News — Mitchell Shapiro Greenamyre & Funt LLP

Atlanta family’s landmark case against FBI revived by federal judges

An 11th Circuit panel held that the FBI agent who led the 2017 predawn raid on the wrong Atlanta home must face trial, while barring MSGF clients Trina Martin and Toi Cliatt from suing the government itself.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution · October 8, 2026

Appeals court allows Atlanta family to pursue FBI agent over mistaken raid

The 11th Circuit revived claims by MSGF client Toi Cliatt and Trina Martin against the FBI agent who led the 2017 raid on the wrong Atlanta home, but held that the government itself cannot be taken to trial.

CBS News Atlanta · October 8, 2026

Supreme Court amicus brief on federal accountability

Zack Greenamyre and Andrew Canter, with the Cato Institute (opens in new tab), filed an amicus brief in Nielsen v. Watanabe arguing that federal officers who violate the Constitution can be held personally liable, as they have been since the Founding.

MSGF LLP · September 30, 2026

The Flock Camera Debate: Where Do You Stand?

NewsNation’s Elizabeth Prann breaks down the national debate over Flock’s network of license-plate cameras, more than 120,000 of them across 49 states, with analysis from Zack Greenamyre.

The Hill / NewsNation · September 28, 2026

Clayton County Jail detainee’s death ruled homicide over “uninhabitable living conditions,” medical examiner says

Clayton County’s medical examiner ruled the death of Scott Worthy, 57, a homicide: he spent about four days in jail unable to get up, eat or reach a restroom before dying of sepsis at Grady Memorial Hospital. MSGF LLP represents his family.

CBS News Atlanta · September 10, 2026

Sam Funt selected to Best Lawyers in America and Georgia Super Lawyers for 2027

Partner Samantha J. Funt is recognized in the 2027 Best Lawyers in America for Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs and selected to the 2027 Georgia Super Lawyers list, her first selection to the main list. Both are peer-reviewed.

MSGF LLP · August 26, 2026

UM faculty, First Amendment law firm file briefs supporting Lauren Stokes’ lawsuit appeal

Andrew Canter of MSGF represents three University of Mississippi faculty members in a Fifth Circuit amicus brief backing an ex-employee fired over a social media post, arguing the university selectively enforced its free speech protections.

Mississippi Free Press · August 12, 2026

Sam Funt joins the Henning Mediation panel of neutrals

Henning Mediation & Arbitration added partner Samantha J. Funt to its panel of neutrals, with Atlanta trial lawyer Halsey G. Knapp, Jr. She takes mediation appointments in injury, medical negligence, civil rights, and commercial matters.

MSGF LLP · July 29, 2026

MSGF files free-speech lawsuit against Emory University on behalf of three professors

Mitchell Shapiro Greenamyre & Funt LLP has sued in DeKalb County State Court for three tenured Emory professors, challenging their wrongful arrests and prosecutions during a 2024 campus protest. Read the update and the filings.

MSGF LLP · April 24, 2026

Emory professors take on their own university after arrests at 2024 Israel-Hamas war protest

MSGF LLP represents three tenured Emory professors suing in DeKalb County State Court, alleging the university broke its own free expression policies by calling in police to disband a 2024 pro-Palestinian protest, leading to 28 arrests.

Associated Press · April 23, 2026

In legal twist, deputy convicted in jail death case after civil suit failed

After ex-deputy Arron Cook pleaded guilty in Antonio May’s 2018 Fulton jail death, Zack Greenamyre, commenting as an outside civil rights lawyer, said the case “speaks to how qualified immunity can sometimes be especially perverse.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution · April 22, 2026

Atlanta Woman Files Lawsuit Over Raid by Deputies, U.S. Marshals for Suspect Already in Jail

MSGF LLP sued on behalf of Atlanta resident Cathy George after DeKalb deputies and U.S. Marshals raided her home at 5 a.m. for a fugitive who had already been in jail for four months, as the Marshals’ own press release had publicized.

CBS News Atlanta · April 14, 2026

Atlanta Woman Sues Officers, U.S. Government for Wrongly Raiding Her Home in Search of Man Already in Jail

The Institute for Justice is joining the federal lawsuit of MSGF LLP client Cathy George, whose Sandy Springs condo was raided at dawn by U.S. Marshals and DeKalb County deputies seeking a man who had been in jail for four months.

Institute for Justice · April 14, 2026

Midwives sue to challenge Georgia laws restricting their ability to practice

Three midwives sued over Georgia laws requiring costly physician collaboration agreements for nurse-midwives and barring non-nursing midwives from practice. MSGF is co-counsel with the Center for Reproductive Rights and Covington & Burling.

NBC News · April 2, 2026

Georgia agency punished for destroying video of fatal prison stabbing

A federal judge sanctioned the Georgia Department of Corrections for destroying video of a 2022 fatal prison stabbing and sent MSGF LLP’s client’s suit to trial, finding a corrections officer acted with deliberate indifference.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution · March 30, 2026

Sanctioned: Ga. Lawyers Clear Evidence Spoliation Hurdle

MSGF’s Samantha Funt and Zack Greenamyre won sanctions against Georgia’s corrections department and an officer; a federal judge found both destroyed video and gave false testimony in bad faith over a 2022 Valdosta State Prison stabbing.

Daily Report · March 30, 2026

‘It’s very hard.’ FBI raid on Atlanta family stumps federal judge.

A federal appeals court is weighing the case of MSGF client Toi Cliatt, whose family’s home an FBI SWAT team mistakenly raided in 2017, a lawsuit the U.S. Supreme Court revived with major implications for law enforcement liability.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution · March 26, 2026

FBI raid on wrong home: Atlanta family’s lawsuit goes back to court after SCOTUS ruling

After a unanimous Supreme Court ruling revived their suit, MSGF client Toi Cliatt, Trina Martin and Martin’s son Gabriel Watson returned to the 11th Circuit over the FBI’s 2017 raid on the wrong home with flashbang grenades.

WSB-TV Channel 2 Atlanta · March 26, 2026

Georgia judge temporarily halts execution over questions about clemency process

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney temporarily halted Stacey Humphreys’ execution until conflict-of-interest questions about two parole board members are resolved. MSGF LLP is part of Humphreys’ legal team.

CBS News · December 29, 2025

Secretive Georgia Clemency Board Suspends Execution After Its Conflicts of Interest Are Exposed

Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Parole temporarily suspended Stacey Humphreys’ execution after his legal team, including MSGF LLP, exposed that two board members had conflicts of interest from their involvement in his 2007 trial.

The Intercept · December 18, 2025

Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Clinic Secures Return of Volunteer Stephen Jarrard to County Jail’s Ministry Program After Years of Religious Discrimination

After nearly a decade barred from Polk County Jail’s ministry program over his beliefs about baptism, minister Stephen Jarrard will return following an Eleventh Circuit win and settlement. MSGF’s Zack Greenamyre served on the legal team.

Notre Dame Law School News · December 18, 2025

Georgia Trend Legal Elite 2025

MSGF attorney Zack Greenamyre was named to Georgia Trend’s 2025 Legal Elite as one of the state’s 23 best personal injury attorneys, the only one on the list focused on civil rights claims over police, prison, and government misconduct.

Georgia Trend Magazine · December 1, 2025

Officers Assaulted, Threatened to Kill Man at High Security GA Prison, Macon Lawsuit Says

MSGF’s Zack Greenamyre filed a federal suit alleging 15 corrections officers at Georgia’s Special Management Unit in Jackson beat a handcuffed man and threatened to kill him in retaliation for his role in a prison-conditions class action.

The Telegraph (Macon) · October 16, 2025

Mother disputes GDC claim of no foul play after family extorted, daughter found dead in prison

Marcia Turner disputes the Georgia Department of Corrections’ claim of no foul play in her daughter Jodie Turner’s death at Lee Arrendale State Prison, alleging inmates extorted the family and beat Jodie, 28. MSGF LLP is investigating.

11Alive · October 8, 2025

Georgia sheriff settles pastor’s fight to continue horse trough baptisms

Polk County Sheriff Johnny Moats and a former chief jailer settled evangelist Stephen Jarrard’s five-year suit over his jail horse-trough baptism ban, after the 11th Circuit found viewpoint discrimination. MSGF LLP represented Jarrard.

Atlanta Journal Constitution · October 8, 2025

2 ex-officers at Augusta prison face federal charges in inmate’s death

Two ex-officers at Augusta State Medical Prison were indicted for violating the rights of Thomas Henry Giles, who died in a smoke-filled cell in 2020. MSGF LLP won his family $5 million, believed the largest Georgia prison-death settlement.

Atlanta Journal Constitution · August 8, 2025

Former Clayton County Sheriff Can’t Keep Relitigating Same Losing Arguments in 2022 Case, Says Federal Judge

A federal judge ruled ex-Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill cannot keep contesting his 2022 civil rights conviction, clearing the way for Raheem Peterkin’s civil suit over being restrained in a chair for hours. MSGF LLP represents Peterkin.

WABE · July 18, 2025

Discretionary lawn care, Agent Orange, and banished from South Georgia

The Eleventh Circuit let a Georgia man jailed 104 days, despite complying with his banishment from five south Georgia counties, sue probation officers for malicious prosecution, denying them qualified immunity. MSGF LLP won the appeal.

Institute for Justice · June 13, 2025

Law360’s Legal Lions Of The Week

Law360 named MSGF LLP a Legal Lion for Martin v. United States, where the Supreme Court held the supremacy clause cannot shield the U.S. from Federal Tort Claims Act suits over a mistaken 2017 FBI raid on an Atlanta family’s home.

Law360 Pulse · June 13, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court revives Atlanta family’s lawsuit over botched FBI raid

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously revived an Atlanta family’s lawsuit over a botched 2017 predawn FBI raid in which agents targeted their home instead of an alleged gang member’s a block away. MSGF LLP represents Toi Cliatt.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution · June 12, 2025

Supreme Court Remands Case Over Predawn FBI Raid at Wrong House

The Supreme Court unanimously remanded to the Eleventh Circuit a Federal Tort Claims Act case over a 2017 predawn FBI raid on the wrong Atlanta-area home, mistaken for a suspected gang member’s. MSGF LLP represents plaintiff Toi Cliatt.

Law.com · June 12, 2025

Supreme Court Revives Suit From Victims of Botched F.B.I. Raid

In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court revived the lawsuit of MSGF LLP client Toi Cliatt after FBI agents raided the wrong home with guns drawn and a flash-bang grenade, allowing the family to challenge the government’s claim of immunity.

New York Times · June 12, 2025

Arresting Someone for Violating a Probation Condition That Doesn’t Exist

MSGF LLP won an Eleventh Circuit ruling that probation officers violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments by recklessly swearing falsely to get a warrant over nonexistent probation conditions, causing 104 days of wrongful imprisonment.

Reason · June 10, 2025

What Can You Read In Prison?

Mitchell Shapiro Greenamyre & Funt LLP represents Avid Bookshop in a First Amendment lawsuit against the Gwinnett County Jail’s mail policy, which prevents the independent bookstore from sending books to inmates.

Esquire · November 17, 2024

Fulton DA’s Office Drops Charges Against Man Accused Of Couple’s Murder

Atlanta’s City Council agreed to pay $1.5 million to a man wrongfully arrested in a 2018 double murder who spent over a year in jail. MSGF LLP represented him; one of its attorneys said police “shoehorned everything” to implicate him.

WSB-TV · October 18, 2024

Ga. Judge Says Disorderly Law ‘Likely Survives’ Challenge

A Georgia federal judge indicated that Woodbury’s disorderly conduct ordinance likely survives a constitutional challenge in the ongoing First Amendment case. MSGF LLP represents the plaintiff challenging the ordinance.

Law360 · October 16, 2024

Eleventh Circuit Rules in Favor of Prison Minister in Religious Freedom Case

The firm won in the Eleventh Circuit in Jarrard v. Sheriff of Polk County, defending a minister’s right to access a jail volunteer program, with Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Clinic and attorney Gerald Weber.

Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic · September 26, 2024

Atlanta agrees to pay $1.5M to wrongfully accused man but keeps investigator who put him in jail on police force

MSGF LLP secured a $1.5 million settlement from Atlanta for Keith Sylvester, who spent 15 months in jail before being exonerated of murdering his mother and stepfather, and continues to press the police department for accountability.

WABE (Atlanta’s NPR Station) · September 18, 2024

Atlanta to pay $1.5M to wrongfully accused man jailed for 15 months

MSGF LLP won $1.5 million from Atlanta for Keith Sylvester, jailed 15 months after being wrongfully accused of murdering his parents, in a case revived by a federal appeals court that found the detective omitted key exonerating evidence.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution · September 16, 2024

Mitchell Shapiro Greenamyre & Funt LLP Receives 2024 Justice Ally of the Year Award

Mitchell Shapiro Greenamyre & Funt LLP received SCHR’s 2024 Justice Ally of the Year Award, recognizing Zack Greenamyre and Samantha Funt for representing clients who experienced unlawful law enforcement violence and unjustified arrests.

Southern Center for Human Rights · May 14, 2024

Family of man who drowned in Gainesville pond near Avita files wrongful death lawsuit against center, law enforcement for negligence

Jason Smith, 50, drowned in a pond near a Gainesville crisis center; his family sued Avita Community Partners and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, alleging officers tried to skip required medical clearance. MSGF LLP represents them.

Gainesville Times · April 9, 2024

Athens bookstore Avid files lawsuit against Gwinnett jail for denying books to inmates

Attorney Zack Greenamyre is lead counsel for Avid Bookshop in a federal lawsuit arguing that the Gwinnett County Jail’s mail policy, which keeps the independent bookstore from sending books to inmates, violates the First Amendment.

Athens Banner-Herald · March 19, 2024

Georgia prisoner died after being left for hours in smoke-filled cell

Georgia agreed to pay $5 million, believed to be the most the state has paid for a prison inmate’s death, over a prisoner left for hours in a smoke-filled cell after setting his mattress on fire. MSGF LLP was part of the legal team.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution · February 1, 2024

Ga. Man Says City Conduct Ordinance Is Unconstitutional

MSGF LLP represents a man suing Woodbury, Georgia, a police officer, and a city employee, alleging he was arrested and jailed under an unconstitutional disorderly conduct ordinance after accusing city employees of racism.

Law360 · July 3, 2023

Black Transgender Woman Awarded $1.5 Million After ‘Bogus’ Arrest

A federal jury awarded $1.5 million to a Black transgender woman falsely arrested on cocaine trafficking charges, who spent nearly six months in jail after a field test showed no evidence of drugs. The firm was part of the legal team.

The New York Times · February 22, 2022

Lawyers of transgender woman awarded $1.5 million verdict call for change

A federal jury awarded Ju’Zema Goldring $1.5 million against the Atlanta police officer who arrested her. Officer Vladimir Henry was one of two APD officers who stopped her for jaywalking near 3rd and Piedmont in October 2015.

Atlanta News First · February 21, 2022

‘Perverse Incentives’: Judge Suggests Police Reform After $1.5 Million Jury Verdict Against Cop

A federal judge suggested police reform after a $1.5 million jury verdict for a transgender woman who was falsely charged with drug trafficking and spent nearly six months in jail. The firm was part of the legal team that won the verdict.

Daily Report · February 18, 2022

Bartow County Sheriff’s Office Pays $100,000 After Mistaken Identity Leads To Arrest Of Cartersville Woman

Zack Greenamyre and Samantha Funt of Mitchell & Shapiro LLP secured a $100,000 settlement in Rhonda Walker’s federal lawsuit against the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office after she was wrongfully arrested due to mistaken identity.

Coosa Valley News · January 1, 2022

Family of man killed by authorities serving no-knock warrant wants video released

Zack Greenamyre represented the family of Johnny Bolton, a 49-year-old unarmed Black man shot and killed by a SWAT team member executing a no-knock warrant, with the firm demanding transparency and the release of the video footage.

Fox 5 Atlanta · May 25, 2021

After Atlanta Teen Is Injured in a Police Encounter, Lawyers Call for Change

Attorneys Zack Greenamyre and Samantha Funt represented a 17-year-old who suffered serious injuries after a police chase, demanding justice through dismissal of charges and coverage of medical expenses.

The Appeal · September 17, 2020

Innocent Man Released From Jail After 15 Months In Parents’ Deaths; New Suspect Arrested

The firm sued detectives for Keith Sylvester, jailed 15 months after being wrongfully accused of murdering his mother and stepfather, alleging they got a warrant “based on deliberate and reckless material falsehoods and omissions.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution · September 2, 2020

Georgia City Settles First Amendment Case with Banned Resident

MSGF LLP secured a $43,697.50 settlement for Catherine Corkren in a First Amendment case challenging her ban from the city of Statham, Georgia.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution · May 9, 2019

Condemned prisoner Son Fleming, who has had three heart attacks on death row, was granted a reprieve

Kenneth A. Shapiro, later a co-founder of this firm, represented death row inmate Son Fleming, securing a stay of execution by arguing that his client’s trial was unfair due to racial discrimination in jury selection.

United Press International (UPI) · June 27, 1986

Press coverage and firm updates

Professors sue Emory over April 25 encampment arrests