United States Ninth Circuit

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit arising from injuries sustained by plaintiff in an assault, summary judgment for defendants is reversed in part as to one defendant, a county jail commander, where the district court erred in granting defendant's motion on the ground that he had not acted under color of state law, because defendant was acting under color of state law when he invoked his law enforcement status to keep bystanders from interfering with his assault on plaintiff.

Appellate Information

• Argued 10/21/2005
• Decided 06/26/2006
• Published 06/26/2006

Judges

• WILLIAM A. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge., Before THOMAS and W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges, and JAMES C. MAHAN, District Judge.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• William E. Weiss, San Francisco, CA, for the appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Duncan M. James, David M. Kindopp, Ukiah, CA, for appellee Charles Warner., Douglas L. Losak, Office of the County Counsel, Ukiah, CA, for appellee County of Mendocino.