Andre Brooks v. Charlotte Cook Mark L. Mechanic County of Los Angeles

Andre Brooks appeals a jury verdict in favor of the defendants on his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim. Brooks asserts that he was prejudiced by several erroneous jury instructions. He also appeals an award of attorneys’ fees, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 , to the prevailing defendants. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we reverse.

I

On January 14, 1985, Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputies Charlotte Cook and Mark Mechanic stopped a ear driven by Brooks’s brother, in which Brooks was a passenger. The deputies testified that they stopped the car because it was speeding and driving erratically. As they approached the car, the deputies observed the driver bending forward out of their view. They ordered the occupants out of the car. Brooks’s brother immediately exited, was patted down and was given a field sobriety check. Brooks initially refused to leave the car, but finally exited after being yelled at by the officers. He continued, however, to be uncooperative as the deputies checked him for weapons and searched the car’s passenger compartment. After approximately ten minutes, Brooks and his brother were released.

Brooks told a different version of these events.…