Civil Rights

James A Burk, Jr., et al vs. City of Columbus, et al Case Background On December 4, 2020, Plaintiff James A. Burk, Jr. filed a police brutality and civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court, Ohio Southern (Case number: 2:20cv6256). This case was assigned to Judge James L. Graham and referred to Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura. Burk alleged that Columbus Police Officers Joseph Fihe and Kevin Winchell used excessive force against him, including tasing and unlawfully detaining him, despite his identification as a federal agent. Cause On July 7, 2020, ATF Special Agent James A. Burk, Jr. arrived at a residence in Dublin, Ohio, to retrieve an unlawfully possessed firearm. This was part of a routine National Instant C

Patricia Dawn Welch Day vs. Derek Chauvin Case Background On April 21, 2024, Plaintiff Patricia Dawn Welch Day filed a civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court, Minnesota (Case Number: 0:24cv1862). This case, involving allegations of excessive force, was assigned to Judge John R. Tunheim and referred to Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung. Cause On January 17, 2020, Plaintiff Patricia Dawn Welch Day faced a harrowing encounter with Defendants Derek Chauvin and Ellen Jensen, both officers with the Minneapolis Police Department. The incident began after a concerned resident called 911 to report a minivan stuck in a snowbank near 41st Avenue South in Minneapolis. The caller mentioned that an intoxicated woman sat inside

Sargent v. Department of State et al. Case Background On March 6, 2019, Plaintiff Tracy S. Sargent ("Sargent" or "Plaintiff") filed this civil rights lawsuit against SOC LLC ("SOC" or "Defendant"). She alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000(e), et seq. ("Title VII"). Specifically, she claimed discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment. Sargent also brought a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress under District of Columbia common law. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, District of Columbia (Washington, DC). Judge Carl J. Nichols presided over this employment discrimination case. [Case Number: 1:19cv620] Cause

Larry Jones vs. County Of Los Angeles et al Case Background On February 21, 2024, Plaintiff Larry Jones filed a civil rights violation lawsuit in the California Central District Court,

Pratt et al vs. City Of Toledo et al Case Background On June 4, 2022, Plaintiff Saray Pratt and others filed a civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court, Ohio Northern (Case number: 3:21cv1111). The lawsuit sought justice for the violations of their constitutional rights, including allegations of police brutality and excessive force during the May 2020 protest. Judge James G. Carr presided over this case. Cause On May 30, 2020, hundreds of protesters peacefully gathered in Toledo, Ohio, to stand against police brutality and racial injustice following the murder of George Floyd. This demonstration was part of a global movement spanning 2,000 cities across 60 countries. Protesters assembled near the Toledo Police Safe

Lorenzo Clark vs. Memphis Animal Services, et al Case Background On September 22, 2022, Plaintiff Lorenzo Clark filed a Fourth Amendment violation lawsuit for unlawful search and seizure in the United States District Court, Tennessee Western (Case number: 2:22cv2641). This case was assigned to Judge John Thomas Fowlkes, Jr. and referred to Magistrate Judge Annie T. Christoff Cause On September 24, 2021, Lorenzo Clark, the plaintiff, experienced a clear violation of his Fourth Amendment rights when Memphis Animal Services (MAS) and the Memphis Police Department (MPD) unlawfully entered his enclosed backyard without a warrant. This intrusion occurred under the false pretense of conducting an animal welfare check. With support from MPD, MAS employees unlawfully accessed Clark's property, se

Vivian Geraghty vs. Jackson Local School District Board Of Education et al Case Background On December 12, 2022, Plaintiff Vivian Geraghty filed a civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division (Case number: 5:22cv2237). Judge Pamela A. Barker presided over this case, which centers around religious freedom and the use of preferred pronouns. Geraghty alleges that the Jackson Local School District violated her constitutional rights by compelling her to use students' preferred pronouns, contrary to her religious beliefs. Cause Vivian Geraghty, an experienced English teacher at Jackson Memorial Middle School in Canton, Ohio, faced a career-defining conflict in August 2022. The Jac

Johnny Moreno vs. Vanessa Doe et al Case Background On August 21, 2023, Plaintiff Johnny Moreno filed a Civil Rights violation lawsuit in the United States District Court, California Central, Western Division- Los Angeles(Case number: 2:23cv7084). This case was assigned to Judge Stephen V. Wilson and referred to Magistrate Judge Margo A. Rocconi Cause On August 18, 2022, Johnny Moreno, a 39-year-old resident of Los Angeles County, was taken into custody at the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department station at 150 N. Hudson Ave. Despite informing deputies about his spinal cord injury (L1 fracture) and his need for a wheelchair under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Moreno was told by Doe Defendants that no wheelchair was avail

Kirstin Blaise Lobato V. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department et al Case Background On July 23, 2019, Plaintiff Kirstin Blaise Lobato filed a Civil rights lawsuit in the District Court of Nevada, Las Vegas Division(Case number: 2:19cv1273). This case was assigned to Judge Richard F. Boulware, II and referred to Magistrate Judge Elayna J. Youchah Cause In May 2001, Kirstin Blaise Lobato, a young woman living in Las Vegas, Nevada, survived an attempted sexual assault. She successfully defended herself by cutting her attacker with a knife before escaping. Later that summer, on July 8, 2001, a man named Duran Bailey was brutally murdered in Las Vegas. The murder scene revealed a horrifyingly violent crime, with Bailey’s body showin

Derrick Jerome Bates v. Tyler Richardson et al Case Background On March 21, 2018, Derrick Jerome Bates filed a false arrest lawsuit against police officers Tyler Richardson, Heidi Northland, Wayne Jerman, John Does 1 through 3, Jane Does 1 through 3, and the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He alleged that his constitutional rights had been violated and he had been falsely arrested. The civil rights lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, Iowa Northern (Cedar Rapids). The case was assigned to Chief Judge CJ Williams and referred to Magistrate Judge Mark A Roberts. [Case number: 1:18cv30] Cause

Williams vs. O’Gorman et al. Case Background On November 16, 2020, Plaintiff Wonder Williams filed a Solitary Confinement lawsuit in the United States District Court, Northern District of New York(Case number: 9:20cv1417). Judge Chief Judge Brenda K. Sannes and Magistrate Judge Therese Wiley Dancks presided over the case. Cause Wonder Williams endured nearly nine years of solitary confinement in New York state prisons from 2010 to 2019. Prison officials placed the 38-year-old former security worker in administrative segregation immediately upon his entry into DOCCS custody at age 27. This decision stemmed from his alleged involvement in a murder-for-hire plot while at Rikers Island. During his confinement, authorities transferred Williams between Auburn, Five Points, and Mid-State Correctional F

Johnson V. County Of Santa Clara Et Al Case Background On October 12, 2018, Andrew Johnson, an Army veteran, filed a civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, after Santa Clara County mi