Protecting Your Rights And Holding Those With Power Accountable
Earlier this year, a prison in New Mexico made the news because of a lawsuit filed by an inmate. The lawsuit alleges the inmate suffered horrifying levels of abuse at the hands of guards. Prisoners are guaranteed rights – just like everyone else – by the Eight...
Concerns surrounding the use of excessive force by law enforcement agencies have sparked widespread discussions on the boundaries of police conduct. While the police are allowed to use reasonable force in some circumstances, what exactly constitutes excessive force,...
It is generally possible to sue an individual or business entity in civil court if they breach the terms of a contract, cause someone to suffer injuries or otherwise infringe upon their legal rights. However, the process of suing federal entities – and employees of...
Two years ago, when New Mexico enacted its Civil Rights Act, the governor and others asserted that our state had abolished qualified immunity. The concept of qualified immunity has come under considerable fire in recent years because it prevents individual government...
Law enforcement officers – both state and federal – are trained to enforce the law and keep the public safe. While performing their duties, however, these public servants are required to adhere to certain rules. If law enforcement conducts a search and seizure on your...
When people being subdued by the police cry out that they can’t breathe, why do the police often seem indifferent? Some officers believe that it isn’t possible to talk if you can’t breathe and dismiss the complaints as lies. Unfortunately, that isn’t true. In other...
There are times when driving down the road that we can come up with a possible explanation for flashing red and blue lights in the review mirror — maybe we were driving a little too fast or chose to go through a yellow light instead of stopping. But what about times...
The New Mexico legislature has made great strides in criminal justice reform and civil rights this session. One area of reform was the elimination of all court, conviction and bench warrant fees in the criminal courts. This new law refers to the fees being charged of...
Technology continues to march forward. Cameras are everywhere – security cameras, doorbell cams and cellphones mean that cameras are almost always available when something of interest happens. When it comes to police violence, just having that footage has been a...
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is explicit that it’s illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment because of an employee or job applicant’s religion. When religious employees need reasonable accommodations in order to do the work, employers must...