The Bay Area Forest Activist Newsletter, Winter 2003

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Pepper Spray Case Coming Back to Trial

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March 1, 2003


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.




Other Articles in This Issue

• What Will it Take? Forest Defense Goes to New Heights and Depths
  Dragon fly, wren, fireweed, lupine, sequoia, butterfly... Are these names of forest-dependant species? Yes, in a ...
  
  
• Campaign For Old Growth
  As a result of Susan Moloney’s heroic 52-day hunger strike to pressure Gov. Gray Davis to make good on his 1998 campaign...
  
  
• Redway Redwood Grove saved from Pacific Lumber's Saws
  After seven years of negotiations, litigation, community organizing and lobbying, the California Department of Parks and...
  
  
• Challenge to PL’s Sustained Yield Plan Coming to Trial
  After almost four years of delays and legal maneuvers, Pacific Lumber and the state agencies that approved PL's logging ...
  
  
• Public Lands: Wildfires and Smokescreens
  In response to last summer's catastrophic forest fires throughout the West, the Bush administration is pushing a so-call...
  
  
• Freshwater Watershed Under Siege from PL’s Logging
  State and federal officials hailed the 1999 Headwaters Deal for preserving 7,400 acres of redwood forest and imposing on...
  
  
• "Teflon CEO" Hurwitz Evades Federal Regulators Over Collapse Of Maxxam S&L
  Charles Hurwitz, the notorious chairman and CEO of Maxxam Corp., proved to be a Teflon corporate raider by evading feder...
  
  
• Watershed Update from the Mattole Restoration Council
  Greetings from the Mattole! The Mattole River watershed, located in southern Humboldt County, empties into the Pacific s...
  
  
• Once Again, the Fox Guards the Chicken Coop
  The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is the state agency responsible for protecting North Coast rivers, ...
  
  
• Controversial Logging of State Forest Approved!
  Despite the public outcry, on January 8, 2003, the State Board of Forestry cleared the way for logging of 1,000 acres of...
  
  
• Civil, Criminal, Defensive, Offensive: Activists in the Courts Legal Update
  Feb. 3: Criminal charges against tree-sitters Abstract Jane Marsh and Jaime LeRoy Harris were heard in Humboldt County S...