(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, reached a settlement with the Anaheim Police Department that prompted it to change its policy on public demonstrations to better protect peaceful protesters from violence.

Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit in May 2002 against the city of Anaheim, the city’s mayor and council members and the Anaheim Police Department and the police chief on behalf of members of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform (CCIR) who were attacked by counter-demonstrators during a rally on the steps of Anaheim City Hall.  The Dec. 8, 2001, rally was held to protest the Anaheim Police Department’s decision to accept Mexican-issued identification cards as proper ID for illegal immigrants.  The federal civil rights lawsuit alleged that Anaheim police officers stood by and refused to intervene as CCIR members were violently assailed by black-clad “anarchists.”

After pursuing the case in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Judicial Watch appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which ordered the parties to participate in a mediation program.  The appeal was dropped in late November after the Anaheim police agreed to adopt a new policy on protecting protesters.

In an October 15 memo to “All Personnel,” Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said that his department “not only recognizes the right of free speech and assembly but also will endeavor to protect people in the exercise of these rights.”  He detailed procedures officers should follow for planning for protests, rallies and demonstrations on public property. 

“We are satisfied that future protesters, no matter their cause or ideology, will be able to demonstrate free from the threat of violence,” said Sterling Norris, director of the Judicial Monitoring Project in San Marino, Calif. Mr. Norris is a former deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County.

“We certainly are pleased that, as a result of Judicial Watch’s lawsuit, the Anaheim police have committed to protecting citizens, including conservatives who are exercising their First Amendment rights to speak, peaceably assemble and petition their government,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.  “The California Coalition for Immigration Reform is to be applauded for not being cowed by acts of violence and for pursuing the cause of immigration enforcement. They have struck a blow for the First Amendment.”