HEMPSTOCK ORGANIZERS SUE SKOWHEGAN

SKOWHEGAN - Organizers of the annual Hempstock festival in Starks have
responded to a town lawsuit with a lawsuit of their own, claiming they have
been unfairly regulated and harassed.

The Maine Vocals and the group's president Donald K. Christen claim in the
legal action that the town passed its mass gathering ordinance solely to
force Hempstock out of town.

When that did not work, Somerset County and state law enforcement officials
tried to reduce attendance by setting up well-publicized alcohol detection
roadblocks on highways leading to the festival site, they said in a
countersuit filed in Skowhegan District Court.

That violated the organization's constitutional rights and cost it money,
the lawsuit stated.

The town filed suit against Christen and the Vocals earlier this month,
saying they failed to get permits for last August's Hempstock festival, an
annual rock music fest promoting marijuana legalization.

In their answer to that lawsuit, Christen and the Vocals restate the
long-standing argument that Hempstock is exempt from the ordinance because
the event predated enactment of the town law.

They also maintain that the ordinance is unconstitutional and "unreasonable
especially as applied in this particular case" and thus unenforceable.

They also argue that the town failed to comply with the requirements of its
own ordinance by not acting on the permit application within 35 days after
it was filed.

In their countersuit, Christen and the Vocals say the town passed the
ordinance in 1995 with the idea of pushing the festival out of town, and
amended it six years later to harass them or deny them the right to hold
the music fest in Starks.

The countersuit also claims the town failed to properly follow its own
ordinance by not acting promptly on the Vocals' application, and the
ordinance itself is flawed because it does not include a speedy appeals
process.

The Vocals and Christen also say that, having failed to prevent the 2001
festival, the town joined with state and county officials to reduce
attendance through "negative publicity" and setting up well- publicized
alcohol detection roadblocks on highways near the festival site at Harry
Brown's farm off State Route 43.

The Vocals and Christen are also objecting to the town's request for a
preliminary injunction prohibiting them from promoting future festivals in
the town.

They argue that the Vocals and Christen never caused the type of harm the
ordinance is trying to avoid, and that there will be no irreparable harm to
the town if the injunction is not issued.

They also want a court ruling that the Vocals and Christen only have to
abide by the state's mass gathering ordinance in the future. They are
seeking court costs, attorney fees and unspecified damages.