Court Error – Abuse of Discretion

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Calvin Lindsey v. Vince Macias, et al.

Case No.: 17-2963

Officials: EASTERBROOK, KANNE, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges

Focus: Court Error – Abuse of Discretion

After the State of Illinois dismissed criminal charges against plaintiff‐appellant Calvin Lindsey for unlawful possession of a weapon, he filed this civil action asserting claims for false arrest, excessive force, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law assault and battery. At trial, the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict on all counts.

On appeal, Lindsey seeks to vacate the judgment for two reasons. First, he contends the district court erred in refusing to modify its jury instruction on “possession” to stress that “mere proximity” to a gun is insufficient. Second, he asserts the district court abused its discretion by denying the jurors’ request for a copy of a potentially impeaching interrogatory answer.

Neither of Lindsey’s arguments warrants reversal. Our precedent rejects a requirement that a possession instruction include language expressly disclaiming the sufficiency of “mere proximity,” and Lindsey presents no persuasive reason to reconsider those holdings or reach a different result here. And the district court was well within its discretion in refusing to send into the jury room a document not admitted into evidence. Therefore, we affirm.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.