Barber v. City of Chicago

Dist. Ct. erred in failing to grant plaintiff’s motion for new trial in section 1983 action alleging that defendants-police officials lacked probable cause to arrest 14-year-old plaintiff on disorderly conduct charge and used excessive force while plaintiff was in custody, where Dist. Ct. allowed defendants to cross-examine plaintiff on fact that he had been subsequently arrested on under-age drinking charge and on his felony conviction for possession of stolen motor vehicle. Defendants could not use subsequent arrest for underage drinking to establish that plaintiff had been drinking on night of arrest as maintained by defendants. Moreover, cross-examination on plaintiff’s felony conviction deprived plaintiff of fair trial where its probative value on plaintiff’s emotional distress claim was minimal while its prejudice was substantial because it allowed jury to draw impermissible propensity that plaintiff had committed disorderly conduct on night of his arrest.