Sandra Bland was pulled over for dubious reasons, treated rudely by a Texas state trooper, tackled to the ground, and arrested for "assault." She died 3 days later in jail custody. Her family has filed a federal lawsuit against Texas authorities for her arrest and subsequent death in jail custody. Details and commentary on what exactly the lawsuit alleges are below.
On August 4, 2015, attorneys hired by Bland's mother filed a complaint in federal court in Houston. The law firm is a well-known personal injury firm based in San Antonio, employing six lawyers. Three of its more experienced attorneys have listed themselves on the caption.
Who Is Sued
The complaint is 46 pages long and names six defendants. The defendants include Texas trooper Brian Encinia, who pulled Bland over. Also sued are Elsa Magnus and Oscar Prudente, who are jail screening officers, and the employers of each of the individuals sued.
The Alleged Facts
Encinia is accused of various legal counts, which include specific allegations that he made false statements in his police report. The lawsuit alleges that Bland’s lane-change violation was “necessitated” by Encinia pulling her over. The dialogue and altercation that followed are well known and captured on video. Subsequently, the lawsuit alleges, Encinia filed a false charge against Bland of assault on an officer, resulting in her arrest and transportation to the county jail.
Once she was in the jail, she was screened according to routine procedure. It was at this time that her prior suicide attempt was revealed to jail staff. She was then placed inside a jail cell by herself. Inside the cell were numerous items the lawsuit claims were inappropriate: a large garbage can, garbage bags, exposed beams, cords, “and other items.” Over 3 days, Bland apparently refused to eat meals and had several bouts of “uncontrollable crying.” She was permitted to make some phone calls on her first 1 or 2 days, but she was not permitted to on the third day.
On July 13, three days after the arrest, she was found with a ligature made out of a garbage bag around her neck, dead. The lawsuit does not include any allegation that Bland was murdered, or that her death was anything but a suicide.
The Legal Theories
Encinia is accused of the following counts: violation of the federal constitution, assault and battery, and wrongful death. The latter two are tort claims under the state law of Texas. It is notable here that the family is accusing Encinia not just for misconduct during the arrest incident but also for Bland’s death. The wrongful death theory will be difficult to prove, relative to the constitutional and assault claims, because of the need to prove that Encinia could have somehow reasonably foreseen her death in the jail cell.
The sued jail staffers, Magnus and Prudente, are accused in vague terms that are hard to pin down. Generally, they are accused of failing to keep Bland safe from harm, which presumably refers to their failure to act upon learning that she was potentially suicidal. But the lawsuit also refers to vague actions or inaction by staffers to discovering that Bland was unconscious or dead in the cell (e.g., failing to promptly transport her to an emergency room).
The employers of Encinia, Magnus and Prudente are also sued, who are the Texas and Waller County entities. The theories against them are based on the conduct of their respective employees, in addition to theories that they failed to adequately train or supervise their employees.
Who Defends the Defendants?
Probably the taxpayers of Texas and Waller County, ultimately. It’s possible that the Texas Attorney General’s Office will defend Encinia and the Texas entities, but it’s also possible that Texas will hire an outside, private law firm to defend the case for various logistical reasons. The same is basically true for the Waller County employees and entities, except that funding for the defense will come from county coffers, not Texas state coffers. [Update: The New York Times reports that a private law firm has been retained by Waller County.]
It's highly unlikely that any of these defendants, including Encinia, face any exposure to their personal assets. They will be fully protected by the government from any money damages, judgments, etc.
What Happens Next
Each defendant, whether individual or an entity, must file an “answer” to this complaint within a specified time period. The answer will probably contain boilerplate language that states denials of the allegations. Once the answers are filed, the court will probably issue a scheduling order that will govern what happens next in the case. At some point, in compliance with the deadlines, the attorneys for all parties will start the discovery process: taking depositions under oath of witnesses, and exchanging documents and evidence. It’s a lengthy process that will last many months. One to two years of discovery are not unusual in a case of this level of importance.
At any time during this discovery process, any one or all of the defendants could file motions challenging the legal theories against them. If granted, any such motion could result in the dismissal of the case against that particular defendant. You can probably expect such a motion filed by Encinia's and the State of Texas lawyers, because of the weakness of the legal theory connecting Bland's death to Encinia's arrest. [Ed.- The weakness I'm talking about is only in connection with the wrongful-death part of the case against Encinia. The constitutional and assault theories against him strike me as pretty strong ones.]
7:24 PM PT: Various attorneys from plaintiff personal injury firms in Chicago have joined the lawsuit, as co-counsel for the family.
On August 5, the court ordered a general status conference to be held on September 15, 2015.
Sunday, Apr 22, 2018 · 3:39:20 PM +00:00
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AZcentrist
The parties settled this case in October of 2016. CNN reported the settlement figure as $1.9 million. In effect, this was a surrender by the state of Texas by acknowledging that they were going to lose this case and it was not defensible.