Ferguson Lawsuits May Rage for Years

The first matter will be the potential criminal and civil actions related to Brown’s death. But legal experts also predict possible litigation stemming from the actions taken by police in Ferguson, lawsuits brought by store owners against the police related to looting, and even the imposition of a curfew.

It’s been nine days since Michael Brown was shot in Ferguson, Mo., but civil rights and civil liberties legal advocates say the legal fallout from the shooting and its tumultuous aftermath are just beginning.

“There will be lawsuits up the kazoo,” Barbara Arnwine, the longtime president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told Buzzfeed. “I think you’re going to see ripple after ripple of legal matters here in response to this outrageous situation.”

The first matter will be the potential criminal and civil actions related to Brown’s death. But legal experts also predict possible litigation stemming from the actions taken by police in Ferguson, lawsuits brought by store owners against the police related to looting, and even the imposition of a curfew.

Arnwine said the issues aren’t going to be resolved anytime soon, either. “I think that we will see these issues playing out over time,” she said. “I just don’t expect there to be a situation where everybody packs up their suitcases and goes home, and the residents say all is forgiven and all is done. No way.”

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