Crista Noel v. Bruno Coltri
20-2979
| 7th Cir. | Sep 3, 2021Background
- On Jan. 1, 2009 Officer Bruno Coltri encountered Crista Noel after spotting her car in a no-parking zone; he warned her and followed her into a nearby lot.
- Noel exited her car, cursed at Coltri, bumped her chest into him, and then slapped, kicked and hit him as he attempted to handcuff her.
- Noel was charged with aggravated battery and resisting arrest; she was convicted of resisting arrest in Illinois state court and that conviction was affirmed on appeal.
- Noel sued Coltri under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming First Amendment retaliation, Fourth Amendment (excessive force and unlawful seizure), Fourteenth Amendment equal protection (class-of-one), and in state court asserted malicious prosecution.
- The district court granted summary judgment for Coltri on most claims (leaving malicious prosecution and the class-of-one claim), a jury found for Coltri on the remaining claims, and the district court denied Noel’s post-judgment motions; Noel appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Amendment retaliation arrest | Noel: arrested for protesting Coltri’s policing | Coltri: claim waived; objectively valid arrest based on assault/resistance | Waived; alternatively, arrest supported by objective probable cause (Nieves) |
| Fourth Amendment excessive force | Noel: force used to restrain her was unreasonable | Coltri: Noel violently resisted (chest bump, slap, kick, hit); force to restrain was reasonable | No reasonable jury could find force excessive on the record; resistance justified restraint |
| Fourth Amendment seizure/probable-cause in parking lot | Noel: Coltri seized/confined her by following into lot before bump | Coltri: she could have left; no show of inability to terminate encounter | No evidence she felt unable to leave; no seizure before chest bump |
| Equal protection (class-of-one charging) | Noel: Coltri prosecuted her out of spite (no rational basis) | Coltri: charging decision had conceivable rational basis (her conduct) | Jury could reasonably find a rational basis; verdict for Coltri affirmed |
| Malicious prosecution (Illinois tort) | Noel: lacked probable cause; prosecution was malicious | Coltri: probable cause existed from her assaultive conduct; charges not malicious | Jury could credit probable cause and absence of malice; verdict affirmed |
| Evidentiary/pretrial rulings and post-judgment motions | Noel: district court biased; counsel ineffective; new evidence/perjury | Coltri: challenges forfeited or meritless; ineffective-assistance not a civil ground; Heck/Preiser bar belated challenges | Challenges forfeited for lack of transcripts; motions denied; belated attack on statute barred by Heck/Preiser |
Key Cases Cited
- Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (bars §1983 claims that would necessarily imply invalidity of a conviction)
- Nieves v. Bartlett, 139 S. Ct. 1715 (an objective ground for arrest can defeat a retaliatory-arrest claim)
- Fields v. City of Chicago, 981 F.3d 534 (respect due to jury verdicts and standard for reviewing trial evidence)
- Evans v. Poskon, 603 F.3d 362 (Heck does not always bar excessive-force claims that coexist with resisting-arrest convictions)
- Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429 (test for whether a reasonable person could terminate the encounter)
- United States v. Radford, 856 F.3d 1147 (Seventh Circuit application of the Bostick termination-of-encounter test)
- Beaman v. Freesmeyer, 131 N.E.3d 488 (Illinois standard elements for malicious prosecution)
- Liteky v. United States, 510 U.S. 540 (judicial bias requires more than adverse rulings)
- Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475 (limitations on using §1983 to invalidate convictions)
- Walker v. Ingersoll Cutting Tool Co., 915 F.3d 1154 (waiver of claims in opposing summary judgment)