Jennings v. Jones, No. 08-2117

In plaintiff's civil rights case against the state of Rhode Island and a State Police representative and other police officers who had executed a search warrant of his workplace at the Narrangansett Indian Tribe "smoke shop", jury's verdict in favor of the defendant in the second trial is affirmed as: 1) there was no abuse of discretion in the district court's grant of a new trial based on the second ground, that even if the jury verdict had unambiguously rested on the increased force theory, that theory would have been contrary to the weight of the evidence; and 2) plaintiff's argument that the district court erred in granting a new trial because defendant failed to press the district court for a ruling on this motion after it initially and erroneously ruled the motion was moot is rejected.   

Read Jennings v. Jones, No. 08-2117

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island

Decided November 19, 2009

Judges

Before:  Lynch, Chief Judge, and Gajarsa and Lipez, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Lynch, Chief Judge

Counsel

For Appellant:     Charles M. Bradley

For Appellee:   Rebecca Tedford Partington, Deputy Chief, Civil Division, John Moreira, Special Assistant Attorney General