Concert Promoter Awarded Damages
A federal jury has awarded $1.5 million to a promoter who said a concert he organized to foster racial harmony was illegally disrupted by sheriff’s deputies.
The U.S. District Court jurors found that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department violated the constitutional rights of Shawn Green of Chula Vista by searching people who attended the concert and disrupting the event, attorney Michael Marrinan said Wednesday.
“If you are a concert promoter, you have a 1st Amendment right to provide music, just as if you are a musician,” Marrinan said.
The jury unanimously voted to award the compensatory damages Monday after a three-week trial and two days of deliberations. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller will decide the amount of punitive damages at a later hearing.
Kevin Kennedy, a lawyer for San Diego County, said deputies did nothing wrong in searching vehicles driving to the outdoor 1997 concert or in patrolling the event near the rural community of Julian, 60 miles east of San Diego.
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