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So Much for That Restraining Order — Occupy L.A. Protester Is A No-Show in Court
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Yesterday a protester with Occupy L.A. told the city attorney's office that the group planned to seek a restraining order against police who might try to boot them off the City Hall lawn without warning.
But whoever that protester was ended up being no-show for the scheduled court appearance this morning, according to the Los Angeles Times. Several attorneys for the city showed up, as well as attorney Carol Sobel who has been advising Occupy L.A..
The slightly bizarre episode highlights a side-effect of having a "leaderless" movement. Sobel told the Times that she actually planned to argue that the protester seeking the injunction did not represent Occupy L.A. It's not clear what sort of legal disadvantage might come with a restraining order, but Sobel planned to argue that there was a group of de facto leaders who regularly met with the city — and that this so-far anonymous gal or guy was not part of it.
Assistant City Atty. Valerie Flores (perhaps with her tongue in cheek) asked, "How do we know if we're dealing with the right person?"
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