A Judge Won't Force Federal Officers In Portland To Identify Themselves When Making Arrests

[Celerity]

The judge found the Oregon attorney general’s office could not bring a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the federal presence in Portland.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetillman/portland-federal-officers-judge-ruling-identify



WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the Oregon attorney general’s office for an order that would require federal law enforcement officers in Portland to identify themselves when making arrests and place limits on the detention and arrests of protesters. US District Judge Michael Mosman found that state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum lacked standing to bring a lawsuit on behalf of Oregon residents because her office hadn’t articulated any specific state interest beyond the constitutional rights of individuals.

Rosenblum’s office filed one of multiple pending lawsuits in federal court challenging the Trump administration’s deployment of federal officers, largely from agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, to Portland. Rosenblum’s complaint accuses federal officers of violating the constitutional rights of Oregonians, citing reports that individuals have been picked up off the street and detained without probable cause. The offices of the inspector general for the departments of Homeland Security and Justice announced this week that they are investigating the actions by federal law enforcement officers in Portland.

Mosman's ruling came one day after another federal judge in Portland, US District Judge Michael Simon, granted an order restricting the activities of federal officers. Simon entered a temporary restraining order on Thursday that bars federal officers from arresting or using force specifically against journalists and legal observers at demonstrations unless there is probable cause that they committed a crime. Simon also ruled that clearly marked journalists and legal observers did not have to follow dispersal orders, writing that journalists are present to report on whether authorities are acting within the law. "Without journalists and legal observers, there is only the government's side of the story to explain why a 'riot' was declared and the public streets were 'closed' and whether law enforcement acted properly in effectuating that order," Simon wrote.

Rosenblum’s office asked Mosman to also enter an immediate order, while the case is pending, that would bar federal law enforcement officers from making arrests or detaining people without probable cause or a warrant, and require federal officers who do make arrests to identify themselves and explain the reason. The Justice Department argued that the state of Oregon lacked standing to bring constitutional claims on behalf of its citizens because the state hadn’t alleged any specific threat to its interests that were separate from those of private individuals. The government also disputed that any Oregonian’s constitutional rights had been violated. In response to a viral video that showed two officers wearing military-style uniforms that lacked identification forcibly escorting a man into an unmarked van, Customs and Border Protection said it suspected the man had been involved in assaults on federal agents or property. The man in the video, Mark Pettibone, said he was not told why he was arrested and wasn’t given any paperwork when he was released.

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Link to tweet

[soothsayer]

1. Unbelievable

[Thekaspervote]

2. What?? The top attorney for the people of OR, but she can't speak for them? A sad day indeed!

[Goodheart]

3. Say WHAT?????

"US District Judge Michael Mosman found that state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum lacked standing to bring a lawsuit on behalf of Oregon residents because her office hadn’t articulated any specific state interest beyond the constitutional rights of individuals."

A state's attorney general doesn't have standing to sue on behalf of the state's citizens whose rights are being violated?

Say WHAT????

Where did that motherfucker get his law degree, because I'm already pretty sure from where he got his appointment.

[ancianita]

12. Brigham Young, JD

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_W._Mosman#Family

[Blue Owl]

4. Way to enable the man-toddler who can say 5 words!!!

n/t

[bluestarone]

5. Mark Pettibone would clearly have standing i would think!

ACLU are you watching? I'm sure you are!

[old guy]

6. Anyone still doubt we are in a fascist dictatorship?

[Midnightwalk]

7. Deputize Citizens

The federal secret police’s incompetence and cowardice of these federal agents is just a distraction. This is getting ready for federal actions to “secure the elections” in November.

It’s also why there is no economic or rent relief. It is harder to vote when you are homeless.

This week has scared me. Vote, organize, but prepare.

[Laelth]

8. Lack of standing.

That’s an interesting argument. If the Attorney General of Oregon lacks standing to bring this complaint, who DOES have standing? Whomever that person or entity may be, they should bring suit immediately. The Judge didn’t rule on the merits of the case. The judge only ruled on the issue of standing.

In other words, the Judge is open to ruling against the government if only the proper party files suit, and the AG of Oregon IS NOT the injured/aggrieved party.

-Laelth

[crickets]

9. Interesting. Who indeed. eta:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213803573

"Legal experts who reviewed the case before the ruling warned that he could reject it on those grounds. A lawsuit from an individual who alleged federal agents violated their freedom of speech or rights against unconstitutional search and seizure would have a much higher chance of success, Michael Dorf, a professor of constitutional law at Cornell University, said ahead of the ruling."

[Laelth]

10. Dorf was right. Thanks for the post. n/t

-Laelth

[Goodheart]

14. Except that it was a motion for a RESTRAINING ORDER.

Not for injuries.

[LeftInTX]

16. yep

An injury case involves suing for damages, not a TRO

I wonder if the City of Portland should have filed on behalf of these goons messing up the city?

[Goodheart]

13. This is a Catch 22

There can be no injured/aggrieved party until after an injury, so this yahoo judge's logic would deny ANYBODY'S standing.

[Laelth]

15. Possibly.

Perhaps the Portland “Moms” could move for a restraining order to prevent likely, future injury?



-Laelth

[ancianita]

11. Judge Mosman is a Bush and Roberts appointee and a Utah educated Mormon.

[triron]

17. Not hardly liberal.

[ancianita]

19. Nope, not one bit.

[Buckeyeblue]

18. If federal law enforcement break state laws while on the job can they be arrested?