In these high profile cases, the ACLU assisted in representing the survivors (Linda Roman and Wilbert Guillory) of two young black men, Johnny Roman, 22 years old, and Michael Guillory, 25 years old, killed by police officers in Richmond, California. The consolidated lawsuits "alleged that each man had been deprived of life without due process of law in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. § 1983." Defendants in the suit were the city of Richmond, two police officers, and two police officials. The two police officers named were Samuel Dudkiewicz and Clinton Mitchell. Mitchell was involved in the death of Johnny Roman, and Dudkiewicz was involved in the deaths of both men. According to the New York Times, "Nearly 48 percent of Richmond's population is black; 39.7 percent is white. But only about 20 percent of the 161-member police force is black." The officers allege threat of immediate bodily harm as the reason for the shootings.

The court found that these killings were a part of a pattern of misconduct by the Richmond Police Department, and were two of six killings of black men that occurred between 1980 and 1983. The court writes: "There was a significant amount of evidence, both direct and circumstantial, of an informal policy, or formal or informal custom, that encouraged and authorized violence and brutality by Richmond police officers against black residents of Richmond." The court also found supervisory officers complicit, writing: "There was substantial evidence presented at trial that there was a custom encouraging, approving, and ignoring the use of excessive force by police officers in Richmond." Reporting on the cases, a New York Times article from 1983 reported: "The suit charged that the city had failed to deal correctly with a 'deviant cult' of violence-prone officers, nicknamed the 'cowboys,' whose night patrols were the source of many allegations of police misconduct." They also wrote that "presented dozens of witnesses who testified to incidents of police misconduct or brutality."

Following a four month trial, the court awarded damages in the amount of 1.5 million dollars against Clinton Mitchell, Samuel Dudkiewicz, Leo Garfield and the City of Richmond (the police officers and supervisory officials named in the lawsuit). In support of their verdict, the court named "a custom or policy" of brutality against the black residents of Richmond, as well as "assorted evidentiary errors" made by the police, among other reasons. The Times wrote that "a a Federal jury said it was sending a message to that city to change its ways."