'Lawyering while black': Maryland Legal Aid attorney says Harford officer mistook him for suspect
'Lawyering while black': Maryland Legal Aid attorney says Harford officer mistook him for suspect, detained him
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aegis/bs-md-ci-20190326-story.html
On March 6, James appeared in Harford County District Court to represent a client. His client was not present, but there was an open warrant out for his client’s arrest, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges an officer detained and questioned James after the hearing, suspecting he was his client impersonating a lawyer. James showed his driver’s license, but the officer did not believe it was valid, the complaint said.
“This is actually the first time this has occurred to me, and I do not know of any colleagues who have had a similar experience,” James said in an interview. “In the moment, it was sort of surreal in the sense that I guess it was just one of those unexpected things that I just did not anticipate.”
James said he was the only black attorney in the courtroom, and it was his first time representing a client in Harford County.
After about 10 minutes, he was released, according to the complaint.
“We kind of know all the ways in which people of color, particularly African-American men, are kind of viewed as suspicious characters, and this is just another instance like that happening,” said Chelsea Crawford, an attorney with Brown Goldstein Levy representing James. “I haven’t heard of anything like this.”
