Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Who were those masked men?

I'm a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an internet civil liberties law firm. A person contacted us about a search of his adult nightclub in Florida, in which the officers wore masks, hid their identities and shut off the club's internal surveillance camera before executing the search. My recollection is that this is unlawful, especially in the absence of court permission. Does the NLG have someone in FL with whom this gentleman can consult?

Monday, June 23, 2008

Man Shot While Being Mentally Ill

I wanted to share with everyone a recent decision denying Summary Judgment and the settlement in a failure to train case for which I posted a request for jury instructions a month or so ago. The case involved the shooting of a young ( 23) mentally ill (paranoid Schizophrenic) Ohio resident, "N".

He was shot when four Sheriff’s deputies went to pick him up on a probate court detention order to take him to a hospital after the family had called for help because he had stopped taking his medication (he was responding well to the meds). The deputies reported "N" was shot when he attempted to stab one of the deputies. The shooting occurred sixty seconds after the deputies approached "N". The deputies admitted that until one of them ran toward "N", maced him and tried to grab him, Nasir did not strike at them or move toward them and that all four were at a safe distance behind protective cover with guns drawn screaming at him until the deputy ran toward "N". No one else was anywhere in the vicinity except "N" and the deputies. Our expert testified that this was a case study in how NOT to approach someone suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and that the deputies should have been trained not to rush and to call for a CIT or other special assistance if the deputies were not trained themselves.

We only sued the Sheriff. There had been no special or continuing training related to dealing with the mentally ill even for the unit handling probate detention orders. Nor did the Sheriff establish a Crisis Intervention Team. We developed evidence showing the Sherriff and his command staff had been to programs about the importance of CITs and special training for dealing with the mentally ill. Claims were made under section 1983 and the ADA. The judge addressed the 1983 claim and was about to rule on the ADA claim when the case settled. Settlement included continuing jurisdiction of the court to enforce new initial training requirements, continuing training requirements, implementation of a Crisis Intervention Team, creation of a data base recording all background and interactions related to detentions/arrests of mentally ill individuals involving the warrant squad or CIT, and payment of $500,000.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Always Nice to See Reversals!

A police officer was trying to help an injured person and got beaten up by his own department! He lost the case at the trial level, but the Appeals Court reversed the decision.


Johnson v. Dist. of Columbia, No. 06-7136, 06-7180
In a suit brought under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 for use of excessive force in an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment, as well as common law claims of police brutality, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress when a police officer was mistaken for a criminal when he unwittingly landed in the middle of a drug bust, summary judgment in favor of defendant is reversed as to section 1983 claims and affirmed as to the common law claims where: 1) defendant was not entitled to qualified immunity against the section 1983 claims because of conflicting deposition testimony, which gave rise to genuine issues of fact material to both the section 1983 claim and the qualified immunity defense; and 2) the Police and Firefighters Retirement and Disability Act barred plaintiff's common law claims. Read more...

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A police officer was trying to help an injured person and got beaten up by his own department! He lost the case at the trial level, but the Appeals Court reversed the decision.

Friday, June 20, 2008

No Crying In Court!

Sounds like Ohio prosecutors have a lot of time on their hands.



No crying in court

Butler 's Piper says defense lawyers' tears can sway jury

BY SHEILA MCLAUGHLIN | SMCLAUGHLIN@ENQUIRER.COM

HAMILTON - Quit your crying and begging!

That's the theme of an offbeat motion that Butler County prosecutors filed this week trying to keep defense lawyers from getting emotional in death-penalty cases.

The request was filed less than two weeks after defense lawyer Greg Howard shed a few tears and begged jurors to spare Harvey Johnson's life for killing of Kiva Gazaway of Liberty Township.

It might have worked. Johnson got life in prison instead.

Prosecutors go toe-to-toe with Howard again in August in the case of James O'Hara, who is accused in the July 2007 fatal stabbing of Stanley Lawson, 38, of Middletown .

"Crying brings out almost a Pavlovian response in some people," Prosecutor Robin Piper said, denying that the motion is meant to single out Howard.

It doesn't accuse Howard specifically of crying on cue. But it mentions that defense lawyers are known to do that - even trained to do it - as part of their strategy.

"Our motion is more about requiring an attorney to maintain composure during closing arguments and during the trial," Piper said. "Prosecutors are held to that standard. Defense lawyers should also be held to a similar standard."

Judge Andrew Nastoff will listen to lawyers argue about it July 18 in Butler County Common Pleas Court .

Howard denies being able to make his tear ducts flow in front of a jury.

"It's an emotional thing. You've invested a lot of time and effort in these cases, and you're trying to save your client's life, and occasionally it happens," he said.

To Howard, the prosecutor's motion is nothing more than a legal maneuver aimed at bettering their chances at sending O'Hara to death row.

"They want the death-penalty verdict so badly that they're doing whatever they can to try to get one," Howard said.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Sixth Inmate Dies at North County Detention Facility

I have been contacted by a woman whose brother-in-law died at the North County Detention Facility in Santa Rosa, California. The man's death is referred to in this newspaper article: http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080313/NEWS/796295436
Death of (redacted) at the North County Detention Facility, honor farm parcel, in Santa Rosa, California

Dear (redacted),

I am writing to you regarding the death of (redacted)at the North County Detention Facility in Santa Rosa, California. He was a 36 years-old man of Mexican origin. He died on March 13, 2008, while he was serving a six-month sentence at the North County Detention Facility. Samuel died alone. For the past seven years he had not seen his daughter or any of his relatives. In 2004 Samuel was convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. I believe that he should not have been found guilty since the woman who accused him may have lied to the authorities. He was never violent. On the contrary, the woman took advantage of him. He was vulnerable. He was undocumented, alone and away from his family. She exploited him. She may have made him believe that she was going to get him a green card. Because of that she made him give her all his money. She also made him stop calling his sister and his daughter in Mexico. Later, for several years, another girlfriend, Joyce Varela, took advantage of him because of his vulnerability. Again, she exploited him. She made him believe that she was going to get him a green card.

Because of that he worked hard and she made him give her all his money. She also made him stop calling his sister and his daughter in Mexico. According to co-workers and friends of Samuel he did not want to see her anymore. Therefore, she harassed him. She went to the place where he worked to puncture the tires of his car. In addition, deliberately, a couple of times, she tried to run over him while she was driving a car. She then reported him to the police. The police arrested him on January 3, 2008. He was sentenced to six months in prison for drinking alcohol when Joyce Varela made Samuel go to bars to make him drink alcohol with her so she could exploit him. Not only did Joyce Varela take advantage of Samuel but she also frequents bars to drink alcohol and to chase other men. I believe that he was unjustly incarcerated. Once in jail, Joyce Varela visited him just to laugh at him. She is a cruel woman. While Samuel was in prison, he fell into a severe depression. He lived in anguish and desperation since he was going to be deported to Mexico. According to prison officials, he also worked out.

On March 13, 2008, he died. The North County Detention Facility officials failed to provide the proper medical treatment for his depression. They also let him worked out without a doctors' supervision. If they had provided the appropriate medical care to Samuel potentially he would still be alive today. The American dream turned into a nightmare. Also according to the media the security and the quality of jail medical care at the honor farm parcel are questionable.

The enclosed article published by the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa, California states, "Castillo-Martinez is the first Sonoma County inmate to die since Nov. 30, and the fifth since June 17. Each case has been investigated amid criticism by civilian groups skeptical of the quality of jail medical care." I am looking for an attorney to file a lawsuit against the North County Detention Facility for damages suffered by my niece Naomi Castillo Ramirez due to the death of his father, Samuel Castillo Martinez, which could have been prevented. And also to press charges against Joyce Varela, and against the woman who accused him of domestic violence, for exploiting Samuel, for destroying his life, and for making him forget about his daughter Naomi.