Washington, D.C. Landmark Legal Settlements
$13.7M settlement in lawsuit against D.C.
A federal judge OK’d a $13.7 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against the District of Columbia over the mass arrests of protesters outside of the World Bank. The lawsuit arose out of a protest in 2000, where hundreds of people were arrested near the World Bank and International Monetary Fund buildings. According to the lawsuit, protesters and bystanders were trapped on all sides by police and then arrested in a calculated attempt to disrupt days of planned protests. Many people were held for hours in harsh conditions, the suit alleged. Under the settlement, those arrested received $18,000 each, and all arrest records were expunged.
Gunmaker, store agree to payout in sniper case
Two survivors and the families of six slain victims of the 2002 D.C. sniper shootings reached a $2.5 million settlement with the manufacturer of the Bushmaster rifle, used during the attacks, and the gun shop from which it had been stolen. The case marked the first time a gun-maker paid damages for crimes committed with its weapons. Snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were arrested in their car in October 2002 with the stolen Bushmaster XM-15 semiautomatic assault rifle, which ballistics tests showed was used in nearly all of the Beltway sniper attacks, totaling 13 shootings in three weeks, 10 of them fatal.
Settlement in case of D.C. quadriplegic who died in jail
The mother of a quadriplegic inmate who died after suffering breathing problems in the District of Columbia Jail reached a settlement with the D.C. government. Jonathan Magbie, 27, a resident of nearby Maryland, was paralyzed from the neck down and used a mouth-operated wheelchair to get around. He was arrested for marijuana possession in April 2003 by D.C. police and sentenced to ten days in to jail.
Magbie died in jail because the infirmary did not have a ventilator to help him breathe at night. As part of the settlement, correctional officials have agreed to modify a number of policies in order to protect prisoners with severe medical problems and physical disabilities. Also, prisoners with medical needs that can't be met by correctional staff must be transferred to a facility that can provide an appropriate level of medical care.
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