7th Circuit

Smith v. City of Chicago

Submitted by Re'Neisha Stevenson on Wed, 10/26/2022 - 08:35

Cause of action for illegal pretrial detention based on fabricated evidence accrued when plaintiff was released on bond; court characterizes claim as one under Fourth Amendment rather than Fourteenth Amendment and thus distinguishes McDonough v. Smith, 139 S.Ct. 2149 (2019); bond conditions that he appear in court and requirement that he request permission before leaving state did not constitute a seizure under the Fourth Amendment.

Smith v. City of Chicago

Submitted by Re'Neisha Stevenson on Wed, 10/26/2022 - 08:24

Cause of action for illegal pretrial detention based on fabricated evidence accrued when plaintiff was released on bond; court characterizes claim as one under Fourth Amendment rather than Fourteenth Amendment and thus distinguishes McDonough v. Smith, 139 S.Ct. 2149 (2019); bond conditions that he appear in court and requirement that he request permission before leaving state did not constitute a seizure under the Fourth Amendment.

Lopez v. Sheriff of Cook Co.

Submitted by Re'Neisha Stevenson on Wed, 10/26/2022 - 02:55

Plaintiff’s claim for excessive force after he fired gun was not barred by Heck v. Humphrey because his guilty plea to aggravated discharge of firearm was not undermined by claim that officer used excessive force after the fact; officer was entitled to qualified immunity for shooting at plaintiff after he fired two rounds and was walking toward officer, and for failure to give a warning, and for using plaintiff as a shield when another party picked up plaintiff’s gun and began firing at officer.

Flores v. City of South Bend

Submitted by Re'Neisha Stevenson on Wed, 10/26/2022 - 02:36

Court does not insist upon intent-to-harm standard of Co. of Sacramento v. Lewis, applies standard of “criminal recklessness,” which it equates to “deliberate indifference” to high-speed driving by officer that caused accident; holds that this standard is appropriate in non-emergency situation where officer had actual knowledge of unjustifiable risk to human life and consciously disregarded risk; concluding that officer’s reckless conduct, unjustified by emergency, allowed the inference that he subjectively knew of the risk he created and consciously disregarded it.

Kuri v. City of Chicago, IL

Submitted by Re'Neisha Stevenson on Wed, 10/26/2022 - 01:30

Determination of facts and their significance was for the jury, affirming denial of directed verdict for officers on probable cause issue; affirming verdict for $4 million in compensatory damages for nearly three years in jail awaiting trial for murder at which plaintiff was acquitted.

Eagan v. Dempsey

Submitted by Re'Neisha Stevenson on Wed, 10/26/2022 - 01:25

District court erred in failing to appoint counsel for pro se plaintiff; with counsel it would be reasonably likely that medically ill plaintiff could hold prison doctor liable on claim that he left him in significant and prolonged pain to “teach him a lesson about the consequences of self-destructive behavior,” namely plaintiff’s head-banging in response to hearing voices.

Fields v. City of Chicago

Submitted by Re'Neisha Stevenson on Fri, 10/21/2022 - 10:35

Plaintiff claimed fabrication of evidence, suggestive identification procedures, and withholding exculpatory evidence; in first trial plaintiff prevailed only against one individual defendant and lost against City, damages awarded were $80,000; in subsequent retrial, plaintiff prevailed against two individual defendants and City, obtained $22 million in compensatory damages and a total of $40,000 in punitive damages against two individual defendants; retrial held proper based on defense misrepresentations that a defense witness would be imprisoned for years, when in fact he was released mon

Mwangangi v. Nielsen

Submitted by Jane Clayton on Fri, 10/21/2022 - 10:26

Investigating driver for impersonating police officer justified pat down for weapons because nature of the crime implies possibility of presence of weapon; handcuffing suspect does not always transform Terry stop into arrest, but it is a “rare case” where it would not, facts of this case did not justify handcuffing; officer at time of handcuffing did not have probable cause or even arguable probable cause to arrest plaintiff (who was in business of roadside assistance to motorists) for impersonating a police officer; formal arrest of plaintiff was based on probable cause information learned