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Chavez v. Martinez December 4, 2002 (01-1444) return to case listing Case Summary A prior suspect brought a § 1983 suit against the city claiming that the police sergeant violated his constitutional rights by stopping him without probable cause, using excessive force, and subjecting him to a coercive interrogation while he was receiving medical care. While emergency room personnel were attempting to treat the suspect, the sergeant began taping an interview even though hospital personnel repeatedly removed him from the room. The suspect's answers were generally non-responsive and he drifted in and out of consciousness. He continually complained of pain, that he was choking, that he could not move his legs, and that he was dying. At the § 1983 trial, the sergeant-defendant invoked the qualified immunity defense whereby he argued that only conduct that an official could not reasonably have believed was legal under settled law results in personal liability. The district court found in favor of the suspect and denied the sergeant's qualified immunity claim. The U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed and held that in light of the extreme circumstances of the case, a reasonable police officer in the sergeant's position could not have believed that the interrogation of the suspect comported with the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. The opinion of the Ninth Circuit is found at 270 F.3d 852. To see the opinion of the lower court, click here. PREDICTED OUTCOME ACTUAL OUTCOME Forecasting Model Expert One Expert Two Expert Three 6-3 to Reverse 6-3 to Reverse 5-4 to Reverse 9-0 to Reverse 6-3 to Reverse VOTING TO REVERSE Rehnquist O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Thomas Breyer Rehnquist O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Thomas Breyer Rehnquist O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Thomas Rehnquist Stevens O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Souter Thomas Ginsburg Breyer Rehnquist O'Connor Scalia Souter Thomas Breyer VOTING TO AFFIRM Stevens Souter Ginsburg Stevens Souter Ginsburg Stevens Souter Ginsburg Breyer Stevens Kennedy Ginsburg return to case listing