United States First Circuit

Summary judgment for defendants in an 18 U.S.C. section 1983 suit alleging excessive force is affirmed where: 1) the District of Maine's local rules concerning summary judgment do not violate the 7th Amendment's guarantee of a right to trial by jury; 2) the totality of the circumstances did not support a finding that a defendant-officer's handcuffing of plaintiff represented a constitutionally proscribed use of excessive force; 3) defendant did not present evidence demonstrating that police force is inadequately trained in how to handcuff disabled suspects; 4) absent evidence of participation or concerted action one officer cannot be held jointly liable under section 1983 for another officer's use of excessive force; 5) defendant-county had an appropriate policy for fingerprinting disabled persons; and 6) plaintiff was not entitled to raise new and unadvertised theories of liability for the first time in opposition to a motion for summary judgment.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/11/2006
• Published 12/11/2006

Judges

• SELYA, Circuit Judge., Before BOUDIN, Chief Judge, SELYA and LYNCH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Eric M. Mehnert, with whom Hawkes & Mehnert and Joseph Baldacci were on brief, for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Edward R. Benjamin, Jr., with whom Thompson & Bowie, LLP was on brief, for municipal appellees., John J. Wall, III, with whom Monaghan Leahy, LLP was on brief, for county appellees.