Two weeks ago, on Friday morning, December 21, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit at the federal courthouse here charging Police Chief Buz Dillon with violating the First Amendment (freedom of speech and freedom of the press), Fourth Amendment (freedom from unreasonable seizure) and the Fourteenth Amendment (the right of equal protection). The action came after Dillon arrested Key West The Newspaper publisher Dennis Reeves Cooper last June. Cooper had published a series of articles critical of Dillon and his department.
To get the warrant, Dillon relied on a state gag order which had been declared unconstitutional 10 years ago. For that reason, State Attorney Mark Kohl refused to prosecute. The lawsuit also accuses Dillon of falsifying the sworn affidavit he submitted to get the warrant.
Shortly after the ACLU suit was filed, a federal process server went over to the police station to serve Dillon. She was told he was out to lunch— and, later in the afternoon, he had apparently disappeared. He was finally served this past Wednesday, January 2.
Former U.S. Attorney General and Florida gubernatorial candidate Janet Reno will be here Saturday to address a Democratic fund-raising event at the Wyndham Casa Marina Resort, 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. Reno will also attend a VIP reception at 1800 Atlantic Saturday evening, 6-7 p.m., to benefit her own campaign. Tickets are $250.
Info: George Maurer, chair of the Lower Keys & Key West Democratic Club, 294-6725. Also, see Maurer's column on page 10.