Defending Civil and Human Rights
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
R. SAMUEL PAZ
Mr. Paz is a native of Los Angeles, and since 1974 has practiced law for the community in Los Angeles, specializing in civil litigation of civil and human rights and selected criminal defense cases.
He has represented civil rights plaintiffs in the Southern, Central and Eastern District Courts of California, and argued before the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 36 years he has been a lawyer, Mr. Paz has a recipient of approximately 30 honors for his legal work. Some of these are: being selected as a Spring 2010 Social Justice Visiting Practitioner at University of Santa Clara Law School; the 2008 City of Los Angeles, Award of Congratulations for being one of seven prior graduates selected for induction into the Benjamin Franklin High School Hall of Honor, presented by Jose Huizar, City Councilman, 14th District; and, the National Lawyer's Guild’s highest award, the 2007 "Honorable Robert W. Kenny Award" for being a pioneer in litigation involving the constitutional rights of persons in jails. Other honors are ACLU’s highest award, the 2003 Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate award; the University of Southern California Law School’s 2002 Inspirational Alumnus award presented by La Raza Law Students; selected as Santa Clara University School of Law’s 1999 Distinguished Advocate in Residence, for distinguished advocacy of human rights in the United States; the 1998 Pillars of a Just Society Award presented by Miller Brewing Company’s as one of the twelve leading Hispanic legal professionals, judges, lawyers, and law professors in the United States; the 1995 Civil Rights Advocate of the Year Award, presented by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; the 1995 Clarence Darrow Award, presented by the People's College of Law, for outstanding advocacy of civil rights; and, the 1995 Outstanding Advocate for Social Justice Award, presented by the National Lawyers Guild.
Mr. Paz has lectured in Europe and Israel on human rights. He has publish over 30 articles and is a frequent guest lecturer on civil rights and litigation at scores of legal seminars and conferences throughout the U.S.
Mr. Paz has also served in a leadership capacity in a number of community and legal organizations including the National Police Accountability Project, the ACLU of Southern California, the National ACLU, Police Watch, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, the Mexican American Bar Association of L.A. County, and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. In 1971, he graduated with honors from UCLA and received a Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California in 1974.
In 1978, in Myerson v. LAPD, Mr. Paz obtained what is considered the first substantial civil award against a police department for illegal spying activities. Shortly thereafter he was a principle member of the ACLU litigation team that obtained a $2,000,000 award and injunction against L.A.P.D. preventing infiltration and illegal collection of information on community and political organizations. Mr. Paz has become known as a leading civil rights attorney, having garnered many victories in cases involving injuries or death caused by police misconduct, including a $8.9 million verdict against L.A.P.D. for the shooting of a L.A. Coliseum gardener. Other cases successfully litigated are Mendoza v. County of Los Angeles, arising from use of restraints and denial of medical attention of a mentally ill person in custody for a misdemeanor offence; Placencia v. County of Los Angeles, (L.A. Sup. 1984) the first verdict in excess of $1 million ($1.4 million) against deputies arising from the new years shooting of a father who was allegedly pointing a rifle at close range at two deputies, Sotero v City of Riverside, a federal civil rights case of Alicia Sotero, and Enrique Funes, Mexican immigrants beaten by two Riverside policemen, and Estrada v. City of Riverside (C.D.Cal.) $ 1.6 million award in the federal civil rights case of stemming from a beating during arrest and denial of medical attention.
Cases of interest include VonColln v. County of Ventura, 189 F.R.D. 583, a class action, injunction and a substantial award preventing the torture of inmates by abuse of a restraint chair; Taylor v. City of Los Angeles, 1999 WestLaw 33101661, (C.D.Cal.) a substantial award for the shooting death of an African-American man who LAPD claimed was pointing a shotgun at the officers; Diaz v. Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the largest award ever arising from police misconduct in Orange County where Gilbert Garcia was severely beaten and killed by jail deputies; and Perkins v. City of Oxnard, a substantial award in the death of a 23 year old African American who was emotionally depressed and was shot and killed while hiding in a closet holding a knife after his mother called mental health for assistance.
Recent successful cases with substantial recovery and providing impetus for policy changes are Aquino v. Los Angeles County Sheriff Dept., (C.D.Cal. 2003) where a substantial award was obtained against the Sheriff’s Department for the suicide death of Conrado Ortega whose family called deputies for assistance because he was mentally depressed and was subsequently denied medical and mental health care by the deputies; Gavira v. County of Los Angeles, the death of Ramon Gavira by strangulation and beatings by deputies; Ortega v. County of Los Angeles, death of a inmate by denial of medical attention and starvation alleging ADA violations; Moye v. Baca, failure of jail guards to supervise allowing an inmate-on-inmate beating causing death, Whitfield v. State, an action proving the failure of CYA officials to provide care causing a double suicide of two juvenile teenagers being held at CYA Ione facility in Northern California and Martinez v City of Oxnard, (C.D.Cal) Cir. 2003) a shooting by police which left the plaintiff partially blind and paralyzed in which a coercive interrogation was upheld as a constitutional violation.
Mr. Paz has been lead counsel or co-lead counsel on a number of cases which have resulted in published opinions:
Jewish Defense Organization Inc. v. Superior Court (Rambam)
72 Cal.App.4th 1045, [84 Cal.Rptr.2nd 611] (1999).
Taylor v. Los Angeles Police Dept.,
1999 WL 33101661 (C.D. Cal.1999).
Von Colln v. Ventura County Sheriff’s Department,
189 F.R.D. 583 (C.D. Cal.1999).
Leon v. San Diego County Sheriff’s Dept.,
115 F. Supp. 2d 1197 (S.D. Cal. 2000).
Leon v. County of San Diego,
2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13470 (S.D. Cal. 2001).
Martinez v. City of Oxnard,
270 F. 3d 852 (9th Cir 2001).
Guadalupe Leon v. San Diego County Sheriff’s Dept.,
202 F.R.D.631 (S.D. Cal. 2001).
Chavez v. Martinez,
538 U.S. 760 (2003)
Martinez v. City of Oxnard,
337 F.3d 1091 (9th Cir. 2003).
Martinez v. City of Oxnard,
2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3218 (C.D. Cal.).
Martinez v. City of Oxnard,
229 F.R.D. 159 (C.D. Cal. 2005).
Corales v. Bennett,
488 F. Supp. 2d 975 (C.D. Cal. 2007).
Corales v. Bennett,
567 F.3d 554 (9th Cir. 2009).
Starr v. Sheriff Lee Baca,
2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 2798 (9th Cir. 2011)
To hold law enforcement personnel and agencies accountable for constitutional violations.
Justice.
