ALEXANDRIA, La.—Three years ago, Mario Rosales and Gracie Lasyone sued over an unconstitutional traffic stop and interrogation by two Alexandria police officers. They had a major victory in their case yesterday, with the U.S. Court for the Western District of Louisiana ruling against the officers and the city of Alexandria, allowing Mario and Gracie’s lawsuit to proceed. Yet, because of qualified immunity, it could still be years before their case is heard by a jury. Mario and Gracie are represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), which works nationwide to protect Fourth Amendment rights and hold governments and their agents accountable when they violate the Constitution.
“Mario and Gracie should get to enforce their rights in court, helping protect other motorists’ rights, and this ruling is an important step forward,” said IJ Attorney Marie Miller. “But there is still work to be done. While Mario and Gracie have overcome one roadblock, they have to wait until later stages of the case to ultimately vindicate their rights with a final judgment. Qualified immunity is delaying justice.”
The Constitution protects Americans from being detained and investigated without a valid reason. But that is precisely what happened to Mario and Gracie. The officers pulled them over on bogus traffic infractions to fish for drug and other crimes. Mario and Gracie were questioned about not just about where they live and work, where they had been, and where they were going, but also about a litany of drugs, past interactions with police, and their feelings about the U.S. Constitution.
Watch complete video of the stop HERE.
The officers and their city employer used various tactics to delay proceedings. These included securing a stay of the case based on the criminal prosecution of one of the officers, Jim Lewis, for a crime committed on the job. The court lifted the stay. But then the officers pressed qualified immunity defenses, halting progress in the case again. Yesterday the district court rejected those qualified immunity defenses, allowing the case to go forward. Still, that decision is appealable to the U.S. 5th District Court of Appeals before the district court ultimately resolves the case. So the case is not yet poised for an ultimate decision vindicating Mario’s and Gracie’s rights and could potentially continue to stretch on for years.
The Institute for Justice is a national nonprofit law firm that defends property rights and the Fourth Amendment and seeks to hold government officials accountable. IJ has worked on a class action lawsuit against the town of Brookside, Alabama, which systematically increased traffic stops and citations to enrich the town government and police department. IJ also defends drivers who faced civil forfeiture after police seized their savings during traffic stops, including a veteran who had his savings taken by Nevada officers.
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To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager, at [email protected] or (850) 376-4110. More information on the case is available at: https://ij.org/case/louisiana-traffic-stop/