Montiel

Michael Montiel brought a § 1983 action against the City of Los Angeles (the City) and various Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers, alleging they violated his first, fourth, fifth, ninth, thirteenth and fourteenth amendment rights by wrongfully arresting him and using excessive force against him. The case went to trial and the district court subsequently granted judgment as a matter of law to the City and one of the officers. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the remaining officers.

Montiel appeals, contending the district court erred in seating the jury, excluding the Christopher Commission Report on police violence in Los Angeles, granting the judgments as a matter of law, and making biased comments prejudicial to his case. We reverse and remand for a new trial on the jury selection issue, affirm the judgment as a matter of law in favor of Officer Nelson and vacate the judgment as a matter of law granted to the City.

I

On June 11, 1988, at approximately 2:00 a.m., Michael Montiel, David Jimenez and Armando Gonzalez were on their way home in Jimenez’s car when it ran out of gas in Eagle Rock, California. The three walked to a nearby telephone located across the…