United States Second Circuit

In civil rights action by plaintiff-passenger for being stopped, ordered to return to an automobile and arrested for disorderly conduct, following plaintiff "giving the finger" to the police officer, summary judgment for defendants is vacated and remanded, where: 1) the stop was not lawful; 2) defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity regarding the stop because a reasonable police officer would not have believed he was entitled to initiate the law enforcement process in response to giving the finger; 3) probable cause did not exist for an arrest for disorderly conduct; 4) an objectively reasonable police officer would not have believed that probable cause existed for said arrest; and 5) dismissal of the claim for malicious prosecution on motion for summary judgment was error.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/03/2013
• Published 01/03/2013

Judges

• NEWMAN

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel