Appellate Section - Police Misconduct (Civil Cases)

Briefs and Opinions

• Barnes v. Felix (S. Ct.) - Amicus

  • Assessment of the reasonableness of an officer’s use of force under the Fourth Amendment should not categorically disregard prior officer conduct
  • Respondent’s sole and exclusive focus on the moment of the threat is unsound
  • The court of appeals misapplied the Fourth Amendment

   

  Document	Date
  Brief as Amicus	11/20/24

• Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon (S. Ct.) - Amicus

  • The court of appeals erred in holding that a single valid charge automatically defeats a Fourth Amendment malicious-prosecution claim

   

  Document	Date
  Supreme Court Decision, reported at 602 U.S. 556	06/20/24
  Brief as Amicus	02/07/24

• Gonzalez v. Trevino (S. Ct.) - Amicus

  • The general requirement that a plaintiff must plead and prove the absence of probable cause is a limit on constitutional retaliatory-arrest damages claims, not the First Amendment itself
  • The court of appeals imposed unwarranted restrictions on the form of proof necessary to qualify for Nieves’s “similarly situated individuals” exception
  • Nieves’s general no-probable-cause requirement applies to all Section 1983 retaliatory-arrest claims

   

  Document	Date
  Supreme Court Decision, reported at 602 U.S. 653	06/20/24
  Brief as Amicus	12/18/23

• Thompson v. Clark (S. Ct.) - Amicus

  • Petitioner asserts a Fourth Amendment claim most analogous to the common-law tort of malicious prosecution
  • A Section 1983 claim challenging a seizure pursuant to legal process should include a favorable-termination requirement
  • A termination may be “favorable” to the plaintiff even if it lacks affirmative indications of innocence

   

  Document	Date
  Supreme Court Decision, reported at 142 S. Ct. 1332	04/04/22
  Brief as Amicus	06/11/21

• United States v. New Orleans (5th Cir.) - Appellee/Respondent

  • This matter should be remanded to give the district court an opportunity to consider modifications to its hearing order after hearing from the parties
  • The City has not satisfied the requirements for mandamus relief
  • Timeliness is a threshold requirement for all motions to intervene
  • Juengain has never satisfied any of the other requirements for intervention as of right under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2)

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Order	04/11/23
  Response to Petition for a Writ of Mandamus	04/10/23
  Court of Appeals Order	09/11/20
  Response in Opposition to Summary Reversal and Cross-Motion for Summary Affirmance	08/13/20

• Torres v. Madrid (S. Ct.) - Amicus

  • The application of restraining physical force can effect a temporary seizure even if the subject does not yield
  • This Court should vacate the decision below and remand for further proceedings

   

  Document	Date
  Supreme Court Decision, reported at 141 S. Ct. 989	03/25/21
  Brief as Amicus	02/07/20

• Maricopa County v. Melendres (S. Ct.) - Respondent

  • Certiorari is not warranted to review the court of appeals’ conclusion that Arizona sheriffs are policymakers for their counties concerning law enforcement
  • Certiorari is also not warranted to review petitioner’s contention that it cannot be required to fund the relief in this case on the theory that Arizona law bars funding remedies for willful or intentional misconduct
  • Petitioner’s argument that the Second Supplemental Injunction constituted an abuse of discretion does not warrant this Court’s review

   

  Document	Date
  Certiorari Denied, reported at 140 S. Ct. 96	10/07/19
  Opposition to Certiorari	04/10/19

• Maricopa County v. United States (S. Ct.) - Respondent

  • The petition should be denied because the questions presented appear to lack ongoing practical significance for petitioner in this case
  • Three of the six counts in the United States’ complaint (Counts 2, 4, and 6) have been settled
  • Petitioner fulfilled the terms of the settlement agreement with respect to Count 4
  • The United States has also proposed terminating the settlement agreement regarding Counts 2 and 6 — the only settlement agreement for which the district court retains jurisdiction — because it believes that petitioner has complied with all terms of that agreement. If that agreement is terminated, then the issue of petitioner’s liability with respect to the settled counts will be moot

   

  Document	Date
  Certiorari Denied, reported at 139 S. Ct. 1373	03/25/19
  Opposition to Certiorari	02/15/19

• United States v. Puerto Rico (1st Cir.) - Appellee

  • The text of the bankruptcy stay provisions, 11 U.S.C. 362 and 922, and this Court’s practice under PROMESA require that this appeal be stayed pending resolution of Puerto Rico’s petition for adjustment of debts

   

  Document	Date
  Response to Court Order to Show Cause	10/09/18

• Sheridan v. Melendres (S. Ct.) - Respondent

  • The court of appeals correctly dismissed the appeal, and its decision does not conflict with any decision of this Court or another court of appeals
  • Section 1988(b) provides that in a proceeding to enforce Section 1983, “the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs”
  • The court of appeals determined that it was appropriate to award attorney’s fees incurred defending petitioner’s appeal, when petitioner had “disobeyed the injunction entered in the underlying litigation” and then “actively inserted himself into the litigation by appealing the contempt finding in the hope of clearing his name,” relying in part on the common practice of assessing civil contemnors attorney’s fees

   

  Document	Date
  Certiorari Denied, reported at 138 S. Ct. 2674	06/25/18
  Brief in Opposition	05/22/18

• Melendres v. Maricopa County (9th Cir.) - Intervenor/Appellee

  • This court has already held that the County is a proper party in this case
  • State law cannot and does not require this court to vacate the injunction

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 897 F.3d 1217	07/31/18
  Brief as Intervenor/Appellee	08/29/17

• Melendres v. Penzone (9th Cir.) - Appellee

  • MCSO can appeal any decision of the CPA to the district court
  • The district court properly granted the CPA limited decision-making authority over MCSO’s complaint intake and routing processes and investigative training
  • Sheridan’s petition for rehearing does not identify any part of the record or any points of law that the court overlooked or misapprehended
  • The panel properly concluded reputational injury does not meet Article III requirements
  • None of Sheridan’s alleged harms are sufficiently concrete, traceable to the court’s orders, or remediable by court action
  • Sheridan has not shown the “exceptional circumstances” necessary for a nonparty appeal
  • Sheridan lacks standing to challenge the second permanent injunction
  • Sheridan lacks standing to appeal the denial of recusal

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Decision, available at 2024 WL 3853851	08/19/24
  Brief as Intervenor-Appellee	08/21/23
  Court of Appeals Order	10/24/17
  Response to Petition for Panel Rehearing	10/13/17
  Court of Appeals Order	08/03/17
  Motion to Dismiss	06/22/17

• Melendres v. Sands (9th Cir.) - Appellee

  • This appeal is moot
  • Sands cannot establish any basis on which he has a legally cognizable interest in the outcome of this appeal simply because he was found in civil contempt
  • There are no collateral legal consequences that save Sands’ appeal from mootness
  • Vacatur is not warranted here, where Sands was not entitled to review of his contempt finding and the case is moot as to him but not others

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Order	07/27/17
  Reply to Response to Motion to Dismiss and Response to Motion for Vacatur	06/15/17
  Motion to Dismiss	05/25/17

• United States v. County of Maricopa (9th Cir.) - Appellee

  • The district court correctly held that the County is liable under Section 14141 and Title VI for the unconstitutional policies and conduct of Sheriff Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
  • The County is liable under, and bound by, the findings of unlawful discrimination in Melendres

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 889 F.3d 648	05/07/18
  Brief as Appellee	09/16/16

• Kingsley v. Hendrickson (S. Ct.) - Amicus

  • The Court should adopt an objective standard, similar to that governing excessive force claims falling under the Fourth Amendment, which examines whether the force was used for the purpose of punishment or, instead, if the use of force was reasonably related to and proportional to a legitimate governmental objective
  • The court had adequately instructed the jury, and therefore the judgment of the court of appeals should be affirmed

   

  Document	Date
  Supreme Court Decision, reported at 135 S. Ct. 2466	06/22/15
  Brief as Amicus	03/17/15

• United States v. Diaz-Castro (1st Cir.) - Plaintiff-Appellee

  • The Court should dismiss Diaz-Castro's appeals because it lacks jurisdiction over the appeals and the appeals present no substantial question
  • The Court should deny his motion for a preliminary injunction pending appeal as moot and because it fails to satisfy the four-factor test for injunctions

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Decision	01/17/14
  Motion to Dismiss	12/20/13
  Response to Motion Seeking Injunction Pending Appeal	12/20/13

• Powers v. City of New Orleans (5th Cir.) - Intervenor/Appellee

  • The consent decree does not interfere with any cognizable contract rights and that it does not violate local civil service rules
  • The decree is valid, and that there are no changed circumstances which could justify granting the City's motion to vacate the decree
  • The City knew about the issues it now raises, including the cost of an unrelated settlement to remedy prison conditions and alleged wrongdoing by Sal Perricone, a former Assistant United States Attorney involved in negotiating the police department decree, well before the decree was entered
  • The decree does not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act and that the involvement of Perricone, who resigned before the decree was finalized, did not affect the negotiation of the decree

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 783 F.3d 570	04/15/15
  Brief as Intervenor-Appellee	11/03/14
  Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 731 F.3d 434	09/27/13
  Brief as Appellee	07/11/13

• In re Grand Jury Subpoena (5th Cir.) -- Appellee

  • This is an appeal from the denial of a motion to quash a grand jury subpoena

   

  Document	Date
  Brief as Appellee (filed under seal)	3/11/09

• United States v. City of Detroit (6th Cir.) -- Appellee

  • The district court correctly denied the Coalition's motion to intervene as of right
  • The Coalition is not entitled to permissive intervention

   

  Document	Date
  Dismissed	01/24/05
  Brief as Appellee	04/07/04

• United States v. City of Los Angeles (9th Cir.) -- Appellee

  • Community groups and private individuals are not entitled to intervene in a case in order to enforce the consent decree entered between the United States and the City of Los Angeles resolving allegations of systemic police misconduct

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 288 F.3d 391	04/22/02
  Brief as Appellee	07/27/01

• United States v. City of Los Angeles (9th Cir.) -- Appellee

  • Court of Appeals should deny the police union's motion for a stay pending its appeal of the district court's denial of its motion to intervene in the case between the United States and the City of Los Angeles regarding the operations of the Los Angeles Police Department
  • Police union was not entitled to intervene in case to challenge consent decree between the United States and City of Los Angeles to resolve allegations of systemic police misconduct when the consent decree imposed no obligations upon the union or its members and did not affect officers' collective bargaining rights

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 288 F.3d 391	04/22/02
  Brief as Appellee	06/04/01
  Court of Appeals Denial of Stay, unpublished	04/16/01
  Opposition to Stay	03/22/01

• United States v. City of Los Angeles (9th Cir.) -- Appellee

  • Police union lacked standing to bring independent action seeking injunction against entry of a consent decree in a separate case between the United States and the City of Los Angeles regarding the operations of the Los Angeles Police Department.

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Decision, unpublished	04/22/02
  Brief as Appellee	05/30/01

• Stevenson v. District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (D.C. Cir.) -- Intervenor

  • District court properly refused to order the United States to disclose internal documents regarding an ongoing investigation of police misconduct

   

  Document	Date
  Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 248 F.3d 1187	05/01/01
  Brief as Intervenor	12/28/00

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