Court Opinion

ID: 9470859
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 03:17:52.939399+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:42:08.370668
License: Public Domain

LUMBARD,
Circuit Judge, concurring:
I reluctantly concur in affirming the judgment. Considering all the evidence before the jury, including the extraordinary circumstance that many members of the police department testified for the plaintiff and against a fellow officer, it is difficult to see how the jury could have returned a verdict for the defendant. However, liability was for the jury to decide on the evidence, the arguments of counsel and the instructions from the court.
Had I been the trial judge,' I would have given the instruction on consciousness of guilt substantially as requested by the plaintiff. But there is no reason to believe that the jury was not fully aware of all the factors bearing on the credibility of the defense, including the alleged false explanation of events given by the defendant. On such a record, I cannot say that the trial court’s failure to give the charge requires us to set aside the judgment and order a new trial.