Week of January 14, 2025

One of many examples of how far the Fifth Circuit will bend over backwards to find that officer could have reasonably believed he was acting lawfully with respect to an arrest and use of force, even though he wasn’t.

Under Maryland law, emotional distress that exonerated prisoner experienced as result of his 31-year incarceration for murder he did not commit was sufficiently severe to support claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In context of recording police, court holds that Oregon statute generally prohibiting audio recordings of oral conversations “if not all participants in the conversation are specifically informed that their conversation is being obtained” is constitutional.

Whether officer's takedown maneuver to subdue arrestee was reasonable was for jury in light of evidence that officer grabbed arrestee from behind without identifying himself, that, although arrestee initially resisted officer, arrestee submitted to officer and raised his hands once he realized it was officer that grabbed him, that arrestee was not trying to attack anyone at that time, and that takedown caused arrestee to hit his head on pavement.