The US Supreme Court has issued an appeals court ruling that Black Lives Matter protester and activist DeRay McKesson may be sued by a police officer injured by an unknown assailant.
In an unsigned order, the judges wrote that the appeals court should have received guidance from a Louisiana state court before allowing it officer Action to move forward and sent the case back to a lower court.
The court ruled 7: 1, with Clarence Thomas being the only dissent. Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not hear the case. McKesson wasted no time beating Justice Thomas up for his decision.
Clarence Thomas is on none of these issues.
– Deray (@deray) November 2, 2020
The case Stalk from a 2014 protest following the death of Michael Brown. The officer, known as John Doe on court records, said he was hit by a piece of concrete or stone allegedly thrown by a protester (Not McKesson) and injured while police tried to evacuate the highway. The official, who said he sustained head and face injuries, sued McKesson, saying his alleged organization of the protest held him liable for damage.
According to CNBC, a federal district court denied the officer’s lawsuit, but the U.S. 5th Court of Appeals overturned the decision and allowed it to proceed because “a violent confrontation with a police officer was a foreseeable consequence of negligently making a protest” Street.
The Supreme Court ruling leaves the door open for the cop to ultimately win the case. The cop also sued Black Lives Matter (BLM), but that suit was thrown away because BLM is a social movement, and not a entity that can be sued.
“The Louisiana Supreme Court can of course announce the same duty as the Fifth Circuit,” wrote the judges, adding that the Fifth Circuit should not have ventured into “such an uncertain area of law” that was “laden with value.” Judgments and Affecting First Amendment Rights ”without first obtaining guidance on Louisiana law from the Louisiana Supreme Court.
After Brown’s death, McKesson became known as an activist in Baltimore who led and acted protests numerous Interviews with his signature Blue Patagonia vest. McKesson even ran for mayor in Baltimore, but finished sixth in Democratic Elementary School.
USA Today reported the American Civil Liberties Union defended McKesson after the appeals court overturned it circle Court decision. Vera Eidelman, an ACLU attorney who represents McKesson, told CNBC that they were happy with the decision.
“We are pleased that the Supreme Court has recognized that important issues of the first amendment are at stake and has asked the state courts to examine whether their law even allows such a lawsuit,” said Eidelman. “We look forward to a decision that affirms that the fundamental right to protest cannot be attacked in this way.”
Donna Grodner, the lawyer representing the officer, said the Supreme Court’s decision meant the 5th Circuit “got it right” and suggested that the verdict was a loss for technical reasons only.
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