Eristus J. Jordan

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Charge:	Obstructing police officer
Sentence:
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	2011
Year Convicted:
Year Cleared:	2015
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Washington
County or Region of Crime:	King
City of Crime:	Seattle
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Eristus J. Jordan was wrongly convicted on October 23, 2011 of obstructing a police officer when on February 14, 2011 he stood in the doorway of his house and observed and talked to the police as they were arresting his sister. Jordan's mother had called the police and reported that her juvenile daughter was intoxicated and breaking windows. Two officers responded, and they told Jordan to go in the house and close the front door. Several times the officers approached Jordan and after he went inside they closed the door, but each time Jordan opened it and stood in the doorway, telling the officer ""that he wanted to supervise the scene from the doorway" and make sure his sister wasn't harmed." Jordan called the officers abusive names, yelled at them, and used profanity toward the officers. Jordan, 17, was arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer. As a juvenile at the time of his arrest, Jordan was tried during an adjudication hearing during which the both the police officers and Jordan testified. After he was convicted by the judge, he appealed, and on March 4, 2013 the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction. On June 25, 2015 the Washington Supreme Court sitting en banc, unanimously reversed Jordan's conviction and ordered dismissal of the charge on the basis of insuffiicent evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt he committed obstruction of a police officer. The Court's precedential ruling establishes that in Washington State a person cannot be arrested for obstructing a police officer if they are not physically impeding an officer and what they say or yell to an officer -- even if it is profanity or disrepect -- is constitutionally protected speech. The Court's ruling states: "While E.J.J.'s words may have been disrespectful, discourteous, and annoying, they are nonetheless constitutionally protected.""
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On June 25, 2015 the Washington Supreme Court sitting en banc, reversed Jordan's conviction and ordered dismissal of the charge on the basis of insuffiicent evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt he committed obstruction of a police officer. The Court's precedential ruling establishes that in Washington State a person cannot be arrested for obstructing a police officer if they are not physically impeding an officer and what they say or yell to an officer -- even if it is profanity or disrepect -- is constitutionally protected speech."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	17
Age When Released:	17
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"State v. E.J.J., No. 88694-6 (Wash. Supreme Ct., 6-25-2015) (Reversing conviction based on insufficient evidence Jordan committed his convicted crime.)"
Information Location 1:	http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/886946.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Police Cannot Arrest You For Watching and Criticizing Them from a Distance In Washington State, By Ansel Herz, The Stranger (Seattle, Wash.), June 25, 2015"
Information Location 2:	https://www.thestranger.com/blogs/slog/2015/06/25/22452203/washington-supreme-court-overturns-conviction-of-black-seattle-teenager-for-obstruction
Information Source 3:	"State of Washington v. E.J.J., No. 67726-8-1 (Wash. Ct. of Appeals, Div. 1, 3-4-2013) (Affirming conviction)"
Information Location 3:	http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/677268.pdf
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Eristus J. Jordan

Charge:

Obstructing police officer

Sentence:

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2011

Year Convicted:

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Washington

County or Region of Crime:

King

City of Crime:

Seattle

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

17

Age When Released:

17

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"State v. E.J.J., No. 88694-6 (Wash. Supreme Ct., 6-25-2015) (Reversing conviction based on insufficient evidence Jordan committed his convicted crime.)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/886946.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Police Cannot Arrest You For Watching and Criticizing Them from a Distance In Washington State, By Ansel Herz, The Stranger (Seattle, Wash.), June 25, 2015"

Information Location 2:

https://www.thestranger.com/blogs/slog/2015/06/25/22452203/washington-supreme-court-overturns-conviction-of-black-seattle-teenager-for-obstruction

Information Source 3:

"State of Washington v. E.J.J., No. 67726-8-1 (Wash. Ct. of Appeals, Div. 1, 3-4-2013) (Affirming conviction)"

Information Location 3:

http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/677268.pdf

Information Source 4:

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

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Movie About Case:

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