Kingsley v. Hendrickson
| Kingsley v. Hendrickson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued April 27, 2015 Decided June 22, 2015 | |
| Full case name | Michael B. Kingsley, Petitioner v. Stan Hendrickson, et al. |
| Docket no. | 14–6368 |
| Citations | 576 U.S. ___ (more) |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 744 F.3d 443 (7th Cir. 2014) Kingsley v. Josvai, 10-cv-832-bbc (2011), W.D. Wis |
| Holding | |
| A pretrial detainee's claim of the use of excessive force by a police officer must prove only that the force was objectively unreasonable, and must not necessarily prove that the officer thought the force was excessive. United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Breyer, joined by Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan |
| Dissent | Scalia, joined by Roberts, Thomas |
| Dissent | Alito |
Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. ___ (2015), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held in a 5–4 decision that a pretrial detainee must only prove that force used by police is excessive according to an objective standard, and is not required to prove that a police officer was subjectively aware that the force used was unreasonable.
Background
Michael Kingsley was being held in detention in a Monroe County jail in Sparta, Wisconsin in 2010, awaiting trial on drug charges. Kingsley was repeatedly ordered by officers to remove a piece of paper he had taped to the overhead light of his cell. So as to remove the paper, Kingsley was ordered to be temporarily moved to receiving cell. Refusing to comply with officers' commands to stand against the door of his cell to be handcuffed, Kingsley was forcibly removed from the cell by four officers, one of whom was defendant, Sergeant Stan Hendrickson and moved to a receiving cell.All parties agreed that in the receiving cell, Sergeant Hendrickson placed his knee in Kingsley's back and Deputy Sheriff Fritz Degner eventually applied a Taser to his back.
However, the officers testified that Kingsley resisted their attempted removal of his handcuffs. Kingsley testified that he had not resisted their attempt and alleged that after being placed in the receiving cell, officers had slammed his head into a concrete bunk, which the officers denied. After being tasered, Kingsley was left handcuffed in the cell for around 15 minutes, after which the officers removed his handcuffs.
Kingsley brought a civil action suit, Kingsley v. Josvai (2011), against Hendrickson and Degner in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging a use of excessive force by the officers in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.[1] Judge Barbara Brandriff Crab denied the officers' motion for a summary judgment.
Decision
References
- ^ "Kingsley v. Josvai opinion" (PDF). United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. January 31, 2011.
External links
- United States Supreme Court opinion, Kingsley v. Hendrickson
- United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin opinion, Kingsley v. Josvai
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2014/14-6368 |
[[Category:2015 in United States case law] [[Category:United States Supreme Court cases] [[Category:United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court]