PROTESTS AGAINST SELLING FURS TO HIT FASHION VALLEY MALL

PHOTO shows attorney Brian Pease, the pro bono lawyer for the Animal Protection & Rescue League of Hillcrest. Pease will lead a peaceful demonstration tomorrow (Fri., 11/18/08) at 1 p.m. at the Fashion Valley mall, protesting the sale of animal furs to wealthy women.

San Diego -- 11/27/08 -- A brilliant, young Hillcrest attorney specializing in the rare field of animal rights won a stunning victory in court against owners of the high-end, Fashion Valley mall.

Attorney Bryan Pease served as the pro bono lawyer for the Animal Protection & Rescue League (APRL) in that litigation.

Tomorrow, Friday (11/28), as a direct result of that litigation, demonstrators protesting the sale of real furs will hit high-end stores at 1 p.m at the Fashion Valley mall.

Pease is an activist lawyer who is using the courts to insure that animals are treated properly, and that they are not killed simply to provide skins from their cadavers to produce fur coats for wealthy women.

His APRL in Hillcrest (236-8991) -- mostly working with a large, dedicated army of volunteers -- worked hard to pass Proposition-2 on the Nov. 4th ballot. It will ban violent and abusive treatment of animals and poultry on large-scale, commercial "farms," that are raised solely to sell to butchers to provide meat and eggs for our supermarkets, like Ralphs and Vons.

Many months ago, the APRL was peacefully demonstrating at the major, fashionable stores in Fashion Valley that sold animal furs. San Diego News Service covered the story.

An army of Fashion Valley security guared decended on that demonstration. It was tense for awhile.

The police were called.

SDPD Captain Sara Creighton, the commanding officer of the department's Western Division, responded with about a dozen offices including a police lieutenant and sergant.

In no uncertain terms, SDPD Capt. Creighton ordered the Fashion Valley security guareds, and particularly the mall's manager who was on-scene, to back off.

The APRL demonstrators, Capt. Creighton said loud and clear, had a constitutional right to be there. If any Fashion Valley security guard interferred, that guard would be arrested, the police captian added.

To make sure the security guards and mall manager complied, SDPD Capt. Creighton (now commanding the SDPD Eastern Division) stayed on-scene for about 1-1/2 hours until the APRL demonstrioin had concluded. As is printed on the side of every police squad car, Service and Protection. And that is precisely what SDPD Capt. Creighton provided the APRL demonstrators protesting the sale of animal furs.

Having been rebuffed by the police, who refused to turn the situation into a criminal case; the owners of Fashion Valley sued in civil court to stop the APRL demonstrations on their "special" private property.

Unfortunate for the Fashion Valley owners, APRL's attorney Pease knew the law, and knew that there was current case law that gave the APRL constitutional and statuatory rights to demonstrate on the so-called, private property of the Fashion Valley mall owners.

Pease won in the civil court in that lawsuit filed by the Fashion Valley mall owners.

The court ruled that the APRL has a legal right to demonstrate against the sale of skins from animal cadavers, to make furs for wealthy women.

Therefore, the APRL will hit several, major stores in Fashion Valley beginning at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Friday (11/28/08).

Those stores include Sak's, Bloomingdale's, and also the ares between Neiman's and Nordstrom's.

"We are (going) to send a message to stores like Neiman Marcu, Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom's that compassion is the fashion, not dead animal skins," said Pam Harris, a APRL volunteer organizer for the Friday 1 p.m. event.

Demonstrators will also line the sidealk along Friars Road in front of the Fashion Valley mall with banners and signs.

Some radical animal-rights groups in the past have hit the headlines by doing dangerous and destructive demonstrations.

The local APRL is quite different.

It's primary leaders are attorney Pease and Kath Rogers ([619] 236-9514, cell: [619] 886-9259).

The Hillcrest APRL is using the courts to expand animal rights under the law, and it is very successful at it. That's largely because of the brillian, young attorney, Pease. He's soft-spoken, but what he says and does carried a tough punch.

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