qualified immunity
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10th Circuit hears Denver, officer’s request to overturn $14M jury verdict after 2020 protests
Members of the Colorado-based federal appeals court considered on Wednesday whether a judge committed errors in the 2022 civil trial where jurors found Denver liable for $14 million for violating the constitutional rights of protesters. In the first lawsuit of many to culminate in a jury trial, 12 plaintiffs largely succeeded in arguing Denver’s own…
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Judge dismisses constitutional claim against detective despite ‘eyebrow-raising’ investigation into motel
A federal judge on Friday dismissed a Greenwood Village motel operator’s constitutional rights claim against a detective who allegedly singled out the establishment for a criminal investigation based on its willingness to house people with disabilities long-term. Zarrin Hospitality Group, Inc. is the operator of a Motel 6 at 9201 E. Arapahoe Road. Its owner…
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10th Circuit, 2-1, rules ignoring emergency signal from jail detainees is clear constitutional violation
The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded on Monday that a jail employee can violate a detainee’s clear constitutional rights by ignoring an emergency distress signal, even if there is no further information about what kind of emergency exists. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed Ralph Marcus Hardy…
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10th Circuit rules child welfare worker immune for alleged false statements at custody hearing
The Denver-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that a child welfare worker’s testimony during a temporary custody hearing, even if it was false, cannot be the basis for a civil lawsuit under the longstanding principle shielding witness statements in judicial proceedings. A trial judge previously believed the allegedly untruthful statements of former Arapahoe County…
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10th Circuit says judge erred in denying immunity to Denver officers who arrested man for recording
The Colorado-based federal appeals court sided with two Denver police officers on Tuesday, finding they were entitled to immunity outright or to a second look at their arguments in a lawsuit over a man’s arrest for video recording at a police station. There was no dispute that a sign was posted on the window of…
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10th Circuit rules Denver deputy will face trial for punching man in wheelchair
The Colorado-based federal appeals court agreed on Friday that a Denver sheriff’s deputy will face a civil jury trial for using “arbitrary and punitive force” against a restrained man who spat on him. Video footage from 2019 captured Deputy Jason Gentempo punching and shoving Serafin Finn, who was in a wheelchair, to the ground after Finn…
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10th Circuit rules ex-Denver police chief entitled to immunity for 2020 protest injury
Denver’s former police chief cannot be held liable for a woman’s injury during a 2020 protest because his directives for officers to use force were “in the abstract and from a distance,” the Colorado-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The lawsuit from Suzy Dennis was one of several filed in federal court following the police…
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Appeals court overturns $4 million jury award for elderly woman subject to Denver SWAT search
Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned a jury’s roughly $4 million award to an elderly Denver woman who was subject to a SWAT raid on her home after police believed, incorrectly, a stolen iPhone would be found inside. In ordering a new civil trial, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel imposed a new burden on…
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‘Common sense’: 10th Circuit rules Loveland officer will face civil trial for shooting puppy in head
The Denver-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that a jury will decide whether a Loveland police officer violated a couple’s constitutional rights by shooting their puppy in the head and torso. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit had never decided the specific question of whether the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable…
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10th Circuit: Sheriff’s deputies have no immunity for letting dog attack Highlands Ranch man
‘What are you talking about?’ Judge Gregory Phillips asked the deputies’ lawyer after hearing argument that it may have been reasonable if the dog had bitten a child