From the moment Amara Harris was accused of stealing another student’s AirPods at Naperville North High School in 2019, she insisted that it was a mix-up, not a theft. But a school resource officer wrote her a ticket anyway. In a rare and dramatic example of the impact of school ticketing, the case went to trial in August 2023, and a jury found Harris not liable.
This week, Harris’ attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Naperville alleging civil rights violations, including racial discrimination and malicious prosecution. Naperville City Attorney Mike DiSanto said in a statement that the allegations “are without merit” and the city plans to “vigorously defend this lawsuit.”
The ticket had a maximum $500 fine, and a city prosecutor had offered to settle the case just before trial if she paid $100. Harris refused, and she is now seeking $20 million through the lawsuit.
ProPublica reporters Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards have been covering this story and school ticketing more broadly for two years, and Harris told them why she filed the lawsuit against the city and its officers: “They were wrong and they have to face consequences and be held accountable for what they did and for dragging this on.”
