Court Opinion

ID: 9514993
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 22:53:01.898081+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:06:23.628179
License: Public Domain

ZINTER, Justice
(concurring specially).
[¶ 29.] I concur and write to note that additional record evidence also supports the trial court’s decision to not give proposed instructions # 22 and # 23. I also write to note one minor disagreement with the majority’s opinion on punitive damages.
[¶ 30.] With respect to the instructions, it should first be noted that there is additional evidence in this record that further justified the trial court’s general instructions rather than Cheryl’s more specific instructions. For example, there is evidence that a number of the underlying prosecutions were either “citizens arrests” in which Cheryl herself initiated the prosecution, or they were incidents where Cheryl admitted knowing that her complaint would result in a prosecution. This evidence clearly supported the trial court’s decision to not give Cheryl’s more specific instruction that only applied where the decision to prosecute was left “entirely to the uncontrolled discretion of the officer” (Cheryl’s proposed instruction # 23).
[¶ 31.] Additionally, there is record evidence that the motivation for some of Cheryl’s actions was .to gain leverage in her divorce proceeding. There was also evidence that Cheryl misrepresented material facts in some of the proceedings. All of this evidence supported the trial court’s decision to not give Cheryl’s more specific instruction that applied where the only *702evidence of malice was the dismissal of the criminal charge (Cheryl’s proposed instruction # 22).
[¶ 32.] With respect to the issue of punitive damages, I do not agree that the jury “obviously” awarded $120,000 in punitive damages. Supra at ¶ 18. Notwithstanding that disagreement, the remittitur is justified by the balance of the majority opinion.