Wins

Ra El v. Crain (9th Cir. 2010) 399 Fed.Appx. 180, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 20536 (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit) [unpublished]. Pro se plaintiff Ankhenaten Ra El’s civil rights complaint alleged a large number of constitutional violations arising out of two separate arrests. Among them were claims for excessive force, unlawful search and seizure, racial discrimination, retaliation, probable cause, and violations of rights under Brady v. Maryland (prohibiting prosecutors from withholding exculpatory evidence). GMSR represented the members of the police department and other city officials both in the preparation of the summary judgment motion and before the Ninth Circuit—arguing that the claims were barred by Heck v. Humphrey (barring civil rights claims that would imply the invalidity of a criminal conviction) and that, in any event, judgment was appropriate as a matter of law. The district court agreed with GMSR on all fronts and the Ninth Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment.