#Minnesota & other #states would thus do well to shore up their capacity to get a rapid federal-court injunction against #EvidenceTampering. For technical reasons, there is a specific way to make sure this possibility is always available∶ Enact a #law that allows a state’s atty to seek damages of >$75k against anyone who has violated the constitutional rights of a MN citizen. Then allow the state’s atty to file suit in federal court, & to expeditiously seek a bench warrant to preserve #evidence.

In practical effect, this would be a device to transform ICE’s #obstruction into not just a violation of #state #law, but also of a #federal-court order.

#Criminal #liability by its nature comes too late to stop harms from happening. #States such as #Minnesota should also look to #CivilLaw as a basis for stopping baleful & unlawful #ICE tactics. This also requires some creative thinking—taking a legal tool designed for other purposes & fitting it to our new reality.

#Minnesota & other #states would thus do well to shore up their capacity to get a rapid federal-court injunction against #EvidenceTampering. For technical reasons, there is a specific way to make sure this possibility is always available∶ Enact a #law that allows a state’s atty to seek damages of >$75k against anyone who has violated the constitutional rights of a MN citizen. Then allow the state’s atty to file suit in federal court, & to expeditiously seek a bench warrant to preserve #evidence.

…when a direct path to #justice is blocked, #states need to find a work-around. The federal prosecution of the #Minneapolis officers responsible for #GeorgeFloyd’s death offers a model. E.G., officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, & Alexander Kueng were held criminally liable for acts beyond the killing. 1st, they failed to provide medical assistance to Floyd as he was dying. 2nd, Lane & Kueng made misleading omissions, while Kueng also lied to investigators in the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s death.