City to Pay $150 a Person in G.O.P. Arrest Settlement
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Published: April 16, 2005

A legal dispute over the city's arrest and detainment methods during the National Republican Convention has been settled, with the city agreeing to pay $231,200 in legal fees and a small fine, and lawyers for the protesters dropping their case against the city.

The settlement was hammered out over the past five days between lawyers from the city and legal groups representing the protesters, including the Legal Aid Society and the National Lawyers Guild. It gives 108 plaintiffs $16,200, or $150 each, with the remaining $215,000 going for legal fees.

The agreement appeared to score a win for the protesters, who had pressed their case for months, saying the city held people too long on purpose so that they would not embarrass city leaders during the convention. The city has strongly denied those charges, saying that the circumstances were unusual and that most cases were processed on time.