Earle Injury Attorneys

06/26/2021

DOJ Attorneys Fighting for Justice in Georgia is the beginning of a long fight across this land. Republicans asked for it!!!

The legal challenge argues that limits on absentee ballots and other measures discriminate against Black voters.

05/26/2021

Operators for the cable co. divulged others’ wrongdoing after being arrested for Manslaughter. They said “decision was made...” which implies someone else made the decision to deactivate the emergency brake. You knew so you are also potentially responsible.

Italian officials have arrested three people on manslaughter charges over a fatal cable car accident in northern Italy Sunday which left 14 people dead.

03/01/2021

Those officers should be held accountable. There is no legitimate public policy justification not too. Because of this case, The State of California has already enacted new law to punish law enforcement for future violations like this. I’m hopeful that this Federal Judge will put some teeth into that law.

Vanessa Bryant called on the LA Sheriff’s Department to publicly name the deputies who shared unauthorized photos of Kobe's helicopter crash.

10/13/2020

In this part in our police brutality killings we look at the potential legal problems that prosecutions will face in each of the cases.  To start, we will look at

10/02/2020

In each lawsuit and criminal charge that goes to a trial, there is an appropriate venue that allows the defendant to have a fair trial so as to not violate

09/29/2020

The first step in reforming police behavior is to show that there is an issue that needs to be reformed. This part of the Series on Police Brutality Killings focuses

09/25/2020

When discussing the issues of the recent police brutality deaths in America, it is important to discuss the underlying facts of each case.  To begin, we examine the killing of

09/18/2020

This news is heartbreaking. RBG dies at 87.

06/17/2020

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/us/rayshard-brooks-atlanta-shooting-wednesday/index.html

The Atlanta Police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy's parking lot last week was charged with felony murder, and the other officer on scene was charged with aggravated assault, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced Wednesday.

06/17/2020

Check out this link regarding the soon to come announcement for the charges against the officers in the killing of Mr. Rayshard Brooks case. This will definitely be a pivotal decision in the judicial system to show where we were, where we are, and what our future holds.

Stay with Channel 2 Action News for breaking news coverage of the criminal charges decision throughout the day

06/17/2020

𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑷𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔

Recently, there have been an onslaught of multiple different incidents where African American individuals have become disproportionately affected as victims of the opposite end of police misconduct. Not only is there video evidence of misconduct, but the transparency of what unfolds during what should be a relatively brief encounters between African Americans and law enforcement officers, is becoming more and more known to the public around the world. Amidst all of the deadly encounters that should have ended in a citation or an arrest, legislative bodies are looking at police reform to correct this decisive issue we have in the United States: the lack of implicit bias and use of force training for police officers.
However, the issue we are dealing with is not whether police should be trained better to make more reasonable decisions, but that one party disagrees with another party regarding what should be done to correct this issue. As a result, we are in a stagnant place that has done nothing but foster more hatred between both sides of the argument. Protesters are marching in the streets, but rioters and looters are showing that they can be opportunistic and take advantage of the peaceful movement of those who actually are trying to bring about change. This is one of the many reasons why Congress cannot come to an agreement as to what needs to be done about police reform.
House Democrats have come up with a comprehensive and all-inclusive bill that addresses the root of the problems we are experiencing. However, the Republicans have proposed a much narrower and less inclusive bill. The key differences: banning no-knock warrants vs logging data about what happens during no-knock warrants, public vs private misconduct databases, and banning choke-holds all together vs providing exceptions for officers who already lack training.
Hopefully, there can be a middle ground that the House and Senate can agree on to benefit society, because the arguments that are being had do not and will not change things anytime in the near future.

06/17/2020

𝑶𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌

For so long, the ability to successfully prosecute police brutality is hindered by ideas such as qualified immunity. Historically, the government has been able to protect police from prosecution and civil liability. Justice has been suppressed and deterred by outdated legal protections. In 1967, the Supreme Court established a doctrine called Qualified Immunity Doctrine, which applies to government officials in order to shield police from tort actions brought on by people hurt by police. In 1982, the Supreme Court actually broadened the scope of the doctrine by adding in language that made it even harder for a plaintiff to prevail against a government official. This established that the government actor has to violate a “clearly established law” in order to be held liable to a tort action. SCOTUS did not take very many appeals regarding the qualified immunity regarding police officers, and the few that they did overwhelmingly were in favor of the defendant officers. This is where our problem lies. Under Georgia law, O.C.G.A. §50-21-25(a) states that “a state officer or employee who commits a tort while acting within the scope of his or her official duties or employment is not subject to a lawsuit or liability therefore.”
However, recently the U.S. Supreme Court has begun to criticize the doctrine because of its unfairness amid the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In Floyd’s case there is a legitimate question as to whether the officer intended for Mr. Floyd to die, which would fall outside the scope of the officers official duties, meaning qualified immunity may not be available in that case. However Ms. Taylor was the victim of the police entering into the wrong house for a no-knock warrant, and firing back towards her when her boyfriend shot at what he thought were intruders. Here, the attorney for the police will likely try and claim qualified immunity. There was a mistake made as to the location that they were at and the trained officers may be liable for the death of Ms. Taylor. However, this may not matter because, if the court finds that the police made their decision based on a discretionary function that was in good faith, then there will be no liability on the part of the police. This goes to show that SCOTUS has no choice but to reconsider a doctrine that is rooted in ancient practices. The court system has finally realized the disproportionate amount of people affected by police misconduct and that there cannot be much more of it tolerated.
Even though the police are covered under qualified immunity, there is still hope for people who are victims of police brutality, excessive force, or any other violation of civil rights covered under Section 1983 for the United States Code. Currently, as long as there is a violation of a clearly established constitutional right, then a plaintiff will have an easier time winning a lawsuit. Damages can be recovered for a case against an officer in the same way that can be recovered from if there was a lawsuit between two private citizens.
If you are a victim of what you think may be a violation of your civil rights, contact our firm to see if you have a viable case!