As the old proverb goes, “The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.” But when those wheels need greasing, attorneys like Sarah Schielke stand out as a force of nature. With a combination of legal acumen, technological savvy, and unwavering determination, Schielke isn’t just winning cases — she’s changing the game entirely.
For decades, civil rights cases, particularly those involving police misconduct, have been plagued by a troubling trend: settlements that seem to undervalue the gravity of the violations. Schielke’s eyes were opened to this reality early in her career. “What I learned when I started doing these is I was like, we’d go into these settlement conferences and I would look for comparable settlements for similar injuries. And it was like, these numbers are low. They’re catastrophically low,” she recalls.
This pattern of low settlements has perpetuated a cycle where victims of civil rights violations, often from vulnerable populations, are left with compensation that fails to reflect the true impact of their experiences.
Not on Sarah Schielke’s watch.
From Criminal Defense to Civil Rights Crusader
Schielke’s journey into civil rights law was born from a sense of outrage at the injustices she witnessed as a criminal defense attorney. “I started doing criminal defense and while doing criminal defense, you’ll see things and be like, ‘I am going to learn civil rights and sue this cop afterward because this is obviously a civil rights violation,’” she shares. This transition marked the beginning of her mission to challenge the status quo in civil rights settlements.
Recognizing the need for a new strategy, Schielke developed an innovative approach that leverages modern technology and media tactics:
- Creating and Releasing Edited Body Cam Footage: Schielke doesn’t just file lawsuits; she creates compelling narratives. “I would create a YouTube channel and when I filed the lawsuit, I would attach as exhibits to the lawsuit, all the body cams associated with it,” she explains. This approach brings cases to life for the public and potential jurors.
- Leveraging Social Media and Public Pressure: By keeping her cases in the public eye, Schielke maintains pressure on law enforcement agencies and municipalities. “I’m going to keep case developments as they go along. I’m going to send out a press release and I’m going to keep pressure on the clients who are these municipalities by having public pressure, public outrage going,” she states.
- Maintaining Public Interest: Unlike traditional legal strategies that often rely on the slow grind of the justice system, Schielke’s approach keeps cases fresh in the public mind, preventing them from fading into obscurity.
The Karen Garner Case: A Watershed Moment
The case of Karen Garner, a 73-year-old woman with dementia who was violently arrested for shoplifting $14 worth of items, exemplifies the power of Sarah Schielke’s approach. The release of body cam footage showing Garner’s arrest sparked widespread outrage, but it was the subsequent release of booking room footage that truly galvanized public opinion.
Schielke describes the shocking scene: “You saw these officers who had just broken this woman’s arm with dementia, put her in a cell, were not giving her medical care, locked her in there, and they were sitting at the desk talking about it and laughing. They had pulled up the body cam on their phones, they were rewatching it, and you can actually hear the one officer who did it say, ‘Get ready, here comes the pop.’ Talking about the shoulder he had just fractured. It was sick.” This revelation led to criminal charges against the officers involved and a $3 million settlement for Garner. It was a far cry from the typical outcomes in such cases — and one that Sarah Schielke vowed to replicate for other victims.
Schielke’s experiences have led her to advocate for complete transparency in policing, particularly when it comes to body cameras. She argues passionately against allowing officers to mute their cameras: “Good cops don’t need mute. We don’t let bank tellers turn off or mute their cameras when they’re doing stuff. That would be crazy. And bank tellers don’t have the discretion to shoot and kill someone when they go to work. Cops do. Recording everything including audio is critical to maintaining accountability. If you are a good cop, trust me, you do not need the mute button. Bad cops need the mute button. It needs to go.” This stance reflects her belief that true accountability requires full disclosure.
The work of a civil rights attorney is emotionally taxing, and Schielke is candid about its toll. “The sadness and the betrayal that my clients feel and that I share with [them], and see what happens to them, that can weigh down on you and drain the s–t out of you, honestly, and get you jaded very quickly,” she admits. However, she’s found a powerful antidote in maintaining a sense of joy and creativity in her work, an approach that keeps her energized and effective.
Schielke’s methods are about more than just winning individual cases; they’re about reshaping the entire field of civil rights law. “We need to move up the benchmarks on all this stuff and we’re not doing this crap anymore. I mean, don’t, there’s so much more money available,” she asserts. “Every attorney needs to fight more to get full money justice for their clients.” By consistently achieving higher settlements and bringing cases into the public eye, Schielke sets new precedents that could influence how civil rights cases are approached and valued across the board.
Sarah Schielke and the Ripple Effect
The impact of Schielke’s work extends far beyond the courtroom. Her innovative approach is creating ripples throughout the legal system and society at large by transforming legal strategies, enhancing public awareness, and pressuring for systemic change.
Her success may inspire other attorneys to adopt similar tactics, potentially leading to a sea change in how civil rights cases are litigated, and by bringing these cases into the public eye, she’s educating the general population about civil rights issues and police misconduct, potentially leading to greater civic engagement and demand for accountability.
Additionally, the combination of public attention and higher settlements could create significant pressure on law enforcement agencies to reform their practices and culture.
However, obstacles remain. The legal establishment may resist these new methods, and there’s always the risk of backlash or attempts to limit the release of body cam footage. And not all attorneys will have the skills or resources to replicate Schielke’s media-savvy approach.
Despite these speed bumps, Sarah Schielke’s work represents a powerful convergence of legal expertise, technological utilization, and commitment to social justice. As her methods continue to yield results, they may well herald a new era in civil rights law — one where transparency, public engagement, and fair compensation become the norm rather than the exception.
