Spring Break
Woman files civil rights lawsuit against university
Luke Stangel
Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: News
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A 44-year-old former student has filed a lawsuit against San Jose State University's Police Department, claiming her civil rights were violated when a police sergeant searched her purse without her consent.
Chin-Li Mou is seeking up to $175,000 in civil rights damages surrounding her brief arrest in early February 2005 at the library on campus, Mou's lawyer M. Jeffery Kallis said. Lawyers on both sides of the lawsuit will return to court tomorrow to give the judge an update on how the preliminary research into the case is going.
Mou had three encounters with university police officers in February 2005, and was ticketed twice - for giving false information to a police officer and resisting arrest. Both charges were later dropped, Kallis said.
On Feb. 4, 2005, Mou set off the library's theft detection device and refused to allow a library security officer to search her bag. In a brief argument, Mou said she would kill the security officer if she was late for her bus, according to a police report of the incident.
Three days later, the security officer spotted Mou in the library again and called over University Police Sgt. John Laws to talk to her about the earlier incident. Laws stopped Mou and asked for her identification. She said she didn't have any identification and told Laws her name was Karen Johe, according to the lawsuit.
Laws ran a background check on the name and discovered that it was false. He looked down at Mou's feet and saw a clear plastic purse with Mou's SJSU student identification card inside. He picked up the purse and looked through it without Mou's consent, according to the lawsuit.
Mou was ticketed for giving false information to a police officer. During the criminal case, Laws said he searched the purse because he thought he had probable cause that a crime - giving false information to a police officer - had been committed. The judge in the case threw out the charge after determining Laws had unlawfully searched Mou's purse, Mou's lawyer Kallis, said.
Chin-Li Mou is seeking up to $175,000 in civil rights damages surrounding her brief arrest in early February 2005 at the library on campus, Mou's lawyer M. Jeffery Kallis said. Lawyers on both sides of the lawsuit will return to court tomorrow to give the judge an update on how the preliminary research into the case is going.
Mou had three encounters with university police officers in February 2005, and was ticketed twice - for giving false information to a police officer and resisting arrest. Both charges were later dropped, Kallis said.
On Feb. 4, 2005, Mou set off the library's theft detection device and refused to allow a library security officer to search her bag. In a brief argument, Mou said she would kill the security officer if she was late for her bus, according to a police report of the incident.
Three days later, the security officer spotted Mou in the library again and called over University Police Sgt. John Laws to talk to her about the earlier incident. Laws stopped Mou and asked for her identification. She said she didn't have any identification and told Laws her name was Karen Johe, according to the lawsuit.
Laws ran a background check on the name and discovered that it was false. He looked down at Mou's feet and saw a clear plastic purse with Mou's SJSU student identification card inside. He picked up the purse and looked through it without Mou's consent, according to the lawsuit.
Mou was ticketed for giving false information to a police officer. During the criminal case, Laws said he searched the purse because he thought he had probable cause that a crime - giving false information to a police officer - had been committed. The judge in the case threw out the charge after determining Laws had unlawfully searched Mou's purse, Mou's lawyer Kallis, said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Ben
posted 2/14/07 @ 2:10 AM PST
Wow, $175,000 ... I'm gonna bet this gets settled out of court for $20,000.
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