We are co-counsel with the ACLU of Oregon in this case arising from President George W. Bush’s visit to Jacksonville, Oregon, during the 2004 presidential election campaign. Groups of pro- and anti-Bush demonstrators had gathered near the hotel where he was having dinner. The pro-Bush group was left alone, but the peaceful anti-Bush group was attacked with clubs and pepper spray by riot-geared police and pushed two blocks further away; many were arrested. Our lawsuit asserts that local, state and federal officials are all liable for violating the constitutional rights of the demonstrators.
After the district court and the court of appeals denied the Secret Service agents’ motion to dismiss, the Supreme Court heard the case and in May 2014 reversed on the ground that the agents were entitled to “qualified immunity” because their conduct did not violate clearly established law Wood v. Moss, 572 U.S. 744 (2014). The case returned to the district court for further proceedings against the state and local defendants. In May 2015, we moved for class certification, and the district court certified a class on the false arrest claim but not on the excessive force claim. After several years of further litigation, the case was finally settled in early 2018.
