Policing and Racial Justice: Federal, Ohio and Local Laws: Federal

Full text 2014 treatise on Civil Rights by Martin A. Schwartz.

Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

The Insurrection Act is an exception to the Posse Comitatis Act.

Law enforcement authority of Secretary of Homeland Security for protection of public property.

Simona Grossi, 14 Colum. J. Race & L. 1023 (2024)

2017 SideBAR article by Scott Young, published by the Federal Litigation Section of the Federal Bar Association.

Equal rights under the law

Civil action against government actor for deprivation of rights

Conspiracy to interfere with civil rights. Can pull in private actors who conspire with government actors

Qualified immunity protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff's rights, only allowing suits where officials violated a “clearly established” statutory or constitutional right. When determining whether or not a right was “clearly established,” courts consider whether a hypothetical reasonable official would have known that the defendant’s conduct violated the plaintiff’s rights.

Reason 7/7/22 Derek Chauvin, who received a 21-year federal sentence yesterday for lethally violating George Floyd's constitutional rights, still seems to think he did nothing wrong by kneeling on his victim's neck until he was dead.

CRS Report 6/15/20

6/16/23 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney’s Office District of Minnesota Civil Division issues report detailing racial discrimination, excessive and unlawful use of force, First Amendment violations and a lack of accountability for officers.

APNews 11/16/23

CRS 7/31/20

Libguide from UC San Diego Library

CRS Report 6/15/20

6/3/20 A good summary by Shouse California Law Group

ABC News 8/11/22

Makes it a crime for two or more persons to conspire to violate someone's civil rights.

Deprivation of rights under color of law. This statute makes it a crime for a governmental official to deprive someone of their civil rights, or to treat someone differently because of their race or citizenship status. It has severe penalties for violence inflicted under color of law.

Hate crimes acts

Prohibits the pattern and practice of such
misconduct by the government as:
Excessive Force
Discriminatory Harassment
False Arrest
Coercive Sexual Conduct
Unlawful Stops, Searches, or Arrests

Qualified immunity protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff's rights, only allowing suits where officials violated a “clearly established” statutory or constitutional right. When determining whether or not a right was “clearly established,” courts consider whether a hypothetical reasonable official would have known that the defendant’s conduct violated the plaintiff’s rights.

NBC News 10/13/23

The US Supreme Court case which established qualified immunity.

8/25/20

Police disciplinary records are public under Ohio Code § 149.43.

US Supreme Court reaffirms qualified immunity for police officers. 10/18/21

Effective 4/12/21. The law heightens penalties for protests near oil and gas pipelines and other infrastructure by expanding the definitions of "criminal trespass" and "criminal mischief."

From the National Archives

Responsible for investigating civil rights crimes.

Prosecutes federal civil rights crimes.

Dept of Justice, Civil Rights Division 12/4/24

DOJ Press Release 9/14/21

403 US 388 (1971)

6/30/20 Shouse California Law Group. Bivens constitutional claims are very similar to civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. However, Section 1983 claims only apply to wrongdoing by state officials, not federal ones.

Potitico 12/15/20

Cities are accountable under Section 1983, but only if the civil rights violation was caused by “official policy” of the city government.

Retaliatory arrest claims fail if the police had probable cause to make the arrest

The existence of probable cause does not defeat a plaintiff ’s retaliatory arrest claim if he produces “objective evidence that he was arrested when otherwise similarly situated individuals not engaged in the same
sort of protected speech had not been.

US Supreme Court holds that a violation of the Miranda rules does not provide a basis for a §1983 civil rights claim.