Retaliation claims generally accrue when the retaliatory action occurs because damages result at that time;” plaintiff alleged that he was searched and publicly named a person of interest in retaliation for criticizing the police, claim accrued when search and naming occurred.
High school students at a football camp on a university campus were held in a room for several hours and questioned about observing a female coach while undressing; court affords officers qualified immunity because law was not clearly established as to whether reasonableness standard for student searches of New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985), applied to student seizures, rather than probable cause standard, and officers could have concluded seizure was reasonable.
Where compensatory damages were $47,300 and jury awarded punitive damages of $1,000,000, district court’s remittitur to $236,500 was reversed; Appeals Court awarded $425,700 based on a 9-1 ratio with compensatory damages, due to reprehensibility of defendant’s conduct—dropping unconscious plaintiff face-first onto concrete.
Trial court properly allowed vocational rehabilitationist to rely on medical records, reports, and testimony about plaintiff’s medical condition to opine of effect his medical condition might have on his vocational outlook.
Disputes of fact precluded summary judgment: whether deadly force was necessary to protect suspect’s wife, whether officer reasonably believed suspect was going to attack him, whether officer gave warning before shooting, whether officer reasonably thought suspect was going to seize his gun; if officer could not see where suspect’s wife was relative to his line of fire, he was not acting to protect her when he fired at suspect (citing Craighead v. Scott, 399 F.3d 954 (8th Cir.
Deputy sheriff who transported plaintiff in backseat of cruiser, restrained by leg shackles, belly chain, and handcuffs, but not by seatbelt, and who responded to call regarding bank robbery and followed suspect through unmaintained vacant lot and turned sharply when fired upon by suspect, causing plaintiff to be thrown around in cruiser and to sustain injuries, but was not shown to be aware of condition of lot or to expect that he would be fired upon, was not deliberately indifferent to plaintiff’s health and safety and did not subject him to cruel and unusual punishment.
Where trooper deployed spike strips in attempt to stop speeding motorist, but car drove around strips and did not stop, there was no application of physical force and attempt to stop car did not amount to a seizure.
Officer had probable cause to arrest plaintiff for an outstanding warrant and a broken headlight, it did not nullify probable cause that officer told him he was arresting him for DWI.
Community caretaker exception may have authorized officers responding to cab driver’s complaint that passenger skipped fare to enter curtilage of home, and even home itself given open garage door at 3 AM, but warrantless extensive search of house violated Fourth Amendment.
Officer who fired tear gas at Al Jazeera America reporters during Ferguson protest had no probable cause for doing so and violated their clearly established First Amendment rights.