"With all the cases I've got in Las Vegas, I might have to open an office there," attorney James Myart Jr. jokes over the phone from his offices in San Antonio, Texas. "I've already got an office there at ..."
And what a mouth it is. Like when he accused a Texas official of wanting to prosecute "every black and Hispanic professional." Or when, in defending Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney on assault charges, he called the controversial lawmaker "a victim of being in Congress while black."
For the past few months, Myart's mighty mouth and legal acumen have been trained on Las Vegas, particularly on Metro police.
The 52-year-old University of Texas Law School graduate represents the families of four men: murder suspect Swuave Lopez, 17, fatally shot in the back after he escaped, handcuffed, from a squad car; domestic violence suspect Shawn Collins, killed by cops who say he was raising a .38 caliber pistol at them—witnesses claim he was compliant; robbery suspect James Lewis, twice shocked by a Taser and died while being taken into custody; and robbery suspect Thomas Oden, who says cops shot him in the back after he tossed a gun.
The lawsuits seek millions in compensation ($23 million in Lopez's wrongful death case; $18.5 million for Oden), fueling speculation that Myart is in it for the money.
How did you get involved in all these Las Vegas cases?
My only initial involvement was through David Lopez, the father of Swuave Lopez. He lived in San Antonio, and I went to high school with him. He asked me to get involved. Since then, I've received no fewer than 15 calls from Metro police shooting victims. My phone doesn't stop ringing. I recently got three calls from [the families] of Metro death victims, including a case I'm investigating and have not decided to accept.
The thread of your local cases seems to be officer-involved shootings.
I did represent another young man in Las Vegas, Joseph Turner, who was shot by a good Samaritan—there were no charges against the shooter. I recently settled that case. But the real problem here is that Metro is out of control. It consistently violates the civil rights of individuals—minorities in particular, and poor whites. The Department of Justice should come in and take over because Metro is not fulfilling its state and constitutional duties to protect the people of Las Vegas. People are dying. There have been more officer-involved shootings in Las Vegas than in any other place in the U.S., including the 10 largest cities. There are similar problems in San Antonio, in California and elsewhere, but it's out of control in Las Vegas.
What criteria do you use to choose your cases?
I look at the facts of the case; cases are 95 percent facts and five percent inspiration. [In the officer-involved shooting cases] I determine if there's misconduct by the victim or by police officers. In every case in the state of Nevada that I've looked at, I have seen police misconduct. Metro is a legalized gang, whose efforts are tacitly supported by the sheriff and the financing governments—the city of Las Vegas and county of Clark. That's why, in my next lawsuit, I'm going to list the city of Las Vegas and the county of Clark as co-conspirators. Because Metro is financed by the city and county and that the department is administered by separate board does not relieve the city and county of liability for the atrocities that are going on.
A blog entry on policenews.com referred to you as a "racial tension monger." Are you?
I'm a constitutional lawyer, who matriculated through one of the most highly respected law schools in America. There is a Bill of Rights, a 13th Amendment, a 14th Amendment and a 15th Amendment that provides various protections. Detractors can say what they will, but I have neither beaten, shot or Tasered a soul in my entire life. If they want to call me a race monger, they can do whatever they like. They have the legal right to say whatever the hell they want to as long as it's not slanderous or libelous. The price of justice for the oppressed, suppressed and downtrodden is eternal publicity. You have to expose wrongdoing in civil rights. White folks don't want the covers pulled off them to expose their racist attitudes. I'm not calling anyone racist at this point, but simply exposing federal violations of civil law. The only way I know how to level the playing field is to go to federal court and contact the press.
Do you think representing McKinney and making statements about race hurt your ability to win a case?
I've told Sean Hannity and Tom DeLay about how they're white boys and don't know what it's like for black man to get on an elevator with a white woman and she clutches her purse. Listen, I don't accept negative connotations when it comes to constitutional rights. People who see what's going on are either benignly neglecting we have a race problem in the country or are just plain stupid. I got 4,000 hits on my website when I represented Cynthia McKinney.
So McKinney contacted you?
I've known her for years. It is unethical for lawyers to contact any victims—it's illegal. Many detractors want to say my lawsuits are about money, but they're not. The judicial system is not perfect. The only remedy for violations of law is money and injunctive relief. I want video cameras installed in every single police department. Is that about money? Or is it that cops don't want people to see what they are actually doing in the streets. I think cops should have video cameras on their lapels, so people can be protected and so they can be protected from what people want to do to them.
You've been suspended and reprimanded by the Texas Bar. Why?
That happened 10 years ago. I was suspended for four years and couldn't practice for a year. Since then, I've come through that bad experience with flying colors. I won't say anything else about it. I was also prosecuted for interference with a police officer.
What happened?
It was a case involving cops trying to frame a kid who lived next door to me. I was given permission to photograph the scene. A cop took my camera from me and charged me with interference. I spent $10,000 defending myself and won. It was a black police officer, who I'm suing for $1 million. Black cops have a tendency to be hard on black people to impress white cops.