On April 17, 2006, Judge Kendall ruled that class certification has been granted on all the March 20th cases.

More than 800 people were detained and arrested after some 17,000 protesters marched on Chicago's famed Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago, in response to the formal launch of the 2003 War against Iraq.

The march expected to proceed from Lake Shore Drive down Michigan Avenue, until a massive show of police force blocked the progress of the protest at Michigan and Oak. Police then reacted with violence, physically beating many march participants, and arresting and detaining hundreds of protesters and passers-by.

Repeated annual attempts to complete the march down Michigan avenue on the anniversary of the war and the Lake Shore Drive protest succeeded in 2006, when more than 10,000 protesters marched in the Festival of Rights parade.

The lawyers on behalf of the March 20 detainees and arrestees are now discussing how to proceed.

A press conference after the announcement was held on April 17 at 11 am at the Fed. bldg. at 219 S. Dearborn.