Civil rights defendants often pursue interlocutory appeals after they lose on issues like qualified immunity, Heck, and class certification. Many of these appeals have little merit and are done only to delay a trial. Fortunately, plaintiffs have tools at their disposal to challenge these appeals at both the trial and appellate courts. Please join Joe and Shannon Kennedy for a primer on how to defeat these appeals and keep your case on track.
About the Speakers
Shannon Kennedy experienced a pivotal moment in her career as a criminal defense attorney when she asked herself, who do I want to represent? People who can afford the best attorney, or vulnerable populations whose story too often goes unheard? Shannon made her decision. Not long thereafter, during a trial, she received a small hand-written note from her client, a girl too young to be in court that day, a girl who’d been sexually assaulted by a teacher. It read: Thank you for fighting for me. Shannon’s client won a $3.2 million settlement and the school district implemented a mandatory training for principals in identifying sexual predators (Sanchez v. Brokop 04-cv-134). There’s never been any doubt that Shannon made the right decision.
Shannon’s work continues to shift thinking about the legal representation of children and youth and implements policy changes that makes their lives safer. Kenneth Ellis III, an Iraq War veteran severely injured in the line of duty (earning him a Purple Heart) and suffering from PTSD, was fatally shot by officers who failed to implement practices for de-escalating a mental health crisis. Shannon, in co-counsel with Joseph Kennedy and Frances Carpenter, filed a wrongful death/loss of consortium lawsuit on behalf of Kenneth’s 5-year-old son. The jury awarded $10.3 million; the case settled in mediation for $7.95 million. Kenneth’s sister, in partnership with the VA Hospital where he’d been treated, lobbied for legislative changes that resulted in mandatory crisis intervention and de-escalation training for police officers across the state of New Mexico.
Shannon consistently argues for settlements that require police officers and other public employees receive the training needed to do their jobs responsibly. In a class action case against the city of Albuquerque, student misconduct in the city’s public schools was being criminalized with charges of misdemeanors. Students were being arrested and removed from campus without their parents’ knowing. Shannon’s work resulted in School Resource Officers (many of them retired police) being trained on how to interact with youth. The number of arrests decreased from 180 in a two-year period to just one the year after the new policy went into place.
Shannon studied at The CUNY School of Law and worked in their nationally-recognized public interest law clinic on behalf of battered immigrant woman. She also worked at the United Nations Human Rights Project on behalf of female victims of torture seeking political asylum. She was awarded a Revson Fellowship to work with a farm worker’s project in New Mexico and transferred into the University of New Mexico’s dual degree program, earning her Juris Doctor and Master’s in Latin American studies.
When asked what Shannon does in her free time, she paused as though trying to remember a town she once passed through. Upon giving it further thought, she anticipates that once her children are all off being adults, she’ll return to her passion for international travel and scuba diving.
Joseph Kennedy arrived to Albuquerque from Philadelphia and went to work at his brother’s criminal defense firm. As Joe was becoming familiar with this new landscape, he noticed a pattern of clients who’d been abused by police, most often people made vulnerable by lack of access to resources — the people least likely to have their stories heard and believed. Joe’s focus quickly became civil rights so he could advocate on their behalf.
Joe maintains a commitment and successful record winning cases on behalf of individuals and classes of persons that result in policy changes benefitting the entire community. In Joe’s first case tried in federal court in Albuquerque, he represented a man who was walking home from the VFW Hall carrying a car radio a friend had given him to fix. It was considered a dangerous neighborhood and when Joe’s client heard a car pull up behind him he ran, not realizing it was the police. He didn’t respond to their shouts, and they released a dog on him. Joe won a jury verdict of $250,000 that included an award of $150,000 in punitive damages. This victory resulted in changes to the Albuquerque Police Department’s Standard Operating Procedures and policies related to use of dogs in the apprehension of people. Dogs are only to be released when the suspect has committed an act of violence. (Betts v. City of Albuquerque, 90-cv-779)
In Lowery v. City of Albuquerque (09-cv-457), Joe represented a certified class of persons who asserted that the city unlawfully seized hundreds of homes on suspicion of drug use in the home. The city’s decision to evict people was based on an ordinance intended to remove occupants from dangerous buildings, including buildings that housed drug manufacturing labs. City officials extrapolated the idea that if making drugs created a toxic environment, using drugs in the building also did so. There is no scientific evidence to support this claim, however it was used to justify a draft ordinance that allowed eviction of residents without due process. This draft ordinance became the operating procedure used by police. Residents could only return after paying for a costly contamination tests and professional cleaning. In one incident, an elderly woman was evicted from her home because her grandson had smoked pot in her garage apartment. Joe and the legal team at the Kennedy Law Firm learned of multiple cases of this draft ordinance’s enforcement and ultimately represented 150 people.
In a case that received national attention, Joe and the team at Kennedy Law Firm attained justice and a settlement of $1.6 million for David Eckert, who was unlawfully arrested and subjected to unethical and illegal medical exams including digital rectal searches, enemas and a colonoscopy. Mr. Eckert’s horrific ordeal was not an isolated case, but one in a number of similar violations. Joe’s reflections on these abuses was captured in a New York Times Op-ed by Nicholas Kristof: Joseph P. Kennedy, Eckert’s lawyer, notes that such abuses are not random but are disproportionately directed at those on the bottom rungs of society. “It’s an economic issue,” he said. “It’s the indignities forced on people who are not articulate, not educated and don’t have access to legal services.”
In 2014, Joe’s career achievements were recognized by the American Association for Justice’s Leonard Weinglass In Defense of Civil Liberties Award. Joe attended Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. He is the father of eight children, a rabid University of New Mexico Lobos Fan, dedicated yoga practitioner, and devotee of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Moderator: Alyssa Quijano
Date & Time
Thursday, February, 12, 2026, at the following time by time zone:
- 11:30 am PST
- 12:30 pm MST
- 1:30 pm CST
- 2:30 pm EST
Any time listed in this registration that does not include a time zone can be assumed to be in Central Standard Time (CST).
Accreditation
This event is accredited for 1.5 general credit hours with the State Bar of California (NPAP is a multiple activity provider with the State Bar of CA).
Most attendees should be able to self-report for CLE credit to their own state bars, and in instances where a state bar requires that the event sponsor report on behalf of attendees, NPAP is happy to assist.
Recording
The event will be recorded and the recording will be available to attendees after the event. However, attendees will only be eligible for CLE credit for the portions of the event that they attended live. Retroactive viewing of recordings will not be eligible for CLE credit, as NPAP does not have a means of validating attendee participation in this circumstance.
Financial Support
NPAP never wants cost to be a barrier to attendance for our programming and we are happy to work with anyone interested in attending to find a means to make the program accessible. If you require financial support, please contact KG at [email protected] for assistance.
Accessibility
It is our priority to ensure accessibility for all attendees – please contact KG at [email protected] if you have specific inquiries regarding the virtual experience.