Berkeley activists can sue over raid

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 11/30/9 | Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

[SmithL]

BERKELEY -- Berkeley activists can sue federal agents for their role in a 2008 raid in which officers seized their computers and records in search of alleged threats by animal-rights advocates, a federal judge ruled Monday.

The activist group Long Haul Inc. can try to prove that the search of its Berkeley offices exceeded legal boundaries, that agents misled the judge who issued a search warrant, and that it was targeted because of its left-wing views, said U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.

An unaffiliated group with offices in the same Berkeley building, East Bay Prisoner Support, also won the right to sue on the same grounds.

Both groups have also sued the University of California, whose police were involved in the raid. The university did not join the federal government's attempt to dismiss the suit.

[SmithL]

White, Jeffrey Steven

Born 1945 in New York, NY

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Northern District of California
Nominated by George W. Bush on July 25, 2002, to a seat vacated by Charles E. Legge; Confirmed by the Senate on November 14, 2002, and received commission on November 15, 2002.

Education:
Queens College of City University of New York, B.A., 1967

State University of New York, J.D., 1970

Professional Career:
Attorney, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1970-1971
Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Maryland, 1971-1977
Attorney, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1977-1978
Private practice, San Francisco, California, 1978-2002

Race or Ethnicity: White

Gender: Male

[Falconspeed]

Wow. The Long Haul is a tiny place on Shattuck containing thirty or so losers who have small minds, tiny ideas and empty goals. They have been a thorn in the Berkeley Police Department's side for many years. Punks. They try to imitate the cycling "Critical Mass" of San Francisco and end up with 20 or so cyclists who go in different directions and run stop various stop-lights around Berkeley. The police just roll their eyes with disgust.

[Smedley Darlington Butler]

It doesen’t matter. Why did they raid? If there was that much time between the affidavidat...