Monday, April 19, 2004

Does it matter so long as police have probable cause to arrest you for something?

As shown here, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari to review the decision by the Ninth Circuit in Alford v. Haner, in which (incredibly) the Court of Appeals reversed the district court for failing to grant the plaintiff a new trial after a defense verdict. The plaintiff claimed that he was arrested for something that is not illegal, while the police claimed that they had probable cause to arrest for other crimes.

You sometimes see cases reversed where district courts have improperly granted summary judgment, but I don't remember ever reading in 10-12 years of studying section 1983 litigation a seizure case reversed after a defense verdict.

No comments: