Reuters: U.S.: U.S. sues Mississippi officials over student arrests

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U.S. sues Mississippi officials over student arrests Oct 24th 2012, 19:41 WASHINGTON | Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:41pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department sued Mississippi state and local officials on Wednesday over what it called a "school-to-prison pipeline" that violates the rights of children, especially black and disabled youths. The suit alleges that police officers in Meridian, Mississippi, routinely arrested students who were suspended from school, even when they had no probable cause to believe the students had committed a crime. "We found that children have been incarcerated for being suspended from school for things like dress code violations or talking back to teachers," said Roy Austin, a senior civil rights official in the Justice Department. State and local officials did not immediately return calls requesting comment on the suit. The government brought the lawsuit under a 1994 federal law that bans a pattern or practice that deprives people of their rights. It was the first time the Justice Department had used the law to sue on behalf of juveniles, Austin told reporters in a briefing.

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