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Augusta commissioners voted Thursday to pay Martha Burk's attorneys $120,000, effectively ending the case over the city's protest ordinance.
Associated Press
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Augusta settles in Burk suit
Web posted Friday, July 30, 2004
By Sylvia Cooper
| Staff Writer
Augusta commissioners voted Thursday to pay Martha Burk's attorneys $120,000, effectively ending the case over the city's protest ordinance.
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Ms. Burk sued the city in federal court on grounds that the ordinance that kept her from protesting near the main gate of Augusta National Golf Club during last year's Masters violated her constitutional rights.
Although U.S. District Judge Dudley Bowen Jr. disagreed, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in her favor. The panel said the ordinance improperly targeted only political protests and gave too much power to the sheriff and the city attorney.
The city then appealed to the full 11th Circuit Court, which refused to hear the case last month.
After a closed-door meeting and no public discussion, six commissioners voted for the negotiated fee settlement. Commissioners Bobby Hankerson and Andy Cheek were not present, and Commissioner Willie Mays abstained.
Ms. Burk, the chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations, had sought to stage a protest outside the Augusta National to draw attention to its all-male membership.
The city was ordered to pay $150,000 in legal fees, but its attorneys were able to negotiate them down, according to Attorney Stephen Shepard.
Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylvia.cooper@augustachronicle.com.
Costs of the lawsuit
TO CITY TAXPAYERS
:$53,000: Amount paid to Burnside, Wall, Daniel, Ellison and Revell law firm for drafting and then defending the lawsuit.$120,000: Amount to be paid for Martha Burk's legal fees.
Source: Jim Ellison, attorney
--From the Friday, July 30, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle
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