Pubdate: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 Source: Medford Mail Tribune (OR) Copyright: 2003 The Mail Tribune Contact: http://www.mailtribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/642 Author: Sarah Lemon, Mail Tribune JURY SIDES WITH BARTER FAIR County officials discriminated against organizers of a counter-culture festival formerly held in Ruch, a federal jury decided Wednesday. The jury of five men and three women sided with promoters of the Southern Oregon Barter Fair in their lawsuit against Jackson County. Jurors awarded $60,000 in damages while agreeing that county commissioners and retired Sheriff Robert Kennedy acted in an "arbitrary and discriminatory" manner in dealing with Barter Fair representatives. Those actions "chilled" promoters' rights, jurors said. "This is a big success for civil rights," said Brian Michaels, attorney for the Barter Fair. "It means that people of all lifestyles have the right to First Amendment rights." The decision affirmed organizer Alan Venet's faith in the American judicial system, he said. "It's worth standing up for your rights. If you don't use it, you lose it." The county may file an appeal in the case, but if the $60,000 judgement stands, it would be paid out of the county's general fund, said Mike Jewett, county counsel. Jurors awarded $35,000 in economic damages and $25,000 in punitive damages, all of which would be paid by the county. Jurors, who deliberated for more than 10 hours, declined to discuss their verdict. The Barter Fair's lawsuit - pending since 1996 - alleged that excessive fees, unreasonable delays and an invasion of sheriff's deputies contributed to the annual event's demise. After attendance dropped dramatically in 1996 - the last year of the fair - organizers were left with $25,000 in debts, they said. Their court victory will allow Barter Fair organizers to pay off debts with several thousand dollars left over to put on another event, Venet said. However, the next event - held the second weekend in October - likely won't take place until 2004, provided that the fair finds a suitable site, he said. In addition to asking for $50,000 in economic damages, the Barter Fair sought $100,000 in punitive damages against each of the four defendants - Kennedy, county commissioners Jack Walker, Sue Kupillas and former Commissioner Ric Holt. However, the court ruled that jurors could only award punitive damages against Kennedy. "We don't have the ability to charge him (Kennedy) with a crime, and evidently, these eight citizens felt he deserved to be punished," Michaels said. Kennedy testified that in 1996 he assigned nearly 100 deputies to work the three-day Barter Fair, located on a 140-acre farm off Upper Applegate Road. Corrections deputies stood by with vans from Jackson and Josephine counties to transport fairgoers in the event of "mass arrests," he said. An incident command post was set up at nearby Cantrall-Buckley Park. Three deputies were left on duty in other parts of the county during the Barter Fair weekend, according to court exhibits. Laid out in an 18-page document, the law enforcement strategy for the 1996 Barter Fair cost the county $90,000. Ten arrests were made over the fair's three days. Attendance at the Barter Fair in 1996 was about half that of 1995, organizers said. Kennedy said his plans were in response to neighbors' complaints about noise, litter, vandalism, traffic jams, drug use and sex during previous years' fairs. However, Kennedy urged commissioners to reject the Barter Fair's permit to hold a mass gathering because he believed the event served no purpose. Citing the advice of the county counsel, commissioners tried to impose an $18,000 permit fee for the 1996 event although state law only allowed them to charge as much as $5,000. After months of waiting for the county to schedule public hearings, the Barter Fair received their permit in 1996 after U.S. District Magistrate John P. Cooney struck down the $18,000 fee. Cooney also presided over the trial, which ran for six days in Medford's U.S. District Court.