7 minute read
Justice for Jamail
Working in triplicate, alumni team up to win settlement in new era of law enforcement accountability
JUSTICE FOR JAMAIL
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The case
Ten years before videos of a police officer suffocating George Floyd launched nationwide protests, Jamail Amron called 911 asking for help. Paramedics arrived, followed by deputies with Harris County Constable Precinct 4.
From there, the details diverge, depending on who is telling the story. Regardless, it ends with Amron being pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later. Understandably, Amron’s parents struggled to see how the events, as described by law enforcement, could have led to their son’s death. Their search for clarity connected them with South Texas College of Law Houston alumnus Brad Gilde ’04.
An accomplished trial attorney, Gilde would spend nearly a decade pursuing justice for Amron’s family. Along the way two additional STCL Houston alumni, Andrew Bender ’12 and Sharon McCally ’90, would join the fight. Though their time at the law school spanned nearly 25 years, the passion and talent cultivated in the advocacy program was both an important bond and a tactical advantage. 42 U.S.C. §1983
The trial
Despite the challenges that come with pursuing a 42 U.S.C. §1983 civil rights complaint, Gilde signed on as lead attorney in fall 2012, just before the statute of limitations expired. Gilde had extensive litigation experience. He knew these types of cases were unique and the options for finding representation were limited. Amron’s parents, Ali Amron and Barbara Coats, had previously approached several other attorneys, and they all declined to take the case. “I find constitutional law, and specifically civil rights cases, to be the most complicated and difficult from a legal and a trial standpoint,” Gilde said. “We’ve got some of the best lawyers in the world in this city, but I can count on one hand the number of lawyers I would feel comfortable sending a civil rights or constitutional case.”
While the similarities of what happened to Jamail Amron and George Floyd are apparent, a significant difference created one of Gilde’s biggest hurdles. “Amron’s death happened in September 2010, before cell phone cameras were omnipresent, so we had to rely on the eyewitness testimony of one person,” Gilde said. “The cameras and mics that were in place should have been on and recording at the time of the incident, according to police policies. But they were not.” Not surprisingly, the political, social and tactical realities of trying these cases only add to their unpopularity among attorneys. “When I began litigating the case in 2012, everything was met with hostility from Harris County,” Gilde said. “Everything was met with motions to compel. When we got information, it was boxes and boxes and boxes we had to sort through. Also, if you’re suing a city or a county where you live, where you pay taxes, you’re perhaps inflicting pain on yourself. And if you end up on appeal, you have to roll the dice on whose courtroom you’re going to land in and how that impacts your likelihood of success.” The Civil Rights Act of 1871 is a federal statThe team ute, numbered 42 U.S.C. § 1983. It provides legal protections against civil rights violations by the government. Sometimes called Section 1983 lawsuits, these cases allow individuals to sue when their constitutional or federal rights are deprived by someone acting "under color of" a state-level or local law. It is often invoked to argue excessive force by law enforcement officers. Knowing the odds were not necessarily in his favor, Gilde enlisted the help of a fellow STCL Houston graduate he knew to be an outstanding brief writer and appellate attorney. Bender came on board in 2015 to assist with an interlocutory appeal during the pre-trial phase. “This case really checked all the boxes for me,” Bender said. “Even at that time, we were in the wake of the unrest in Ferguson, and there was already a national movement underway regarding police brutality and people of color. I knew this was an important opportunity to help a family seeking justice, and also to develop better law.” Bender would remain part of the team as the trial began in 2017. At the conclusion of the arguments, a jury deliberated six hours before unanimously awarding just over $11 million to Amron’s parents. The win was a long time coming.
Unfortunately, it was also short-lived.
An appeal by Harris County resulted in Gilde turning to the South Texas alumni network yet again — this time for, in his words, “the best oral advocate on the planet.” Gilde and Bender asked McCally to assist with the post-trial appellate phase. A former justice on the Texas 14th District Court of Appeals, McCally had worked with Bender previously, both via the STCL Houston advocacy program and in private practice since her retirement from the judiciary. “I read portions of the transcript of the trial and was impressed with Brad and Andrew’s handling of all aspects of the case,” McCally said. “The South Texas fingerprint was evident in their work, so I agreed to join the team.”
The outcome
In February 2020, a state appeals court reduced the initial verdict to $1 million. However, the work of the attorneys from Houston’s oldest law school continued until the saga concluded in April 2021. Harris County agreed to a $4.75 million settlement with the trio’s clients. While Amron’s parents had waited more than a decade for a resolution, and Gilde’s involvement dated back nearly as long, he pointed to his clients’ determination as a critical factor.
“The family was extremely motivated to see this to the end,” Gilde said. “What kept me strong and kept me going was the client’s desire to see it through. It was their desire to get answers. That strength and stamina was very important.” Gilde also said the current emphasis on police reform, along with more visible cases of police brutality, are having a positive impact. “Sadly, these cases are almost always turned down — not because the case is weak or because you don’t have a victim who was harmed and deserves some measure of justice, but because they seem too difficult,” Gilde said.
The future
Going forward however, Gilde is optimistic that success in the courtroom, along with the greater awareness and social pressures, will result in the willingness of more attorneys to pursue cases like Amron’s. In fact, he’s already seen evidence to support his hope. “More recently, a number of successful firms began taking these cases, and that gives me some happiness,” Gilde said. “Not only will fewer victims be swept under the rug, but we’ll
SEPTEMBER 30, 2010 JAMAIL AMRON 23 YEARS OLD hopefully see more accountability and internal enforcement of policing so we n Amron called 911 to report a bad reaction don’t have these issues.” to cocaine, but refused treatment when Regardless of where the future paramedics arrived. of civil rights cases is heading, Gilde, n Deputies from Harris County Constable Bender and McCally all agree their
Precinct 4 also responded and found him past training at South Texas brought seated in a nearby parking lot. He resisted incredible value to this case. They were their efforts to return to the ambulance. all active in the school’s advocacy pron During a struggle, Amron was injected grams under the late Dean T. Gerald twice with a sedative and restrained on the Treece and are unwavering on the ground. A witness reported one of the depu- effectiveness of that experience. ties placed his boot over Amron’s mouth and “There is no substitute for prepanose and pressed down hard for several ration,” McCally said. “Countless minutes. Subsequently, he stopped breathing hours of moot court practice rounds and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. shaped and refined my arguments n None of the equipment that could provide and my thinking on the case, and clarity — dashboard cameras in all the there is no shortcut for that kind of responding cruisers and audio recorders on preparation in private practice.” each officer — were recording the incident. Bender added, “What’s special about South Texas is that we don’t just sit around and talk about the theory behind issues. Instead, we actually engage in the appellate process by writing briefs, delivering oral arguments and presenting the case to a jury, just to learn the strategy behind how it’s done. And there’s just not a better way to prepare than that.” Gilde agrees completely. He’s convinced the outcome they achieved is owed, in large part, to the connection they share as alumni. “It was an interesting case that was nearly impossible to win,” Gilde said. “But I think what made it possible was the classical education we received at South Texas, the experience we gained from Dean Treece, and the combined effort of three generations of successful South Texas alums. Without all that, this case would not have been won, and this family would not have received their answers or justice.”
