At Scott H. Palmer, P.C., we do so much more than criminal defense. One of our most active practices is Civil Rights Litigation, or Section 1983 cases.
“Section 1983” refers to lawsuits brought under Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code (42 U.S.C. § 1983). It provides an individual the right to sue state government employees and others acting “under color of state law” for civil rights violations.
This practice area is led by Attorney James P. Roberts, along with Attorney Scott Palmer and the excellent support team of Rachel Perez and Lauren Lewison. The crew fights for people’s rights every day.
Check out a small selection of some of their successes:
- Man assaulted by jail guards in Bell County, Texas
- Our client was handcuffed while in custody and assaulted by guards.
- Scott H. Palmer, P.C. reached a monetary settlement in the case against Bell County after the guards were fired and criminally charged.
- Veteran assaulted by officers in Mesquite, Texas
- Our client was not committing a crime but was standing outside a home that officers sought to enter.
- The officers threw our client to the ground and piled on top of him, resulting in an officer being suspended.
- Our client had previously sustained a back injury while on active duty, and the officers’ actions aggravated the injury. He required multiple surgeries.
- Scott H. Palmer, P.C. reached a monetary settlement in the case against Mesquite.
- Homeless man pepper-sprayed by Dallas Police
- Three Dallas officers approached our client’s tent without knowing anything about who was inside and without announcing their presence.
- One officer sprayed mace into the tent, and the other officers began laughing. The officers then arrested our client after he attempted to defend himself from the assault, not knowing that it was the police but thinking that it was someone trying to rob him.
- The criminal charges against our client were rightfully dismissed.
- Scott H. Palmer, P.C. reached a monetary settlement in the case against the City of Dallas officers, and the officer was required to write an apology letter.
- Office lied to justify a false arrest and excessive force in Balch Springs, Texas
- An officer lied to justify a false arrest and excessive use of force against our client, who ultimately had his charges dismissed.
- The officer, with his hand on his Taser, approached our client, who was inside his own garage and attempted to detain him.
- Our client, who had not committed any crime, left his garage to create space between himself and his daughter in case the officer deployed his Taser.
- The officer slipped in a puddle of water when he started to go after our client. The officer then tased our client and arrested him for assault on a police officer after making up a story about our client striking the officer and causing him to fall to the ground.
- The officer believed that his lie would never be discovered because he claimed that (1) his body camera was broken and (2) his partner’s body camera had mysteriously stopped working. Luckily, the neighbor’s security camera captured the entire encounter, proving that the officer had lied.
- Scott H. Palmer, P.C. reached a monetary settlement in the case against Balch Springs, Texas.
At Scott H. Palmer, P.C., we don’t tolerate government officials treating people unjustly. We work hard to hold them accountable for their actions.
If an officer violated your civil rights, reach out to our team for the legal representation you need. Call (214) 891-3382 or submit an online contact form today.