More than 60 million Americans are currently under some type of curfew order, in almost 50 cities across the country. The President has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to send in the military to put down protests. Following nearly three months of COVID quarantine, the American people are now facing a different kind of shutdown, and the threat of violent enforcement is very real. And with COVID spreading nearly unchecked in jails and prisons, the consequences of mass arrests are grim.
Whether you are in the streets or sheltering in place, it’s a good time to catch up on recent developments in police liability litigation and learn how to protect protesters in the streets and the courtroom. Check out these five crucial programs:
- Protest Lawyering: From the Street to the Courtroom: This engaging program discusses how attorneys can support protesters in understanding their rights before an arrest takes place.
- Protest Lawyering Part II: Mass Arrest Arraignments: This course continues where the previous program leaves off, analyzing courtroom tactics and defenses when representing protesters following a mass arrest.
- Using Police Misconduct Databases in Criminal and Civil Rights Litigation: This state driven program delves into the ways attorneys can obtain information about prior police misconduct, and how to use that data in the courtroom.
- Police Liability Under Section 1983: The Year in Review: This 2019 program analyzes recent police misconduct litigation, including cutting-edge theories of liability and how SCOTUS is handling the qualified immunity doctrine.
- Law Enforcement Liability Under Section 1983: Critical Steps for the Trial Lawyer: This practical program walks viewers through trial practice for a high exposure police brutality case, including discovery issues, pre and post-trial motion practice, jury selection, witness examination, and more.
If you are protesting, please take the proper pandemic precautions to stay safe and protect others. To get involved in protest defense in your capacity as an attorney, check out the National Lawyers Guild’s Mass Defense Program, or donate to The Bail Project to help get protesters out of jail.
And remember, Black Lives Matter.
Related Content:
- COVID-19 in Jails and Prisons: Civil Rights Litigation in Response to the Crisis
- Political Law Updates During the COVID Crisis
- Advocating for Political Activists On the Streets and in the Courtroom