Reforming Police

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Arizona
Oct 2023
Fund for Empowerment v. Phoenix, City of

Reforming Police

Racial Justice

Fund for Empowerment v. Phoenix, City of

Fund for Empowerment is a challenge to the City of Phoenix’s practice of conducting sweeps of encampments without notice, issuing citations to unsheltered people for camping and sleeping on public property when they have no place else to go, and confiscating and destroying their property without notice or process.
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All Cases

35 Reforming Police Cases

Lombardo v. City of Saint Louis, 20–391
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021

Reforming Police

Lombardo v. City of Saint Louis, 20–391

Whether a reasonable jury could find that police officers violate the Constitution’s prohibition on excessive force when they kill a shackled and handcuffed arrestee inside of a jail cell by holding him face-down on the ground and pressing into his back until he suffocated, also known as compression asphyxiation.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Lombardo v. City of Saint Louis, 20–391

Reforming Police

Lombardo v. City of Saint Louis, 20–391

Whether a reasonable jury could find that police officers violate the Constitution’s prohibition on excessive force when they kill a shackled and handcuffed arrestee inside of a jail cell by holding him face-down on the ground and pressing into his back until he suffocated, also known as compression asphyxiation.
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Oliva v. Nivar
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021

Reforming Police

Oliva v. Nivar

Whether individuals can challenge the conduct of federal officials engaged in standard law enforcement operations as unconstitutional under Bivens or whether such claims present a new context unless they involve narcotics officers “manacling the plaintiff in front of his family in his home and stripsearching him in violation of the Fourth Amendment,” as the Fifth Circuit held.
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Oliva V. Nivar. Explore Case.
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2021
Oliva v. Nivar

Reforming Police

Oliva v. Nivar

Whether individuals can challenge the conduct of federal officials engaged in standard law enforcement operations as unconstitutional under Bivens or whether such claims present a new context unless they involve narcotics officers “manacling the plaintiff in front of his family in his home and stripsearching him in violation of the Fourth Amendment,” as the Fifth Circuit held.
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J.W. v. Paley
Court Case
Aug 2021

Reforming Police

+2 Ƶ

J.W. v. Paley

It is critical that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals clarify that the Fourth Amendment applies to the use of force against schoolchildren. J.W. v. Paley involves Fourteenth and Fourth Amendment claims stemming from a police officer tasing a high school student with disabilities who was attempting to exit the school building to calm down following an incident with another student. The district court dismissed the Fourteenth Amendment claim based on precedent, but allowed the Fourth Amendment claim to proceed, denying qualified immunity to the officer. The Fifth Circuit, however, reversed the lower court’s decision regarding the Fourth Amendment claim, ultimately leaving schoolchildren without any constitutional protection from excessive force by law enforcement in the Fifth Circuit.
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J.w. V. Paley. Explore Case.
Court Case
Aug 2021
J.W. v. Paley

Reforming Police

+2 Ƶ

J.W. v. Paley

It is critical that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals clarify that the Fourth Amendment applies to the use of force against schoolchildren. J.W. v. Paley involves Fourteenth and Fourth Amendment claims stemming from a police officer tasing a high school student with disabilities who was attempting to exit the school building to calm down following an incident with another student. The district court dismissed the Fourteenth Amendment claim based on precedent, but allowed the Fourth Amendment claim to proceed, denying qualified immunity to the officer. The Fifth Circuit, however, reversed the lower court’s decision regarding the Fourth Amendment claim, ultimately leaving schoolchildren without any constitutional protection from excessive force by law enforcement in the Fifth Circuit.
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Baxter v. Bracey
U.S. Supreme Court
Jul 2020

Reforming Police

Baxter v. Bracey

In early 2014, Alexander Baxter was bitten by a police dog that was unleashed on him while he was sitting with his hands in the air, having surrendered to police. He sued for excessive force, but in late 2018, a federal appeals court ruled that his claim should be thrown out under the doctrine of “qualified immunity.”
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Baxter V. Bracey. Explore Case.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jul 2020
Baxter v. Bracey

Reforming Police

Baxter v. Bracey

In early 2014, Alexander Baxter was bitten by a police dog that was unleashed on him while he was sitting with his hands in the air, having surrendered to police. He sued for excessive force, but in late 2018, a federal appeals court ruled that his claim should be thrown out under the doctrine of “qualified immunity.”
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Weber v Grand Rapids
Michigan
Feb 2020

Reforming Police

Criminal Law Reform

Hightower v. City of Grand Rapids

The Ƶ of Michigan and the ACLU's Criminal Law Reform Project filed a federal lawsuit in May of 2013, on behalf of Plaintiffs Gilbert Weber and Tyrone Hightower, challenging the Grand Rapids Police Department's longstanding practice of arresting innocent people for criminal trespass on commercial property without warning and without the business owner's knowledge. Even where those arrested are patronizing the business in question, police justify these illegal arrests by pointing to form letters signed by business owners months or years prior to the arrest agreeing to prosecute trespassers.
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Hightower V. City Of Grand Rapids. Explore Case.
Michigan
Feb 2020
Weber v Grand Rapids

Reforming Police

Criminal Law Reform

Hightower v. City of Grand Rapids

The Ƶ of Michigan and the ACLU's Criminal Law Reform Project filed a federal lawsuit in May of 2013, on behalf of Plaintiffs Gilbert Weber and Tyrone Hightower, challenging the Grand Rapids Police Department's longstanding practice of arresting innocent people for criminal trespass on commercial property without warning and without the business owner's knowledge. Even where those arrested are patronizing the business in question, police justify these illegal arrests by pointing to form letters signed by business owners months or years prior to the arrest agreeing to prosecute trespassers.
Hightower V. City Of Grand Rapids. Explore Case.
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