Supreme Court rules in favor of inmate with excessive force claim

Politico

Supreme Court rules in favor of inmate with excessive force claim
By ADAM B. LERNER 6/22/15 12:13 PM EDT Updated 6/23/15 1:00 AM EDT

The Supreme Court on Monday made it easier for pre-trial inmates to bring claims against jail officials for using excessive force, ruling that officers will be held to an objective standard about whether the use of force was reasonable.

The case, Kingsley v. Hendrickson, dealt with an excessive force claim filed by Michael Kingsley who was arrested on drug charges in Wisconsin in 2010. During a struggle with guards, Kingsley was tased for five seconds on the direction of Sergeant Stan Hendrickson.

Kingsley filed a suit claiming that the tasing was objectively unreasonable — an instance of “excessive force” in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause. The officers countered that the relevant standard is a subjective one, akin to whether the action constituted a “cruel and unusual punishment” in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

Initially, the jury found in favor of the officers who said that at the time they subjectively believed the force was necessary to control Kingsley. But Kingsley appealed and at oral arguments Wendy Ward, arguing on his behalf, warned of the consequences of instructing the jury to employ a subjective standard.

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http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/jail-inmate-excessive-force-supreme-court-119283.html