Eighteen private law firms have teamed up with the ACLU of Louisiana in a litigation campaign to challenge discriminatory policing practices. Legal Director of the ACLU of Louisiana Nora Ahmed says they are trying to capture cases that were not economical to be taken to court.
“We as a country have started to realize that those stories are out there, but it is time that we memorialize them and we really think it is time that our courts start to hear those stories as well,” said Ahmed.
The initiative is called “Justice Lab: Putting Racist Policing on Trial” and over time it seeks to bring up to 1000 cases in Louisiana challenging the constitutionality of the situations. Law firms will be handling cases on a pro bono basis. Ahmed hopes to form a blueprint for litigation that could be used across the nation.
“We’re talking about unlawful search and seizure cases, unlawful stop cases, unlawful arrest cases, and cases that implicate racial profiling,” said Ahmed.
Ahmed says they are partnering with law school legal clinics around the country who are in a position to take on these appeals in an effort to continue the development of law pertaining to excessive force and racial profiling but also challenge qualified immunity.
“Which, as a country, we’ve started to realize can be an impediment to bringing these types of cases in the first place,” said Ahmed.