United States v. Christine Thinn

MEMORANDUM

In this criminal action alleging excessive force against an arrestee, police officer Christine Lillie Thinn appeals her misdemeanor conviction for deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242 . Thinn challenges two evidentiary rulings. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

The admission of lay witness opinion testimony by several percipient police officers did not result in reversible error. Thinn did not preserve her objection that because the officer testimony was expert in nature it was not properly admitted as lay opinion testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 701. An issue raised only in a motion in limine is not preserved for review if the district court’s ruling on the motion lacks the necessary definitiveness. Scott v. Ross, 140 F.3d 1275, 1285 (9th Cir.1998). Here, the district court denied Thinn’s motion in limine without prejudice and stated that it could not decide the issue “out of context of the actual testimony given.” Despite this ruling, defense counsel failed to object to almost all of the officers’ testimony at trial, and never argued that the testimony violated Rule 701 because it…