Police Misconduct Attorney Jerry L. Steering has been suing the police since 1984 for police brutality, false arrests, malicious criminal prosecutions and First Amendment retaliation cases. Mr. Steering in an Expert and Specialist in suing the police in federal court for constitutional violations in the City of Adelanto, throughout San Bernardino County, and throughout the State of California. Mr. Steering has also sued the government as far away as in federal court in Alabama and in the District of Columbia.
When it comes to suing the police, the old maxim holds so true: “The Young Lawyer Knows the Law, But the Old Lawyer Knows the Judge”.
ADELANTO AND THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
The City of Adelanto contracts with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for its police services. Unfortunately, those deputy sheriffs up in the High Desert of San Bernardino County don’t think that the United States Constitution only applies to those persons “down the hill”; not to them.The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Deputies in the High Desert area of San Bernardino County are quite brutal and routinely frame their victims to protect themselves and the County of San Bernardino from Civil Liability for their deputies’ constitutional violations, such as false arrests, excessive force, and malicious prosecutions.
The City of Adelanto was the defendant in one of the most famous cases promoting the right of those who are falsely accused of crimes to actually do something about it; to sue for their malicious criminal prosecutions.
In Awabdy v. City of Adelanto, 368 F.3d 1062 (9th Cir. 2004), two weeks before the 2000 Adelanto City Council election, Adelanto City Councilman Esau Awabdy was running for reelection. His political opponents pressured the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office to Indict him for embezzling public funds. Awabdy pled not guilty prior to election day and, over one year later, the San Bernardino County Superior Court dismissed the phony charges filed against him. However, by then Awabdy was no longer serving on the City Council, for he had been soundly defeated at the polls, presumably due to his attempted frame-up for embezzlement.
At that time, the Constitutional Tort of Malicious Prosecution was in legal limbo. See, Can You Sue The Police For Malicious Criminal Prosecutions? The federal courts sometimes allowed one to sue for their malicious criminal prosecutions, but the law supporting those case was, and basically until 2024 was unsettled, at least in a situation where at some point the malicious prosecution plaintiff has been arrested ; now called Fourth Amendment Malicious Prosecution Claims. See, Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon, Ohio, U.S. Supreme Court, June 20, 2024.
One of the biggest impediments to successfully suing the police (and other government officials for a malicious prosecution was the presumption that the District Attorney’s Office acts with its Independent Judgment in deciding to prosecute criminal cases, and, therefore, more often than not, that presumption has served to insulate the police who procured such malicious criminal prosecutions from civil liability for doing so. See, Smiddy v. Varney, 803 F.2d 1469 (9th Cir. 1986)
In Awabdy v. City of Adelanto, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Mr. Awabdy’s right to sue for his attempted frame-up by his fellow Adelanto City Council Members, holding that the “presumption of prosecutorial independence does not bar a subsequent 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (federal civil rights) claim against state or local officials who improperly exerted pressure on the prosecutor, knowingly provided misinformation to him, concealed exculpatory evidence, or otherwise engaged in wrongful or bad faith conduct that was actively instrumental in causing the initiation of legal proceedings”.
Awabdy v. City of Adelanto was the seminal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case that allowed persons who were the victims of attempted frame-ups by the police to sue them for their malicious criminal prosecutions.
This is especially important in High Desert cities like Adelanto, where San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputy sheriffs frequently beat-up innocents and then procure the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office to criminally prosecute those innocent victims for some “resistance offense”, such as violations of Cal. Penal Code § 69 (resisting police with threat or use of force or violence, the resistance offense de jour these days), Cal. Penal Code § 148(a)(1) (misdemeanor resisting / obstructing / delaying peace officer; a crime that the police can almost apply to any situation), Cal. Penal Code § 243(b) & (c), ( (b) being misdemeanor battery on peace officer and (c) and felony battery on peace officer causing injury) and Cal. Penal Code § 245(c) (felony assault on peace officer with deadly weapon or by means likely to result in great bodily injury).
A criminal conviction for any of these “resistance offenses” will preclude the innocent but nonetheless falsely convicted victims of the police from suing for their false arrest pursuant to Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994) , and otherwise pursuant to the doctrine of collateral estoppel.
Moreover, unless you can segregate any supposed resistance of an officer to a subsequent police beating (i.e. excessive force 4th Amendment violation), a conviction for such a resistance offense will usually also bar one from successfully suing the police for their beating by the police. See, Smith v. City of Hemet, 394 F.3d 689 (9th Cir. 2005).
JERRY L. STEERING’S SUCCESS AGAINST THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
Mr. Steering has had a great deal of success in suing the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Here are some of his cases against that agency:
Franks v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. Dist. Court, Cent. Dist. of Cal. (Santa Ana) (2023) award after jury verdict $500,000.00
Morgan v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. Dist. Court, Cent. Dist. of Cal. (Riverside) (1996), $714,000.00 settlement following jury verdict for excessive force and false arrest during search warrant execution in Apple Valley, California;
Austin v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. District Court (Riverside) $500,000.00 jury verdict for false arrest and excessive force;
Lopez v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. District Court (Riverside) $50,000.00 settlement for racially motivated battery;
Miller v. City of San Bernardino, et al, U.S. District Court (Riverside) $35,000.00 settlement for unlawful detention;
Calderon v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. District Court (Riverside) $115,000.00 settlement for false arrest and illegal search;
Arroyo v. City of San Bernardino, U.S. Dist. Court, Central Dist. of Cal. (Riverside) $125,000.00 settlement for unreasonable seizure of person;
Ford v. County of San Bernardino, $80,000.00 settlement for excessive force;
In re Jane Doe v. County of San Bernardino, et al. (2008) $290,000.00 settlement (prior to filing lawsuit) for sexually motivated mistreatment of arrestee;
Aubry v. County of San Bernardino, et. al, U.S. Dist. Court (Los Angeles), $325,000.00 settlement for unreasonable force and for false arrest;
Penny Trent v. County of San Bernardino, et al., $600,000.00 settlement for unreasonable seizure of person.
Jones v. County of San Bernardino, et al.; $170,000.00 U.S. Dist. Court (Los Angeles) settlement for unreasonable seizure of person.
IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF POLICE MISCONDUCT, JERRY L. STEERING CAN HELP YOU.
As the old saying goes, “The young lawyer knows the law, but the old lawyer knows the Judge”. Mr. Steering’s many years of experience and knowledge in suing the police can help you maximize your chances of winning your Police Misconduct Civil Rights case, and winning is the only thing that matters. If you are the victim of police misconduct, Jerry L. Steering can help you. Call Jerry L. Steering, Esq. at (949) 474-1849, or email Mr. Steering at jerry@steeringlaw.com .
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