Examining Breonna Taylor’s Death

The death of Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker who Louisville police officers shot and killed in March 2020 during a botched raid on her apartment, became one of the main drivers of wide-scale demonstrations that erupted in that spring and summer over policing and racial injustice in the United States.

On October 23, 2020 the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law hosted a day-long symposium on Breonna Taylor. Five panel discussions of lawyers, law professors, activists, practitioners, politicians, and students probed the legal issues surrounding the criminal charges and defenses, search warrant inconsistencies, damages awarded to the family, the federal investigation, and the impact of race on policing. The Academy for Justice, led by Deputy Director Valena Beety, edited and curated the webinar videos from the symposium into short videos for educational purposes. In the below video link, the two ASU Law students who worked on this project with Professor Beety, Tihanne Mar-Shall and Alyssa Padilla, speak about their experience. Links to all the Breonna Taylor Teaching videos can be found further below or on the A4J YouTube channel. 

Breonna Taylor Panel Five – What does it mean to “defund” the police?

Discussion of what it means to defund or reallocate funds for police:

Maya S. Marshall, Student, UKY Rosenberg College of Law
Lonita Baker, Attorney for Breonna Taylor’s family
Jalila Jefferson-Bullock, Associate Professor, Duquesne University Jelani Jefferson Exum, Professor, University Detroit Mercy

Breonna Taylor Panel Five – Policing and Cultural Trauma

Discussion on policing and cultural trauma in the Black community:

Jalila Jefferson-Bullock, Associate Professor, Duquesne University

Breonna Taylor Panel Five – Role of Race in Policing and Police Violence, Historically and Today

Presentation on Race and Police Shootings, Historically and Today:

Jalila Jefferson-Bullock, Associate Professor, Duquesne University

Breonna Taylor Panel Five – Policing and the Perpetuation of Racial Bias, Fourth Amendment Seizure

Presentation on Policing and the Perpetuation of Explicit and Implicit Racial Bias, Fourth Amendment Seizure:

Jelani Jefferson Exum, Professor, University Detroit Mercy

Breonna Taylor Panel Two – Grand Jury Proceedings & Prosecutorial Discretion

Discussion on Grand Jury Proceedings and Prosecutorial Discretion in Breonna Taylor case:

Cortney E. Lollar, James & Mary Lassiter Associate Professor, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law
Njeri Mathis Rutledge, Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law Houston
Leslie W. Abramson, Frost Brown Todd Professor of Law, University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law
Jonathan P. Witmer-Rich, Associate Dean for Academic Enrichment, Cleveland Marshall College of Law

Breonna Taylor Panel Two – Execution of Search Warrant

Presentation on the execution of the search warrant in Breonna Taylor’s case:

Cortney E. Lollar, James & Mary Lassiter Associate Professor, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law

Breonna Taylor Panel Two – Requirements for Search Warrant

Presentation on search warrant application and judicial approval in Breonna Taylor’s case:

Njeri Mathis Rutledge, Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law Houston

Breonna Taylor Panel Four – Willfulness Standard in Federal Prosecutions of Police Officers

Discussion on Willfulness Standard in Federal Prosecutions of Police Officers

Miranda B. Roberts, Student, UKY Rosenberg College of Law
Harold McDonough, former AUSA, Middle District of TN
Roy L. Austin, Partner, Harris, Wiltshire and Grannis LLP
Benjamin C. Glassman, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs, Former U.S. Attorney, S.D. Ohio
Cynthia M. Deitle, Director, Civil Rights Reform, Matthew Shepard Foundation
Patrick Molloy, former US Attorney ED of KY