Facts

Gabrielle Lemos filed a federal civil rights suit under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 against the County of Sonoma in relation to force used by a police officer during her arrest.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Lemos alleged Deputy Marcus Holton used excessive force as he attempted to arrest her for resisting, obstructing, or delaying a peace officer in the performance or attempted performance of his duties in violation of California Penal Code Section 148(a).

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied the allegations and argued Lemos's claims are barred by the Heck doctrine because they necessarily implicate the invalidity of her underlying criminal conviction for violation of Section 148(a).

Defendants were granted the right to file two motions for summary judgment and the Heck MSJ was the first (filed early before discovery commenced). Therefore, there would be additional grounds upon which defendants would seek dismissal in a second motion to dismiss.

Result

The court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment. A bar under the Heck doctrine does not lie when the plaintiff's underlying conviction and Section 1983 claim are based on different actions that occurred during one continuous interaction, or are the facts underlying the Section 1983 claim and conviction are distinct temporally or spatially. The court found that the plaintiff's resisting, obstructing, or delaying Holton in his performance of his duties continued for over ten minutes from the time she first blocked Holton's view to the time Holton gained control over her after placing her in handcuffs on the ground. The court found, for Heck purposes, Holton's actions dealing with plaintiff formed one uninterrupted interaction and the jury's finding that Holton did not use excessive force would be inconsistent with a Section 1983 claim based on an event part of the same encounter, so plaintiff's claims are barred by the Heck doctrine.

Other Information

Plaintiff appealed the order granting the MSJ and the judgment.