Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jul 2003
Source: Capital Times, The  (WI)
Copyright: 2003 The Capital Times
Contact:  http://www.captimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/73
Author:  Chuck Nowlen, The Capital Times
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Ben+Masel

COURT RULES FOR POT FEST

Masel May Seek Damages

With a Sauk County ordinance preventing the annual Weedstock pot festival
now at least temporarily up in smoke, organizer Ben Masel is considering
damage claims for lost revenue and his arrest at the aborted 2000 event.

Others among the 12 arrested in 2000 also might be seeking damages, Masel
said, after the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Thursday declared Sauk
County's "open air assembly" ordinance unconstitutional.

The court said the Sauk County ordinance put burdensome and unlawful
obstacles on citizens seeking a public permit to assemble and exercise their
rights to free speech.

Masel mentioned a minimum damage claim for himself of $87,500, which he said
would only cover lost 2000 revenue from about 2,500 Weedstock ticketholders
at $35 per ticket.

"Then there's also additional potential claims from attendees and the others
who were arrested," said Masel after learning of the decision. "Yeah, I'm
happy about it, but I haven't really had a chance to fully digest it yet."

Madison attorney Jeff Scott Olson, who represented Masel in appealing the
2002 decision of Columbia County Circuit Court Judge Daniel George to uphold
the Sauk County ordinance, said damage claims could add up to "a significant
amount."

"Absolutely," Olson said. "Ben Masel incurred a great deal of cost that he
anticipated recouping through ticket sales and so forth. He was also
arrested, jailed and subjected to criminal prosecution, as well as being
precluded from having three more festivals in Sauk County since 2000."

Masel said he faced $190,000 in fines associated with the 2000 festival if
the county's ordinance had been upheld.

In the wake of past legal problems in Wisconsin, this year's Weedstock
festival will be held in Ophir, Ontario, north of the Michigan border, Aug.
20-23, but Thursday's court decision rekindled Masel's interest in returning
it to the Dairy State.

Sauk County officials had not decided Thursday what action to take after the
appeals court ruling, which struck down the ordinance based primarily on the
fact that it does not specify a time period by which permit applications
must be processed.

"We ... conclude that without a processing time for applicants, the entire
ordinance violates the First Amendment" rights of free speech and assembly,
wrote appellate Judge P.J. Vergeront.

Noting that such ordinances must be "narrowly tailored" to achieve a
"significant government interest" in limiting open-air festivals, the court
also declared invalid the measure's 60-day advance filing requirement; its
prohibition on "advertising, promoting and selling tickets before a license
is issued;" a required local zoning administrator's certification; and the
county's $100 application fee.

The court also noted that the purpose of Weedstock, begun in 1992, is to
"disseminate information about the beneficial properties of hemp and to
demonstrate support for the legalization of both hemp and marijuana."

Sauk County Corporation Counsel Wendy Bromley said Thursday's ruling will be
dissected by the private firm that handled the county's appeals court case
before a decision is made on future action.

"At this point, I think there's still a determination to be made whether the
decision will be appealed to the (state) Supreme Court," Bromley said.

The matter has also been referred to "appropriate county committees" for a
decision on whether to draft another ordinance that might address the
appeals court's objections, Bromley said.

Olson, however, insisted that ordinance provisions untouched by the appeals
court still leave too much "subjectivity and discretion" in the hands of
local officials seeking to silence organized dissent.

"We're afraid it could still be used to make life more difficult for
unpopular speakers," Olson said of a revamped ordinance. "I'm happy about
the decision, but I'm not as happy as I'd dreamed I might be."
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