Civil Law
Civil rights are laws put in place to ensure people are kept safe and treated fairly. Unfortunately, not everyone gets the fair treatment that we all deserve. When people or organizations don’t comply with these laws their actions can cause physical and emotional harm. Civil rights attorneys fight to protect people's basic human rights and ensure individuals receive the restitution deserved for unfair treatment.
Civil Rights Litigation
The US Constitution and some federal laws protect certain rights from freedoms such as:
Free Speech
Freedom of religion, and the right to practice
Rights of Assembly
Freedoms from unreasonable search and seizure
Right not to testify against yourself
Right to a public and Speedy Trial
Freedom from excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishments
Freedom from race discrimination
Excessive Force Violations
From time to time most of us come into contact with police officers. For the most part that contact is cordial and helpful. However, I can recall as a teenager growing up in Kansas City, hearing my brother's friends describe a different type of interaction with police officers. One that wasn’t cordial or pleasant at all. As an attorney with the Missouri Public Defenders Office, many of my clients described their interactions with police and those were neither cordial nor helpful. Unfortunately, in some instances those interactions were disrespectful, threatening, excessive and even harmful. This type of behavior by police officers can cause injury and in some cases even death. The law requires that police officers use a reasonable amount of force when making a lawful arrest. If they are making an unlawful arrest or using an unreasonable amount of force they are breaking the law and violating your civil rights. If you believe this has happened to you, we are here to help.
If you believe you are a victim of excessive force, race discrimination or any other type of civil rights violation contact our firm immediately.