Seattle Press on Line - N30 Lawsuit Against City Continues in Federal Court

N30 Lawsuit Against City Continues in Federal Court

By Zachary D. Lyons

Does Seattle discriminate against anti-globalization protesters? Riot police on their way to the 2001 November 30 event at Westlake. Zachary D. Lyons photo.

Jan 03, 2002 -- On November 29, 2001, United States District Court Judge Marsha J. Pechman issued an injunction ordering the City of Seattle to allow WTO anniversary (N30) organizers to use Westlake Park on November 30. The order was in response to a lawsuit filed in the Washington Superior Court on November 28, alleging that the City of Seattle had intentionally blocked N30 organizers' rights to free speech and public assembly. While the City was forced to issue the permit at the eleventh hour, the legal battle is far from over.

The wrangling over the permit began back on July 17, 2001, when James Goettler, one of the plaintiffs, was denied a permit application by the parks department. He was told that the Downtown Seattle Association had already been issued a permit to use Westlake Park for its holiday carousel. However, further investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union uncovered that the carousel permit application was not filed until July 24. Goettler sought to appeal the permit denial through every available avenue within city government, without success. Meanwhile, city leaders such as Mayor Paul Schell and Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske publicly stated their intentions to block WTO anniversary events from Westlake Park, according to court documents.

As a last resort, the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against the City on November 28, seeking an injunction against the City as well as a judgment against the City for civil rights violations. The lawsuit was removed from State to Federal Court at the request of the City Attorney's office, using a Civil Rights Movement-era statute allowing local authorities to ask for federal court intervention to avoid potential local bias. However, a spokesperson for the plaintiffs believes that the City actually chose this course of action in the hopes that a federal judge would not be available to hear the case before November 30. The City appears to have placed a bad bet, as the case is now alive and well in federal court. The judge has already ruled that the plaintiffs appear to have a strong case based upon the "balance of hardships," the "probable success on the merits," and the likelihood of "irreparable injury."

"While the federal injunction was a temporary victory, it set the stage for the real struggle -- a trial in Federal Court," said a December 17 press statement issued by Permit This!, the group organized to carry on the legal battle. "Permit This! will show that the City of Seattle and the Downtown Seattle Association, a private business group, conspired to deprive N30 organizers of basic civil rights ... based solely upon the content of our political speech." The court battle will continue in January.

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