Attorneys who represented Judi Bari in her successful lawsuit against the FBI for violating her civil rights joined the legal forces representing Headwaters Forest activists in the Humboldt County Pepper Spray-by-Q-tip lawsuit. In November 2002 the US Supreme Court upheld the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled that a jury should decide whether the use of pepper spray on non-violent protesters constituted excessive force thereby violating the protesters' constitutional rights. The 9th Circuit ruling dismisses claims of immunity by the Humboldt Sheriff and Deputy from the suit for their actions.
The upcoming jury trial should help clarify what constitutes unreasonable force and when officers may claim immunity from on-the-job actions.
Linking Judi's story with the pepper spray case is an important step in telling our movement's history. Government and Big Timber contrived to crack Judi's Redwood Summer organizing in 1990. To intimidate and punish protestors with pepper spray during their non-violent sit-in in 1997is a continuation of that. Protecting the woods of the north coast has been, and continues to be, a long struggle. Spring, one of the plaintiffs said, “We're honored to see our work mirrored in those who've come before.”
At a court hearing in San Francisco Jan. 23, Judge Vaughn Walker moved the trial venue to Humboldt county, where it will go to trial May 12 in Eureka.
Stay tuned for details about court dates and support needed. Your
tax-deductible donations are also greatly appreciated and can be sent to the Pepper Spray Fund c/o Trees Foundation, PO Box 2202, Redway, CA 95560, or make a secure donation online.
