Beyond JonBenét

The Camera isn't the only media outlet to report on these assertions -- indeed, Westword did so extensively in a profile of Boulder attorney Lee Hill ("The Accidental Jurist," March 30). But the Camera was first and loudest, making it the likeliest target of a lawsuit. (Because of a potential conflict of interest arising from Hunter's comments, Boulder Assistant District Attorney Bill Wise asked Chief District Judge Roxanne Bailin to assign the matter to another district attorney in the state for possible prosecution; at press time, she had not yet acted.) Whereas this may not prove injurious to the Camera in the long run given the many questions surrounding criminal libel statutes as a whole (Nevada's was ruled unconstitutional in 1998, and Utah's is presently under fire), it's certainly embarrassing. Like so many things in this case.

Boulder, take three: The news is better for reporter Brian Hansen, who was arrested for failing to leave a federal closure area during a 1999 protest in Vail he was covering for the Daily ("A Failure to Communicate," July 13). On August 30, federal magistrate James Robb signed a motion to dismiss the charges against him; the motion had been filed the week before by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Wallace. That means that Hansen is now officially off the hook.

For Hansen, who recently left the Daily to become assistant bureau chief for the Washington D.C.-based Environment News Service, this ruling comes as a significant relief. Earlier in August, he'd been offered a "diversion contract" that would have stricken a conviction from his record if he behaved himself during a six-month probationary period, but he turned it down because he would have had to admit to committing an offense. Now he feels his stubbornness has paid off: "I'm very happy and relieved that the federal government has finally seen the light," he says. But, he adds, "I remain outraged that the government attempted to criminalize me for simply doing my job as a member of the press, and I'm strongly considering filing a civil-rights lawsuit against U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland, Assistant U.S. Attorney Wallace and the U.S. Department of Justice."

Hansen reserves many of his choicest barbs for Strickland, whose name appeared on the aforementioned diversion contract even though he'd informally recused himself from the case because he'd represented Vail as a private attorney. U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Jeff Dorschner defends Strickland, calling the mention a "pro forma" matter that in no way contradicted a recusal done out of "an abundance of caution" and concern for Hansen's rights. Dorschner also refutes Hansen's suggestion that new Forest Service policies relating to the possible arrest of media members covering news on public land were written in response to his arrest; he acknowledges some parallels but says the regulations have been in the works for several years and are "consistent with the previously existing policies of other federal law-enforcement agencies." Finally, Dorschner pours cold water on the implication that higher-ups in Washington ordered Wallace to cut Hansen loose before more bad publicity was generated; he calls it "a local decision."

Be that as it may, the motion to dismiss is certainly written as narrowly as possible. It states: "While the fact alone that Defendant was acting in his journalistic capacity is not a defense to the original charge, upon a further assessment of all facts and circumstances, the Government has determined as a matter of policy that it is not in the best interests of justice to proceed."

That's far from the admission of error Hansen would like to have gotten -- but he hasn't given up hope of ultimately receiving one. After acknowledging the support he garnered from the Society of Professional Journalists, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and other journalism groups, he says, "I think I'll have no shortage of attorneys knocking on my door eager to take this on."

Boulder, take four: Following a column that touched upon the dizzying turnover rate at Boulder's KWAB-AM ("Radio for [Lots of] Change," May 25), Los Angeles-based personality Bob Harris, the station's morning man, came out swinging: He wrote a letter to the editor longer than many of the articles we publish -- and as regular readers know, that's mighty tough to do. But he had radically less to say about his own resignation, which took effect after his August 25 show: "I have no comment on the situation other than the folks at KWAB and I remain good friends, and I still have a lot of respect for what the station is trying to accomplish and the people who are trying to accomplish it," he says. KWAB general manager Chuck Lontine's take on his departure is similar: "Bob is a tremendous, tremendous talent, and we'll miss him very much."