Federal Appeals Court Revives Eric André Racial Profiling Lawsuit Against Clayton County

A federal appeals court has revived the lawsuit filed by comedians Eric André and Clayton English against Clayton County, Georgia, and its police department, alleging violations of their Fourth Amendment rights through unreasonable searches and seizures at the Atlanta airport. The court found that André and English plausibly alleged that Clayton County subjected them to unconstitutional stops on jet bridges while boarding flights, where officers blocked their paths, held their IDs and boarding passes, and questioned them about illegal drugs without informing them they were free to leave. The county's claim that these were voluntary encounters was rejected, with the court noting the officers' conduct effectively constituted a seizure. Although individual officers were granted qualified immunity, the county itself is not immune and the case will proceed. The lawsuit also highlights allegations of racial profiling, noting that Black passengers were disproportionately stopped, but the court dismissed equal protection claims due to lack of proof of discriminatory intent by individual defendants. The county ended its involvement in the contested drug interdiction program in June 2024, but the case continues as André and English seek to challenge the constitutionality of these airport stops.