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U.S. Federal Judge Lauds “Historic” Settlement
Court Approval Given for Protest Arrest Class Action Resolution Issuing final approval to a class action settlement, U.S. Federal Judge Paul Friedman described the terms of settlement of a nearly decade-long protest arrest lawsuit in Washington, D.C., as “historic” and…
D.C. agrees to $13.7 million settlement in 2000 mass arrest
Case has helped change police response to large-scale protests Reprinted from The Washington Post A federal judge gave final approval Wednesday to a $13.7 million settlement between the District and people who were picked up in a mass arrest during…
Carl Messineo on the Open Government Act of 2010
Testifying at the D.C. Council Committee on Gov’t Operations and the Environment The PCJF today issued its strong support for the Open Government Act of 2010. Carl Messineo, co-founder and attorney with the PCJF testified today at the hearing before…
DC Prosecutor to Farm out Investigation of Police Shooting of Trey Joyner
Questions about Joyner’s death remain unanswered Reprinted from Washington Examiner U.S. Attorney Ron Machen is handing off the investigation of a fatal police shooting to federal prosecutors from Philadelphia, The Washington Examiner has learned. U.S. Park Police officers shot 25-year-old…
D.C. lawyers demonstrate power of tenacity
Legal team fights for protesters’ rights Reprinted from The Washington Post When Carl Messineo and Mara Verheyden-Hilliard sued the District on behalf of hundreds of protesters arrested by D.C. police, their strategy all along was to do more than win…
Phone-card case tests D.C. consumer law
Fight over D.C. consumer protection law Reprinted from The National Law Journal Alan Grayson has never claimed he was harmed by AT&T Corp. or the other phone companies he sued in 2004. He thought they were stealing from the taxpayers…
Victory in major class-action protest impact litigation
Class action impact litigation brought by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund on behalf of more than 1000 people including demonstrators, journalists, tourists and passersby led to major and substantive reform in police policies and practices in the handling of…
D.C. to pay $8.25 million to settle suit over ’02 mass arrests
Reprinted from The Washington Post The D.C. government and a nonprofit civil rights organization have settled a class-action lawsuit brought by hundreds of protesters and bystanders arrested during a downtown demonstration in 2002. The District agreed to pay $8.25 million…
Pershing Park Settlement Announced
Press Release After more than seven years of class action litigation, the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund today is pleased to announce a victorious settlement on behalf of a class of nearly 400 persons who were arrested in Pershing Park…
“Truly Historic Settlement” Approved in Pershing Park Class Action
Judge says attorneys worked to “protect future generations of protesters.” U.S. Federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued final approval to an $8.25 million class action settlement of an eight-year-long and hard-fought litigation battle over the mass arrests of nearly 400…
Pershing Park Plaintiffs Speak Out on Settlement
Reprinted from Washington City Paper On September 27, 2002, D.C. Police surrounded some 400 individuals in Pershing Park. Those individuals were rounded up without warning, arrested, and transferred to the police academy where they were hogtied for hours [See our…