The New Jersey Supreme Court last month cleared the way for a jury trial for a trans man seeking damages after he alleged being abused by Jersey City police more than four years ago.
In February 2013, Shakeem M. Holmes was arrested in Jersey City for allegedly shoplifting. During his detainment at the local police station, Holmes alleges he was mistreated by police due to his trans status.
One officer threatened to put his fist down Holmes’ throat “like a fucking man,” and others hurled transphobic slurs at him, according to court records.
Holmes filed suit in 2014, noting that a police station is a public accommodation where anti-trans abuse is prohibited under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
In 2015, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Turula dismissed Holmes’ suit. But earlier this year, a three-judge panel of the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division reinstated his suit.
The appellate division said Holmes “was in a uniquely vulnerable position [and] the individuals making the hostile comments were police officers, who wielded tremendous power over arrestees.”
Seeking to avoid a jury trial, Jersey City officials asked the U.S. Supreme Court to re-examine the matter, arguing that Holmes’ complaints were meritless. Jersey City officials maintained that allowing Holmes’ case to proceed to a jury trial would encourage other arrestees to file meritless antibias suits against police.
But attorneys for Holmes urged the high court to let Holmes have his day in court.
“The police do not get a pass simply because [Holmes] was arrested,” Holmes’ attorneys wrote. “An attack upon a person because of his gender identity is an attack upon his very dignity as a human being.”
On Oct. 20, the New Jersey Supreme Court sided with Holmes and denied Jersey City officials’ request to re-examine the matter.
Deborah L. Mains, an attorney for Holmes, issued this statement: “We are pleased that the court has [declined to re-examine the matter] and look forward to the opportunity to present Mr. Holmes’ case to a jury.”
Mains said a trial date hadn’t been set as of presstime.
A Jersey City police spokesperson had no comment for this story.