City of Bend v. Satcher/Peacekeepers

As part of the dismissal, the City of Bend has agreed to pay the Peacekeepers’ and Satcher’s attorney fees and costs. The motion, if accepted by the court, would bring an end to the City’s attempt to recover some $3,600 for the purported cost of fulfilling the defendant's public records request.

The Peacekeepers’ original request sought information about the Bend Police Department’s response to 2020 racial justice protests in the city. After receiving the City’s fee estimate, Satcher appealed to the Deschutes County District Attorney, who determined that the requested records were important to the public’s interest and ordered the City to waive all fees for producing them to Satcher and the Peacekeepers. While the City produced the records following the DA’s decision, it filed a lawsuit against Satcher to recover the fees.

Read the history of this case here, in our initial press release.

ACLU of Oregon, with cooperating attorneys Rian Peck and Alan Kessler, stepped in to defend Satcher from the suit. The Peacekeepers also joined the lawsuit and filed a counterclaim against the City seeking an order declaring the City’s fee estimate to be excessive and the City’s denial of the requested fee waiver unreasonable.