Civil rights are enshrined in the Constitution as a way to protect individuals in this country from infringement and violation from government and other entities. These rights have been fought over in courts during high profile cases where an infringement has occurred due to an unjust law being passed. But smaller cases are fought every day with one service that is supposed to protect us: the police.
Police brutality cases against African Americans have been in the news for the last few years, leading to the rise of advocacy groups like Black Lives Matter. Although police misconduct is hardly something that has just appeared, the level of scrutiny police are under has reached new highs with the addition of safe guards like vest cameras and other devices supposed to increase transparency.
If you believe your civil rights have been violated, there are two legal terms you need to know in order to brief a lawyer about your case. They are deliberate indifference and police brutality.
Deliberate indifference refers to the conscious and reckless disregard for the consequences of one’s own actions. An example of this would be a man who throws a brick off an overpass and causes a car accident. He may not have been intending to cause the car accident, but he can still can be prosecuted for the act.
A deliberate indifference charge is not as serious as an act that is done with the explicit intention to cause harm but more serious than a charge of negligence. It is generally used to judge the acts of those in charge of the health and well-being of inmates. An example of this is when medical treatment is withheld from prisoners.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over 31 million injuries occur to people that necessitate a doctor’s care. In the prison system, these injuries can occur from fellow inmates or even police brutality.
Police brutality is when someone who is considered a member of the police force uses excessive force against a member of the public. These cases are sometimes in the news today. Police brutality is a violation of civil rights and a civil rights attorney or civil rights lawyer will often prosecute the individual and police force responsible for the crime.
You might need to see a deliberate indifference attorney if you are denied medical treatment for a health condition exacerbated by police use of force. Sometimes medical treatment can be withheld if a subject is acting in any way that is not the norm–perhaps erratic or behaving aggressively.
A deliberate indifference attorney, prison abuse attorney, or excessive force attorney can help you put together your case and help you understand the legal process and legal precedent that may lead to a settlement. A deliberate indifference attorney in particular can help you sort through the gray area of when the prison system failed you and caused you harm by just ignoring the issue.
