Post by KC on May 21, 2006 18:30:17 GMT -5
May 20, 2006 - The "before" photos show a beaming smile. The "after" photos show Tiffany Avalos with missing teeth, a broken jaw and a swollen, bruised face - her smile shattered after a 2004 late-night arrest outside a nightclub.
"Ms. Avalos has terrible injuries. The photos are very sad," U.S. District Judge Hayden Head told attorneys during a civil trial to determine whether police used excessive force or wrongfully arrested her. "She was proud of her smile, and rightfully so. She was a pretty young woman."
Her attorney, Christopher Gale, had dangled a settlement. But the city didn't bite. The judge asked the city's attorneys why they chose not to avoid a jury trial. On average the city settles.
Just before jurors reached a decision, they were instructed to put themselves in the officers' shoes in that situation without playing Monday morning quarterback. They deliberated for two hours.
Their verdict: not guilty.
Gale said he lost thousands of dollars representing Avalos and her brother. The Avalos siblings were shocked with the verdict.
The city's win wasn't free: $76,467 in legal payments to a few law firms.
That's a small price to pay if it discourages other potential plaintiffs, one expert says.
University of Texas School of Law professor Steve Bickerstaff, who has 35 years experience in defending government offices in the state, said letting a jury decide cases sends a message to the public and plaintiff attorneys that a settlement isn't a sure thing.
"It's a constant balancing act. If they always settle and they are perceived as a deep pocket, then plaintiff lawyers will expect that," Bickerstaff said. "On the other hand if you're going to try every case, it's going to be very expensive. And, if you spend more money than what it would have taken to settle the case, that is not necessarily a bad thing. It may prevent frivolous lawsuits against the city later."
In the past 10 years, the city has spent $1.2 million in legal fees for excessive force suits. Of the 23 suits filed, 10 were settled at a cost of $481,000.
The police department isn't the authority that decides whether to settle, said former Police Chief Pete Alvarez, who presided over the department for 10 years and retired in January.
"That's up to risk management. They do what's in the best interest of the city," he said. "It's either pursuing these cases in court and spending millions or settle for $50,000 and let them on their way."
The Corpus Christi city legal department bases those decisions on a variety of factors, the city attorney wrote in a prepared statement. Those include: whether the claim has any legal basis, facts of the case, whether the facts are undisputed, an assessment of the situation based on witness information, a review by experts, witness credibility, severity of damages, potential recovery of plaintiff and cost of the defense.
Mayor Henry Garrett, a former Corpus Christi police chief who spent 32 years on the force, said the City Council normally takes attorneys' advice on police cases. Still, Garrett said, there have been times they have been advised to settle and decide to fight the case anyway.
"I am very much opposed to settling a case if we're right because it sends the wrong message. Settling makes it seem like we did something," Garrett said. "If we're right, we need to challenge it in the court, show the public that we didn't do anything wrong."
So far when the city chooses not to settle, juries are on their side.
The city has won six cases and lost none in the past 10 years. Seven are pending.
When potential jurors were selected for the Avalos trial, lawyers asked if they believed a police officer's word held more weight than a normal person's testimony. Most of them raised their hands.
When acting Corpus Christi Police Chief Ken Bung was told about this, a proud smile spread across his face. He said he and the department aim for that respect. It's what he told a group of cadets recently at their police academy graduation.
"Integrity is not optional," he said in his speech. "Today you are the law. You still will abide by the same laws that you are enforcing. Always, always take the moral high road. There is no other road. There is no other option."
Jim McKibben, whose firm represented the city in the Avalos case and several others going back decades, said "the city settles cases oftentimes because it's cheaper than trying the case."
It would not have been cheaper in the Avalos case, McKibben said. Gale's settlement offer was more than twice the $76,000 the city paid in legal fees.
McKibben represented the city along with attorney Tony Canales in a 1981 American Civil Liberties Union civil rights suit that alleged police brutality against 16 officers. The city won that case, as it has several since. McKibben said he has been told the city hasn't lost a case alleging excessive force since 1957.
Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago associate professor of law who runs the law school's clinic that focuses on police accountability, says more police accountability is needed.
Litigating excessive force cases is complicated, Futterman said, because the expense is high and the cases are difficult.
"Typically, it's the word of that person against the police officer. It's very rare where you get video like with the Rodney King case. When I started this program five or six years ago we would get five to 10 calls a day, all from people who had plausible cases who were unable to otherwise get a lawyer," he said. "It's really the exception that someone is able to find a lawyer to file the case."
"When police are accused of excessive force, two things are happening," he said. "One, there is a violation of the law and two, folks who are abused by police aren't the most beloved in society."
Futterman said juries sometimes judge excessive force complainants' personal character.
"That jury will not want to give that thief who just robbed a liquor store any money," he said. "Instead they will say they wished they had kicked him too. But that doesn't make it right."
"Ms. Avalos has terrible injuries. The photos are very sad," U.S. District Judge Hayden Head told attorneys during a civil trial to determine whether police used excessive force or wrongfully arrested her. "She was proud of her smile, and rightfully so. She was a pretty young woman."
Her attorney, Christopher Gale, had dangled a settlement. But the city didn't bite. The judge asked the city's attorneys why they chose not to avoid a jury trial. On average the city settles.
Just before jurors reached a decision, they were instructed to put themselves in the officers' shoes in that situation without playing Monday morning quarterback. They deliberated for two hours.
Their verdict: not guilty.
Gale said he lost thousands of dollars representing Avalos and her brother. The Avalos siblings were shocked with the verdict.
The city's win wasn't free: $76,467 in legal payments to a few law firms.
That's a small price to pay if it discourages other potential plaintiffs, one expert says.
University of Texas School of Law professor Steve Bickerstaff, who has 35 years experience in defending government offices in the state, said letting a jury decide cases sends a message to the public and plaintiff attorneys that a settlement isn't a sure thing.
"It's a constant balancing act. If they always settle and they are perceived as a deep pocket, then plaintiff lawyers will expect that," Bickerstaff said. "On the other hand if you're going to try every case, it's going to be very expensive. And, if you spend more money than what it would have taken to settle the case, that is not necessarily a bad thing. It may prevent frivolous lawsuits against the city later."
In the past 10 years, the city has spent $1.2 million in legal fees for excessive force suits. Of the 23 suits filed, 10 were settled at a cost of $481,000.
The police department isn't the authority that decides whether to settle, said former Police Chief Pete Alvarez, who presided over the department for 10 years and retired in January.
"That's up to risk management. They do what's in the best interest of the city," he said. "It's either pursuing these cases in court and spending millions or settle for $50,000 and let them on their way."
The Corpus Christi city legal department bases those decisions on a variety of factors, the city attorney wrote in a prepared statement. Those include: whether the claim has any legal basis, facts of the case, whether the facts are undisputed, an assessment of the situation based on witness information, a review by experts, witness credibility, severity of damages, potential recovery of plaintiff and cost of the defense.
Mayor Henry Garrett, a former Corpus Christi police chief who spent 32 years on the force, said the City Council normally takes attorneys' advice on police cases. Still, Garrett said, there have been times they have been advised to settle and decide to fight the case anyway.
"I am very much opposed to settling a case if we're right because it sends the wrong message. Settling makes it seem like we did something," Garrett said. "If we're right, we need to challenge it in the court, show the public that we didn't do anything wrong."
So far when the city chooses not to settle, juries are on their side.
The city has won six cases and lost none in the past 10 years. Seven are pending.
When potential jurors were selected for the Avalos trial, lawyers asked if they believed a police officer's word held more weight than a normal person's testimony. Most of them raised their hands.
When acting Corpus Christi Police Chief Ken Bung was told about this, a proud smile spread across his face. He said he and the department aim for that respect. It's what he told a group of cadets recently at their police academy graduation.
"Integrity is not optional," he said in his speech. "Today you are the law. You still will abide by the same laws that you are enforcing. Always, always take the moral high road. There is no other road. There is no other option."
Jim McKibben, whose firm represented the city in the Avalos case and several others going back decades, said "the city settles cases oftentimes because it's cheaper than trying the case."
It would not have been cheaper in the Avalos case, McKibben said. Gale's settlement offer was more than twice the $76,000 the city paid in legal fees.
McKibben represented the city along with attorney Tony Canales in a 1981 American Civil Liberties Union civil rights suit that alleged police brutality against 16 officers. The city won that case, as it has several since. McKibben said he has been told the city hasn't lost a case alleging excessive force since 1957.
Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago associate professor of law who runs the law school's clinic that focuses on police accountability, says more police accountability is needed.
Litigating excessive force cases is complicated, Futterman said, because the expense is high and the cases are difficult.
"Typically, it's the word of that person against the police officer. It's very rare where you get video like with the Rodney King case. When I started this program five or six years ago we would get five to 10 calls a day, all from people who had plausible cases who were unable to otherwise get a lawyer," he said. "It's really the exception that someone is able to find a lawyer to file the case."
"When police are accused of excessive force, two things are happening," he said. "One, there is a violation of the law and two, folks who are abused by police aren't the most beloved in society."
Futterman said juries sometimes judge excessive force complainants' personal character.
"That jury will not want to give that thief who just robbed a liquor store any money," he said. "Instead they will say they wished they had kicked him too. But that doesn't make it right."