CITY TO PAY $60,000 IN SEARCH OF HOME.Byline: Angie Valencia-Martinez Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - After spending eight years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight a case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the city has agreed to pay a $60,000 judgment to a woman who claimed police violated vi·o·late tr.v. vi·o·lat·ed, vi·o·lat·ing, vi·o·lates 1. To break or disregard (a law or promise, for example). 2. To assault (a person) sexually. 3. her civil rights during a search of her home. While the Supreme Court ruled that police could detain de·tain tr.v. de·tained, de·tain·ing, de·tains 1. To keep from proceeding; delay or retard. 2. To keep in custody or temporary confinement: residents with handcuffs hand·cuff n. A restraining device consisting of a pair of strong, connected hoops that can be tightened and locked about the wrists and used on one or both arms of a prisoner in custody; a manacle. Often used in the plural. tr.v. during a search, it sent the civil case back to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether Iris Mena remained handcuffed too long after the search concluded. The appellate court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. ruled last month in favor of Mena, and city officials said Tuesday they decided not to appeal the $60,000 judgment awarded by the original jury. ``The city clearly was the victor in terms of the protection of rights of the police officers to defend their community,'' City Manager Mike Sedell said. ``After almost eight years of legal frustration and winning at the Supreme Court, it became a business decision.'' Beyond the $60,000, the city has not determined its legal costs related to the case. But James S. Muller Mul·ler , Hermann Joseph 1890-1967. American geneticist. He won a 1946 Nobel Prize for the study of the hereditary effect of x-rays on genes. Mül·ler , Johannes Peter 1801-1858. , Mena's attorney, said his fees add up to more than $200,000. He estimates the city will have spent up to $1 million defending a case his client would have settled for $20,000. ``It's a product of an arrogant attitude on the part of the Simi Valley city attorney and City Council that their police officers can do no wrong,'' Muller said. ``The bottom line is they were wrong. They treated her as if she were just completely without any rights ... like she was nothing.'' The question before the high court was how far police can go in searching homes and questioning occupants without violating their civil rights. The ruling gave police nationwide more direction on how they can conduct searches. The lawsuit stemmed stemmed adj. 1. Having the stems removed. 2. Provided with a stem or a specific type of stem. Often used in combination: stemmed goblets; long-stemmed roses. from a February 1998 search of a Patricia Avenue home for a weapon believed to have been used in a gang-related shooting. Angie Valencia-Martinez, (805) 583-7604 angie.valencia(at)dailynews.com |
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