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Jay Russell Shafer v. Freddy Padilla

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 15-56548 · judgment August 29, 2017


Certiorari denied · May 29, 2018
Pre-decision estimate: 4% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Ninth Circuit decision below, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and counsel who has filed here before.

Question presented

In a civil rights action based on excessive force, a deputy sheriff denies engaging in the physical acts that constituted excessive force. The plaintiff at trial proves that the deputy’s denials were false and that he did engage in the acts. The jury determines that the deputy used excessive force and did so with malice, oppression or recklessness. Is the deputy entitled to qualified immunity for engaging in the acts of excessive force, despite his denials of having done so and the jury’s findings?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Steven B. Stevens

For respondent
Mary Pat Barry
County of Santa Barbara Office of County Counsel

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Linked docket
17A905

Proceedings

  1. May 29 2018
    Petition DENIED.
  2. May 08 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/24/2018.
  3. Apr 30 2018
    Waiver of right of respondent Freddy Padilla to respond filed.
  4. Apr 03 2018
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 7, 2018)
  5. Feb 28 2018
    Application (17A905) granted by Justice Kennedy extending the time to file until April 3, 2018.
  6. Feb 22 2018
    Application (17A905) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from March 4, 2018 to April 3, 2018, submitted to Justice Kennedy.