Dozens of college and university campuses experienced protests in April and May of 2024 due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Many were peaceful, but some turned violent — and they engendered a wide variety of law...more
In the plaintiffs’ lawsuits against the City, former police officer Derek Chauvin, and several additional Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers, the complaints alleged police misconduct, use of excessive force, and...more
Law enforcement critics have launched concerted attacks on the doctrine of qualified immunity in an effort to mischaracterize the doctrine as allowing police officers to escape liability for clearly unconstitutional conduct. ...more
Trust is the cornerstone of safe and effective law enforcement. In New Jersey and around the country, building trust among police and the communities they serve has always been a challenge, but after the murder of George...more
In a 5-3 decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Torres v. Madrid that a woman who was shot while fleeing from police officers was “seized,” even though she remained at large. ...more
Recent unrest has thrust the doctrine of qualified immunity into the spotlight. Many of those who oppose law enforcement frequently misrepresent the nature, extent, and intent of this limited immunity. Doing so fosters the...more
On June 12, 2020, the Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST), a division of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, amended its Compliance to Law Enforcement Standards and Practices (CLESP)...more
A while back I wrote about the collateral order doctrine as discussed by the Fourth Circuit in Williams v. Strickland. Williams involved an alleged excessive force claim against a law enforcement officer and an...more
On April 29, 1992, a not-guilty verdict for the four Los Angeles Police Department officers who had been charged with assault and the use of unreasonable and excessive force on Rodney King, sparked the LA Riots. Today, in an...more
BB&K Attorney Tamara Bogosian Anaylzes Recent Court Decisions That Call for Monday Morning Quarterbacking - The U.S. Supreme Court made clear in the 1989 landmark ruling of Graham v. Connor that hindsight was not the...more