Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote Monday that the court is developing a ādisturbing trendā of siding with police officers accused of excessive force at the expense of their alleged victims, a notion disputed by two of her colleagues.
Sotomayor was arguing that the court should have accepted the case of Richardo Salazar-Limon, who was shot in the back by Houston police officer Chris Thompson in 2010. A federal district judge dismissed Salazar-Limonās suit before trial, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld that decision, the Washington Post reports.
What happened in the incident that left Salazar-Limon crippled is disputed, Sotomayor wrote in her dissent, and a decision on which man is telling the truth should be made by āa jury sitting as finder of fact, not a judge reviewing a paper record.ā
What made Sotomayorās dissent unusual was the criticism of the courtās past decisions.
Her colleaguesā failure to accept the case ācontinues a disturbing trend regarding the use of this courtās resources,ā Sotomayor wrote in an opinion joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
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