“But in view of the constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved.”
John Marshall Harlan, Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 559 (1896) (dissenting)
Cullin O’Brien has a passion for representing victims of identity discrimination and other mistreatment based on social status. Cullin has zealously represented clients in housing discrimination, police brutality, and prisoner’s rights cases. Some examples include:
- Haney v. Miami-Dade County, No. 04-20516-Civ (S.D. Fla. 2005) ($6.25 million settlement for allegedly unlawful strip searches of jail inmates)
- Velazquez v. City of Hialeah, 484 F.3d 1340 (11th Cir. Fla. 2007) (Reversing district court summary judgment order in police officer excessive force case)
- Hicks v. GH Homes Realty, No. 1:05-cv-20083, (S.D. Fla. 2005) (defeated motion to dismiss claims of alleged housing discrimination)
- Prison Legal News v. Crosby, No. 3:04-CV-00014-JHM-TEM (M.D. Fla. 2005) (bench trial challenging ban on compensation to inmate writers and impoundment of prison news publication)