McCrary-El v. Shaw
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
992 F.2d 809 (1993)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Jerry McCrary-El (plaintiff) was serving a life sentence in prison. McCrary-El brought suit against the prison guards (defendants) for using excessive force against him in his prison cell. According to McCrary-El, the assault began in the doorway of his cell and then moved further into the cell, where most of his injuries occurred. Antonio Jones was in the cell next to McCrary-El’s. Jones testified during his deposition that there was a crack in the door of his cell that allowed him to see part of the alleged assault on McCrary-El. Jones admitted that he could not see the incident once all of the guards were entirely inside McCrary-El’s cell. At trial, McCrary-El sought to read Jones’s deposition into evidence. The district court denied McCrary-El’s request, finding that Jones lacked personal knowledge of the assault as required under Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 602. The district court ruled in favor of the defendants and denied McCrary-El’s motion for a new trial. McCrary-El appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Arnold, J.)
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