BIBIPHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK
NAMELESS
AND SHAMELESS
empted a jury verdict in the trial
against the federal agents. He
ruled that, given the evidence, no
reasonable jury could find in the
plaintiffs’ favor, and in addition
ordered the Burleys to pay the
DEA agents $5,000 to compensate them for court costs.
“These women are destitute,”
Okoli told HuffPost. “That was
completely discretionary. He
didn’t have to do that.” Because
the women couldn’t pay, the government moved to garnish their
Social Security disability checks
to cover the fine.
The Burleys appealed, and last
month, a panel from the U.S. Court
HUFFINGTON
10.06.13
of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the dismissal of Wayne County officials from the lawsuit, but
reinstated the suit against the federal agents. The court found that
“the agents’ intent to conceal contributed to the plaintiffs’ impaired
ability to identify them.” The court
also vacated the order for the Burleys to pay court costs.
But the court still stopped short
of ordering the government to
produce the names of the agents
who conducted the raid. The Burleys and their attorneys will need
to fight the government’s lawyers
and Friedman, who will preside
over the new trial as well.
Okoli welcomes the Sixth Circuit’s decision. But he said that,
in addition to having to go before
According to
one estimate,
more than
100 times
per day in
America,
police teams
break down
doors to
serve search
warrants
on those
suspected of
drug crimes.