Federal judge dismisses Ferguson protestors’ lawsuit against police News
Federal judge dismisses Ferguson protestors’ lawsuit against police

[JURIST] US District Judge Henry Autrey [official website] has dismissed [opinion] a lawsuit filed by participants of the Ferguson riots that alleged police abuse. The complaint [text], filed by nine individuals, alleged that police were unlawfully violent when quelling riots in the wake of the 2014 Michael Brown killing, and sought $41.5 million in compensation. Autrey disagreed, and granted summary judgment in favor of the police Friday, holding that the plaintiffs “have completely failed to present any credible evidence that any of the actions taken by these individuals were taken with malice or were committed in bad faith.” The judge also noted multiple inconsistencies in the plaintiffs’ allegations, issues that the plaintiffs’ attorney believed should have gone to the jury. The plaintiffs have already filed a notice of appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

In March, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the city of Ferguson filed [JURIST report] a settlement agreement to conclude a lawsuit brought by the federal government in February. In September a Ferguson reform panel released a report calling for the consolidation [JURIST report] of police departments and municipal courts. In August a new Municipal Court judge in Ferguson ordered sweeping reforms of courtroom practices following a damning federal report of racial bias [JURIST report]. The DOJ report released last year cleared [JURIST report] the former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson from federal prosecution for Brown’s death. Former attorney general Eric Holder additionally stated that the report showed that racial disparities in police practices could not be alternatively explained other than through racial bias, which he says is proven through statistics and an examination of records and emails. In October 2014 Amnesty International reported that police in Ferguson committed human rights abuses [JURIST report] against peaceful protesters in August 2014. Also in October 2014 a federal judge ruled [JURIST report] that a tactic employed by the Ferguson police to control protesters, in which protesters had to constantly keep moving, is unconstitutional because it prevented protesters from peacefully assembling on public sidewalks.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.