NEWS & UPDATES
Detroit man sues Detroit police officers after exoneration, says DPD framed him for murder
"A man who spent nearly half his life in prison because Detroit police allegedly framed him for a murder he did not commit has sued the city and five Detroit police officers, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday. Kenneth Nixon, now 37, spent 16 years in...
It has been more than six years since Walter Swift was exonerated of rape based on DNA evidence, but he still doesn’t feel justice has been served. WJBK- FOX Detroit reported that Swift, who spent nearly 26 years behind bars before being freed in 2008, and is now...
January 9, 2018 | The Michigan Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday from attorneys representing Gov. Rick Snyder, two former Flint emergency managers and other officials who believe they shouldn't be held civilly liable in the Flint water crisis. The state is...
Michigan Cops Raided a Home, Damaged the House, and Held a Family at Gunpoint. It Was the Wrong Address.
June 14, 2021 | Michigan State Police (MSP) and a local SWAT team in April executed a raid on a home in Flint, Michigan, battering down the door and holding the family at gunpoint while they went through their things. A confidential informant gave the cops the...
Legal Observers Press Suit
April 12, 2021 | A group of five women claimed Monday that Detroit police ignored their bright green caps designating them as National Lawyers Guild Legal Observers and assaulted them during protests last year. A lawsuit alleging the abuse was filed this...
Bill Goodman and Julie Hurwitz on Law and Disorder Podcast
August 8, 2022 | Bill Goodman, the son of Ernie Goodman, who was one of the founding members of the National Lawyers Guild, is a legend in his own right. A past national president of the NLG, one of the founding officers of the NLG National Police Accountability...
Three years after arrests, charges against Detroit water protesters dismissed
June 20, 2017 | After nearly three years, a judge has dismissed charges against nine defendants arrested for protesting Detroit’s mass water shutoffs. The so-called “Homrich Nine” were arrested in June 2014 for attempting to block trucks belonging to Homrich, the...
The Immunity Doctrine, Can officials be held liable for the suffering they inflict?
October 13, 2001 | Ibrahim Turkmen answered a knock on the door of his home in West Babylon, New York, to find two FBI agents. A solemn man with a strong jaw and deeply etched features, Turkmen was thirty-five years old at the time. Though his English was limited, he...
Hillsdale man suing county, city and state officials for wrongful imprisonment
June 17, 2016 | A Hillsdale man is suing the state, county, and city officials for being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for failing to register as a sex offender. Anthony Hart is suing for false arrest, malicious prosecution, failures in the municipal system, and...
Sanford family readies lawsuit after imprisonment caused by wrongful convictions
June 14, 2016 | Detroit and Wayne County officials could find themselves in court as lawyers for Davontae Sanford anticipate filing a federal civil rights lawsuit stemming from his eight-year stint in prison for murders he did not commit. When asked if there would be...
Wife of Ottawa County inmate who committed suicide in 2013 files lawsuit
Sep 12, 2015 | The wife of a man who in 2013 hung himself in his Ottawa County jail cell is suing the county and three jail deputies, claiming they failed to protect him from himself. Scott Meirs, who was in jail on second-degree home invasion charges, was found...
GHPC attorneys challenge Michigan EM law on behalf of National Lawyers Guild
March 14, 2016 |Civil rights attorneys from the Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice, National Lawyers Guild, Sanders Law Firm, the ACLU, and the Center for Constitutional Rights have filed an appeal in Phillips v. Snyder, a 2013 federal lawsuit...
What’s next for Davontae Sanford? Will he be going through a civil lawsuit?
June 15, 2016 | Davontae Sanford’s family is considering a civil lawsuit, sources close to the family tell us after he was wrongfully imprisoned for eight years. Sanford was arrested at age 14 for a quadruple homicide on Runyon Street in 2007. A recent Michigan...
Disabled activist claims Detroit police gave him a rough ride after arrest
June 2, 2017 | A man who uses a wheelchair and was arrested while protesting Detroit water shutoffs in 2014 claims he’s the victim of a rough ride in a police vehicle. S. Baxter Jones, 61, filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday, June 1 against the city of Detroit and...
After 9 years of wrongful imprisonment, Sanford is suing the city of Detroit
September 19, 2017 | Davontae Sanford is suing the city of Detroit, as well as former Detroit Police Commander James Tolbert and Sgt. Mike Russell, for wrongful imprisonment. Sanford spent nearly nine years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. At age 14, he was...
Wrongly convicted teen sues Detroit, alleges corrupt police investigation
September 20, 2017 | Davontae Sanford spent nine years in prison for four murder convictions that were later dismissed. Now, he’s filed a lawsuit against the city of Detroit, as well as two former investigators — Homicide Unit Commander James Tolbert and Detective...
Links and articles on our attorneys
Bill Goodman
Bill’s Wayne State University Profile
“Fighting the Goodman Fight” – The Metro Times
All Things Considered Radio Segment
Bill Goodman Takes a Look at Flint Water Crisis
Bill Goodman Talks to Flint Residents
Bill Goodman on the Board of Sugar Law
WDET Detroit’s Jewish Lawyers and Civil Rights Efforts
Julie Hurwitz
Fox News Davontae Sanford $7.5 Million Settlement
WXYZ Police Sergeant Costing City 830K in Settlements
Michigan Coalition for Human Rights Myra Wolfgang Award
Julie Hurwitz quoted in Detroit Free Press article re BLM summer 2020 protests,
Julie Hurwitz Speaks at People’s Plan Press Conference
Detroit Sues BLM Protesters for “Civil Conspiracy”
WDET How Detroit’s Case Against BLM Protestors Fell Apart
Kathryn James
Kathryn Bruner James SuperLawyers
Meet Kat James – Ferndale City Council
Lead Service Line Replacement is Personal for Kat James
Minor Parties Make Gains in Local Elections
“(I aim to) advance the core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and nonviolence” – Kat James
Lawsuit against Jackson County Sheriff
ACLU CAID Arrests Ruled Unconstitutional
Oakland County’s First Civilian Police Advisory Board
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