Villarreal v. Laredo (En Banc)
Brief Details
- Authors
-
Jaba Tsitsuashvili
Attorney
[email protected] -
Caroline Grace Brothers
Attorney
[email protected]
- Date Filed
- 12/12/2022
- Original Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Current Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Priscilla Villarreal, a citizen journalist, was arrested for asking questions of police at a crime scene.
The officers who blatantly violated her rights are seeking qualified immunity. IJ's amicus brief in the case argues the court should not extend qualified immunity to obvious constitutional violations—such as a premeditated arrest for doing nothing more than asking questions to a government official. Such a broad reading would not, even under the doctrine’s current formulation, strike the right balance. IJ is urging the court to deny immunity and remand the case to the district court.