Defendants Humboldt County, City of Eureka, the ex-sheriff, and the current sheriff appealed again to the U.S. Supreme Court, this time seeking to overturn the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling removing Judge Vaughn Walker for bias and canceling his attempt to move the trial from San Francisco to Eureka. Eureka has long been the scene of political controversy over logging by Maxxam/Pacific Lumber, which recently bankrolled an effort to recall Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos, who filed a fraud suit against the lumber giant last year. The recall effort failed. As we go to press it was learned that the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear their appeal.
The new judge assigned, Susan Illston, set the retrial date for the Pepper Spray by Q-Tip case for September 7, 2004 in Federal District Court in San Francisco, thus upholding the 9th Circut Court of Appeals descision. Judge Illston granted our request to delay the trial until fall. The reason for our request was that our star paralegal, Alicia Littletree, was expecting a baby in February (and we'd like to welcome her son Jude into the world, born February 7). Lead counsel Dennis Cunningham told the judge that Alicia's participation is vital to prepare the case for trial. There should be no more delays in this long awaited trial.
The pepper spray torture incidents that gave rise to our case all happened during nonviolent protest demonstrations against Maxxam/Pacific Lumber logging of old-growth redwood forests in 1997.
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TOC for Forest & River News, Spring 2004