slant
VERDICT SETS
KEY PRECEDENT
A ruling related to last week’s verdict that EPD Sgt.
Bill Solesbee used excessive force to arrest Josh
Schlossberg in 2009 added to Oregon’s existing case law,
which recognizes the public’s right to tape police officers
and others — in some cases with notification of the
videotaped person and in some cases without it. U.S.
District Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin ruled that
Solesbee also violated Schlossberg’s rights by searching
his camera without a warrant.
Lauren Regan, the Civil Liberties Defense Center
attorney who represented Schlossberg, says that if an event
is public, like a meeting, rally or sporting event, there’s
neither an expectation of privacy nor a chance that every
person who might be taped could be notified, so it’s legal
to tape in those cases without making an announcement.
However, Regan says the CLDC advises exercising
caution to prevent problems. “We still train cop watchers
that if they come upon police while at a rally or a protest
that they should still give this notice requirement,” she
says. The notice requirement can be given by turning on
the camera and saying, ‘I’m audio and video recording
you.’ Regan says that having the notification on tape, even
if the taped person doesn’t acknowledge it, is a solid
defense against being charged with unlawfully recording.
“If you were to ever end up charged with that crime, that
would be your total defense, that that statement is on the
audiotape.”
In the circumstance that law enforcement doesn’t
respect a person legally recording, Regan says the wise
thing to do is to verbally object while not putting up any
physical resistance. “The first thing that they should say is
‘What’s your lawful basis for seizing my camera?’ and the
other thing they should say is ‘I do not consent.’”
Getting those statements on tape clarifies that the
camera can’t be searched without a warrant, and Regan
says the Schlossberg ruling solidifies the case law that
cops can’t search a camera without a warrant or consent.
Last week EPD Chief Pete Kerns told EW through a
happening people
public information officer that “Legal minds differ on
whether searching a camera incident to arrest is allowed in
today’s search and seizure environment.”
Regan says that any gray area that may have existed
regarding the search of a camera incident to arrest was
settled by the Schlossberg case, and “all of the other legal
issues: the false arrest, the excessive force … there is no
argument that can be made that these were unsettled areas
of law.”
EW asked EPD for information on how much fighting
this court case cost the city but EPD said it would only
release the information if presented with a public records
request. EW has filed a request.
— Shannon Finnell
FUROR OVER
FOREST PLAN
Conservation groups have been eyeing Congressman
Peter DeFazio’s forest trust plan with skepticism. Or rather,
they have been eyeing the proposed plan. Part of their
distrust of the trust plan is that it doesn’t actually officially
exist on paper yet.
DeFazio’s plan is aimed at solving Oregon’s ongoing
question of how to generate money for cash-strapped
counties when many counties, such as Lane County, are
made up of federal lands that don’t generate taxes. Counties
used to get timber money, but with logging down, that
income has been reduced. Congressional bills such as Secure
Rural Schools have filled in the gaps, but that funding has
expired, leaving Lane County faced with a multi-million
dollar shortfall.
DeFazio’s plan would tentatively divide about 2.6
million acres of Oregon’s federal BLM land between
conservation and logging. Each of the two sections would
be managed by a board of trustees, creating a conservation
trust and a timber trust.
Chandra LeGue of Oregon Wild says the group believes
the plan “is bad for the environment and won’t even raise the
money counties want.” Oregon Wild and six other
conservation groups are proposing a plan of their own.
DeFazio says of the group’s criticism: “Oregon Wild and
their allies continue to defend the status quo at the expense
of our forests and rural communities.”
The congressman says the plan he envisions is a bipartisan,
sustainable timber management plan that includes “historic
conservation victories.” DeFazio says, “For the first time old-
BY PAUL NEEVEL
STACEY BLACK
AND TOÑA AGUILAR
In the spring of 2011, Eugene School District 4J
announced that it would no longer serve lunches in its
four charter schools. It was a golden opportunity for
Stacey Black and Toña Aguilar, parents at the Waldorf-
inspired Village School and members of the Eugene
Coalition for Better School Lunches, a group that
lobbies for changes to mass-produced meals. “My
husband said, ‘Now’s your chance,’” Black reports. “I
asked Toña if she’d like to write up a proposal. We had
the summer to plan.” The pair studied national school
lunch requirements, made lists of kitchen supplies they
would need, and started a “can you help” campaign
around town. When the Village School opened last fall,
they were ready with the Village Kitchen, featuring a
menu based on local organic foods and prepared fresh
daily. “I’ve always loved to cook,” says Aguilar, who
worked as a chef while in school at UO and started a
catering business. The two moms share one full-time
position as school lunch ladies and rely on a small
army of volunteers to help get things done. They serve
double the number of lunches as last year, and make
enough money for the school to hire a kitchen
assistant. “We’re having so much fun,” says Black,
“and, hopefully, turning some heads in the district.”
6 FEBRUARY 2, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
• Eugene has not applied to the UO’s Sustainable
City Year Program (SCYP) for the second year in
a row. Our cover story this week examines this
program and the city’s decision. But bigger issues
are exposed here. Is Eugene really taking
advantage of all the remarkable brainpower and
expertise available on campus? We know of
dozens of positive collaborations, but should there
not be hundreds? And where is Eugene in its
pursuit of sustainability? We’ve made big
progress, but not nearly enough. City staff is still
leaning toward more sprawl onto our shrinking
farmland, parts of our city are still polluted and
underdeveloped, bike and pedestrian
transportation is still a relatively low priority, we
have not integrated nature into our urban core.
The Emerald Canal proposal has been shelved. We
are not prepared for a big earthquake. Mass
transit with the West Eugene EmX is hitting
resistance. It’s a long list.
So yes, we can brag about our
accomplishments, but we also need to take
advantage of every opportunity to make our city
greener, stronger, more resilient. As for the
$250,000 cost of participating in the SCYP, it’s
worth noting that the city might have spent more
than that defending itself (and losing) in the Josh
Schlossberg civil rights lawsuit. Could that money
have been spent more wisely?
• Phone surveys are common in election years,
and a recent Lindholm survey (nearly always
funded by conservatives) appears to be looking
for vulnerabilities in Mayor Kitty Piercy’s
re-election campaign, along with seeing how
popular or unpopular city councilors are with
voters. Such polling helps candidates and potential
candidates identify strengths and weaknesses in
their opponents. But the questions themselves
provide a preview of who might be running and
what their campaign focus might be.
Most of the questions in the poll had to do
with Occupy Eugene and how it was handled by
the mayor and councilors, so don’t be surprised if
Occupy becomes a major issue for conservatives
seeking city office. Cynics among us figure the
Occupy issue will not focus on economic justice or
how to shelter our homeless residents, but rather
on bashing the mayor and council for spending
money on “anarchists and troublemakers.”
The poll also tested the viability of Piercy’s
potential opponents: Pat Farr, Jeff Miller, Mike
Clark, Chris Pryor, Greg Evans and Jim Torrey.
Piercy’s only declared opponent so far is Kevin
Prociw, who was not mentioned in the poll.
• Attention Super Bowl fans: Watch for former
Ducks Patrick Chung (starting safety for the
Patriots) and Spencer Paysinger (reserve
linebacker and special teams for the Giants) to
have a chilly reunion. They probably won’t be
getting together this week to swap stories about
how much fun they had studying together in
Eugene!
• Speaking of sports, we hear from UO student
Chelsea Schwartze that some revived effort is
going into forming a second UO women’s
Ultimate Frisbee team. Want to perfect your
hammer and corkscrew? Send an email to
maloney.erinm@gmail.com
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chas-
ing notes compiled by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately?
Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
LIGHTEN UP
Mitt and Newt are great names for guys who
are applying for a job hunting alligators.
BY R A FA E L A L DAV E
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM