Mckesson v Doe, (2020), was a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that temporarily halted a lawsuit by a police officer against an activist associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, and instructed the lower federal court (the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit) to seek clarification of state law from the Louisiana Supreme Court. At issue was whether the activist, DeRay Mckesson, could be liable under Louisiana tort law for injuries caused by other people at a protest. Mckesson had argued that the First Amendment's protection of freedom of assembly should block the lawsuit entirely. The Court's decision to instead redirect the tort law issue to the Louisiana Supreme Court means that the constitutional question was delayed or avoided.
Background.
In July 2016, the shooting of Alton Sterling by police led to intense protests in Baton Rouge. DeRay Mckesson, an early organizer of the Black Lives Matter movement, participated in these protests and was among over 100 people arrested by Baton Rouge police. The protests included some violent moments, the worst of which was the ambush shooting of six police officers by a man named Gavin Long on July 17. At one protest where Mckesson was present, which blocked a highway in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters, some protesters took to throwing objects at police, possibly including water bottles, rocks, or pieces of concrete. One of the thrown objects struck and injured an officer, identified in the lawsuit only as "John Doe." His injuries included brain injuries, jaw injuries, and missing teeth.
One of the officers shot by Gavin Long would sue Mckesson and other organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement, but that case, titled Smith v Mckesson, would be dismissed, and the dismissal upheld by the Fifth Circuit in an unpublished (for example, not precedential) opinion.
District Court.
Office "John Doe" sued Mckesson and Black Lives Matter in federal court, arguing that Mckesson was "in charge of the protests", and were therefore responsible for the actions of the protestors. Mckesson argued that the precedent set in NAACP v Claiborne Hardware (a 1982 case that limited the liability of protest organizers) meant the case should be dismissed. Judge Brian Jackson agreed with Mckesson:
. . .the Complaint fails to state a plausible claim for relief against Mckesson and it names as a Defendant a social movement . . ."BlackLivesMatter" — a hashtag — lacks the capacity to be sued. . .
— Doe v Mckesson, (2017) (Judge Jackson, emphasis in original)
