Kennedy Law Firm Wins Tenth Circuit Appeal
In a wrongful arrest claim brought on behalf of a 58 year old Albuquerque woman, the Kennedy Law Firm prevailed on an appeal of a jury verdict in favor of the defendant police officer. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the jury verdict with instruction to the district court to enter judgment in favor of the Kennedy Law Firm's client, Bertha Keylon.
On a Saturday morning, September 28, 2003, Albuquerque Police Department, Scott Barnard, arrested Bertha Keylon. Officer Barnard arrested Ms. Keylon for resisting an officer under state law and concealing identity under state law. Officer Barnard alleged that Ms. Keylon lied about the date of birth of her 30 year old son, who was accused of damaging a tow truck. Ms. Keylon denied lying to the officer.
The Kennedy Law Firm argued and the Tenth Circuit agreed that even if the officer's testimony was taken as true, the officer had no probable cause to arrest Ms. Keylon for resisting and had no basis to demand identification from Ms. Keylon. The opinion focused on the qualified immunity defense and the objective reasonableness standard. The opinion cautions that the officers subjective belief, unless based upon objective facts, is not relevant to the question of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment. Finally, the Tenth Circuit criticized the District Court's submission of the qualified immunity question to the jury, stating again that in the Tenth Circuit qualified immunity rarely should be submitted to the jury.
