When you make it your personal mission to fight for the rights and liberties of marginalized communities, the powers that be will make it theirs to put you out of business.
Which is exactly what happened to civil rights attorney Lee Merritt—who just so happens to be holding police officer Amber Guyger accountable for murdering 26-year-old Botham Jean in his own Dallas apartment.
As such, according to The Dallas Morning News, he was facing 16 counts of criminal contempt for practicing state law without a Texas law license. But thankfully, Merritt is now free to assist victims of police misconduct after a judge dismissed the bogus charges.
However, The Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee is considering appealing Thursday’s ruling, according to committee member Leland de la Garza.
But Merritt appears to be unbothered:
“Now back to business,” he tweeted on Friday.
Coincidentally, Merritt has represented the families of Botham Jean, Jordan Edwards and other victims of alleged police brutality in the state of Texas.
While Merritt isn’t licensed to practice state law in Texas, he said that he’s practiced federal law in relation to his clients—specifically as it pertains to federal civil rights laws. He’s also demanding a “public and full-throated” apology for the bogus charges, according to a prepared statement.
“Two years of taxpayer resources were wasted on this witch-hunt and more importantly pulled me away from serving families seeking justice in a system clearly designed to deny them that,” he said.