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21 U. Pa. J.L. & Soc. Change 29 (2018)
Why International Law Should Matter to Black Lives Matter: A Draft Petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Behalf of the Family of Eric Garner

handle is hein.journals/hybrid21 and id is 35 raw text is: WHY INTERNATIONAL LAW SHOULD MATTER TO BLACK LIVES MATTER: A DRAFT PETITION TO THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY OF ERIC GARNER* BY: LAURA GOOLSBY The United States consistently fails to provide effective remedies to victims of unlawful force perpetrated by police departments around the country. Efforts to address this impunity and underlying systemic racism have met with limited success. Recently, activists and scholars have begun calling for international review of these practices. This article explains why petitioning the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of black victims of police brutality is a worthwhile and necessary effort. The Inter-American Commission is the only international arbiter that has jurisdiction over complaints by individuals against the United States. As such, the Commission's complaint mechanism is tailor-made for bringingjustice to victims and their families. It willforce the United States to publicly respond to the Commission. Victims andfamilies will have access to vital facts and evidence that have thus far been lacking. Moreover, adjudication by the Commission will allow the first in-depth examination of systemic racism in the U.S. justice system by a neutral authority. This article offers a draft petition to the Commission on behalf of the family of Eric Garner, whose death at the hands of police officers is but one of many instances of the systemic racism and impunity that exist in the United States. This draft petition will demonstrate why U.S. actions constitute substantive international law violations. It will also provide a procedural template for advocates, victims, and practitioners to follow. INTRODUCTION ........................... ................ 30 DRAFT PETITION TO THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY OF ERIC GARNER. ......... ........... 36 I. INTRODUCTION ........................................ ......... 36 II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND .............. .......... 38 A. Seizure and Killing of Eric Garner ................... ................. 38 B. Domestic Legal Proceedings ........................... ......... 40 1. Criminal Proceedings ........................... ........... 40 2. Civil Proceedings ......................................... 40 III. ADMISSIBILITY ........................ .................. 41 A.The Commission has the Jurisdiction and the Competence to Hear this Complaint ...................................................... 41 B. The Petitioners Have Exhausted Domestic Remedies ........ ........... 41 C. Submission of this Complaint is Within the Appropriate Timeframe .............. 43 * This article is dedicated to the memory of Eric Garner, who should be alive today, and to his family, who fight tirelessly for justice. I would like to thank Professor William J. Aceves for his advice, passion, and mentorship. Thank you also to Professor Ruth M. Hargrove, who believed in me, always. I would also like to thank the California Western Jessup team and coaches, who continuously inspire my passion for human rights law. And thank you to the hardworking editors of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change. Finally, thank you to Booboo, Memaw, Ben, and the rest of my amazing family, without whom the world would be a darker place.

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