Brief of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioner in Larry Thompson v. Police Officer Pagiel Clark, Shield #28472; Police Officer Paul Montefusco, Shield #10580; Police Officer Phillip Romano, Shield #6295; Police Officer Gerard Bouwmans, Shield #2102, Respondents

Authors

Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Boston University School of LawFollow
Jasmine Gonzales Rose, Boston University School of LawFollow
Neda Khoshkhoo, Boston University
Caitlin GlassFollow

Document Type

Brief

Publication Date

6-11-2020

Publisher

Supreme Court of the United States

Language

en-US

Abstract

INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE

The Boston University Center for Antiracist Research (the “Center”) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit university-based research institution that convenes researchers, scholars, and policy experts across disciplines to find novel and practical ways to understand, explain, and solve seemingly intractable problems of racial injustice and inequity. The Center’s interest in this case arises from its expertise in researching and understanding the harms of policies, practices, and actions that produce and sustain racial inequities, and in advancing antiracist alternatives that promote racial equity.

The Second Circuit’s interpretation of the so-called “favorable termination rule,” which imposes an “indications-of-innocence” standard, is precisely the type of policy the Center is concerned about because it produces, maintains, and exacerbates racial inequities. The indications-of-innocence standard ignores how police officers disproportionately and routinely target Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) with false criminal charges to cover up their abuses of power or to retaliate against BIPOC who assert their constitutional rights. Most importantly, the standard enables police officers who pursue false charges to escape accountability for such misconduct when prosecutors decide to dismiss false charges against innocent defendants who never had an opportunity to prove their innocence.

Comments

Supreme Court docket file: https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/20-659.html

Recommended Citation

Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Jasmine Gonzales Rose, Neda Khoshkhoo & Caitlin Glass, Brief of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioner in Larry Thompson v. Police Officer Pagiel Clark, Shield #28472; Police Officer Paul Montefusco, Shield #10580; Police Officer Phillip Romano, Shield #6295; Police Officer Gerard Bouwmans, Shield #2102, Respondents (2020).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/3785