619 F. App'x 462
6th Cir.2015Background
- Derek and Brian Patterson, brothers from Ohio, sued five Akron police officers, their superiors, and the City of Akron for excessive force under §1983 and related state-law claims.
- The May 27-28, 2006 incident at Fat Tuesday/Posh Night Club area involved Brian being arrested after leaning on a police cruiser; Derek intervened during the arrest.
- Brian was tased at least once; Derek was tased at least four times; substantial crowd presence and allegations of police crowd-control methods and taser use.
- Brian pleaded to a misdemeanor resisting arrest; he entered a Release-Dismissal Agreement waiving civil claims in exchange for the case dismissal; Derek did not enter such an agreement.
- The district court granted summary judgment to defendants on Brian’s claims, and later to Derek on most claims; a jury subsequently found for two officers on Derek’s remaining excessive-force claim.
- The court on appeal addressed (a) enforceability of Brian’s release, and (b) admissibility of an Officer Bickett taser report used at Derek’s trial.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release-Dismissal enforceability under Rumery | Brian's release was involuntary and procedurally defective. | Release was voluntary and properly entered under judicial supervision. | Enforceability disputed; remanded for fact-finding on voluntariness. |
| Prosecutorial misconduct/public interest prong of Rumery | Prosecutor lacked legitimate reason to condition release on civil claims. | No prosecutorial misconduct shown and public interest favored enforcement. | Public-interest/principle prong not satisfied; remand for reconsideration. |
| Admissibility of Officer Bickett's Taser Report | Report is admissible and corroborates claims against Bickett. | Report lacks foundation/authentication; not admissible. | Taser Report admissible; district court erred in excluding it; reversible error not harmless. |
Key Cases Cited
- Town of Newton v. Rumery, 480 U.S. 386 (U.S. 1987) (release-dismissal enforceability requires voluntariness, no prosecutorial misconduct, and public interest)
- Coughlen v. Coots, 5 F.3d 970 (6th Cir. 1993) (Rumery framework adopted for §1983 release-dismissal enforceability)
- Burke v. Johnson, 167 F.3d 276 (6th Cir. 1999) (preponderance standard for voluntariness in plea-derived release)
- Livingstone v. N. Belle Vernon Borough I, 12 F.3d 1205 (3d Cir. 1993) (analysis of voluntariness and judicial supervision in release-dismissal context)
- Livingstone v. N. Belle Vernon Borough II, 91 F.3d 515 (3d Cir. 1996) (expanded discussion on voluntariness and surrounding circumstances)
- Hill v. City of Cleveland, 12 F.3d 575 (6th Cir. 1993) (consideration of sophistication offsetting lack of counsel in voluntariness)
- Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (U.S. 1986) (summary judgment standard; no genuine dispute for trial when evidence is insufficient)
- Gonzalez v. Kokot, 314 F.3d 311 (7th Cir. 2002) (prosecutorial misconduct analysis and release-dismissal considerations)