Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Serawop, No. 06-4022 (10th Cir.) (505 F.3d 1112) (October 25, 2007) (Judge Robert H. Henry) by In the 09/24/07 issue of P&J, we noted, in our discussion of U.S. v. Ogburn, 499 F.Supp.2d 29 (D.D.C. 2007), a growing tendency of the Federal courts to impose ridiculous restitution orders …

Muhammed v. U.S., No. 4:96-CV-711-A (N.D.Tex.) (6 F.Supp.2d 582) (May 12, 1998) (Judge John H. McBryde) by This is a rare case in which the Court approved an award of $45,000 in compensatory damages against the Bureau of Prisons for failing to provide adequate care to the petitioner within the …

Atkins v. New York City, No. 97-7899 (2nd Cir.) (143 F.3d 100) (May 5, 1998) (Judge William W. Schwarzer) by Here, after the jury found in favor of the plaintiff on charges of false arrest and the use of excessive force, it awarded him only nominal damages. The Second Circuit …

Norwood v. Bain, No. 96-2164 (4th Cir.) (143 F.3d 843) (May 13, 1998) (Judge James Dickson Jr. Phillips) by The Court held that "compensatory damages may be recovered in § 1983 actions for proven violations of constitutional right, but only for any actual harms caused by the violation and not …

Westcott v. Crinklaw, No. 96-3700 (8th Cir.) (133 F.3d 658) (January 9, 1998) (Judge John R. Gibson) by Case held that a finding of excessive force does not entitle the victim to compensatory damages as a matter of law. Considering that the number of cases involving claims for damages under …

Haywood v. Koehler, No. 95-2064 (2nd Cir.) (78 F.3d 101) (March 18, 1996) (Judge Jon O. Newman) by Although the Court affirmed an award of only nominal damages in this excessive-force case, it did also hold that "if it is clear from the undisputed evidence that a plaintiff's injuries were …