Amicus Brief in Support of Marcus Mitchell for 2016 Dakota Pipeline Demonstration

Tiffany Wright, Edward Williams (adjunct professor and co-directors of Howard Law’s Human and Civil Rights Clinic), and Jade Gasek (Orrick Fellow), submitted a brief to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of Marcus Mitchell regarding the exercise of his constitutional rights at the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2017 in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

The brief, written on behalf of the Clinic as amicus curiae, highlights the long differential treatment of protestors of color as as compared to white protestors and the disproportionate, and often militarized, force used against them by law enforcement.

The brief urges the Eight Circuit to reverse the district court’s decision dismissing Mr. Mitchell’s First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment claims with prejudice and acknowledge the historic injustices faced by protestors of color when raising dissent.