Randolph M. McLaughlin and Jeffrey M. Norton of Newman Ferrara LLP [pictured right] won a major victory in a pending civil rights case in federal court.
On Tuesday, January 24, 2012, United States District Court Judge Richard J. Holwell issued a sweeping decision rejecting a state trooper's effort to have a 42 U.S.C. ยง1983 claim dismissed.
The suit stems from the arrest of Linda Stansbury for petit larceny. Ms. Stansbury was found not guilty of all charges in the criminal case after a bench trial in a local court in Westchester. In Ms. Stansbury's civil rights complaint she charged that the state trooper had falsely arrested and prosecuted her without probable cause.
After discovery, the trooper filed a motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and Judge Holwell denied that application in all respects. He found that there was sufficient evidence in the record for a jury to conclude that the trooper lacked probable cause when he arrested Ms. Stansbury. The Court noted that the use of a highly suggestive identification procedure potentially tainted any identification of Ms. Stansbury as the perpetrator of the crime charged. The judge also concluded that an in-store video of the suspect was not a sufficient basis to charge Ms. Stansbury as the suspect was considerably shorter and bore little, if any, resemblance to Ms. Stansbury.
Commenting on the decision, Randolph M. McLaughlin stated, "This decision clearly sends a message that police officers cannot randomly arrest individuals with little or no evidence."
The case will now proceed to trial.
Click here to view the MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER
For inquiries, contact Professor McLaughlin at 212-619-5400