Breonna Taylor Symposium

UK Rosenberg College of Law Hosts Daylong Breonna Taylor Symposium

Law student and panelist Ashlei McPherson

Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott Law student Chabre Woods

Law student Dwight Haggard III Panelist and Asst. Prof. Ramsi Woodcock

Panelist Njeri Mathis Rutledge

The UK J. David Rosenberg College of Law hosted a daylong symposium, “Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor,” on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020, over Zoom. The symposium featured five panel discussions among lawyers, law professors, activists, practitioners, politicians, and students. The panels probed legal issues surrounding the case – criminal charges and defenses, search warrant inconsistencies, damages awarded to the family, the federal investigation, and the impact of race on policing. “This extraordinary event led by Professor Blanche Cook is a credit to the work, compassion, passion, dedication, and experience of so many of our panelists, our moderators, and others behind the scenes,” said Dean Mary J. Davis, who provided welcome remarks. Panelists included attorneys for Breonna Taylor’s family and nationally recognized experts in both criminal law and procedure. UK Rosenberg Law students served as moderators for each of the five panels: The Substantive Problem with Charges, The Procedural Irregularities with the Case, The Damages (How do parties arrive at the damages award?), The Feds (What are anticipated problems with the federal proceeding?), and Race and Policing.

Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville home on March 13, 2020. “A search warrant is what gave the officers the lawful authority to be there if the facts are as they have been presented. Of course, this case has been very confusing and trying to get to the truth of everything has been challenging,” said Njeri Mathis Rutledge, a professor of law at South Texas College of Law Houston, who also served as an associate judge and has signed hundreds of search warrants in her career. “But a search warrant has to be based on probable cause and an affidavit. So, number one, we know that it was a different officer who swore out the affidavit than the officers who executed the search. When I look at the affidavit…I found about five or six things that concern me.” Rutledge sat on the second panel with four others, including UK Rosenberg Law Professor Cortney Lollar who further discussed problems with the execution of the warrant. All the panel discussions were recorded and are available to view at law.uky.edu/academics/ breonna-taylor-day-long-symposium. Dwight Haggard III, who was a third-year law student at the time of the event, introduced the lunch speaker, Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott of Louisville. “I have followed her journey in activism since high school, and I find courage in knowing that she is fighting for justice throughout the state of Kentucky,” Haggard said. “Her story is truly extraordinary.” Scott talked about the sustained “marches, rallies, and powerful solidarity” on the ground in downtown Louisville following Breonna Taylor’s death. She spoke of being tear gassed, and she questioned the riot gear used by police. Scott was arrested during a protest on Sept. 24. Felony riot charges were later dropped. “Black people in Louisville are in the midst of twin pandemics: Covid-19 and systemic racism,” Scott said. “Black people are disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, and we are constantly under the terror of the system of policing—a system that grew out of keeping our Black bodies enslaved.”