Natalie Aleta Jackson

Last updated
Natalie Jackson
Born
Natalie Aleta Jackson

Sanford, Florida, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Hampton University (BA)
University of Florida (JD)
OccupationCivil Trial Attorney
Known forAttorney for the families of Trayvon Martin and Torey Breedlove
Website Official website

Natalie Aleta Jackson is an American trial attorney from Orlando, Florida. She is also known as an author and human rights activist. Her involvement in the Trayvon Martin case and her use of the #TrayvonMartin Twitter hashtag (considered by some a precursor to #BlackLivesMatter) has led to her being connected to the formation of that movement. [1] She is frequently invited to speak on the Black Lives Matter movement. [2] [3] She is best known for her work on the Trayvon Martin case, though she has been mentioned in the media regarding a number of other high-profile cases. Jackson is a frequent commenter on ongoing cases for news publications. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Early life and education

Jackson's father, Captain Nathaniel Jackson, Jr., died in Vietnam when she was two years old. [8] [9] Jackson is a navy veteran who performed a number of roles in the US Navy from 1986 to 1991 and again from 1994 to 1999, [10] including serving on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and at the Pentagon as a Naval Intelligence Officer. [9] From 1991 to 1994, she attended Hampton University, [11] graduating in 1994 with a BA in History. [9] Following her exit from Naval Intelligence in 1999, she studied law at the University of Florida, attaining her JD in 2002. [12]

After being admitted to the Florida Bar in 2003, [13] Jackson along with her law school classmate, Sadiki Alexander, started a legal group called Jackson & Alexander in Sanford, Florida. Unable to gain traction, they was forced to shutter this business in 2006. Following a large monetary settlement in a 2007 case, Jackson formed the Women's Trial Group, continuing there in the role of founding attorney until 2013. [10] [11] Since 2014, Jackson has operated Natalie Jackson Law in Orlando. [10] [13] Jackson has been involved in a number of high-profile cases in her career, including a case involving NASCAR in 2007 and the Trayvon Martin case in 2012.

Notable cases

NASCAR aviation crash

In 2008, Jackson represented the Woodard family after an airplane owned by NASCAR crashed into their home killing two family members. The crash also claimed the life of a 4-year-old girl in the house next door and resulted in serious injuries for the other family members. After pre-litigation negotiations, Jackson said, “United States Aviation Underwriters approached the Woodard family”. [14] with the purpose of settling. Jackson settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, concluding two separate claims she filed on behalf of Joe and Jurnee Woodard, the two surviving family members. [12] [15]

Torey Breedlove

In January 2010, Torey Breedlove, suspected of auto theft, was shot at 137 times by 10 Orange County sheriff deputies as he attempted to leave a parking lot. According to witnesses at the scene, the officers were in plainclothes, their cars were unmarked, and they never identified themselves as police when they approached Breedlove's car with their weapons drawn. Natalie Jackson, on behalf of the Breedlove family, filed a lawsuit against the officers present, alleging excessive use of force. [16] The presiding U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell denied the officers qualified immunity, saying that Breedlove's attempt to flee was reasonable, given the circumstances. He also called the shooting “more akin to an execution than an attempt to arrest an unarmed suspect,” noting that a reasonable jury could conclude the officers used excessive force. [17] [18] Following this judicial order, the two parties settled within three months. [16]

James Jones

On September 16, 2010, James Jones boarded his daughter's school bus with the intent to talk to some students who his daughter said had been bullying her. In footage from the bus's surveillance camera, Jones can be seen and heard threatening the alleged bullies and the bus driver. [19] Jones was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing a school function in Lake Mary, Fla. [20] Ultimately, Jones paid a $3000 fine and did community service. [21] [22]

Trayvon Martin

On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman claimed self-defense; under Florida's “stand your ground” law, police claimed, they needed evidence contradicting Zimmerman's account before they could arrest him. [23] Trayvon Martin's family hired the services of Attorney Ben Crump who, in turn, sought the assistance of Natalie Jackson. [23] Jackson then enlisted the services of her long-time publicist Ryan Julison, [23] whose handling of the case was pivotal in gaining the broad attention the family and legal team had been seeking. The attention of the Black Panthers, Rev. Al Sharpton, and a host of celebrities turned the story into national news. News conferences were held at Jackson's Orlando law office. [24] Zimmerman's trial began on June 10, 2013, in Sanford. On July 13, a jury acquitted Zimmerman of the charges of second degree murder and manslaughter. [25] For three years, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigated Zimmerman on civil rights charges. [26] In February 2015, the DOJ concluded there was not sufficient evidence that Zimmerman intentionally violated the civil rights of Martin, [26] saying the Zimmerman case did not meet the "high standard" for a federal hate crime prosecution. [26] Following Zimmerman's acquittal, Jackson expressed regret that the prosecution in the case did not focus more on the racial aspect, saying that the “biggest mistake was to ignore race,” a sentiment echoed by Martin's father Tracy. [27]

Noel Carter

In 2015, Noel Carter was arrested outside a nightclub in downtown Orlando, Florida. [28] [29] The lawsuit later filed against the police force claimed that he had been “brutally and viciously” beaten by two officers. [28] Despite video evidence from multiple witnesses at the scene, the chief of police declined to take any form of action against the officers involved, a decision criticized by Natalie Jackson, who was acting as Carter's attorney in defense of the charges relating to his arrest. [30] Jackson filed a civil rights suit in 2019, and the case was settled in 2020. [28]

Terre Johnson

Terre Johnson is a homeless man who was beaten and arrested in 2015 by an Orlando police officer. Jackson, Johnson's attorney, filed a lawsuit against the city of Orlando and the officer in 2018. [31] [32] In 2020, after District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. denied the officer's qualified immunity claim, allowing the case to proceed trial, attorney Ben Crump, who frequently co-counsels with Natalie Jackson, joined the case. [31] The case was set to begin on July 6, 2020. [31]

In the media

Jackson has frequently appeared on television and in other media for reasons related to the high-profile cases she has worked. In connection with the James Jones case, she appeared on ABC's Good Morning America with James and his wife Deborah. [33] In April 2012, Jackson was interviewed by CNN concerning the charges against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case, saying that the charges showed “Trayvon mattered.” [6] Jackson also appears in the 2018 docuseries Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story [34] [35]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neighborhood watch</span> Organized group of civilians dedicated to crime prevention

A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch, also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Nowak</span> American astronaut (born 1963)

Lisa Marie Nowak is an American aeronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut and United States Navy officer. Nowak served as naval flight officer and test pilot in the Navy, and was selected by NASA for NASA Astronaut Group 16 in 1996, qualifying as a mission specialist in robotics. She flew in space aboard Space ShuttleDiscovery during the STS-121 mission in July 2006, when she was responsible for operating the robotic arms of the shuttle and the International Space Station. In 2007, Nowak was involved in a highly publicized incident of criminal misconduct for which she eventually pled guilty to felony burglary and misdemeanor battery charges, resulting in her demotion from captain to commander, and termination by NASA and the Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Action Network</span> Civil rights organization

The National Action Network (NAN) is a not-for-profit, civil rights organization founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton in New York City, New York, in early 1991. In a 2016 profile, Vanity Fair called Sharpton "arguably the country's most influential civil rights leader".

The Garlin case refers to the murder of Tammie Garlin and the earlier physical abuse of Garlin's 11-year-old son on June 4, 2007, by their roommate Candace Clark, Clark's boyfriend Michael Sisk, and Garlin's girlfriend Michaela Clerc. Garlin's 15-year-old daughter, Felicia Mae, was tried as a juvenile for being a willing participant in her mother's murder and the abuse of her brother. The case drew attention to blind spots in the U.S. state of Florida's child-protection system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederica Wilson</span> American politician (born 1942)

Frederica Smith Wilson is an American politician who has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 2011, representing Florida's 24th congressional district. Located in South Florida, Wilson's congressional district, numbered 17th during her first term, covers a large swath of eastern Miami-Dade County and a sliver of southern Broward County. The district contains most of Miami's majority-black precincts, as well as parts of Opa-locka, North Miami, Hollywood, and Miramar. Wilson gained national attention in 2012 for her comments on the death of Trayvon Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Corey</span> American attorney

Angela Corey is a former Florida State's Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court, which includes Duval, Nassau and Clay counties—including Jacksonville and the core of its metropolitan area. She was elected in 2008 as the first woman to hold the position, and was defeated on August 30, 2016 by Melissa Nelson, the second woman to hold the position. Corey was catapulted into the national spotlight on March 22, 2012, when Florida Governor Rick Scott announced that she would be the newly assigned State Attorney investigating the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Trayvon Martin</span> 2012 killing of teenager in Sanford, Florida

On the evening of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American.

George Michael Zimmerman is an American man who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American boy, in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012. On July 13, 2013, he was acquitted of second-degree murder in Florida v. George Zimmerman. After his acquittal, Zimmerman was the target of a shooting. The perpetrator was convicted of attempted murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanford Police Department</span> Law enforcement agency in Florida, U.S.

The Sanford Police Department is a police agency in Sanford, the county seat of Seminole County, Florida. It employs 140 sworn police officers alongside 24 other employees, and Police Chief Smith. Prior to Chief Smith, Richard Myers was the Interim Police Chief. Myers is the former Chief of Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Appleton, Wisconsin. In March 2012, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee took a temporary leave of absence during the department's investigation of the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin, and Captain Darren Scott was named acting chief of police. Myers took over from Scott in May 2012. In April 2013, Former Elgin, Illinois Deputy Police Chief Cecil Smith took over as the department's chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trayvon Martin</span> American teenager killed in a shooting (1995–2012)

Trayvon Benjamin Martin was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic American. Martin had accompanied his father to visit his father's fiancée at her townhouse at The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford. On the evening of February 26, Martin was walking back to the fiancée's house from a nearby convenience store. Zimmerman, a member of the community watch, saw Martin and reported him to the Sanford Police as suspicious. Several minutes later, an altercation happened and Zimmerman fatally shot Martin in the chest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Crump</span> American lawyer (born 1969)

Benjamin Lloyd Crump is an American attorney who specializes in civil rights and catastrophic personal injury cases such as wrongful death lawsuits. His practice has focused on cases such as those of Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, George Floyd, Keenan Anderson, Randy Cox, and Tyre Nichols, people affected by the Flint water crisis, the estate of Henrietta Lacks, and the plaintiffs behind the 2019 Johnson & Johnson baby powder lawsuit alleging the company's talcum powder product led to ovarian cancer diagnoses. Crump is also founder of the firm Ben Crump Law of Tallahassee, Florida.

Mark Matthew O'Mara is an American criminal defense lawyer in Orlando, Florida, known for being the attorney for George Zimmerman. He is a former prosecutor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.</span> 2011 fatal police shooting of a black man

Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. was fatally shot by police on November 19, 2011, in White Plains, New York. After his LifeAid medical alert necklace was inadvertently triggered, police came to his home and demanded that he open his front door. Despite his objections and statements that he did not need help, the police broke down Chamberlain's door. According to police, Chamberlain charged at them with a knife and he was tasered, and then fatally shot. Chamberlain was a 68-year-old, black, retired Marine, and a 20-year veteran of the Westchester County Department of Corrections. He wore the medical alert pendant due to a chronic heart problem.

The following is a timeline of the events surrounding the death of teenager Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman during a physical altercation. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in April 2012, and found not guilty on July 13, 2013.

State of Florida v. George Zimmerman was a criminal prosecution of George Zimmerman on the charge of second-degree murder stemming from the killing of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Retreat at Twin Lakes</span> Gated community in Sanford, Florida, US

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Nguyen</span> American journalist and Attorney (born 1976)

Mary H. Nguyen-Nodelman is an American journalist and attorney. The investigative journalist and Emmy nominated reporter has worked at various ABC, NBC and Fox Television stations across the country. Nguyen is also known as the first Asian-American Miss Teenage America, owned by 'TEEN Magazine

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward John Primeau</span> American audio/video forensics expert (born 1958)

Edward John Primeau is an American audio and video forensics expert based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. He became known for working on the audio analysis of cases such as the killing of Trayvon Martin, Air Force One radio transmissions after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Michael Phillips</span> American lawyer, consumer and civil rights advocate

John Michael Phillips is an American lawyer, consumer and civil rights advocate, and legal commentator. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, New York, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Washington, DC. Phillips has been lead counsel in numerous nationally reported cases. He successfully represented Lucy McBath and Ron Davis after the shooting of Jordan Davis in Jacksonville, Florida. He prevailed as lead counsel for Omarosa Manigault Newman in litigation filed against her by Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. As a result, the Campaign was assessed Phillips’s legal fees and costs, totaling over $1.3 Million and agreed to invalidate all of the Campaign's NDAs. He also is lead counsel for Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, and is featured in four episodes of the second season of the Netflix show Tiger King.

Dream Defenders is an American human rights non-profit organization that aims to end policing and abolish prisons. It is geared towards people of color who share the goal of multi-racial organizing among other goals. They espouse to end the school-to-prison pipeline by redefining notions of freedom and safety.

References

  1. ↑ "Trayvon Martin and the Hashtag Campaign That Set the Stage for Black Lives Matter". The MIT Press Reader. 5 June 2020.
  2. ↑ WICB: Natalie Jackson Interview: Part One
  3. ↑ WICB: Natalie Jackson Interview: Part One
  4. ↑ "Central Florida police forces whiter than communities they serve". Orlando Sentinel.
  5. ↑ "OPD officers shot driver despite policy against shooting into vehicles. His family wants to know why". Orlando Officers.
  6. 1 2 "Martin family attorney Natalie Jackson says charges against Zimmerman show 'Trayvon mattered'". CNN. 12 April 2012.
  7. ↑ "The Media Or The Police: A Choice Between Two Evils For Many Black People". NewsTalk 1450. 21 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Nathaniel Jackson Jr". HonorStates.org.
  9. 1 2 3 Orlando Sentinel: 2010 a high-profile year for Orlando attorney Natalie Jackson
  10. 1 2 3 "Natalie Jackson". Natalie Jackson Law.
  11. 1 2 "Natalie A. Jackson, '94". Hampton University.
  12. 1 2 "A Practice in the Spotlight". UF George A. Smathers Libraries.
  13. 1 2 "Natalie Aleta Jackson "Natalie"". The Florida Bar.
  14. ↑ "Woodard family, insurers settle". Orlado Sentinel.
  15. ↑ "Family Who Lost Mother, Son In Sanford Accident Settle With NASCAR". Aero News Network.
  16. 1 2 "Orange County deputies settle Torey Breedlove wrongful death lawsuit". Clock Orlando. 24 July 2013.
  17. ↑ "Judge: Take-down of suspected car thief 'akin to an execution'". Orlando Sentinel.
  18. ↑ "Unarmed, Caged In and Shot 137 Times". Court House News Services.
  19. ↑ "Raw Video: Dad Confronts Daughter's Bully on Bus". Associated Press Channel on YouTube.
  20. ↑ "Dad Loses His Cool, Threatens Daughter's Alleged Bullies on Bus". ABC News.
  21. ↑ "James Jones, Father Who Threatened Daughter's Bullies Says He'd Do It Again". HuffPost. September 2011.
  22. ↑ "Chatari Jones: Sanford girl says bus bullies 'spit in my hair'". Orlando Sentinel.
  23. 1 2 3 "Trayvon Martin: Before the world heard the cries". Reuters. 3 April 2012.
  24. ↑ "Jury Acquits Zimmerman of All Charges". The Wall Street Journal.
  25. ↑ "Trayvon Martin story found the media". The Washington Post.
  26. 1 2 3 "U.S. won't file charges against George Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin death". Yahoo News.
  27. ↑ "Natalie Jackson, Trayvon Martin Family Lawyer, Says 'Biggest Mistake Was To Ignore Race'". HuffPost. 18 July 2013.
  28. 1 2 3 "Orlando to pay $95K to settle excessive force suit over 2015 arrest of Noel Carter". Orlando Sentinel.
  29. ↑ "Attorney for man kicked by Orlando police says officers' actions were out of line". Orlando Weekly.
  30. ↑ "Hollywood Man Accuses Orlando Cops Of Police Brutality". News CBS Miami.
  31. 1 2 3 "Civil rights attorney Ben Crump joins homeless man's excessive force suit against Orlando police". Orlando Sentinel.
  32. ↑ "High-profile at homeless man's excessive force case against the Orlando Police Department". Fox35 Orlando. 18 June 2020.
  33. ↑ "James Jones: Sanford dad who flipped out on school bus regrets he bullied kids". Orlando Sentinel.
  34. ↑ "'Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story' Makes a Big Promise to Viewers in Fascinating Premiere". Toofab.
  35. ↑ "'Rest In Power,' The Trayvon Martin Docuseries, Will Chill You To The Bone". StudyBreaks. 12 August 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.