TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Retired Judge Donald to Mediate Tyre Nichols Civil Case

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Dec 27, 2023
News Type: Legal News

Retired federal appeals court judge Bernice Donald will serve as the neutral mediator in a civil lawsuit brought by Tyre Nichols’ family and estate against the city of Memphis, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis and other former city personnel implicated in his death. The Daily Memphian reported today that the mediation is scheduled to begin on Feb. 9, 2024. City officials, as well as former police officers Preston Hemphill and DeWayne Smith and former Memphis Fire Department personnel Robert Long, JaMichael Sandridge and Michele Whitaker — none of whom were charged criminally — have agreed to Donald’s appointment. Five former police officers who were charged in Nichols' death — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith — have not said if they will participate, but likely will not take part until after their criminal cases are resolved. The civil suit alleges that the city and the police chief created an environment that fostered a culture that led to Nichols’ beating and death. The city says the death was the result of five rogue officers. Donald retired from the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last January. She was appointed to the court in 2011 after serving as a federal judge in Tennessee’s Western District.

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