A federal judge granted a motion by the NAACP and the ACLU to transfer their case against the city alleging illegal arrests to another judge already hearing a similar case, after lawyers for both organizations argued that the move was necessary to save time.
But attorneys for the city argued that the motion would combine the NAACP case with an unrelated case concerning strip search procedures at central booking, and would involve the city in what could possibly become a class-action lawsuit.
Federal Judge Richard Bennett granted the motion to move the case “in the interest of fairness” over the objections by attorneys representing the city.
The case was assigned to federal Judge Catherine Blake, who is currently hearing Jones vs. Murphy. That case, which was filed in 2005, alleges strip searches at central booking are illegal, and is currently on the docket of Blake?s docket.
The NAACP and the ACLU filed a lawsuit in June against the police department and the city alleging the police were making illegal arrests. The case includes five plaintiffs who the suit said were illegally arrested.
NAACP attorneys argued that moving the case to Blake?s docket would save time and money for both parties. Meredith Curtis, spokeswoman for the ACLU, said her organization was seeking consistency on rulings regarding constitutional issues common to both cases.
“Substantial overlap exists between the issues involved in both cases, so it makes sense to bring them before the same judge,” she said.
But attorneys for the city said assigning the case to another judge would unnecessarily involve the city in an unrelated case that concerns Central Booking, a state facility that houses defendants arrested by city police officers.
“The defendants will be drawn into a lengthy class suit that has nothing to do with policy,” said Karen Horning, attorney for the police department.
But Bennett said both cases raised similar constitutional issues, and would be best heard before the same judge.
“Pattern and practice … is not an issue that stops at a particular door,” the judge said.
