Mixed verdict for City of Seattle in WTO trial

In a mixed verdict, a federal court jury today found that the City of Seattle violated the Fourth Amendment rights of roughly 200 protesters arrested at Westlake Park during the World Trade Organization upheaval on Dec. 1, 1999, but determined the city was not guilty of violating the plaintiffs' free-speech rights.

The verdict came after three days of deliberation.

The arrests took place one day after the city was engulfed in chaos during the opening of World Trade Organization (WTO) meetings in Seattle.

The plaintiffs argued that the city violated their First Amendment right to free speech by arresting them because they were espousing anti-WTO sentiments. They also said the city violated their Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

To prevail, the plaintiffs had to demonstrate that such unconstitutional acts were made in accordance with official city policy, or that city leaders were aware of and authorized the arrests. On Nov. 30, 1999, Seattle erupted in chaos as some 50,000 people arrived to protest the policies of the WTO, which opened ministerial meetings in the city that day.

Hoping to avoid a second day of unrest, Mayor Paul Schell in the early hours of Dec. 1 issued an emergency order which declared parts of downtown Seattle off-limits to all but a handful of people. Among the exempt groups: WTO delegates and workers; residents of the area; business owners and employees; and safety personnel.

The order said nothing about banning protesters from the area.

Attorneys for the city insisted the people arrested at Westlake Park were detained because of their behavior, not because of their viewpoints.

However, during a news conference at 7 a.m. on Dec. 1, Assistant Police Chief Ed Joiner said "anyone that goes into that area to protest will be arrested immediately." During the trial, Michael Withey, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, played a clip of Joiner's remarks several times and insisted it was proof that the city's mission was to squelch anti-WTO viewpoints.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled prior to the trial that Seattle police lacked probable cause to make the mass arrests at Westlake Park because they did not attempt to make individual determinations whether any of the protesters were allowed to be in the restricted area of the city.

After today's verdict, lawyers for the city said they will ask Pechman to vacate the verdict because of what they called confusion on the part of the jury.

"The jurors clearly came back with a verdict that the city of Seattle did not arrest these people because of what they were saying," said Heather Carr, an attorney for the city.

Therefore, Carr said, the Fourth Amendment claims of improper arrest should also be invalid. The city insists the free speech claims and improper arrest claims are intertwined.

The case was a class-action lawsuit against the city of Seattle brought on behalf of anyone detained during mass arrests at Westlake Park between 6 a.m. and noon on Dec. 1, 1999. Eight people arrested that day served as lead plaintiffs. The verdict followed a nine-day trial in U.S. District Court that brought a dark chapter of Seattle's history vividly back to life, as videos of gas-masked protesters, boarded-up storefronts and heavily armored police filled the courtroom of Judge Pechman.

The city has already paid more than $800,000 in WTO lawsuits and settlements. Any damages from today's verdict will be set in the next phase of the trial.

Shortly after the ruling was announced, Seattle City Council President Nick Licata said the city could have done a better job in handling the protests.

"Too often we tend to want quick and firm decisions, but we often don't take into account the judicial branch," he said. "The courts have to keep reminding elected officials that there are constitutional rights we cannot ignore. It's best in the long run to take a deep breath and have a more measured response."

Licata said there clearly were people who wanted to provoke an overreaction, and they succeeded in giving Seattle a black eye.

"We have the right to assemble and protest, but it comes at a cost," said Licata.

David Bowermaster: 206-464-2724 or dbowermaster@seattletimes.com

Information from Seattle Times staff reporter Susan Gilmore and The Associated Press is included in this report.