Civil Rights

Hall & Lampros lawyers protect the civil rights of United States residents with a particular focus on enforcing the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and Eighth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

The First Amendment protects the right to free speech, and Hall & Lampros often files cases pursuant to 42 USC § 1983 (Section 1983 cases) to defend First Amendment rights to protect, or to speak up against police officers or other government actors. The right to speak up in the face of government power is a right that must be preserved, and often governments and law enforcement punish and attack persons for using their protected speech.

The Fourth Amendment protects against use of excessive force during stops, arrests, and searches, and against unlawful arrests, and unlawful searches and seizures. Fourth Amendment excessive force and false arrests are major areas of the law we are heavily involved in litigation.

Whereas the Fourth Amendment protects against excessive force during arrests, stops, and searches, the Eighth Amendment the protects individuals who already are convicted and incarcerated.  The Eighth Amendment applies to punishments imposed on prisoners and inmates and protects against inhumane treatment of inmates, excessive disciplinary measures, and denial of basic needs while being incarcerated.

The denial of basic needs is a real area that Hall & Lampros lawyers focus on because two basic needs are routinely denied to Georgia inmates and prisoners: (1) the need for safety and protection from violence; and (2) the need for basic medical care.

Safety from Violence: A federal report of Georgia prisons has recently shined a light on the Georgia prison system, and how gangs and underfunding and aging facilities has led to excessive violence and situations where cell doors do not lock and where prisoners cannot be restrained, and where violence has run a mock. https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/findings_report_-_investigation_of_georgia_prisons.pdf

The Eighth Amendment requires that governments provide safety to incarcerated persons and Hall & Lampros lawyers regularly file lawsuits on behalf of incarcerated persons who have been denied that right.

Another basic need that is crucial and that is required under the Eighth Amendment is the need and the right to medical care The Eighth Amendment guarantees to inmates the right to reasonable medical care. Often, especially in Georgia, the right medical care has been denied to inmates. Hall & Lampros regularly files lawsuits on behalf of inmates who have been denied basic medical care guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment.

Hall Lampros attorneys have achieved significant results for those who have been harmed by constitutional violations by government actors, including law-enforcement and prison systems that have used excessive force. Hall & Lampros‘s lawyers work closely with criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, civil rights advocates, the NAACP, and contribute to organizations that seek to protect individual rights. Hall & Lampros lawyers often speak to groups of young people about what to do in various situations involving law enforcement and other difficult situations where young people find themselves in today’s world.

If you believe that you were a loved one has had their rights taken or abused by a government actor called the offices of Hall & Lampros. We will do our best to help you.