Legalectric

What’s new in Portland? Federal court issued temporary restraining order late yesterday:

This has gone around for another TRO (or is it TKO?) first against the City of Portland police, and TRO was granted, then ACLU came back after the feds appeared and were also targeting journalists and legal observers. The hearing was day before yesterday, and yesterday late the TRO was granted:

The feds argued that they didn’t have standing for this suit, that they had other options for relief than a restraining order, that they had no direct evidence of retaliation against press, and other absurd notions, but the court blew those arguments out of the water.

This Order outlined the importance of press access, an essential 1st Amendment right, noting the importance of press “[w]hen wrongdoing is underway…”

“[I]ts real motive may be to prevent the gathering of information about government abuses or incompetence.” Well, DOH! Shades of tRump’s outrageous treatment of the press in D.C., but here extended to physical violence, arrest, bodily harm, directed at people wearing “PRESS” in bold letters, wearing vests and ID clearly labeled “PRESS,” visibly separate from protesters, doing their work, at times even directly and specifically attacked while filming!

Bottom line: