Lawyer Arrested in Court Wins Suit for False Arrest
A New York lawyer arrested nearly four years ago during a courtroom dispute with a court officer has won a false arrest claim against the state.
Joseph DePaula of East Norwich was arrested in the 2005 incident after he used an obscenity to describe the officer, the New York Law Journal reports. According to an opinion by Court of Claims Judge S. Michael Nadel, the officer had confiscated DePaula’s cell phone after it rang and DePaula answered it. The officer later told DePaula he should know better, prompting DePaula to call him a “prick.”
“Upon consideration of the conflicting testimony, the defendant has not established that the arrest was based upon anything more than the words spoken by [DePaula],” Nadel said in the July 2 opinion (PDF posted by the New York law Journal). DePaula spoke in a conversational tone, according to the preponderance of evidence, and did not refuse a request to leave the courtroom.
Nadel has not yet made a finding on damages. He dismissed a second claim for malicious prosecution because DePaula had not shown malice.
