Texas v. Charles Kleinert

Justice System Reform
Floral Motif with Blue Background
AMICUS  |  CLOSED

Case Summary

Filed 2/23/2016
Decided 4/20/2017
Updated 06/07/2024

SCSJ represented the NAACP of Austin and the Texas State Conference of NAACP Branches as amici curiae in a case involving an Austin, Texas, police officer who killed a Black man during a criminal investigation. The officer, Charles Kleinert, was indicted for manslaughter, although a federal judge subsequently dismissed the case before trial. The amicus brief SCSJ filed urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to reverse the lower court's decision.

Why it's Important

This case involved important legal questions about how and when a police officer may be held legally accountable for their reckless conduct.

Texas silhouette on blue circular background

Case Documents

Related Media

Other Related Cases

Lawsuit Against Central Piedmont Community College

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY  |  ONGOING Case Summary Notice Filed 4/23/2025 Updated 04/25/2025 North Carolina residents are suing Central Piedmont Community College…

Learn More

City & County of San Francisco v. Sheehan

SCSJ filed a “friend of the court” brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Policy Council on Law Enforcement and the Mentally Ill in a case where Teresa Sheehan was shot by police after brandishing a knife.

Learn More

County of Los Angeles v. Mendez

In 2017, SCSJ represented the NAACP and Policy Council on Law Enforcement and the Mentally Ill as amici in County of Los Angeles v. Mendez.

Learn More