Pepper Spray Plaintiffs
December 1, 2005
A victory for civil rights, as well as forest defense, was handed down in April of this year: a federal jury returned a unanimous verdict for the Q-Tip Pepper Spray Eight activists/plaintiffs, finding the County of Humboldt and City of Eureka liable for excessive force in violation of the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The movie closes with the exciting trial victory, yet in real life there's always follow-up to any hard-fought-for success. Now the legal wrangling and wrap-up of the case continues slowly. (read more)


VICTORY in the Pepper Spray Trial!
September 20, 2005
Great news from the Pepper Spray Q-tip Trial: WE WON! The jury unanimously found the direct application of pepper spray to our eyes with Q-tips and spraying from inches away to be excessive force in violation of our constitutional rights. This will deter the future use of pepper spray on protesters. (read more)


Pepper Spray Trial Update: Third Time's the Charm, Trial Starts April 11 in Pepper Spray Q-Tip Case!
April 4, 2005
There are two simple ways that supporters of ending the use of pepper spray on nonviolent protesters can help protect the freedom of dissent in this country: 1. Attend the trial starting April 11 in San Francisco. We need to publicly show support and keep a presence in the courtroom for this important jury trial. 2. Spread the word and visit the website, (read more)


Power Concedes Nothing Without A Demand: The
December 8, 2004
The journey for justice is not quite over for activists in the closely watched Pepper Spray Q-tip case, which intertwines issues of the right to peaceful protest with the fate of imperiled forests. (read more)


Pepper Spray Trial Starts September 7th
September 6, 2004
Dear Friends, (read more)


Pepperspray Update: Defendants AGAIN appeal to the Supreme Court
April 28, 2004
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. (read more)


Judi Bari Legal Team Joins Humboldt Pepper Spray Lawsuit!
November 18, 2002
Some will remember when our case first made global headlines in 1997, when we released police video footage of officers forcing pepper-spray-soaked Q-tips directly into our eyes during nonviolent sit-ins. Stemming from our love of the ancient trees of Headwaters Forest, then evolving into a fight for basic civil rights, our pepper spray lawsuit aims to stop police use of chemical agents as weapons of political repression. (read more)


Major Victory in Pepper Spray Case
March 1, 2002
On January 30, 2002, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that using pepper spray on non-violent protestors locked down in symbolic protest is unconstitutional. In fall 1997 officers from the Humboldt County Sheriff?s Department and the Eureka Police Department calmly and methodically rubbed pepper spray into the eyes of nine protestors who had locked themselves together in protest of Pacific Lumber Company?s logging of Headwaters Forest. Video footage of these acts of police torture was broadcast around the world causing international outrage. After four and a half years into a rollercoaster battle, the Ninth Circuit, in a strongly worded opinion, concluded that any reasonable law enforcement officer should have known that using pepper spray on the Headwaters protestors in the manner carried out by Humboldt officers was excessive force, in violation of the 4th Amendment of the US Constitution. (read more)


Pepper Spray Plaintiffs Prevail Again
January 30, 2001
After the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the plaintiff pepper spray victims, reinstating their lawsuit against law enforcement officers who had assaulted them with pepper spray, the defendant agencies filed a petition for further review with the Ninth Circuit. The petition for rehearing, directed to judges Pregerson, Fletcher, and Bright (the panel that had overruled District Court Judge Vaughn Walker and reopened the suit), asked the court to reconsider the original decision in favor of the plaintiffs. (read more)



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