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 […]
How to Counter Sue in Small Claims and What Police Excessive Force Cases Can Teach About Legal Claims
Being sued, or being on the receiving end of an officer’s abuse of authority, can leave a person feeling like they have no way to fight back. Both situations raise the same underlying question: how do you prove your side of the story and hold the right party responsible? Small claims court gives ordinary people […]
Why Two Hours in Custody Can Be Worth Six Figures: How Damages Work in a Civil Rights Case
My client Sky Miller was in custody for about two hours. He was never charged with a crime. The matter still resolved for $100,000. If your first reaction is that something must be missing from that story, you are asking a fair question and the honest answer is that the two hours were never the […]
Search and Seizure Rights During a Traffic Stop: What You Need to Know
Getting pulled over is stressful even when you have done nothing wrong. Red and blue lights in the rearview mirror can make it hard to remember what you are required to do, and what you are allowed to refuse. In Los Angeles, drivers are protected by the same search and seizure rights that apply everywhere […]
How Do You Prove Police Intended to Violate Your Rights Under California’s Bane Act?
Two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies told my client, on body camera, that he brought his own arrest on himself. “You ruined it.” “That’s what happens when you want to argue with everyone.” “You did it to yourself.” Those words became some of my best evidence, not that the arrest was unlawful, but that the […]
What Is Reasonable Suspicion? Understanding Your Rights During Police Stops
Reasonable suspicion is the legal standard that allows a police officer to briefly stop and question you, based on specific, articulable facts suggesting that criminal activity may be occurring. It requires more than a hunch or a feeling, but it is a lower bar than what’s needed to arrest or fully search someone. Knowing where […]
Can Police Arrest You for Asking If They Have Reasonable Suspicion?
Two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies had already agreed my client was free to go to his room and sleep. Then he asked them one lawful question: “Do you have a reasonable, articulable suspicion of a crime?” Seconds later, he was in handcuffs. The matter resolved for $100,000. I have spent years suing police officers […]
Search Incident to a Lawful Arrest: What Police Can and Cannot Do
A search incident to a lawful arrest is one of the few exceptions that allows police to search you without a warrant. When an officer makes a valid arrest, the law allows them to immediately search your person and the area within your immediate control, without first getting a warrant or your consent. It is […]
Is Being Drunk in Public a Crime in California? What Penal Code § 647(f) Really Requires
A hotel guest on Catalina Island had been drinking. He got locked out of his room, was polite with the deputies who showed up, and asked for their badge numbers. Ninety minutes later he was in handcuffs, then in a holding cell having an asthma attack, arrested for nothing more than being “drunk in public.” […]
Qualified Immunity for Police Officers: What It Is and How It Affects Your Rights
Qualified immunity is a legal defense that can shield individual police officers from personal liability in civil rights lawsuits, even when their conduct violated the Constitution, unless the officer violated a right that was “clearly established” at the time. It does not mean an officer cannot be sued. It means the officer cannot be held […]