United States Ninth Circuit

In an action under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, in which plaintiff alleged that he was unlawfully arrested for resisting a police officer, in violation of California Penal Code Section 148(a)(1), and that excessive force was used during his arrest, the district court's judgment is reversed where: 1) as to the unlawful arrest claim, there was sufficient evidence at trial on which a reasonable jury could have concluded that no probable cause for the arrest existed; 2) as to the excessive force claim, the district court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law on the lawfulness of the arrest, in conjunction with its instructions on the excessive force claim, improperly influenced the jury's consideration; and 3) the district court's categorical exclusion of evidence relevant to establishing plaintiff's theory of municipal liability was an abuse of discretion and this incorrect evidentiary ruling resulted in the court erroneously entering judgment as a matter of law for the defendants.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/15/2015
• Published 07/15/2015

Judges

• Berzon

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel