Federal court: L.A. must give protesters better access to Democratic convention

By The Associated Press

07.20.00

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LOS ANGELES — Activists who have set their sights on this summer's Democratic National Convention scored a victory yesterday when a federal judge said city officials must give protesters better access to the convention site.

U.S. District Judge Gary Feess agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the city and police department. The suit claimed a wide buffer zone officials planned to establish around the convention site — the downtown Staples Center — would violate protesters' constitutional rights by keeping them too far from delegates.

"When it's convenience versus the First Amendment, convenience loses every time," Feess said. "It is hard to imagine an event when free-speech activities would be more important."

Feess' decision, which will be made final in a written ruling today, affirmed activists' contention that the existing security plan violated their free-speech rights, the plaintiffs said. The ACLU had asked for a temporary injunction to prevent the city and police from implementing the buffer zone.

Deputy City Attorney Debra Gonzales said her office would decide today whether to appeal the decision. If officials don't appeal, they'll "have to go back to the drawing board" and create a new security plan in accordance with Feess' written ruling.

Feess indicated he supported letting protesters get access to the intersection of 11th and Figueroa streets, which would put them close to the Staples Center.

Gonzales said she was disappointed by Feess' comments, which she said showed he thought the city's security concerns were based simply on speculation.

Officials are afraid that protesters, especially anarchists who caused chaos and property damage at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle last year, will threaten residents, delegates and business owners.

"They're not speculative at all," she said, pointing to reports that some activists are intent on wreaking havoc at the convention.

The protesters involved in the ACLU lawsuit insist they plan nonviolent demonstrations during the Aug. 14-17 convention.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of several groups: Service Employees International Union, Local 660; the D2K Convention Planning Coalition, a group organizing protesters; the L.A. Coalition to Stop the Execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal, supporters of a man convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer in 1981; the National Lawyers Guild, Los Angeles chapter; Jennafer Waggoner, editor of a newspaper for the poor and homeless; and Democratic state Sen. Tom Hayden of Los Angeles, a delegate to the convention and protester.

Activists hailed yesterday's ruling as "extraordinary."

"We feel that the federal court decision this afternoon is complete vindication," said Don White, a D2K organizer. "We are pleased that the judge did not buy into the hysteria."

The ACLU also challenged a city permitting process that lawyers said limited activists' access to the convention site during parades and limited their access to public parks. Three of the plaintiffs had filed for permits to conduct a parade through the streets of downtown, ending at an intersection outside the Staples Center and inside the no-access zone.

Feess indicated he disapproved of elements of that permitting process, but it was not immediately clear what he would order the city to do about it.

The Police Commission approved permits July 18 for three protest marches during the convention but required that they end outside the security zone. The groups were not pleased with the conditions of the permits.

Officials have defended their convention plans as the result of yearlong planning by police, the FBI, the Secret Service and other government agencies. Law enforcement agencies have said they need to weigh their responsibilities to the community, the convention and the protesters.

Police designated an official protest area on the opposite side of giant parking lots located across from the Staples Center. The plaintiffs said there was no way delegates would ever see or hear protesters from that location and said they would not use the location.

A police spokesman said the department would abide by the judge's decision.

"What's happening here is that (the security) zone is going to be decreased a little bit. The demonstrators will have closer access to the delegates and Staples Center," said Sgt. John Pasquariello. "So it's a little bit more problematic."

Update

ACLU asks court to stop police from harassing L.A. convention protesters
Demonstrators say officers have targeted building where they meet to plan for next week's Democratic convention.  08.11.00

Previous

Protesters sue Los Angeles for greater access to Democratic convention
Plaintiffs say designated demonstration area is too far from event site, making it impossible for delegates to see or hear them.  07.03.00

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