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November 29, 2007

AG asks Supreme Court to overturn smoke-shop ruling

The state attorney general is seeking for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that upheld a jury’s finding that a state trooper used excessive force when he twisted a Narragansett tribal member’s ankle during the 2003 smoke-shop raid.

The state has filed an appeal with the high court, asking for a review of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision. If the ruling is allowed to stand, the state argues, it will have a chilling effect on police officers trying to arrest suspects who resist while claiming they are being hurt.

“If we win in Supreme Court, this is over,” said Jim Lee, chief of the attorney general’s civil division. “If we win on the motions for a new trial, we have to try it again.”

The case stems from a state police raid on a Narragansett smoke shop in Charlestown on July 14, 2003. Governor Carcieri ordered the police to execute the search warrant on the roadside store after the tribe began illegally selling cigarettes without charging Rhode Island taxes.

The raid disintegrated into a violent confrontation and eight tribal members were arrested, including Adam Jennings whose ankle was broken during his arrest for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Jennings, his mother and another shop worker filed suit, alleging the state police violated their civil rights.

A U.S. District Court jury concluded after a five-day civil trial in Providence that Trooper Kenneth Jones used excessive force and battery when he twisted Adam Jennings' ankle while placing him under arrest during the raid. The 10 jurors ruled in favor of two other troopers while awarding Jennings $301,000 in damages.

Trial Judge Ernest C. Torres overturned that verdict, finding that Jones was protected by qualified immunity, which shields officers from liability when they act reasonably in doing their jobs. The judge concluded that though the public has a strong interest in ensuring that police do not abuse their authority, it has an equal interest in seeing that officers are not deterred from performing their duties for fear of liability.

Jennings appealed to the 1st Circuit. A three-judge panel reinstated the jury’s verdict in March. That decision was affirmed by the full court in August, when it declined to review the case but sent it back to Torres in U.S. District Court to consider motions for a new trial.

The state has opted to, instead, seek the high court’s review.

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 3:35 PM | Permalink

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