Detritus of Parties Past

In news that is especially pertinent on this day of partying in the streets, the eleven Mardi Gras victims of 2001 have lost their suit against the city. The victims argued that their constitutional rights (14th Amendment - Due Process) were violated when police shifted tactics and employed the ill-fated "standing around watching" manuever. The judge ruled that the victims were not constitutionally guaranteed police protection from harm, although he did express regret over the events and choices of that day.

From the PI:

"The Constitution does not require the police to make the correct decision at all times, especially in highly volatile and fluid situations as these," [U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik] wrote.

Ruling otherwise, he said, would expose municipalities to "an impossibly high standard and expose them to expensive litigation in a potentially unlimited number of situations."

"At the end of the day, however, it was not the police, but rather private assailants who inflicted those harms upon them. Although the injuries that occurred on Fat Tuesday are tragic, the state of the law in this circuit and this state simply does not impose liability on the city, the chief of police, and the former mayor in these circumstances."