Attorneys Jim Acho, Shane Nolan and Stanley Okoli Win Lawsuit Filed Against City of Detroit and Board of Police Commissioners

Jim Acho, a partner in our Livonia office, successfully represented the City of Detroit in a lawsuit filed by Detroit Police Commissioner Board Member Willie Burton. The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit last month, and yesterday denied the petition for rehearing rendering the case over.

Burton was removed from the July 11, 2019 Board of Police Commissioners meeting at the Durfee Information Center on Detroit’s west side. He was arrested for continual disruptive behavior. He sued the City of Detroit, the police department, and police commission chair Lisa Carter. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, claimed police violated his First Amendment right to free speech, his Fourth Amendment right to be free from illegal seizure, and his Fifth Amendment right to due process. He claimed to have suffered “emotional and psychological harm, indignity, anxiety, mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation…and physical injuries.”

Mr. Acho and Shane Nolan represented with the City, police department, and Police Commissioner Chair Lisa Carter. Stanley Okoli handled the appeal at the Sixth Circuit.

Attorney Jim Acho states, “I am ecstatic, the court of appeals upheld, the federal judges, ruling dismissing Mr. Burton’s case. We seem to have lost civility in this country when it comes to city councils or police boards, or PTA meetings. A ruling like this sends a clear message that civility and rules of order is paramount.”