Rivas-villegas v. Cortesluna
U.S. Supreme Court · decided October 18, 2021 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Decided
- October 18, 2021
- Term
- October Term 2021
- Vote
- 9–0
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Cite as: 595 U. S. ____ (2021) 1 Per Curiam SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES DANIEL RIVAS-VILLEGAS v. RAMON CORTESLUNA ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT No. 20–1539. Decided October 18, 2021 PER CURIAM. Petitioner Daniel Rivas-Villegas, a police officer in Union City, California, responded to a 911 call reporting that a woman and her two children were barricaded in a room for fear that respondent Ramon Cortesluna, the woman’s boy- friend, was going to hurt them. After confirming that the family had no way of escaping the house, Rivas-Villegas and the other officers present commanded Cortesluna out- side and onto the ground. Officers saw a knife in Cor- tesluna’s left pocket. While Rivas-Villegas and another of- ficer were in the process of removing the knife and handcuffing Cortesluna, Rivas-Villegas briefly placed his knee on the left side of Cortesluna’s back. Cortesluna later sued under Rev. Stat. §1979, 42 U. S. C. §1983, alleging, as relevant, that Rivas-Villegas used excessive force. At issue here is whether Rivas-Villegas is entitled to qualified im- munity because he did not violate clearly established law. The undisputed facts are as follows. A 911 operator re- ceived a call from a crying 12-year-old girl reporting that she, her mother, and her 15-year-old sister had shut them- selves into a room at their…
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