Jason Charpentier
Reiterating the feelings of the St. Louis community as a whole, the Growe Eisen Karlen attorney makes note that disenfranchised minorities disproportionately suffer from cases like this.
St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) May 15, 2014
Growe Eisen Karlen, a well-known personal injury lawyer law firm, litigated the recent case of Travis S. Jones against the City of St. Louis and the St. Louis Police Department, Cause No: 4:12-CV-01220-ERW. According to court documents Jones was allegedly wrongly incarcerated for more than two months on the erroneous belief that he was Mark Crumble, another St. Louis resident wanted for violating parole, under an alias. For Growe Eisen Karlen's Jason Charpentier, these types of civil rights cases still happen far too often.
Speaking to the allegation that the police used Jones's supposed resemblance to Crumble to hold him in jail, Charpentier alleged, "This is the type of situation where one is too many, considering the technology we have in place to identify individuals. In the cases I've seen, the mug shots don't match and the arresting agency fails to compare prints. In this day and age, there is no place for this type of situation to ever occur." Charpentier further commented on the state of the St. Louis PD's system of identifying individuals with outstanding warrants, noting that regardless of how many times a defendant claims they allegedly "have the wrong guy," police have a duty to investigate his identity and make sure the warrant he’s being held on belongs to him.
Reiterating the feelings of some in the St. Louis community, the Growe Eisen Karlen attorney makes note that disenfranchised minorities disproportionately suffer from cases like this. The disenfranchised are more likely to have criminal records and a lack of education; it's often easy for the city's police to start making assumptions where the city's poorer minorities are involved.
Regarding the $62,500 settlement for the victim in this case, Mr. Charpentier believes it was a fair settlement. "That is currently the way our system of justice compensates victims as well as punishes the culpable party," he said. "Freedom is the most cherished liberty we have in this country. It is a slippery slope to start taking that lightly, with anyone."
The Growe Eisen Karlen team is all too aware of the difficulty of litigating civil rights cases. Mr. Charpentier said, "Civil rights cases are not easy, and I've seen even the most egregious case get thrown out of court." That's not to say cases like Travis Jones's don't happen, cases where justice is actually served. "If you believe in your client and believe you have the ability to right a wrong," Charpentier notes, "You have to fight, no matter how daunting the task." For Jones, that attitude made all the difference.
About Growe Eisen Karlen:
At Growe Eisen Karlen in St. Louis, Missouri, we have created a relaxed, productive environment in which you can freely discuss your case. Our clients value the comfortable setting our office provides for them. Yet, with many cases such as auto accidents or criminal cases, clients are unable to leave their homes or hospital beds to come to our office, even though they need an accident attorney or a St. Louis employment attorney. We regularly visit clients at their locations in order to better accommodate them and address their needs.