Browning Law News Blog

Last December, Officer Robert Railmo fatally shot 19 year old Quintonio LeGrier and 55 year old Bettie Jones during a morning domestic disturbance call. Now Officer Railmo is filing a $10 million counter lawsuit against the surving family of LeGrier claiming that the deceased cause him emotional trauma. Officer Railmo and his partner arrived at LeGrier's house after his father called the police telling them that LeGrier was walking around with a metal baseball bat and acting erratically. He also told them that LeGrier had recently developed mental health problems. Soon after the officers arrive to the scene LeGrier and Jones, a neighbor, were dead. One of the bullets shot at LeGrier went through his arm and hit Jones in her chest. The city has stated that the fatal shooting was an accident, but the investigation about the deaths is ongoing. LeGrier's mother said that when she visited her son in the hospital before he passed, she noticed that he had seven bullet holes in h...

Jacqueline Renell Charles was arrested in a traffic stop after an officer found a warrant out for her in Mississippi. Charles says she was booked and spent one week in a Louisiana jail before being moved to another jail in Mississippi. On December 2, officers realized that she wasn't the suspect, and she was released. Officials said the original defendant had the name "Earl" tattooed on her arm, but Charles didn't have any tattoos. Furthermore, The Jackson County District Attorney's Office realized the original suspect's name was Jacqueline Marie Charles, and that her birth day and Social Security number didn't match those of Jacqueline Renell Charles. Comments from Allen :   You would not believe how often people are jailed for crimes they did not commit, or for a case of mistaken identity, and even how many people spend time in prison long after their sentences have been served. For anyone who has suffered this wrong, the remedy might be found und...

A Meridian movie theater is suing the Idaho State Police in Federal Court because they are trying to remove the theater's liquor license for showing the R rated movie "50 Shades of Grey. " The case claims that the law on obscenity in films is unconstitutional. The 1999 law in question is Idaho law 23-614 that prohibits movie theaters with liquor licenses from showing movies with acts or simulated acts of sexual intercourse. No matter if the movie is rated R or PG-13. The violation is a misdemeanor that results in a $300 fine per occurrence and/or up to six months in jail and a suspension or revocation of the liquor license. The Meridian Cinema's theater obtained a license in 2013, and undercover detectives have monitored it periodically for obscenity. The theatre says that the law obstructs freedom of speech; therefore, making it unconstitutional. They also cite the Ninth Circuit ruling in LSO ltd. v. Stroh, which established that liquor regulations could not be u...

The KKK in Georgia has taken their adopt-a-highway case up with the Georgia Supreme Court. The Klan has been arguing about their First Amendment rights for over three years. When they filed the application, they wanted the name "IKK Realm of GA, Ku Klux Klan" to appear on the road sign.The Klan has support from the American Civil Liberties Union( Who often defend the rights of individuals aligned with unpopular causes). The state wants to be protected from civil suit or criminal prosecution. The state's Department of Transportation denied their request and stated two reasons for denying their application. The area had a 65 mph speed limit and was not safe for volunteers. The other issue was with their name: KKK. "The impact of erecting a sign naming an organization which as a long-rooted history of civil disturbance would cause a significant public concern," it said. In 2014, a trial judge issued an order ruling that the state's rejection was unconstit...

Texas man, Ronald Jackson, was found not guilty of theft on January 26th after he took his daughter's phone to teach her a lesson. He took the phone because he discovered rude text messages. The daughter's mother, Michelle Steppe, is divorced from Jackson. She complained to the police and suggested that the phone belonged to her. Jackson was arrested by the police and had to pay a $1,500 bond to get out of jail. His case was settled after a two day trial after the judge cited a lack of evidence to move forward in the case and ordered the jury to find Jackson not guilty. Jackson's attorney said that he is planning on filing a federal lawsuit claiming that his civil rights were violated by officials. Comments from Allen : Michelle Steppe, the mother, may very well own the phone. Her husband, the stepfather (or Steppe-father, if you prefer), is a cop, who urged his fellow police officers to arrest Ronald Jackson for theft of his wife's phone. Mr. Jackson and Mrs...