Should You Sue in Federal or State Court for a California Civil Rights Case?
You often have a real choice between California state court and federal court, and the difference is bigger than most people expect. Federal court tends to move faster, with firm scheduling orders and judges who see Fourth Amendment issues regularly. State court tends to move slower, but it can offer real advantages to a plaintiff: […]
What Is the Fourth Amendment? Understanding Your Constitutional Rights
Most people never think about the Fourth Amendment until an officer is standing at their car window or their front door. Then the questions come fast. Can they look in my bag? Do they need a warrant? Do I have to answer? Knowing your constitutional rights before an unexpected encounter with law enforcement can make […]
How to Sue the Police in California: A Civil Rights Attorney’s Guide
Yes, you can sue the police in California. Every week I talk to people who were beaten, arrested for nothing, or treated like criminals for asking a question, and most of them start the call the same way: “I didn’t think you could sue a cop.” You can. The real questions are which claims you […]
Can You Sue the Police for Negligence in California?
Not every police case is about an officer who meant to hurt someone. Some of the worst injuries I see come from carelessness: a deputy who ran a red light with no lights or siren, officers who rushed into a mental health call and created the very danger they then shot their way out of, […]
Why the California Bane Act Is a Powerful Tool in Police Cases and How to Prove It
A California police officer can violate your constitutional rights and still face a claim worth barely more than a fender-bender. Or that same violation can trigger a claim that comes with mandatory attorney’s fees, a shot at enhanced damages, and a price tag a city can’t shrug off as the cost of doing business. The […]
How Long Do You Have to Sue the Police?
Six months. For many people hurt by police in California, that is how long they have to take the first legal step, and most of them have never heard of it. Miss it, and a strong state-law case can be gone before a lawyer ever reads the file. I get calls every month from people […]
Criminal Case Meaning: What Is the Difference Between a Civil and Criminal Case?
Legal terminology can be confusing, especially after an incident that could involve both a criminal case and a civil case at the same time. Understanding what each term actually means, and how the two systems interact, helps you know what to expect and whether you might have a claim of your own, separate from anything […]
“Am I Free to Go?” Consensual Encounters and When Police Can Actually Seize You
By the deputies’ own testimony, my client was free to go to his room and go to sleep. Then he asked one question, and seconds later he was in handcuffs. No new evidence, no threat, nothing but a question about whether they suspected him of a crime and the answer was a pair of handcuffs. […]
Can You Sue for Being Falsely Arrested? Understanding Cop Immunity
Being arrested without proper justification can shake a person’s freedom, reputation, finances, and trust in law enforcement all at once. It is natural to want accountability, and to wonder whether cop immunity means the officer will simply walk away. The truth is more complicated. Immunity can make these cases harder, but it does not make […]
When Police Ignore the Evidence That Clears You: Dispelled Suspicion and Exculpatory Facts
My client asked the deputies to give him a breathalyzer. They refused. He explained, calmly and more than once, that he was a welcome hotel guest simply waiting on a room key. They ignored that too, and arrested him for being too intoxicated to care for himself while looking at a man who was standing […]