Portland protest court cases update

A judge on Friday denied the Oregon attorney general's request for a temporary restraining order to rein in the activities of federal agents responding to protests and unrest in Portland.

As part of a lawsuit against federal agents in the city, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum had requested that federal officers clearly identify themselves when seizing protesters and stop arrests without probable cause.

[...]

Last week, Rosenblum sued the agents, listed as John Doe 1-10, and a number of federal agencies, accusing them of violating protesters' constitutional rights by arresting them without probable cause. David Morrell, an attorney for the federal government, argued before the court that Rosenblum's motion for a temporary restraining order was based on "a few thread witnesses and a Twitter video."

[...]

But U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman rejected the motion, arguing that she did not present enough evidence that future harm would continue at the hands of the agents.

  Politico

Is that hurdle even possible to clear?

The judge also raised doubts about whether the state had legal standing to pursue a suit on behalf of protesters or others who might be targeted by the federal officers.

Hmmmm. Maybe because the protesters are citizens of the state? Honestly asking. I don't know.

Rosenblum later issued a statement pushing back on Mosman's doubts on the state's ability to sue on behalf of the protesters. Protesters can sue for individual damages, she said, but cannot sue to stop what she called the unlawful conduct of federal agents in the future.

"Today’s ruling suggests that there may be no recourse on behalf of our state, and if so that is extremely troubling," Rosenblum said.

[...]

In a 14-page ruling Friday, Mosman wrote that Rosenblum's case was a "highly unusual" one that does not meet the standards for a temporary restraining order, particularly for barring future conduct rather than harm already done to protesters. Mosman wrote that Rosenblum only used two examples of what she characterizes as unlawful seizures and did not present enough evidence that the seizures are likely to continue.

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The decision comes a day after another federal judge ruled in a separate case that federal agents would have to stop using force on journalists reporting on the protests.

That should be a national law.

Late Friday, another federal judge blocked Seattle’s new law prohibiting police from using pepper spray, blast balls and similar weapons that was passed following confrontations with protesters, according to the Associated Press.

The Seattle Times reports that U.S. District Judge James Robart at an emergency hearing granted a request from the federal government to block the new law, which the Seattle City Council passed unanimously last month.

That is not encouraging.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE: A history to date of the "Portland uprising" from someone on the ground since the beginning.