From: Morgan Guyton (mguyton@floc.com)
Date: Thu Oct 24 2002 - 17:22:56 EDT
Federal Appeals Court Denies Ohio State Highway Patrol Immunity In Racial
Profiling Suit: Six Year Old Civil Rights Case Finally Moves Forward
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS: Morgan Guyton, FLOC, 419-243-3456
J. Mark Finnegan, Heberle & Finnegan, 734-302-3233
Kimberly M. Skaggs, Equal Justice Foundation, 614-221-9800
CINCINNATI – Monday, October 21, 2002 – In a significant, precedent-setting
decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has
thrown out Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers’ claims to immunity in racial
profiling lawsuits where Latinos are allegedly targeted for immigration
questions based solely upon their race or national origin. The Court also
ruled that troopers could not seize and retain green cards without probable
cause to do so.
The Equal Justice Foundation of Columbus, Ohio, filed a class-action lawsuit
in 1996 on behalf of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), a union of
migrant and seasonal farm workers in northwest Ohio. The lawsuit was filed
after the Highway Patrol stopped Jose Aguilar and Irma Esparza near Toledo,
Ohio for a faulty headlight. During the course of the stop, the troopers
demanded to see Aguilar and Esparza’s green cards – which were valid – and
confiscated the green cards for a period of four days. Aguilar and Esparza
received no receipts for their green cards when they were confiscated or
information on when and how they could get them back.
The lawsuit claimed that Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers violated Latino
migrant farm workers’ constitutional rights by interrogating them about
their immigration status and, in some cases, confiscating their immigration
documents without cause to do so, on the basis of their Latino appearance.
The troopers claimed immunity from suits for these claims. The appeals
court has upheld the district court’s determination that the troopers are
not entitled to immunity from suit for these claims. The case has been
remanded to the district court for further proceedings.
FLOC President Baldemar Velasquez was elated by the ruling. Velasquez said,
“After dragging on for six years, this landmark civil rights case is showing
true progress. The federal appeals court has clearly stated that state
troopers are not above the law. Now that we have triumphed over their
delaying tactics, we can bring this matter to a just resolution, which will
hopefully result in sweeping changes in law enforcement policy.”
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