Our most critical case yet.
A police officer shot our client in the eye. A jury said she was owed a million dollars. And then the judge took it away.
Eleaqia today, three years later.
We just filed the opening salvo in a truly horrifying case. Eleaqia McCrae, a young college student and track star, was peacefully protesting the murder of George Floyd when a Salem police officer started firing rubber bullets at her and her friends' heads. He hit McCrae in the eye, permanently damaged her vision, and ended her athletic career. She'll never jump competitively again.
It gets worse.
After nearly two years of litigation, she was able to tell her story to a jury. So was the officer. The jury believed Elea and awarded her more than a million dollars in damages. And then, after all that, the district judge decided to give the officer qualified immunity. She dismissed the case. In effect: Never mind what the jury said, Elea, you're getting bupkis.
Qualified immunity has been a colossal disaster of public policy. And this case demonstrates why. If an officer can wriggle out of accountability in a case this clear cut, what rational lawyer would ever take a civil-rights case? What hope is there for people whose stories are less cut-and-dried?
This is why Public Accountability exists. We're fighting to get Elea back the money damages the jury said she was owed. Just as importantly, we're fighting to get her the accountability she is undoubtedly owed. And we're also fighting to make sure this case doesn't stand—to set a precedent so that next time, the district judge doesn't even have the option to wipe out the jury's decision. You can read our brief here.
That's not all we've been up to over the last few months. Here are a few of the other cases in which we've been working to protect and expand civil rights:
Hannah v. State of Oregon. Oregon’s public-defense system is in a full-blown crisis. It’s underfunded, understaffed, and barely functioning. People sit in jail for weeks and months without a trial—their cases paused indefinitely—because the state can’t find them a lawyer. Some of them sued the state, seeking a simple declaration that the state had violated their constitutional rights. A trial judge dismissed their claim, saying they lacked standing. We’re got two primary briefs in this appeal, one on jurisdiction that you can read here, and one on the merits that’s still in progress.
Eaton v. Estabrook. When our client agreed to act as a liaison between officers and protesters during a march against police brutality, she didn’t expect to become a victim of police brutality. But a rogue officer with an axe to grind tackled her and threw her to the ground, and the district court granted him qualified immunity. We’ve asked the Second Circuit to take a second look. Read our brief here.
Hurst v. Dayton. The “Bivens” doctrine is what lets you sue federal agents for violating your constitutional rights. Without it, federal agents could beat protesters, assault prisoners, and intimidate journalists with absolute impunity. (For a more detailed explanation, see our writeup here.) Problem is, the Supreme Court has been cutting away at Bivens for decades. But it’s always said that the “core” of Bivens—which includes lawsuits for prisoner mistreatment—remains intact. In this lawsuit, we’re asking the Ninth Circuit to confirm that our client, an inmate in federal prison, can sue a prison nurse who refused to treat his injuries. Read our brief here.
If you've made it this far, you can see why the work we do is critical. Every day, police officers, prison guards, and other state actors abuse their power and violate people's constitutional rights. They bet the people can't fight back, and often, judges see to it that they're right. But Public Accountability is there—to fight back, to hold the wrongdoers accountable, and to change the law so they know they won't get away with it. If you can, please support our work and donate.