Simmons v. Napier
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
626 Fed. Appx. 129 (2015)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
After his arrest, Mario Simmons (plaintiff) sued Dianna Napier and two other police officers (defendants), alleging that they used excessive force. The judge followed the federal method of having the attorneys suggest questions before examining the pool of prospective jurors, then selected which questions to ask, eliminated the remainder, and questioned the prospective jurors directly instead of allowing the attorneys to do so. The judge questioned the prospective jurors extensively about any bias in favor of police officers and removed at least one person for cause as a result. The jury nonetheless found for the police officers on all counts. Simmons appealed on multiple grounds, including that the court failed to ask requested questions about police bias and should have allowed the attorneys to examine the prospective jurors instead.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Boggs, J.)
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