Civil rights violations can come in many different forms. What are civil rights? Civil rights are personal rights guaranteed and protected by the United States Constitution and federal laws enacted by Congress. In fact, allow people to live freely within a democracy because of the civil rights we share. The specific areas of civil rights violations that we handle include:
- Police Brutality / Police Misconduct
- Cruel and Unusual Punishment
- Violation of Search and Seizure
- False Arrest
- Malicious Prosecution
- False Imprisonment
Police Brutality / Police Misconduct entails an unnecessary use of force
Police officers do have authority to use reasonable force to make an arrest. The unreasonable or unnecessary use of force is police brutality. Police officers have broad authority to carry out their duties. However, boundaries are in place to protect the civil rights of citizens. Police also do have some immunity from lawsuits called “qualified immunity”. The wronged person would have to prove that the police acted in a willful and unreasonable manner.
Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and Unusual Punishment of inmates, arrestees, and detainees is a civil rights issue. Incarcerated people are always at the mercy of jail employees. As such, they are dependent on them for their health and safety, including access to medical care and protection from assault. For example, arrestees or inmates in medical distress have been ignored until serious, irreversible consequences have occurred. People have been seriously injured or even killed while in custody as a result of this negligence or outright abuse.
Violation of Search and Seizure Protections
The 4th Amendment to the US Constitution recognizes the right of the people to be secure in their “persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.†Searches should be based on a warrant or probable cause, or a reasonably articulable suspicion in certain circumstances. Valid searches must be justified at their inception and in their scope as the search proceeds. In contrast, illegal searches and confiscations violate your civil rights.
False Arrest
The police need a warrant or probable cause to believe you committed a crime and make a valid arrest. Often, police may end escalating encounters by making an arrest first, and deciding later what to charge the person. Holding someone in custody without probable cause or court order may rise to a civil rights violation.
Malicious Prosecution
Malicious prosecution exists if you are prosecuted in a judicial proceeding when there was no probable cause to do so. The proceeding must end in favor of the prosecuted person. You must prove that the prosecutor or person who initiated the proceeding acted with malice. Finally, you must prove that you actually suffered damages.
False Imprisonment
When someone is forcibly, by threat, or secretly confining, abducting, imprisoning, or restraining another person without lawful authority and against their will. In Florida, false imprisonment is a felony but it is also a civil cause of action.
Bringing a civil lawsuit on a valid claim can bring the facts to light about what actually happened. Most importantly, it can bring justice and compensation to the victims and their families, and ultimately, ensure that our society has better practices in place to protect others in the future.
Contact Sherris Legal, P.A. for an evaluation of your civil rights violation.
