Special Collection: Traffic Stop Litigation

Nevada highway patrol car

Tomas Del Coro, Flickr (2010)

Collection of lawsuits challenging police traffic stops.

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Cases (45)

POLICING

DOJ Investigation of the City of Villa Rica, Georgia Police Department

No Court Case | No Court

On January 27, 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ] notified the City of Villa Rica, Georgia that it had commenced an investigation pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 14141 of the Villa Rica Police Depart…

POLICING

DOJ Investigation of the Montgomery County Department of Police

Never Filed | No Court

In January 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ] and the Montgomery County Department of Police [MCPD] entered into a Memorandum of Agreement pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §14141. The agreement resolve…

POLICING

DOJ Investigation of Suffolk County Police Department

No Court

Filed Date: 2009

Case Ongoing

On November 25, 2008, the LatinoJustice PRLDEF of New York filed a complaint letter with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division demanding that the federal government look into the Suffo…

POLICING

DOJ Investigation of Minneapolis Police Department

No Docket | No Court

On April 21, 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was opening a pattern and practice investigation into the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota and…

POLICING

DOJ Investigation of Liberty County Sheriff's Office

171-19-24 | No Court

This action is a memorandum of understanding resulting from a complaint received by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), alleging that the (Delaware) Liberty County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) …

POLICING

DOJ Investigation of the Lexington Police Department and the City of Lexington, Mississippi

No Court

This is a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) pattern and practice investigation of the City of Lexington, Mississippi and its police department. The investigation was announced on November 8, 2023. Lex…

POLICING

United States of America v. Louisville Metro/Jefferson County Government

3:24-cv-00722 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky

Filed Date: Dec. 12, 2024

Case Ongoing

Proposed consent decree between U.S. and Louisville Metro Police Department; the Trump Administration has asked for time to consider its position.

POLICING

Wilkins v. City of Chicago

1:23-cv-04072 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Filed Date: June 26, 2023

Case Ongoing

This is a case about the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) alleged pattern and practice of race-based and discriminatory police practices in traffic stops conducted since 2016. On June 26, 2023, five…

POLICING

Leith v. County of Nassau

2:22-cv-06933 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Filed Date: Nov. 14, 2022

Case Ongoing

This is a case about allegations of racial discrimination against police officers conducting traffic stops in Nassau County. On November 14, 2022, a mother, who was stopped by Nassau police with her …

POLICING

Coleman v. Brookside

2:22-cv-00423 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

Filed Date: April 4, 2022

Case Ongoing

This is a class-action lawsuit challenging a small town’s practice of over-policing to generate revenue through fines and fees. On April 4, 2022, a group of individuals whom the Brookside police deta…

POLICING

Howard v. City of Jennings

2:22-cv-00880 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana

Filed Date: April 1, 2022

Case Ongoing

(This summary is temporary, while we research the case.) A black male individual filed suit against the City of Jennings, the Jennings Police Department, and the Welsh Police Department, alleging unl…

POLICING

Thomas v. Town of Brookside, Alabama

2:22-cv-00157 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

Filed Date: Feb. 6, 2022

Case Ongoing

This is a class action lawsuit challenging an Alabama town’s policing practice of unlawfully seizing and retaining property during arrests. On February 6, 2022, the named plaintiff filed a lawsuit in…

POLICING

Danks v. Grayson

2:21-cv-01806 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Filed Date: Sept. 30, 2021

Closed Date: Aug. 22, 2024

This case stems from an alleged incident of police misconduct that occurred during a traffic stop in October 2020. The plaintiff was riding in the passenger seat of a car driven by her brother when t…

POLICING

Williams v. City of Beverly Hills

2:21-cv-08698 | U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Filed Date: Aug. 30, 2021

Case Ongoing

This is a lawsuit challenging Beverly Hills Police Department stop, search, and arrest practices as racially discriminatory. Two individual plaintiffs filed this putative class action lawsuit on Aug…

POLICING

Sankofa v. Rose

2:21-cv-11468 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Filed Date: June 23, 2021

Case Ongoing

This is a case about the unlawful traffic stop of two African American residents of Detroit who were racially profiled and subject to an unreasonable search and seizure. On June 23, 2021, two Africa…

POLICING

Wattson v. Town of Brookside, Alabama

2:21-cv-00649 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

Filed Date: May 7, 2021

Case Ongoing

This lawsuit challenges the Town of Brookside, Alabama's (the "Town") practice of seizing vehicles and other personal property. Plaintiff, a resident of Jefferson County, Alabama filed this putative …

POLICING

Shaw v. Schulte

6:19-cv-01343 | U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas

Filed Date: Dec. 19, 2019

Case Ongoing

This case involved an alleged unconstitutional policy of the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) whereby they stopped motorists with out of state plates who were driving the I-70 corridor to or from the stat…

POLICING

Marquez v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

1:19-cv-00599 | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Filed Date: April 8, 2019

Closed Date: April 18, 2022

This is a case about Pennsylvania state troopers allegedly discriminating against people based on their perceived race, color, ethnicity, or national origin in stopping and detaining them for the pur…

CRIMINAL JUSTICE (OTHER)

Black Love Resists in the Rust v. City of Buffalo

1:18-cv-00719 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York

Filed Date: June 28, 2018

Case Ongoing

On June 28, 2018, Black Love Resists in the Rust and four individual plaintiffs filed this class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. The plaintiffs sued th…

IMMIGRATION AND/OR THE BORDER

Castanon Nava v. Department of Homeland Security

1:18-cv-03757 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Filed Date: May 29, 2018

Case Ongoing

This is a case about pretextual vehicle stops used to apprehend undocumented noncitizens in the Chicago area. On May 29, 2018, five noncitizens and two nongovernmental organizations filed this putati…

POLICING

Brown v. Madison County

3:17-cv-00347 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

Filed Date: May 8, 2017

Case Ongoing

On May 8, 2017, ten residents of Madison County filed this class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. The plaintiffs sued Madison County under 42 U.S.C. § 1983,…

POLICING

Collins v. City of Milwaukee

2:17-cv-00234 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Filed Date: Feb. 22, 2017

Case Ongoing

Plaintiffs, ACLU national and the ACLU of Wisconsin, along with Covington & Burling attorneys, filed this class action alleging that the Milwaukee Police Department's (MPD) stop-and-frisk policies we…

POLICING

United States v. City of Ferguson

4:16-cv-00180 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Filed Date: Feb. 10, 2016

Case Ongoing

On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, a majority-Black city in the St. Louis metro area. The sho…

POLICING

Plaintiffs #1-21 v. The County of Suffolk

2:15-cv-02431 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Filed Date: April 29, 2015

Case Ongoing

This is a case about the Suffolk County Police Department’s failure to investigate and eliminate discriminatory patterns and practices such as targeting Latinos for traffic and pedestrian stops, stea…

POLICING

United States of America v. County of Los Angeles

2:15-cv-03174 | U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Filed Date: April 28, 2015

Case Ongoing

The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division initiated a civil investigation of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department on August 19, 2011. The investigation focused on allegations of unconstit…

POLICING

United States v. Johnson

1:12-cv-01349 | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

Filed Date: Dec. 20, 2012

Closed Date: Aug. 17, 2021

On December 20, 2012, following a two-year investigation, the United States of America filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The US sued th…

POLICING

United States v. East Haven

3:12-cv-01652 | U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

Filed Date: Nov. 20, 2012

Closed Date: 2017

On November 20, 2012, the United States of America filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The plaintiff sued the Town of East Haven and the East Haven Board of…

POLICING

United States v. City of New Orleans

2:12-cv-01924 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Filed Date: July 24, 2012

Case Ongoing

In 2010, New Orleans Mayor Mitchell Landrieu invited the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to review civil rights issues at the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), and propose any necessary reforms.…

POLICING

Chacon v. East Haven Police Department

3:10-cv-01692 | U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

Filed Date: Oct. 26, 2010

Closed Date: 2018

On October 26, 2010, a group of Latino men and women filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985(3), 1986, and Title VI of the Civil Right…

POLICING

Morrow v. City of Tenaha

2:08-cv-00288 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Filed Date: July 24, 2008

Case Ongoing

On July 24, 2008, plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, against the City of Tenaha. The plaintiffs were all individuals who were traveling on public…

POLICING

Melendres v. Arpaio

2:07-cv-02513 | U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

Filed Date: Dec. 12, 2007

Case Ongoing

This case concerns racial profiling by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (“MCSO”) in Arizona. On December 12, 2007, Latino motorists filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the …

POLICING

Allen v. City of Oakland

3:00-cv-04599 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: Dec. 17, 2000

Case Ongoing

On December 17, 2000, several citizens filed this §1983 class action lawsuit against the City of Oakland and its police department in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, …

POLICING

U.S. v. City of Los Angeles

2:00-cv-11769 | U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Filed Date: Nov. 3, 2000

Closed Date: 2013

On November 3, 2000, the United States filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California under 42 U.S.C. §14141, alleging that the City of Los Angeles, its Board of …

POLICING

U.S. v. State of New Jersey

3:99-cv-05970 | U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Filed Date: Dec. 12, 1999

Closed Date: 2009

On December 12, 1999, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed this lawsuit against the State of New Jersey and its Division of State Police under 42 U.S.C. § 14141 in …

POLICING

U.S. v. City of Columbus, Ohio

2:99-cv-01097 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

Filed Date: Oct. 21, 1999

Closed Date: 2002

In 1998, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) conducted an investigation of the Columbus Division of Police (CDP). As a result of the investigation, the DOJ determined that CD…

POLICING

Rodriguez v. California Highway Patrol

5:99-cv-20895 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: June 3, 1999

Closed Date: 2006

On June 3, 1999, Plaintiffs, represented by ACLU, filed suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California against the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and…

POLICING

In re Cincinnati Policing

1:99-cv-03170 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

Filed Date: April 30, 1999

Closed Date: 2009

On April 30, 1999, Bomani Tyehimba, an African-American male, filed a lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio alleging that he was subjected…

POLICING

Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches v. Department of Maryland State Police

1:98-cv-01098 | U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Filed Date: April 10, 1998

Closed Date: 2008

On April 10, 1998, the Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches ("NAACP") and eighteen individuals filed this §1983 class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District Maryland. The p…

POLICING

U.S. v. City of Steubenville

2:97-cv-00966 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

Filed Date: Aug. 28, 1997

Closed Date: 2005

On August 28, 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint against the City of Steubenville pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §14141 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to reme…

POLICING

U.S. v. City of Pittsburgh

2:97-cv-00354 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Filed Date: Feb. 26, 1997

Closed Date: 2005

On February 26, 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint against the City of Pittsburgh ["City"], the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police ["PBP"], and the Department of Public Safety pursuant t…

POLICING

NAACP v. City of Carmel

1:97-cv-00104 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Filed Date: Jan. 23, 1997

Closed Date: 2001

On January 23, 1997, the Indianapolis Chapter/NAACP and David Smith filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against t…

POLICING

Chavez v. Illinois State Police

1:94-cv-05307 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Filed Date: Aug. 30, 1994

Closed Date: 2001

On August 30, 1994, Peso Chavez, a Hispanic private investigator and New Mexico resident, filed a class action suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, pursuant to 42 U.…

JAIL CONDITIONS

Foote v. Spiegel

2:94-cv-00754 | U.S. District Court for the District of Utah

Filed Date: Aug. 1, 1994

Closed Date: Feb. 16, 2001

A motorist brought this suit under § 1983 against Utah State Troopers, corrections officers, and the state of Utah on August 1, 1994 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. The motorist …

POLICING

Wilkins v. Maryland State Police

1:93-cv-00468 | U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Filed Date: Feb. 12, 1993

Closed Date: 2008

On February 12, 1993, Robert L. Wilkins, an African-American attorney, and three of his relatives filed a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against the Stat…

POLICING

Wilson v. Tinicum Township

2:92-cv-06617 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Filed Date: Nov. 17, 1992

Closed Date: 1996

On November 17, 1992, four African-American plaintiffs filed a class action suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged unconstit…