Unlawful Death Lawsuit: City Claims Illegal Alien Not Protected by Civil Rights

Ismael Lopez (L) and his wife Claudia in a picture shown to reporters during a news conference in Memphis, Tenn., on July 28, 2017. Adrian Sainz/AP Photo

Back in June, the widow of a man shot dead by police in a case of mistaken identity filed a $20 million civil lawsuit against the city, after the criminal case against officers was dropped by a jury.

Now lawyers for the city in Mississippi have filed to have that civil case dismissed with a controversial legal pitch: they claim the constitutional rights cited in the lawsuit do not apply because the victim was not in the country legally at the time of his death.