Cronick v. City of Colorado Springs, et al.
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Vacated
The Tenth Circuit held that the district court erred by allowing the jury to view more than twenty clips of the plaintiff’s unrelated ‘cop-watch’ videos and by instructing the jury to presume she routinely disrupts police, concluding that the evidence’s minimal probative value was vastly outweighed by unfair prejudice. The panel vacated the defense verdict and remanded for a new trial but affirmed an $18,680 discovery-sanctions award against the plaintiff and her lawyers.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether, in §1983 jury trials, post-incident videos showing the plaintiff’s unrelated confrontations with police are admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 403 when offered to rebut emotional-distress damages or credibility.
Circuit Positions
Unrelated post-incident videos are generally inadmissible under Rule 403 in §1983 cases because their minimal probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice.
Admission of such videos lies within the trial court’s broad Rule-403 discretion; they may be admitted to rebut emotional-distress claims.
Conflict Summary
The First Circuit has upheld trial-court discretion to admit such unrelated videos as minimally prejudicial, whereas the Tenth, Seventh, Fourth, and Second Circuits hold that the probative value of this character evidence is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice and therefore must be excluded under Rule 403.