United States v. Pike
Not Guilty Verdict, All Counts
Case number: 3:98 CR 00043-EHJ Type of case: Civil rights Jurisdiction: United States District Court Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Date of trial: August 1998 Judge: Edward H. Johnstone, Senior Judge
Mr. Pike and a co-defendant were accused by the government of violating the civil rights of three African-American men in Bullitt County, Kentucky. The African-American men had purchased a lot in a trailer park and intended to move there once they acquired a trailer. The government offered evidence that Mr. Pike and his co-defendant erected a cross in front of that lot, placed a white sheet over it, and then doused it with gasoline.
We were able to convince the jury that the cross had been erected by Mr. Pike and his co-defendant, but that it was unrelated to the African-American men=s race. Both Mr. Pike and his co-defendant were acquitted on all charges.
