Fontenot v. TASER International, Inc.-Case Study and Series

July 30, 2011 Leave a comment

On July 19, 2011, a federal jury returned a $10,000,000 verdict against TASER International, Inc. I’ve received several calls and emails from LEOs about this verdict. Readers of Bluelinelawyer know that I believe in the TASER. This link will take you to one of my articles.

In my series, Lawsuits Against LEOs, I explored some of the realities and my insights about lawsuits involving LEOs. In this new series, I will use this case to walk you through a case involving use of force and products used by LEOs. It is not enough to look at this verdict and assume that TASER did anything wrong, that the LEOs involved were at fault or that law enforcement should walk away from TASER devices. The goal of this series is to inform and empower LEOs. In addition, it is my hope that you will learn to separate the hype and publicity of suits from the facts.

One of my law professors once said, “In every lawsuit, there are real people on both sides of the “v.”  I will pull the documents from this case, break down the case and the trial and follow the inevitable appeal. I will also discuss the role of the LEOs, the lawyers and the family of the suspect who died. As we go through the series, you will learn from “both sides of the ‘v’.”

You can read a news article about the verdict here. As a start to looking at both sides of the case, read through this article, written to promote the lawyers who sued TASER International, Inc. The official name of the case, known as the style, is Fontenot v. TASER International, Inc., United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division, Case No. 3:10-CV-125 .

I look forward to this series and your comments and questions. Stay safe.

Filed under Case Law, Education, Legal Update, LEO Litigation, Officer Safety, Politics & Current Affairs, Use of Force, Use of Tasers Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When 100 was a goal…

July 25, 2011 Leave a comment

When I was a kid, 100 was a goal. $100 was a lot of money. A 100% on a test meant you could not have scored any higher. As I got older, I realized that $100 didn’t buy much. However, the goal of giving 100% never changed through my work as a LEO, graduate school and night law school. On July 20, 2011, the number 100 changed for me forever when we lost our 100th LEO this year. Clayton County Deputy Sheriff Richard “Rick” Jerome Daly was shot and killed that day at approximately 1500 hours. The shooter is listed as a 17 year old robbery suspect.

As with many other recent murders of LEOs, the suspect confronted Deputy Daly and fired multiple rounds. This is far removed from the past pattern of suspects who fired a few shots while fleeing or in an attempt to gain an opportunity to escape. The criminals are getting more violent, the confrontations with LEOs are more strategic and the attacks on LEOs seem more focused on the violence itself and not a means to avoid arrest.

There are lessons here for everyone. For the LEOs working the road and investigations, be more vigilant. For the trainers, adapt your lesson plans and scenarios to better prepare your troops. For the administrators, get ready to stand behind your troops when they use force to protect themselves. For the prosecutors, expect the LEOs on the street to take more precautions and be quicker to use force to protect themselves and others.

Let us all commit that next year, the year after and many more to come, we will never again reach the milestone of 100 LEOs killed in the line of duty.

Rest in peace, Deputy Daly. May God embrace and comfort your family, friends and fellow LEOs as you look down and watch over them.

Stay safe.

Filed under Officer Safety, Politics & Current Affairs, Use of Force Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Juries & Justice: When Expectations and Outcomes Do Not Meet

July 16, 2011 6 Comments

On July 5, 2011, a jury found Casey Anthony not guilty regarding the death of her child, Caylee. The internet, print and electronic media were immediately filled with articles and commentary regarding the verdict. While Casey Anthony was found guilty of lying to investigators and sentenced accordingly, the thrust of the articles seemed to be that the jury was ignorant, duped or worse. Most alarming to me was a growing number of people who chose this verdict to indict the jury system in general.

So as LEOs, what do we do when expectations and outcomes do not meet after a jury trial? It is so important to remember that more often than not, in trial courts throughout the United States, on a daily basis, juries get it right. Every day, juries comprised of citizens take an oath to listen to evidence and make a determination of the facts of the case. Whether in a civil or criminal case, we rely upon those jurors to conduct the business of the court. In a criminal case, the safeguards afforded by a public trial before an impartial jury are central to our system of government.

LEOs arrest based upon probable cause. It is easy to forget the difference between the probable cause standard and guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. I personally believe that LEOs so often make cases using a “heightened sense” of probable cause, that the jury convicts easily after looking at the same evidence relied upon by the LEO. When the jury does not convict, this is not a reflection on the LEOs involved in the case. The jury may simply disagree or may not hear the same evidence due to procedural rulings.

As the English Jurist William Blackstone said, “better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.” The jury system in the United States is a proving ground for evidence, an insertion of the conscience of society into the prosecution process and an acknowledgment that the people are the final authority in the criminal justice system. While we may disagree with the outcome of a specific case, we must continue to embrace the system.

Stay safe.

Filed under Politics & Current Affairs Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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