New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed a bill Wednesday ending qualified immunity for all government workers, including police. New Mexico is the first state to end qualified immunity for all public employees.
April 8, 2021
The 96-page lawsuit names Mayor Lovely Warren and former Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, who was fired in the fallout from Prude’s death. Other defendants include the city of Rochester, Monroe County and various unidentified police officers, sheriff’s deputies and New York state troopers.
April 7, 2021
Former Williamson County sheriff's Deputies J.J. Johnson and Zach Camden are charged with manslaughter after they chased Javier Ambler II, 40, in a 2019 pursuit that started because he failed to dim his headlights, and then used Tasers on him repeatedly while he gasped that he could not breathe and had congestive heart failure. Ambler died minutes later.
March 31, 2021
Under the final legislation, New Yorkers will be allowed to possess 3 ounces of marijuana and grow up to three mature pot plants at home, with a limit of six per household.
March 31, 2021
The qualified immunity doctrine is used in state and federal court, so it's unclear how a city can revoke the potential protection it provides to officers.
March 30, 2021
The lawsuit was filed Thursday by civil rights attorney Ben Crump in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
March 26, 2021
The lower courts ruled that police could enter the home and under the so-called the community care-taking exception to the Constitution's warrant requirement. Representing Edward Caniglia, lawyer Shay Dvoretzky said that an exception like that would "eviscerate" the warrant protections of the Fourth Amendment.
March 25, 2021
The court determined that in order to sue for excessive force under the Fourth Amendment, it is not necessary for a plaintiff to have been physically seized by law enforcement.
March 25, 2021
Some justices expressed concern about public safety if tribal officers lacked power to stop and detain non-Native Americans. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wondered what would happen if an officer encountered a known serial killer.
March 23, 2021
The Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act aims to increase Justice Department oversight of coronavirus-related hate crimes, provide support for state and local law enforcement agencies, and make hate crime information more accessible to Asian American communities.
March 19, 2021
On other motions Friday, Judge Peter Cahill ruled that only portions of the events surrounding Floyd's drug arrest in Minneapolis in May 2019 are admissible in this trial, namely any evidence or testimony that directly relates to his medical condition.
March 19, 2021
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill removed the two who said under his questioning they had heard about a federal lawsuit settlement reached last week and admitted it affected their ability to presume Chauvin is innocent during the course of the trial.
March 17, 2021
Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s defense attorney, questioned the “suspicious timing” of the settlement and argued it was “highly prejudicial” against his client. He called on Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter A. Cahill to “at least” call back the jurors already seated in the case to question them to see if they had read the news of the settlement and if they could continue to be impartial in the case.
March 15, 2021
Under the legislation, anyone who "accosts, insults, taunts, or challenges a law enforcement officer with offensive or derisive words, or by gestures or other physical contact, that would have a direct tendency to provoke a violent response" would be guilty of a misdemeanor and face up to 90 days in jail and fines.
March 12, 2021
“I think it’s a potential disaster for (former officer Derek) Chauvin,” said Mary Moriarty, former chief Hennepin County public defender. She said if she were Chauvin’s attorney, she would request a mistrial.
March 12, 2021