This would really shock a lot of people in my FB feed if they ever learned about it.

Which, of course, they won't. https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1286786447568072704

Despite this admission, the Oregon AG's "theory of the case" is that (I kid you not) that Oregon citizens are more likely to be kidnapped by people dressing up like feds and being afraid to resist lest the person arresting them is actually a fed.

The mind boggles.

"At oral argument, when asked what evidence it could present to show the likelihood of future harm, the state pointed to the fact that Defendants have defended against this lawsuit."

Tip for non-lawyers: This is an argument a person with absolutely nothing else makes.

I just can't let go of this one. It is so abysmally, horribly, unbelievable terrible.

It's also, it is worth noting, diametrically opposed to the entire basis of our adversarial system of justice.

A 1L wouldn't make an argument like this in a law school mock trial.

"The State could try to show, for example, that all of Defendants’ seizures are illegal, or that they are under orders to fail to identify themselves or to make random arrests without probable cause. The state has shown none of this....."

"It has presented no evidence of any official orders or policies and has presented no evidence that these allegedly illegal seizures are a
widespread practice. Despite the broad language in the complaint, Oregon has shown—at most—that this type of seizure has happened twice."

Conclusion: #yegods

Thus, per the person Oregonians elected to be their Attorney General, the federal government should be enjoined from arresting people attempting to set fire to federal buildings because roving bands of "counter-protest kidnappers" might appear dressed in fatigues.

The judge is understandably unimpressed w/ the idea that people who will commit the crimes of kidnapping & impersonating federal officers will "blanch at the thought of identifying themselves as police." But apparently Oregon elected an AG who thinks this is a rational argument.

"Apparently, the word 'police' and other official insignia on uniforms has not quelled this fear among the public, and it is highly questionable whether the requested relief would do so either."

The judge is too kind. This entire argument is insane.