Justia U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

After a nine-day trial, a jury found that police officers carrying out a search warrant for narcotics did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they performed a no-knock entry into a residence and fatally shot a woman with a gun therein. The woman's family and estate alleged that a variety of instructional and other errors tainted that verdict. The court held that the charge provided a complete and accurate statement of the law and afforded plaintiffs ample latitude to argue their case. The court concluded that, over the course of a nine-day trial, capable attorneys on each side thrashed out the propriety of the officers' actions before the body duly constituted to assess them, and the district court properly instructed that body in terms of the applicable standard of reasonableness. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court finding no other reason for reversal where there was neither instructional defects nor any other error undermining the verdict.