioned their right to do so. City police were acting at the direction of the Secret Service when they banned protesters from appearing near The Centre, where Cheney spoke at a Republican fund-raiser for Rep. John Hostettler.

McKinney said the city bears responsibility for guaranteeing security measures taken by city police officers protect the constitutional rights of its citizens. McKinney also ruled that a "reasonable officer under the circumstances would have known that no probable cause existed to arrest Blair for interfering with a police officer."

Blair said he hoped the ruling sent a message to the White House, which has been under attack by civil libertarians for restricting public protests at political events. "The Bush administration likes to talk about freedom, but it's systematically stripping it away," said Blair. * * *

And both the city and the four officers are liable for violating Blair's Fourth Amendment right for his arrest on a charge of disorderly conduct. The amount of damages has yet to be decided. Blair and the city could go to trial to determine the amount of damages the city would have to pay for violating Blair's civil liberties, or the parties could reach a settlement.

An AP story reports:
The restrictions police put on protesters went beyond what was needed for security even in the post-9/11 climate, District Judge Larry McKinney wrote in his 34-page ruling.

"The restriction of protesters to an area 500 feet away from the only entrance used by attendees, and on the opposite end of the building from where Vice President Cheney would enter the facility and from where the majority of people attending the event would park, burdened speech substantially more than was necessary to further the defendants' goals of safety," McKinney wrote.

The Indiana Civil Liberties Union sued the city in January 2003 on behalf of environmental activist John Blair. The suit alleged that police violated Blair's constitutional rights by arresting him for leaving the designated protest area during Cheney's visit on Feb. 6, 2002.

As of this morning, Chief Judge Larry J. McKinney's ruling is not available on the SD Ind. website - it will be here, if/when posted (scroll down to Judge McKinney).

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 18, 2005 08:43 AM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions