The U.S. Supreme Court said it will consider on Jan. 24 whether to hear an appeal from a Maryland father on behalf of his son who was injured in a police shooting.
The case deals with qualified immunity, a rule created by the courts that shields government officials, including police officers, from individual liability unless the wrongdoer violated a clearly established right.
Civil libertarians have become increasingly critical of the qualified immunity legal doctrine in recent years, which they say allows government officials to get away with sometimes egregious wrongdoing.
If at least four of the nine justices vote at the Jan. 24 judicial conference to hear the petition, oral arguments are likely to be scheduled soon after.
The police knocked on the front door and detected activity in the home but the door was not answered.
The police forced entry and saw Gaines sitting down with a shotgun and left the home to call for backup. When extra officers arrived, Courtney exited the home peacefully, accompanied by his daughter. Gaines remained in the home with Kodi, her then-5-year-old son. The police deemed this situation a hostage-taking incident, the petition said
The attending officers then discovered that Gaines suffered from mental illness but was off her medication, according to the petition.
The police at the scene, now consisting of more than 30 officers and counter-snipers, took up positions at the apartment building for six hours while Gaines stayed with Kodi on the floor of the living room.
Corporal Royce Ruby said he could see the barrel of the shotgun and took a “head shot” at a target he thought was Gaines. He acknowledged at trial that he believed “there’s a possibility” the bullet might hit Kodi, the petition said.
The bullet ended up penetrating drywall, hitting Gaines, bouncing off a refrigerator, and striking Kodi on the cheek.
Ruby shot Gaines another three times, leading to her death. Kodi’s elbow was also hit by one of Ruby’s bullets. The child underwent surgery to extract bullet fragments from his face and needed reconstructive surgery on his elbow.
Corey Cunningham, Kodi’s father, sued in state court on his son’s behalf, invoking 42 U.S. Code Section 1983, a federal law that allows individuals to sue the government for civil rights violations, according to the petition.
The trial judge directed the jury to decide if Ruby’s decision to take the first shot was “objectively reasonable” but failed to ask the jury to decide if the action “shocked the conscience,” the petition said.
The jury held that taking the first shot was not objectively reasonable and awarded Kodi $32.8 million in damages plus $23,542 for medical expenses.
A year later, the trial court vacated the jury verdict, finding Ruby was entitled to qualified immunity.
The Appellate Court of Maryland reversed the trial court finding, returning the case for reconsideration of damages.
The trial court held that Kodi did not have a valid 1983 claim under the 14th or Fourth amendments. Kodi’s father appealed and the Appellate Court of Maryland affirmed, finding Kodi had given up his 14th Amendment claim, or in the alternative that Ruby was entitled to qualified immunity.
The Supreme Court of Maryland affirmed on June 25, 2024.
Baltimore County urged the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss the petition, arguing that the Supreme Court of Maryland correctly decided the qualified immunity issue.
It is doubtful that Kodi’s due process rights were violated when he was “unintentionally” shot during the hostage-taking incident or that a “clearly established” right was violated, the brief said.
“There is no question that the shooting is tied to several legitimate law enforcement purposes, among them to safely end the hostage standoff and barricade with a mentally ill and dangerous suspect,” the brief said.
The Epoch Times reached out for comment to Cunningham’s attorney, Richard Simpson of Wiley Rein in Washington, and Baltimore County attorney Dorrell Brooks in Towson, Maryland, but received no replies by publication time.
