A federal judge denied an effort by Oregon’s attorney general seeking to prevent federal law enforcement agents from making arrests amid violent rioting in Portland. …
A federal judge denied an effort by Oregon’s attorney general seeking to prevent federal law enforcement agents from making arrests amid violent rioting in Portland. Oregon’s attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, filed a lawsuit against several federal agencies last week alleging that their officers have engaged in policing tactics that have violated the constitutional rights of residents in the state. In particular, she accused the officers of allegedly detaining protesters on the streets of Portland and placing them in unmarked vehicles without probable cause. Rosenblum asked the court for a temporary restraining order to block the officers from using such tactics, to prohibit arrests that lack probable cause, and to order the agents to identify themselves and their agency before arresting an individual. U. S. District Judge Michael Mosman rejected the request on Friday, saying in his 14-page ruling (pdf) that the state lacked the ability to bring a case on behalf of the protesters, also known as standing, partly because Rosenblum failed to show that the interest of the state had been harmed. “In the first place, although it involves allegations of harm done to protesters by law enforcement, no protester is a plaintiff here,” Mosman wrote in his ruling. “In the second place, it is not seeking redress for any harm that has been done to protesters.
