Florida resident David Sosa was arrested twice because Martin County sheriff's deputies twice mistook him for a wanted man who had the same name but otherwise bore little resemblance to him. That unlucky experience, according to a January 20 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, did not violate Sosa's constitutional rights. Sosa is asking the Supreme Court to overturn that decision, and he is not alone: He is joined by four other David Sosas who signed onto an Institute for Justice (I.J.) brief that underlines their common peril.
"As David Sosas," the I.J. brief explains, "they're interested in this case because the ruling below puts them at risk of a lawless three-day detention whenever they're in Florida, Georgia, or Alabama"—the three states that comprise the 11th Circuit. "If something like this could happen to one of the David Sosas in Florida," says David Sosa, a 51-year-old resident of Mecklenburg, North Carolina, "it could happen to a David Sosa anywhere, which is why I'm supporting this important case."
