老澳门开奖结果 Responds to Senate Reintroduction of George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2024, Calls on Congress to Address Police Brutality
WASHINGTON 鈥� Today, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Raphael Warnock (D- GA), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) reintroduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2024. Four years after the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, at the hands of a white police officer, the United States Senate has yet to hold a vote on this bill despite bipartisan passage in the U.S. House of Representatives. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would seek to address racial profiling and the excessive use of force that so often results in deadly police encounters.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 reintroduction signals a commitment by some senators and those in leadership to address the crisis of police violence in this country. Everyone deserves to be kept safe, especially from police brutality,鈥� said Cynthia W. Roseberry, director of policy and government affairs at the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Justice Division. 鈥淐ongress must go further to provide strong federal intervention that protects the rights of individuals against the often unchecked power of the police. Nearly four years since George Floyd鈥檚 murder, systemic racism and disproportionate use of lethal force continue to plague America鈥檚 approach to policing. The recent killing of Sonya Massey in her home is a painful reminder that the killing of Black people in America continues unabated, and that national change is long overdue.鈥�
Police killed in 2023, more than any previous year on record. So far this year, where police did not kill someone. Black and Brown individuals, LGBTQ+ individuals, and individuals with disabilities are still more likely to be killed or harmed by police in America.
Louisiana just if ordered to step back so members of the public and journalists cannot record chokeholds, beatings, or capture badge numbers to file complaints.
鈥淣o one should be above the law, including police,鈥� said Roseberry. 鈥淭he court-created doctrine of qualified immunity continues to protect officers who engage in the most egregious conduct by preventing their victims from holding officials liable for preventable injuries and deaths. Officers who are under internal investigation or who have been fired from law enforcement jobs are still able to hide behind a veil of secrecy and seek employment as police officers in other jurisdictions. A law creating a publicly available registry of police misconduct is essential to prevent dangerous officers from evading accountability.鈥�
One provision of the George Floyd Act would limit the transfer of equipment used on battlefields from the Pentagon to local police departments, and limit the use of biometric and facial recognition technology. In response to a lawsuit by the 老澳门开奖结果 on behalf of Robert Williams, a Black man who was wrongfully arrested after the Detroit Police Department used incorrect results from facial recognition technology 鈥� the city of Detroit recently enacted the nation鈥檚 strongest police department policy on facial recognition technology.
鈥淔ederal investments that support the economic, healthcare, education, and housing needs of communities will result in safer communities. Police are not equipped to answer every emergency call," said Roseberry. "Congress should invest in models that ensure communities are able to respond to crisis situations in the right way, and enact long-overdue policing legislation. The 老澳门开奖结果 calls on Congress to act swiftly to guarantee the civil rights, civil liberties, and safety of all of us.鈥�
Learn More 老澳门开奖结果 the Issues in This Press Release
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Criminal Law Reform
老澳门开奖结果 Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law Allows老澳门开奖结果 Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law Allows
WASHINGTON 鈥� A federal lawsuit brought today by the 老澳门开奖结果, 老澳门开奖结果 of D.C., and Jenner & Block LLP challenges the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for unlawfully incarcerating people longer than the law allows under the First Step Act. The lawsuit contends that the BOP鈥檚 failure to implement the First Step Act according to its plain language violates the rights of thousands of people who should be returning to their communities and rebuilding their lives but instead remain incarcerated. Signed into law in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump, the bipartisan First Step Act was designed to reduce the population in federal prisons, reform extreme sentencing laws, and provide programming and reentry transition services to people in prison. Central to the First Step Act is a system of earned time credits, which allows people in prison to earn time off their sentences and time out of prison by participating in rehabilitation programs. Through the First Step Act, Congress unambiguously ordered BOP to move people out of prison when they meet certain requirements to use their earned time credits. Instead of faithfully following the mandatory law, BOP adopted a regulation treating the law as optional. As a result, thousands of people, who should already be back in their communities and with their families, remain in prison. 鈥淓very extra unlawful day our clients spend in prison is a serious injustice,鈥� said Emma Andersson, deputy director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淚t is egregious that the Bureau of Prisons is imprisoning people for months longer than the law allows. The government must follow through on its legal obligation to get people out of prison on time and back into their communities, where they belong.鈥� Additional comments below from: Vanessa Crowe, plaintiff: 鈥淭ime is what I owed for my wrongdoing, and I have paid my time. But I should not have to spend more time in prison than the law allows. I often reflect on what I will miss during the months after when I should be out of prison. I will miss work and lose out on wages that would help me get back on my feet. I could be a tax paying citizen instead of a burden on society. But most of all, I will miss more precious time with my family. My family and I are ready to tum the page on this period in our lives 鈥� we are all ready to start a new life, a life with purpose, hope, and healing together. I want to start that life when I am legally entitled to start it-not five months later.鈥� Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel at 老澳门开奖结果 of D.C.: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no excuse for the Bureau of Prisons to pretend not to understand Congress鈥檚 clear command that people who have earned the right to early release must be released. This law has been on the books for six years. The Bureau of Prisons has had plenty of time to understand it. Law enforcers should obey the law.鈥� Betsy Henthorne, partner at Jenner & Block: 鈥淚t has been six years since the First Step Act was signed, but despite Congress鈥檚 clear directives, the Bureau of Prisons continues to hold thousands of people in prison longer than the law allows. We should and do expect better鈥攊t鈥檚 past time for the BOP to ensure that those who have earned their release are able to return home to their families and communities according to the law Congress passed.鈥� -
Maryland Supreme CourtDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Roland Branch v. State of MarylandRoland Branch v. State of Maryland
This petition to the Supreme Court of Maryland asked the court to reconsider its adherence to Whren v. U.S., 517 U.S. 806 (1996), which declared that a traffic stop undertaken for pretextual reasons does not violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution so long as the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation occurred. The 老澳门开奖结果, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Maryland, filed an amicus brief in support of the defendant鈥檚 petition, in which the 老澳门开奖结果 argued that the court should take up the question of whether pretextual stops violate the Maryland Constitution. In September 2024, the Court denied the petition. -
North Carolina Supreme CourtDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
State v. WrightState v. Wright
This case in the North Carolina Supreme Court involves the question of whether the police violated the U.S. Constitution when they searched the defendant, Mr. Wright鈥檚, backpack even after he repeatedly said no to the search requests. The 老澳门开奖结果 alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of North Carolina filed an amicus brief arguing that the search was unconstitutional because Mr. Wright鈥檚 eventual 鈥渃onsent鈥� was the result of police coercion. Our brief urges the court to consider the totality of the circumstances that make one more susceptible to coercion, including race and poverty. -
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Disability Rights
Incarceration Should Not be a Death Sentence for Individuals Who Use OpioidsIncarceration Should Not be a Death Sentence for Individuals Who Use Opioids
New litigation centered on increasing access to substance-use disorder treatment in jails and prisons is helping to reduce mortality rates among incarcerated individuals.