Practice Areas ➤ Civil Rights – Section 1983 cases and more

Anytime you encounter a police officer or any other government official, you have certain rights guaranteed under the United States and Illinois constitutions. Those rights cannot be violated, and things such as wrongful arrest, police brutality, police misconduct, police shootings, prosecutorial misconduct and wrongful prosecutions all are things the government may do that violate your civil rights.

If your rights have been violated, your best and often only recourse is to file a lawsuit against the people and agencies that violated your civil rights. Many of these are filed in Federal court, under Federal law, commonly known as “Section 1983” lawsuits, named for the section of United States Code that protects your civil rights.The Law Offices of Joshua Kutnick can help you if you rights have been violated as a result of:

Unlawful arrests and unlawful searches or seizures

Most often, police must have “probable cause” before they may arrest you, search any of your belongings or seize you or your possessions. Although there are numerous exceptions to this requirement, police have very specific rules of law they must follow when they seize you or anything belonging to you. If they do so without legal justification, your rights may have been violated.

Police Brutality and Shootings

When a police officer shoots or harms someone without justification, the police department often falsely accuses the victim of having done something to provoke the shooting. These cases are extremely difficult to win, but our firm is willing to and has to know-how to put in the hundreds or even thousands of hours required to win your case.

Wrongful Conviction

If you’ve spent time in prison for a crime you didn’t commit, you can never get that time back. But our firm can help you pursue justice if there was misconduct by government officers or officials – including police, prosecutors or anyone else – that wrongfully took that time away from you.

Any civil rights case is complex and intensive litigation, and the longer you wait to hire a lawyer, the more difficult it will be to protect your rights and help you win your case. Consult with Joshua Kutnick as soon as possible to ensure your rights are protected and you can fight those who violated them. Our firm has experience in civil rights litigation, often with very successful results. Contact us today at 312-441-0211 and schedule a consultation. Let us protect you and your rights.