“The Cops Beat the Crap Out of Me” and Preclusion of Civil Suits by Criminal Guilty Pleas Byrd v. Phoenix Police Dep’t, No. 16-16152, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6575 (9th Cir., March 16, 2018). This case teaches two things: 1) pleading guilty to a drug crime does not preclude an excessive-force civil suit; and 2) […]
Incidents of harassment, bullying, and hate crimes against the Asian American community have been on the rise since early 2020. Stop AAPI Hate documented nearly 11,500 acts of hate during the two year period from March 2020 through 2022. Sadly, California reported the largest number of AAPI hate incidents. San Diego, specifically, has seen an […]
(Constitutional Cases for Justice Warriors: October 12, 2022 Edition) Other than a hard-fought loss from McKenzie Scott PC’s criminal / white-collar practice, it was a slow week for relevant Ninth Circuit civil cases. So we turn our attention to unexpectedly powerful language—and ideas—from the Fifth Circuit. In Crane v. City of Arlington, the Fifth Circuit […]
The challenges and, all too frequent, horrors of life in private prisons in the United States are well documented: Jonathan Mattise, Private prison firm to settle lawsuit over inmate death, San Diego Union Tribune, August 14, 2022. First Amendment Retaliation Against Individuals in Immigration Detention in California, California Collaboration for Immigrant Justice, Centro Legal De […]
The City of San Diego passed Resolution No. 76068 during WWII, which “urged” the FBI to remove persons of Japanese ancestry “from San Diego and vicinity” because Japanese people were “cause for great concern” in the community. On September 19, 2022, the City Council rescinded that Resolution. The Council acknowledged that the City of San […]
McKenzie Scott believes that all human beings have value and dignity, and the fundamental right to be treated fairly. Federal and California law protects many specific civil rights. As a result, civil rights cases can include some or all of the following: Freedom from excessive force by police or other law enforcement Freedom from unreasonable […]