Ritchie v. United States

451 F.3d 1019 Wayne RITCHIE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America; Robert V. Lashbrook, in his individual and official capacities; Ira Feldman, in his individual and official capacities, Defendants-Appellees. No. 05-16401. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted May 18, 2006. Filed June 26, 2006. Sidney Bender, Leventritt Lewittes & Bender, New York, NY, for the plaintiff-appellant. Owen P. Martikan, Assistant United States Attorney, San Francisco, CA, for the defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California; Marilyn H. Patel, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-00-03940-MHP. Before BETTY B. FLETCHER, ALEX KOZINSKI and RAYMOND C. FISHER, Circuit Judges. KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge. 1 We consider what inferences a district judge may draw, during a bench trial, in deciding a motion for judgment based on partial findings under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(c). Facts 2 On December 20, 1957, Wayne Ritchie, then a Deputy United States Marshal, attended a lunch-time Christmas party at the United States Post Office Building 1 in San Francisco. Ritchie drank a bourbon and soda, and…