Brizill Gets Her Day in A Distant Court

D orothy Brizill, D.C. government watchdog, helped defeat the slots initiative in the District, but her fight to defend herself continues.

Last week, Brizill faced another round in the defamation suit filed by slots promoter John K. Baldwin. Although Brizill did not attend the hearing before the three-judge panel of the Guam Supreme Court, she was represented by Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union for the Washington area. She also hired a lawyer from the Guam bar to help represent her.

Experts said the court could take six months to render a verdict.

As one who rarely appears shaken by public discourse, Brizill said before the hearing that she was "extremely nervous, especially since I wasn't able to go." She has never met Baldwin and said she thinks the lawsuit is an effort to intimidate her and others who might oppose him.

"It is an attempt to break me financially and punish me for my efforts in the District regarding Mr. Baldwin's slots initiative. It's also an attempt to intimidate anyone who would speak out against his slots initiative in the future," Brizill said.

In 2004 and 2006, Brizill led the challenge to defeat Baldwin's slots initiative, which would have legalized slot machine gambling in the District.

The 2004 effort also would have given a monopoly for a 3,500-machine casino on New York Avenue NE. Baldwin and the other promoters would have owned the casino.

The initiative petitions in 2004 were rejected by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics because they were filed with forged and fraudulent signatures and violated the city's election law. The D.C. Court of Appeals also rejected the petitions.

Two years later, another initiative to place a slots casino on Martin Luther King Avenue SE was also rejected after residents challenged it.

At the same time, Baldwin was trying to get a similar initiative approved in Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean. Residents there contacted Brizill, who was interviewed on the radio about her successful challenge in the District. She also referred them to newspaper articles about the failed initiative.

Baldwin then filed a defamation lawsuit against Brizill and Jackie Marati, an anti-slots leader in Guam, where he moved his business from the U.S. Virgin Islands. The fact that the lawsuit is also filed against 20 John Does allows the names of other opponents to be substituted.

In July, Guam's Superior Court sided with Brizill, stating that she was immune from the lawsuit under the Guam Participation in Government Act and that the complaints of defamation, interference with business advantage and invasion of privacy were unfounded. But Baldwin appealed to Guam's Supreme Court.

"It's had a very chilling effect," Brizill said. "This is litigation that two years from now we'll still be talking about."

Seeing Red for the Caps

The D.C. Council legislative meeting Tuesday kicked off with a ceremonial resolution for the Washington Capitals for a season that saw them win the Southeast Division title.

Owner Ted Leonsis and defenseman Shaone Morrisonn were on hand to accept the resolution from Jack Evans (D), who represents Ward 2, where the hockey team plays in Verizon Center.

Leonsis acknowledged fans in the room: "It's also great to see everyone rocking the red here." Except that the people present were union members wearing T-shirts with their union logo.

Morrisonn said nothing. His jaw was wired shut. That's what happens in hockey.