The Supreme Court recently ruled not to vote on dismissing a lawsuit against a Black Lives Matter activist who is being accused of injuring a police officer.
Last Monday, the higher court decided against hearing activist DeRay Mckesson’s appeal of the case, choosing instead to let the lower court’s ruling stand.
As a result of the decision, the case will move forward to the lower court for a verdict. The lawsuit stems back to a 2016 Black Lives Matter protest.
This case was brought against DeRay Mckesson, a civil rights activist, by a police officer who claimed Mckesson should be held liable for injuries the officer sustained after an unknown individual, not Mckesson, threw an object at the officer during a protest.
— ACLU (@ACLU) April 16, 2024
Held in Baton Rouge, the protest was held following the murder of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, who was killed by white police officers outside of a convenience store.
An unnamed police officer referred to as John Doe in lawsuit documents, was reportedly struck by a rock or piece of concrete, resulting in a brain injury. Although the protester who injured the officer remains unidentified, Doe is now suing Mckesson because he organized the protest.
Although initially dismissed in 2017, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals claimed that the officer can continue with the lawsuit on account of what they believed was the lack of care from Mckesson as the organizer.
With the latest ruling, civil rights organizations are emphasizing the attack the lawsuit poses on the First Amendment, specifically when it comes to the right to protest.
The Supreme Court declined to take the case, and Justice Sotomayor suggested that the precedent set in Counterman v. Colorado, a 2023 case that protects people from being held liable for mere negligence in any circumstance involving speech, including at a protest, should govern.
— ACLU (@ACLU) April 16, 2024
In a statement, Justice Sotomayor also emphasized the importance of the Courtman v Colorado case when the lower court made its ruling. The Supreme Court case ruled that under the First Amendment, no one can be legally responsible for negligence when it comes to speech.
“After today’s news, people should not be afraid that they’ll face a ruinous lawsuit if they exercise their rights to protest. The Court just last year affirmed that negligence can never be the governing standard when it comes to speech, and Justice Sotomayor suggests it simply didn’t need to say so again here,” said Vera Eidelman, the staff attorney at ACLU, the organization representing Mckesson. “That should be the takeaway for the lower courts in this case and in protest cases going forward.”
The latest decision against Mckesson comes months after Seattle agreed to a settlement between the city and approximately 50 Black Lives Matter protestors who were injured themselves by police officers.
In January earlier this year, the city of Seattle agreed to pay nearly $10 million to the protestors who were harassed by police officers during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
After the officers used pepper gas, projectiles and grenades on them, the protestors suffered from a variety of health issues including cardiac arrest, PTSD, broken bones and concussions.
“Every now and then, a lawyer is lucky enough to represent a truly righteous cause,” said the lawyer for the protestors, Shannon Kilpatrick, on Twitter. “These peaceful protesters were brutalized for exercising their 1st Amendment rights in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder. They are inspiring in so many ways.”
