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Wrongful Arrest and Police Brutality

Jun 10, 2020

What do you do if you are a victim of a wrongful arrest and police brutality?

Section 1983 and malicious prosecution, wrongful arrest and police brutality

Wrongful Arrest

First, you must decide if you have been wrongfully arrested. Consulting an attorney is the first step.

Police often have to be decision makers. Based on quick judgment, they may make a split-second decision that is a bad decision. As a consequence, citizen’s lives may be have been permanently ruined. Enter the 1983 action…

A Brief Overview

Generally. a major hurdle in a case of wrongful arrest and police brutality lies in qualified immunity. Previously discussed here . Here, we will discuss a defense to all “1983” actions. These are actions filed with the federal court under U.S.C. Title 42 Section 1983. The purpose of this legislation is to provide relief for people who have been injured by government officials.

As history would have it, the king is sovereign, and all actions done by him and people in his employ received complete immunity. That is, until the population or other political families ousted them from their throne.

This is not a history lesson, but you may recall learning about the Magna Carta in middleschool or highschool. Local land owners created this document to curb King John’s excesses in 1215. It is widely considered to be the single-most important inspiration of the Western world in paving the way to not only landowner’s rights, but individual rights.

Consider the recent case Amador v. Vasquez files a Section 1983 claim.

This is a case involving a March 11, 2020 opinion in the Fifth Circuit involving a 2015 police encounter. After a continuing altercation with the police, the police shot and killed Mr. Flores. He posed no real danger. In fact, they probably could have considered him a nuisance. Although he acted, what many would call, “irrationally,” he lost his life and his family was bereaved. This case is a classic example of excessive force, and also a lesson about how the law treats sovereign immunity.

Consequently, the way things work in a case like this, the family or “next friend” files a cause of action. There are issues of law, and there are issues of fact. This is not indifferent from many civil, or criminal, cases. If one party can prove that there is no material issue of fact, the case will fail well short of your day in court…

What about qualified immunity?

Therefore, whatever political leanings you may have, a person’s life and livelihood are extremely important one way or the other. There are many positions, such as the one here , that advocate for the complete absolution of qualified immunity. As the law stands, right now, here in 2020, you will need to hire an attorney to protect your rights. Call Panter Law Firm, PLLC, 7736 Old Canton Road, Suite B, Madison, MS 39110

601-607-3156

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